I Reached out to a Facebook Friend and Found my Cousin's Kindergarten Student

 This is a photo of Lorena (Colby) Flanders with her two daughters Villa and Mildred. On the back side of this photograph is this short letter written by "Rena" to my grandmother Nannie (Becker) Flanders.

This chart shows how I'm related to this Flanders family. I'm listed as Mary Rebecca Margheim. 

Here's the Truman Flanders family that shows they resided in Crystal Lake, Illinois. One of my Facebook friends is professional genealogist Ann L. Wells. When I noticed that she's from Crystal Lake, IL, I sent her a message to introduce myself. I had no other motive except to say hello. She asked who the Flanders family members were so I showed her the photo at the top of this post. Ann replied that Millie Flanders was her husband's Kindergarten teacher and that his mother and Millie were very good friends. They "lived just down the street from each other!" 

Now what are the chances that I would randomly send a message to, and inquire of, someone whose husband personally knew the cousin to whom I was referring? Especially when my cousin was born in 1905. It always pays to reach out.