I had a little trouble last night…

: May 31, 1942 Envelope

: May 31, 1942, p. 1

: May 31, 1942, p. 2

: May 31, 1942, p. 3

: May 31, 1942, p. 4

This letter starts casually enough but very quickly gets rather serious. I can only imagine my grandmother freaking out when she read it. I say freaking out because I know I would be if I were in her situation; even if I didn’t know more of the back story. On the surface, I see a pregnant wife with two other children with a husband far away from home. If anything happened to my grandfather, what were the options for my grandmother in that day and age as a widow? It is one thing for your husband to get killed in the service of his country, but to be killed because he was the passenger in the car of a drunk driver is something completely different (and unexpected).

I am impressed by the clear thinking of my grandfather and his ability to not cave to peer pressure. Forgive the expression, but he had some balls that night. My grandparents were not drinkers. What I mean to say is: they had an occasional drink now and then, but they weren’t habitual. My grandfather did keep a stock of hard liquor in a special cabinet in the house. My father can attest to that. When he was in college (I believe), he snuck his first drink from that cabinet. That’s a funny story. I’ll have to get him to write it down for me again. But I digress; my grandparents weren’t drinkers because they knew the risks of drinking.

By the time my grandmother was 15 years old, her mother had kicked her father out of the house for good. One of the reasons I was given was because of my great grandfather’s drinking. I don’t know the exact year that this occurred, but sometime between the 1910 and 1920 censuses. I know very little about my great grandfather’s life. He eventually ended up in Pennsylvania. I know this from his obituary and a letter I have which was written to my great uncle Jim. I have yet to locate him on either the 1920 or 1930 census, but I’m pretty sure the man I found on the 1940 census is him. He was living alone in Erie, Pennsylvania. He gives his place of birth as Illinois and his age as 70. These are both consistent with the other sources I have. He was working as a gardener for a private home. He also gives his marital status as married. I don’t think my great grandparents ever got legally divorced so this would also be correct.

So when I picture my grandmother reading this letter from her husband, I know the role alcohol had already played in her life. I think I also have a pretty good idea about how she felt about drinking. I also appreciate the apparent honesty in my grandparents’ relationship. He felt comfortable enough telling her about this escapade and was able to (hopefully) reassure her that it wouldn’t happen again.

Letter transcription:

Sun

Dear Mother,

Just finished reading the paper and thought best to write now and maybe finish later on in the day. Dr. Lentz is playing golf but I don’t believe I want to start that now or because that’s one habit that grows and I don’t want to buy clubs etc.

Don’t forget to send in the next Income tax installment before June 15. Guess they wouldn’t throw me in the jug but it would mean lots of red tape. Then some day when you have lots of time you can total up the Jan, Feb, March, Apr + May income for next year it should be simple from then on.

Haven’t seen or heard of Jim. I don’t believe you gave me his correct rating because the CK doesn’t mean anything. SK would but the CK seems to be foreign.

I had a little trouble last night. My roommate drove over to 2 other Dr’s rooms and they started

(page 2) hitting the bottle. Then they wanted us to go along to get something to eat which was agreeable but the driver was half tight – drove down the wrong side of a two land highway + honked + wave at everybody, finally when we got near the YMCA I said I wanted to see if there was any mail there and when I came back I told them to go on without me. Where upon they seemed much put out and coaxed etc.-but I got sore and told them I didn’t like their carryings on, and walked away from them. Lentz came in about 1:00 AM and seemed a little ashamed of himself, said he wanted to get away also and the one of the other Drs. Wanted to get out also, but the driver of the car was the one who caused the uproar. He is a bachelor and doesn’t care what happens etc. Has no relatives etc. but from now on I’ll stay out of his car. So much for that. I took care of myself in that situation so don’t worry I can do it again if necessary.

I’m going to ask for leave in a couple of weeks. It’s a little soon but they can’t anymore than turn me down.

