Letter transcription:

Aug. 27, 1943
Lieut. R. S. Yegerlehner USNR
Navy 60 San Fran. Cal.

Dear Mother,

Your v-mail of Aug. 10 came yesterday – That was the latest but your air mail of Aug. 8 came a week or more ago. I suppose the Burgess are about the same as ever – when I remember how I used to put up with her I wonder – I guess she was OK but the world just didn’t understand. I was glad to hear what Miss said about the piano and also what she said about John. I imagine her suggestions about him being a composer will spur him on to more of it and he probably keeps the neighborhood well pianoed most of the time, but the houses are far enough apart so that the neighbors shouldn’t have to suffer too much.

Some time ago I read in the Newton Co. E. that the telephone rates were raised – How much does that affect our rate? Maybe it’s a little hard for you to tell since for you told me during your mother’s sickness and D. accident you had so many long distant call – I hope with that increase in rate the service was increased but I’ll just wager the service is just as poor and probably worse because of the help situation.

You know a calendar is a wonderful thing but after all it’s not so useful out here – this one I have

[page 2] hangs just over my bunk and of course I look at the date quite frequently – Seems to me all that one would need would just be a ’42, ’43, etc. and a watch that is something else, I haven’t worn mine in 6 months. It went on the bum in Noumea and I had a fellow fix it but the regulator spring was rusted and he couldn’t slow it down enough. It wasn’t bad if I just kept it off my arm – my speed made it run faster – Then all of a sudden one day the minute hand dropped off so it doesn’t run and I’m none the worse because there is a bell for each chow time and our ships bell sounds the bell every half hour and one can’t go far wrong under those circumstances. This climate is very hard on watches – sweat and moisture soon causes them to corrode and rust.

I’m hoping for additional mail in a few days because that one v-mail wasn’t very much. There was a considerable amount of mail but most of it was from neighboring areas – I got a letter from a fellow who had been transferred and others got letters from those areas – but mail like that doesn’t count.

Well, here’s hoping –
Lots of Love
Daddy

Russell Islands
Image by Kelisi at Wikipedia.com (Wikipedia Commons license)

©2015 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2015/01/06/calendars-and-watches-roscoe/