Childhood dream comes true for a “soldier of love” | News, Sports, Jobs

Photo provided by Dana Ullom-Vucelich Dana Ullom-Vucelich, left, poses with singer Donny Osmond, right, and the letter she wrote him over 50 years ago before his concert at the Capitol Theater on Tuesday.

WHEELING — A letter written by a second-grader from Shadyside in a moment of “Puppy love” was presented to the singer personally by the sender over 50 years later, making a childhood dream come true.

Columbus resident Dana Ullom-Vucelich delivered her message to the former teen idol before his concert at the Capitol Theater in Wheeling last Tuesday, allowing her to reconnect with the story between her and the singer that began at the Ohio State Fair in 1973.

Ullom-Vucelich, who grew up in Shadyside, first saw Osmond on “The Andy Williams Show” as part of a quartet called The Osmonds with three of his older brothers. From this performance on, she learned to appreciate the musical talents of the group and “great smile.”

“Their (the Osmonds) vocal harmonies were pure and they sounded fantastic,” Ullom-Vucelich remembered. “They were all a triple threat: they could sing, dance and act, and also play many different instruments.”

The quartet member who stuck in seven-year-old Ullom-Vucelich’s mind the most was Donny Osmond; her love for the singer grew even stronger after she saw him at the Ohio State Fair.

After the show, Ullom-Vucelich was determined to contact the singer and tell him how much she appreciated the performance.

After receiving an envelope from her parents, Ullom-Vucelich worked through many sheets of paper as she tried to perfect the cursive writing she had learned in school that year for the note.

“I had just learned cursive writing and I remember how much I practiced,” said Ullom-Vucelich. “I threw away the first letter because I didn’t like it. When I was finished, I took great care to fold the letter correctly in the envelope.”

In the letter, Ullom-Vucelich tells Osmond that she has “fantastic” Appearance at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus, but unfortunately “he didn’t see her.” She then gets distracted and tells Osmond that she fell off a seesaw and broke her arm. At the end of the message, Ullom-Vucelich returns to the topic and asks Osmond to send her a photo of himself.

More than 50 years later, Ullom-Vucelich received much more than just a photograph in return. While looking through a stack of memorabilia left behind by her late father, Bob Ullom, she discovered her letter to Osmond.

When she gave the letter to her parents all those years ago, Ullom-Vucelich assumed they had sent it. Now, with the letter back in her hands and the convenience of buying tickets to see Osmond’s Wheeling show with her sister Debbie Mullin on June 18, Ullom-Vucelich was finally ready to fulfill her second-grade dream.

“I contacted Donny’s PR representative and told them, ‘Hey, I have this old letter that must be on its way to Donny to thank him for the memories.'” said Ullom-Vucelich. “Their PR representative said I could meet him before the show, so I called my sister and said, ‘You won’t believe what just happened.'”

Although Ullom-Vucelich was nervous before meeting her childhood idol, she found him “more than accessible” when they met before the concert. When she handed over the letter, she remembered that Osmond had read the note “with amusement.”

“Donny is now a grandfather, so he noticed that the letter sounded like it was written by a small child,” said Ullom-Vucelich. “He smiled when I talked about how amazing he is and then went on to say that I sat on a seesaw and almost broke my arm. He was so grateful that my parents had kept the letter for sentimental reasons and he was grateful that I reached out.”

The interaction made Ullom-Vucelich feel like she was back in second grade, watching Osmond with his brothers on television. “The Andy Williams Show” or on stage at the Ohio State Fair.

“Today I am a professional in the business world, but in that moment I was that little kid again,” said Ullom-Vucelich. “I’m just glad to have those childhood memories and it was a nice memory to relive them with Donny.”

The fact that Osmond took the time to meet Ullom-Vucelich, especially before his show, and that she read her letter reaffirmed Ullom-Vucelich’s love for the singer. She noted that she got to experience both aspects of what made her first fall in love with Osmond that night: his family-oriented values ​​and his spontaneous energy on stage.

“When it comes to someone who is such a public figure, you don’t always have access to them for security reasons.” said Ullom-Vucelich. “The fact that he has respected his fan base and created the space for him and his family to continue to be entertainers is admirable. Meeting him felt like coming face to face with the Donny I appreciated as a young person and who I can still appreciate and value for new reasons today as an older person.”

Aside from giving her a new perspective on her favorite singer, the moment also gave Ullom-Vucelich a new view of her own parents, Robert and Beverly Ullom.

“I think my mother and father kept the note to give something back,” said Ullom-Vucelich. “When I think back to my childhood, I’m grateful to all of them. They made the two-and-a-half hour trip to Columbus just to sit with a bunch of screaming fans and give their little girls a really good time. I just want to tell them, ‘Hey, your little girls are still having a great time.'”