(page 3) I guess you have enough money to go one for a while- I thought some of sending home some but I’ll have to buy a blue suit ($45) 2 or 3 more whites $8.50 each and I have about $45 charged downtown so if I keep what I have I can almost clear that up by the June 15^th pay. After that I’ll have an allotment sent home each month.

Kate Smith is supposed to be around here someplace today but those programs are mostly for recruits. There is always a small portion set aside for officers but they sorta frown on too many going. They think we can pay for our entertainment.

After today when we go out in the Eve, we are supposed to war only white uniforms. Even if we go out to eat, but those things get dirty very easy. Anyplace away from the base white is supposed to be worn. The K. is only for work. The overalls so to speak. I’d hate to think what a white suit would look like after I’d ride the train home.

Mark wanted some pictures of the peers etc. Those don’t seem to be available. There are cards with army guns

(page 4) but nothing of anything along the coast. Maybe I can find something to send them again today. We may go out driving this P.M. but only with Lentz and if he gets to acting funny I’ll get out and walk again.

I just happened to remember you asked me the charge on the Henderson baby, it was $30.00. You might let me know the amount of the Bank acc. of course less the first of the month rent which they take out. When you get the bills ready to turn over to Cliff, send me a list of them first. And did you get that old bit you had on that pink sheet of paper. There may be one or two good ones there-probably not. Did you ever write to Shell Luce in Clinton about(the accident. case)? Do you know if Jim or Joe has gone yet? It seems like ages since I was there but its less than 2 wks. So really I guess not so much has happened since I left.

Well, my space is limited. I’ll not sign off just yet however-Guess there is nothing more so [this is written in a different ink]

Love Daddy

James L. Foster (1904-1994)

2 Replies

: James L. Foster, in uniform, circa 1940s

: May 30, 1942 (6:30 post) Envelope

: May 30, 1942 (6:30 post), p. 1

: May 30, 1942 (6:30 post), p. 2

I find today that I am not sure what to write about in addition to posting the daily letter. I’ve looked at all the suggested writing prompts from Geneabloggers for Thursday, but nothing really seems to fit. So I shall take the time to give a quick biography of another family member.

One person that has been already mentioned several times by my grandfather is my great uncle Jim. James Laughead¹ Foster was one of my grandmother’s brothers. My grandmother was the youngest of six children, born to her mother Emily “Emma” H. (Lawhead) Foster. Jim was the sibling closest in age to Gladys. They were both born in Terre Haute, Indiana about 21 months apart. I think they had a fairly close relationship and Jim is the sibling I knew about before I started doing genealogy. Until I started doing my own research, I didn’t know about the other four.

Jim was married twice and had no children. His second wife was Thelma Mayrose and they were married in Terre Haute, December 31, 1934. Like my grandfather, he enlisted in the Navy in 1942. He was also sent to Norfolk for his naval training. Roscoe and Jim did eventually meet up in a few weeks after today’s letter. There are several letters written by Jim to my grandmother that are also included in this collection.

In 1945, Jim was serving on the ship U.S.S. Sylvania (AKA-44). He was a CSF(T). I don’t know what the CSF means. I have come across two separate possible explanations: a staff member assigned to the Center for Naval Security Forces or a Chief Shipfitter. The (T) means temporary.

In his civilian life, Jim worked in the plumbing & heating supply industry. In 1965, he was working for the Eastman Central D, Rawlplugs and Mayfield Manufacturing Co, and his beat was the state of Kentucky. Like Dr. Lentz, Jim also loved golf. After he retired, he became a “snowbird”, spending his summers in Indiana and the winters in Florida. I believe he lived in the Sarasota area, near where Roscoe & Gladys retired in the late 1970s. Jim Foster died in 1994, aged 90.

Letter transcription:

Sat.

Dear Mother,

This was pay day – got $113². I’ll be sending some home I think the first of the week and as quick as I can I’ll have an allotment sent home rather than getting it all here – but it takes at least 30 days to do that.

