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![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4042080_web1_sf-convalescent-home2-march18.jpg\")
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Photo by Simon Fuller<\/p>\n
Sherry Heppner, development co-ordinator at the Convalescent Home of Winnipeg, is pictured outside the Fort Rouge-based home recently. This year marks 120 years since the home first opened its doors on McDermott Avenue.<\/p>\n
During recent renovations at the home, a framed letter was discovered in the room of one of the residents. It\u2019s addressed to Willy Finke at a German address, dated Sept. 20, 1948, and signed by J. Edgar Hoover, a famous former director of the FBI. The Hoover letter has become a bit of a mystery at the Convalescent Home, and staff and board members of the facility are asking anyone who might have any knowledge of its origins to reach out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe letter came to light as we were moving residents around,\u201d said Sherry Heppner, the Convalescent Home\u2019s development co-ordinator. \u201cIt was hanging in plain sight \u2026 and now our curiosity is piqued. Does anyone out there recognize this?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt appears J. Edgar Hoover is trying to help a gentleman in Germany establish a police force after the war. We can\u2019t find a Mr. Finke on our records here. We\u2019re just at a loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought it might make an interesting story for the community, and if anyone knows anything about it, we\u2019d love to hear from them,\u201d Heppner added.<\/p>\n
Apart from the specifics of the Hoover letter, Heppner said Winnipeggers are also invited, in the home\u2019s anniversary year, to share tales of the place or family members who might have lived there.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anyone has any stories to share, we\u2019d love to hear them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the history of the Convalescent Home, Heppner said it has always strived to be a place that people can call \u2018home.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t have someone there for you when you\u2019re aging, what do you do?\u201d she said. \u201cEveryone deserves to have some joy, and some dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heppner said the Convalescent Home is in the midst of a revitalization donor drive campaign, dubbed Rooms to Thrive, which was launched last year to help revitalize residents\u2019 rooms and keep the home\u2019s legacy going. It aims to raise $1.5 million.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Photo by Simon Fuller<\/p>\n Heppner shows off a mysterious letter signed by former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover that was found at the home during recent renovations. Anyone with information on the origins of the letter, written to a man named Willy Finke in Germany in 1945, should get in touch with Heppner.<\/p>\n Bob Cox, board chair of the Convalescent Home of Winnipeg, emphasized the good work that goes on at the home and the role care homes play in the community.<\/p>\n \u201cPersonal care homes don\u2019t always get the attention for the things they do every day, which is looking after seniors and enhancing the quality of their lives at the end of their life,\u201d Cox said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re here for the long-term. The level of care at the home is high, and it\u2019s an environment where the residents are respected and their needs are met.\u201d<\/p>\n Anyone with a Convalescent Home of Winnipeg story to share or information on the origin of the However letter is asked to contact Heppner at sheppner@tchw.com<\/p>\n Visit tchw.com to learn more about the Convalescent Home of Winnipeg.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Simon Fuller Simon Fuller is a reporter\/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. Email him at simon.fuller@freepress.mb.ca or call him at 204-697-7111.<\/p>\n
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Community Journalist
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