Of course, I'm also single. Therefore, Valentine's Day has zero meaning in my life.
That being said, when it comes down to it, I like reading Valentine's themed stories in Archie comics. Mainly because in most cases, the Valentine's Day plans almost always fall apart and it kind of makes me satisfied in knowing that fictional characters can have a worse day than me.
There IS one story though that while it isn't Valentine's Day themed, it really should be. It's a tale of young love, heartbreak, and learning to move ahead. But the first part of this story deals with Betty trying to decode the mystery behind a book she buys at a book sale that leads her to this very tale of young love, heartbreak, and learning to move ahead. In fact, like the Jughead two-parter story that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, this tale is firmly in my list of my Top 10 Archie stories ever written, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Well, as much as I can share of it, anyway.
The story first appeared in "Betty's Diary #4", which was released in 1986. Now keep that in mind as you read this tale because I've only ever seen it reprinted once - in "Betty and Veronica Digest #50". The only reason I point that out is because if they reprinted it now, they'd have to do some serious editing.
Here is Part One of the tale "The Lonely Heart of Riverdale".
So, Betty is spending the weekend volunteering at various charity events around town since it appears as though Veronica has sent everyone else away. Or, perhaps Betty is the only one who doesn't have any big plans for the weekend. Whatever the case, she is doing some volunteer work at the public library's annual book sale. As a kid, I used to love going to those. It's the time of year in which the library sells some of their older books to make room for the newer ones, and you could find some real treasures there. It's how I built up a lot of my book collection when I was in grade school, anyway.
Betty's gaze is firmly in place at the box of romance novels there. I guess it doesn't come as too much of a surprise that hopeless romantic Betty would be interested in romance novels. After all, she's been in a love triangle with Archie and Veronica for over seventy-five years now!
When Betty discovers a copy of the book "Wuthering Heights" in hardcover, the woman who has organized the book sale, Mrs. Walton, gives Betty the book for free as payment for all the hard work she put in to help out. What an awesome thing to do! Naturally, Betty is grateful, and proceeds to flip through the pages. When she does, something falls out of the book. Upon closer inspection, it is a letter addressed to a Declan McManus that was never mailed. Now, normally it would be a crime to open up mail that doesn't belong to you, but since the letter was written a long time ago, I suppose there's no harm in it.
Now this is why any future reprints would have to be edited. The letter is dated July 15, 1917 - which would put the time frame at right around World War I. In the letter, a woman who didn't sign the letter wrote to Declan who was her fiance at that time. Declan was about to go fight in the war and the girl was telling him to be safe in his travels. The letter is written beautifully and the concern that the girl had for Declan causes Betty to well up a bit. In fact, she is so taken back with emotion that Mrs. Watson actually sends Betty home, telling her to enjoy the book and that they appreciate her help with the sale. And this gives Betty a chance to really start digging for more clues. Such as, who wrote the letter.
Turns out that Betty doesn't have to look very far. On the inside cover of the book is a handwritten message to a girl named Lydia. It was a Christmas gift from her parents. And the name on the inside cover - Lydia Wyndham - matches the handwriting in the letter to Declan. Ah, so our couple from World War I was Declan McManus and Lydia Wyndham. And if both of them were around 17 or 18 when Lydia wrote that letter in 1917, it would stand to reason that in 1986, they would both be in their eighties. Betty wonders if either one of them are even still alive. All she has is the address that is listed on the envelope of the letter Lydia wrote - 75 Oak Boulevard. Betty thinks that visiting that home would be a great place to start. Even if Declan and Lydia don't live there now, they might run into someone who might know something about them. As Betty approaches Oak Boulevard, even she gets caught up in the romance behind the letter, and wonders if Lydia and Declan ever got married. But, unfortunately for Betty, her investigation hits a snag.
No, Lydia, nor Declan live in this empty lot. How's that for progress? Unfortunately, while the condos are coming, Betty's search for Lydia and Declan hits a wall, and she is absolutely stuck as to what to do next.
She talks about the situation with her mother over lunch about the book she brought home, and the letter that was found inside. She says that she wants to find out where Lydia is so that she can return the letter to her, but her search has come up empty. Remember, this story was written in 1986 - long before Google was even thought of. She's tried dialing information, and she's tried to get them to look up possible phone numbers and addresses, but nobody knows anything about the whereabouts of Lydia Wyndham, or even if she lives in Riverdale, or if she's even still alive.
See you then!
In the meantime - how do you like the new PEP Culture banner? I decided to change it when I changed up the font from Cooper Black to Souvenir Bold.
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