We have had one of hottest days here that it’s been since I’ve been here and we had a rather hard day. Lots of recruits and lots of shots to be given.

Haven’t seen Jim or Raymond yet. I don’t know where to begin to look for them as there are so many camps around here if you could send me their addresses I’ll look them up.

I think we are going out to the beach for a little while. They say there are some ships in and I sorta like to see them. Don’t think I’ll do any swimming, etc.

Got my second shots todayᶟ. So far they haven’t bothered me, hope they won’t.

I didn’t get a letter today. Guess it was a holiday-but the mailman went the rounds.

Well, I’ll write more tomorrow

Love Daddy

Notes:

Jim’s middle name was his mother’s maiden name. You may notice that it is spelled two different ways in my narrative: Laughead and Lawhead. I tend to spell the surname Lawhead as the contemporary records invariably used this spelling of the name. In the case of Jim’s middle name, it was spelled Laughead. This was the legal spelling of his name so I will use this spelling when referring to him.
Check out this website for rank classifications and pay scales in the Navy during WWII: http://www.cv6.org/company/muster/organization.htm
American servicemen were also inoculated for a wide variety of diseases before being shipped overseas. The most common vaccinations were for smallpox, typhoid, and tetanus, though soldiers assigned to tropical or extremely rural areas were also vaccinated for cholera, typhus, yellow fever, and, in some cases, bubonic plague. (Taken from online article “Battlefield Injuries and Medicine” by David White and Daniel P. Murphy, Ph.D. (http://www.netplaces.com/world-war-ii/the-horrors-of-war/battlefield-injuries-and-medicine.htm)

Wednesday’s Child – Michael Yegerlehner (1940-1940)

3 Replies

: May 30, 1942 Envelope

: May 30, 1942, p. 1

: May 30, 1942, p. 2

: Gravestone for Michael Yegerlehner: Fairlawn Cemetery, Kentland, Newton, Indiana, USA

While my grandfather was busy in Norfolk, Virginia, acclimating himself to Navy life, my grandmother was at home in Kentland, pregnant with her fourth child. In 1940, Gladys had been pregnant with her third child, Michael. This is a child that you will not hear mentioned in any of the letters between my grandparents. Michael only lived for a few days. I don’t know what was wrong with Michael, only that he couldn’t survive. I haven’t gotten around to ordering his death certificate to see if it has any more illuminating details. My uncles John and Mark were 10 and 8 years old, respectively, in 1940. My uncle John once told my father that he remembered how horrible that time was for the family. (FindAGrave)

Both my grandparents were worried about my grandmother’s pregnancy this time around. They had lived through the tragedy of Michael’s birth and death in 1940. They were worried that this pregnancy would end as tragically as the last. Fortunately for me, it did end happily. In May 1942, my grandparents were not blessed with foresight. I can only imagine how frustrating it was for my grandfather to be so far away from his wife during her pregnancy.

Letter translation:

Fri

Dear Mother,

How you folks do talk about 4 of you coming down. In the first place – gasoline. I might be able to get an X card¹ and in the second place where would 4 people sleep when I’ve been trying to think up some way to get a place for you to sleep Just one. I thought I might get you a place at this Hotel I wrote you about but I find today it is full. It’s just a problem which I can’t figure out. I know the boys would get a kick out of seeing the place around here but how. They are better off at home much as I’d like to see them and you. It would be very uncomfortable to sleep in a car or under the sky.

Got my laundry back today-4 shirts-2 underware-6 pr. of socks and 2 hank. $1.45. Now you see why I wear shirts so long at one time. I’m going to send out a K. suit but don’t know where to send it.

(page 2) I’m sorry about the bill to Mrs. Dennis². I remember her paying that. Check the Massengillᶟ bill. That $25.00 is right but I thought I had paid them about ½ and then you had the return. I may not have paid the ½ but I thought I did. I believe I bought the stuff on the day I was examined and he was there once since and I gave him a check that day.

The magnolias are in full bloom and they are quite pretty. It is a big white blossom about 3 inches long and as big around as a banana and is a white bloom, then it opens into a large flower.

We were discussing the room + rent condition and the above that I wrote is secured.

Dr. Lentz is out playing golf but I just got home-he works at a different place than I and he gets off earlier or they don’t check so closely.

We will just have to wait and see about the rent etc for a few days or weeks yet. I guess I’d better write to Clay City⁴ again

Love

Daddy

Notes:

An X card was a type of rationing card for gasoline and automobiles. They were very hard to come by and were usually reserved for police, fireman, civil defense workers & various VIPs. There was a scandal when 200 Congressman were issued X cards.
Mrs. Dennis: The only Mrs. Dennis in Newton County, Indiana was Maria Dennis. On the 1940 census, she was an 81 year old female, born in 1859 in Illinois. She was living with the family of one of her grandchildren, Ira Miller.
Massengill: The S. E. Massengill company was a pharmaceutical company formed in 1898.
Clay City: Clay City is where Roscoe’s parents lived.

It takes a village

3 Replies

: May 28, 1942 (8:30 post) Envelope

: May 28, 1942 (8:30 post), p. 1

: May 28, 1942 (8:30 post), p. 2

: May 28, 1942 (8:30 post), p. 3

: May 28, 1942 (8:30 post), p. 4

One of the things that I find _____ (insert word: cool, fascinating, thrilling, etc.) about this project is seeing all the people that my grandparents interacted with in their daily lives. We spend so much time in genealogy research tracking down all the branches in the family tree. I think sometimes we forget that our ancestors also interacted with their neighbors intimately as well. The neighbors might not have been blood relations but they were best friends, mortal enemies, business partners, customers, patients, teachers, or students. As I come across names in the letters, I find myself wanting to know who these other people are. I also think (as a historian/genealogist) that maybe some of these people’s descendants might also be interested in hearing about their relations, even briefly. How often have we wondered at a witness’s signature on a will? Or thought about the other person in a land dispute? Who are these people that our ancestors knew?

Today’s letter mentions several people: Mrs. Nosker, Dr. Lentz, D. Ream, Mrs. Worrell, Larry Ried, Jim [Foster], Raymond Bower. Since Dr. Lentz is someone who served with my grandfather, he was one of the first people that I tried searching for. I didn’t know Dr. Lentz’s given name until I found a letter from Dr. Lentz to my grandfather. It was written in 1944 right after my grandfather had returned to the states. The return address was labeled E. T. Lentz, Comdr. (mc) NSNR. The letter was also signed Ed. Now, I had something to go on. Ed is short for several names: Edward, Edmund, Edwin. I did some searching through the Veterans databases on Ancestry and came up with Edmund T. Lentz. Then I searched the 1940 census and found Dr. Lentz living in Pennsylvania. The first letter in which my grandfather mentions Dr. Lentz, he says “I met a doctor from Pennsylvania”. They must have got on fairly well because they quickly became roommates.

Dr. Lentz was about 5 years older than my grandfather. Just older enough that he served briefly in World War I as a young man before he became a doctor. Dr. Lentz affectionately referred to my grandfather as “Junior”, either because of their age difference or perhaps due to a difference in rank. I was able to track down Dr. Lentz’s social security record and his marriage record. He married Margaret Broomhall in 1926 in Philadelphia. Finally, I found the Find A Grave memorials for Dr. Lentz & his wife. Sadly, I was able to determine that Dr. Lentz had not had children, so there are no descendants to share my grandfather’s letters with.

I’ve already started looking for Mrs. Nosker . . .

Letter transcription:

May 28 1530

Dear Mother,

I have the P.M. off since I was on duty all night and just got home. Bought two more shirts. I’ve worn this one since Sun. and I can hardly stay in the same room with it. I got two more today so I can clean up tomorrow. These shirts that I have are 31 sleeves but this is too short, but the ones I got this P.M. are 33 + 35, it’s the best I could do so I’ll have to sew a ruffle in them.

I didn’t ordered a prescription(?) for Mrs. Nosker but they didn’t have that type so I didn’t reorder. We owe the Blue line bill so write them a check. We also owe Schnible in Laf. [Lafayette] so pay that one when they send the bill. That bill to physicians supply just sent 5 on it now and then and don’t forget to send D. Ream his interest check. We get our first pay either Sat. or Mon. I still have with my travel money and the traveler checks about $92.00 but I don’t have a blue uniform, nor any white suits. The whites seem to be hard to get. I bought regulation white shoes + black ones both for 10.50. All total I think I still

(page 2) have $100 to $125 worth yet to buy – but I haven’t as yet collected the $250 for uniform. If you haven’t bought a bond yet this mo[nth] you might do so if you have that much plus the stamps. We can perhaps save a little that was from time to time. Do what you think best.

You write to the narcotic agency Indianapolis Ind. Get it off that card on the wall in the back Lab. Room and tell them I’m in the navy. Save that card because I think it has to be sent in. I’m supposed to take inventory of the morphine I have and get rid of it, but there isn’t any for that. I may have to write a letter or fill out blanks so if they come send them on.

I’m going to investigate the possibility of flight examiner’s school. It’s a course to prepare one to examine the flyers. The only drawback is that they ask you to sign that you won’t resign for three years but that won’t be so bad because after all we’ll be in 6 mo. after the thing ends and what I like about this is that one has a chance to learn something about the eyes + ears and after all that would be of value so if you hear that I’ve signed to go to school don’t be surprised. I can’t see any value to myself in examining these recruits and giving shots. Maybe that isn’t the correct attitude but

(page 3)They say the navy trains you for some job so why not. Two or three of the boys from here are being transferred to Fla. for that training.

We have a very nice room and our landlady is something like Mrs. Worell used to be – if you get what I mean.

I still would like for you to come down but give me time to get a place for you to stay. Without a car here it’s tough to get any place. There is a hotel ($2.50 per day) across the Bay for officers + wives. Used to be a summer resort but the navy took it over and that is generally a good place but at times it is filled. In order to get to town from there one must take a boat and then ride about 15 miles on street car. When one of the boys came to the base he got off the Boat down town and got a taxi to the base and it cost $5.00 so a round trip would be $10.00 plus bot boat fare.

This town is long and narrow – lies in a sort of horseshoe and there is no way only from the extreme south to get here but by water. Train cars buses etc.

(page 4) all have to ferry in. Lentz had to pay $3.50 to come in with his car from the north.

The lease on the house is not progressing very rapidly – since things are uncertain. If the houses were only furnished. There is so much trash living here I’d almost hate for the boys to be here. Workers out at the base are a tough looking lot and lots of them. We are about half way between the base + home and when we leave at 4:30 (1630) it’s almost drive in low all the way and the same think in the A.M.

Did you get any response or word from Larry Ried. I don’t know of anything unusual to write the boys. Seen lots of airplanes and anti air craft guns. All size + shape planes. I haven’t seen any large battle ships yet but have seen some cruisers and destroyers at a distance.

Jim or Raymond Bower haven’t shown up as yet, but there are so many places down here for them to be. Everyone that was tall made me look the second time but it wasn’t Jim.

Well, Dr. Lentz isn’t home yet but I’ll have to stop and clean up –

Love Daddy

Amanuensis Monday – May 28, 1942

1 Reply

: Roscoe & Gladys on their wedding day, May 25, 1929

: May 28, 1942 Envelope

: May 28, 1942, p. 1

: May 28, 1942, p. 2

An Amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. My whole blog is dedicated to the transcription of my grandparents’ letters, so I may rightfully call myself an amanuensis. I did some sorting of the letters last Friday. I organized my grandmother’s letters from 1942. I don’t have a definite count as yet as to how many letters there are in total. On Friday, I opened 107 letters by my grandmother which were written between August and December 1942. I know there are also over 100 V-mail letters written by my grandmother between the years 1942 and 1944. I would estimate that there are at least 500 letters total at this point. Over the next few weeks as I pull out each letter and organize it, I will have a firmer count. I consider myself fortunate that my grandparents had fairly legible penmanship. It makes the task of transcribing their letters even more enjoyable.

Today’s letter was a short one, but it had a lot of genealogical information. Roscoe mentions Jim and Raymond. Jim was Jim Foster, my grandmother Gladys’s brother. As for Raymond, I’m not sure about him yet. Roscoe had a brother Raymond, but he died in 1922. I might just have to wait and see if another letter gives me more clues. I’m not sure if Raymond is an extended family member or a neighbor from Kentland.

Another genealogical event mentioned in the letter was the anniversary. My grandparents were married on May 25, 1929. The year 1942 was their 13^th anniversary. There was no mention of the anniversary in the letter dated on that day. Roscoe really did forget. Hopefully, Gladys was very forgiving for this lapse of memory. I think they had more important things to worry about in 1942.

Letter translation:

Thurs.

Dear Mother-

Just been on duty all night and you possibly will not get a letter as usual. I’m writing this while still on duty.

As yet I haven’t seen any of the boys that are supposed to come from up there – I mean Jim & Raymond. I’m going to write more later on today and get you the low down on things. Just this is 7:00 AM and I can’t think much.

I Really forgot the anniversary but the days are just days no Mon, Tue, etc – And I’ve

(page 2) heard one raid since and that wasn’t news. I’m off at noon today so want to get some more sock & shirts.

For until later,

Daddy

Sunday’s Obituary – Floyd V. Yegerlehner

Surname Saturday – Yegerlehner

2 Replies

: Letter postmarked May 25, 1942 – Envelope: Roscoe & Gladys’ 13th wedding anniversary

: Letter postmarked May 25, 1942, p. 1

: Letter postmarked Mary 25, 1942, p. 2

Yegerlehner is a rather rare surname. You can generally bet that anyone in the United States with the surname Yegerlehner is related to me. Yegerlehner is Swiss in origin, and in fact, is correctly spelled Jegerlehner. When my ancestor David Jegerlehner arrived in America in 1851 with his wife and 3 children, they changed the spelling to reflect how the name should be pronounced. In the Germanic languages, the letter J is pronounced as an English Y. The second letter e in the name is also pronounced ā (long a). So the Je (in Jegerlehner) is pronounced Yay.

My grandmother always told me that the name Jegerlehner meant “hunter of the hills”. I always thought this was rather romantic considering there are some rather impressive hills in Switzerland that I would like to see some day. Jeger, the first part of the surname, is the German word for hunter. So that part of the translation seems to be correct. I haven’t really been able to come up with a satisfactory translation for lehner though. Lehner appears to be “a status name for a feudal tenant or vassal, from an agent derivative of Middle High German lēhen ‘to hold land as a feudal tenant’. (http://genealogy.familyeducation.com/surname-origin/lehner)

David Jegerlehner had two sons, Christian and Johannes (John). After first settling in a Swiss populated area of Berlin Township, Holmes County, Ohio for a few years, the family decided to move further west. Christian and his father moved to Owen County, Indiana for a few years and then permanently settled in neighboring Clay County. The other son John moved his family to northeastern Indiana around Ft. Wayne. The descendants of Christian traditionally spelled their name Yegerlehner. John’s descendants wrote the name Yagerlehner. Over the next few generations members of the family continued to alter the spelling of the name, mainly in an effort to aid pronunciation. I have seen variants as: Yager-Lehner, Yagerline, Yegerline, Yegerlener. John Henry Yegerlehner, the son of Christian and grandson of David, continued to spell the name Yegerlehner. John Henry is the only son of Christian’s that continued a male line into the 21^st century. So that is why if you find someone with the name Yegerlehner today, they are most likely related to me.

If you would like to learn more about the surname Jegerlehner, one of my distant Swiss cousins maintains this website: http://www.jegerlehner.ch/world/

Letter translation:

Mon Eve 1800

1026 Magnolia Ave

Dear Mother-

We are now in our new home and I think we are very lucky to get such a nice place for 5.00. We have twin beds and plenty of drawer space but the bath is upstairs. Ou

Our working hours have been changed from 4:00 to 4:30 but we still have to be there at 8:30 three mornings per week and 7:30 the other three.

I think in a week or so you should come down and stay a week. We can get rooms at the Chamberland Hotel for $2.50 per day but of course we would have to ride the street car unless you could bring the car but we can see about that in a few days.

We had our first air raid warning today – just practice. Everyone had to stand by for 30 min. The station Unit X had to be prepared – all windows closed lights & water shut off. It was day time. The

(page 2) warning is a weird sort of a noise – sounds like a big Jackass but at least every one can hear it. There hasn’t been any night block out since I’ve been here. I don’t know how much of this stuff I’m supposed to write or not write but I did anyway.

The two letters I got Sat. were the only ones I have received so far but the others will be forwarded when they get here. I don’t believe I’d ever get a letter thru the naval station. From the

Hope the collections are still coming in as we will need them. I’m not sure yet how the finances are coming out. The income tax probably will be the hardest to meet but next year it won’t be so much.

Well, I’ll try to do better tomorrow-

Love Daddy

Silvester Schiele

Getting settled

4 Replies

: 1942-05-23 Envelope

: 1942-05-23 (730 AM) page 1

: 1942-05-23 (730AM) page 2

: 1942-05-23 (730AM) page 3

: 1942-05-23 (730AM) page 4

As with any new project, there are lots of things to consider while executing the long term goals. In the case of my grandparents’ letters, there are some basic logistics to consider. There are hundreds of letters that I wish to share with family, friends and the world. My first step is to organize the letters into a presentable format for publication. I have sorted the letters by the individual writer. In some cases, there are more writers and recipients than my grandparents. Occasionally I have found a letter written to my uncles or letters written by them to their father. There are also the rare letters from an additional family member or friend. I have separated out these letters for the time being. I will place the letters back into their chronological context at a later point. The next step is to put the remaining letters in chronological order. Many of the letters are not dated. The only clue I have to go by is the postmark on the envelope. This is not always helpful either. Since my grandfather often wrote one or two letters a day, I sometimes have to stop and read each letter to see if there is contextual evidence that will place one letter before the other. The post office didn’t always sort the letters chronologically either so sometimes an earlier letter has a later postmark. Some of the postmarks are illegible or missing. I will definitely have my work cut out for me with those letters.

Another aspect of this project is the long term preservation of the original letters. I don’t currently have the backing of a major archive to help me do this. What I can do in the short term is open up each individual letter and unfold them. The fold lines are one of the areas in which wear and tear can break down the paper. Storing the letters flat will help preserve them as well. I am also placing each letter into a protective sleeve. This will limit their exposure to handling. Once the letters are scanned and transcribed, I am putting them back into their protective sleeves and storing them in binders for easy access.

One day, I hope to donate the letters to a suitable institution that can more properly preserve them for posterity and future World War II scholars. But not until I have read and savored them all.

Letter transcription:

Sat.

Dear Mother,

Just got home and not feeling so hot. Took shot for typhoid & smallpox. As yet I haven’t gotten any mail from home so your letters must be somewhere in the mixup. We may try to move tomorrow to a Hotel across the bay it will be a little more reasonable only $1.25 per day.

I had to go to to work this A.M. at 7:30 but and home at 4:00 so that isn’t bad. I think we should arrange for you to come down at least for a visit and to look the place over. I think I could get an X gas card and sent it to you so you would have no trouble. You would have to make it in two or three days because it is very near 1,000 miles – 970 to be exact

(page2) at least that is what I got paid for. And I wrote a check today for 15.80 for the insurance. It is to be taken out each mo. But it is such a short time until I’ll be 38 that they didn’t have time to take it from my pay.

There are lots of interesting things to see here and it rains almost every P.M. This is the first day it hasn’t but from the way it looks it will before long. There are numerous airplanes in the air both night and day and anti air craft guns can be seen at various places as well as lots of search lights crisscrossing at night. Down along Virg. Beach cars must dim their lights. We went driving and a cop came up and invited us to turn on our dimmers (we did)

(page 3)I’m not used to navy life as yet. Just as soon as I got the uniform every one under me saluted me and I wasn’t sure of what to do but I guess we’ll learn that as time goes by. You got my address in the last letter in case you didn’t-

Lt. (jg) MC V(S) RS Yeg—

Unit “A” Dispensary N.O.B.

Norfolk, VA

The time of a complete change of clothes seem to be gone I’ve worn the same shirt now three days and the same underware 2 days. At the base it takes 10 days to get laundry and up town it is so high. The only thing I’ve changed my socks daily – can’t stand it otherwise. I had to get some sock – must wear black or brown

(page 4)I bought six pair at the ships service for $1.50. They really are a bargain. Everything is cheaper there than up town.

I’m going down to the Y. tonight to see if there is any mail.

I haven’t had a chance to write to anyone yet but the folks. Maybe if we can find a better room tomorrow we can become more settled. And get on a definite schedule.

If you see any of the Rotary Club thank them again for the pen, I don’t know of any other thing they could have given that would have been more useful.

I realize that this is pretty choppy but it’s just the things that came to me. Maybe I can do better tomorrow,

Love Daddy

Setting goals

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: May 22, 1942 Letter

: May 22, 1942 Envelope back

: May 22, 1942 Envelope front

Since I started my blog last week, I have been waking up every morning with my mind brimming over with ideas about what to write. There are so many fascinating stories about my family that I have been collecting for years. I have this overwhelming urge to tell them all at once. The logical part of my brain keeps telling me to be patient. The stories will all come out eventually. Another part of my brain keeps flitting about. There are so many things to do in order to organize and to preserve my family’s history. There are all the photographs that need to be sorted through, all the letters that need to be read, more hints to follow on Ancestry, binders of correspondence and research to cull and reorganize, update my Facebook page, and now, write a blog. I think I am getting overwhelmed just re-reading that last sentence. Focus Deborah! I want to shout at myself. So as I take a moment to breathe, I focus on: why am I writing a blog? Two of my goals in writing a daily blog are to 1) get into the habit of writing every day and 2) share the letters that my grandparents wrote.

One of the things that I enjoy about reading articles and history websites is that it seems like historians are always finding new treasures to explore and analyze. My grandparents had five grandchildren. From the five grandchildren, there are now ten great grandchildren. Soon some of those great grandchildren will begin to get married and have their own kids. Since I was the daughter of my grandparent’s youngest son, my children aren’t anywhere near that point in their lives. I did not know my Yegerlehner cousins very well when I was growing up. We lived in different states, a thousand miles apart. I only ever saw them at one or two Christmases or briefly during summer vacation when I was little and then later, at my grandparents’ home in Florida. This part of my family has been slowly drifting away from each other for the last twenty years, if not longer. In the mid 1990s, I made contact with two of my cousins. We exchanged letters for awhile to catch up on who was married, who had kids, etc. Then my cousin Becky died in 1998. She was 38 with two young sons. And the drift resumed.

Eventually the descendants of Roscoe and Gladys (Foster) Yegerlehner will drift apart so much that we won’t really know that we exist anymore. Some future descendant from one of my cousin’s branches will be searching around for information about his or her ancestors, and what will they find? (I must note that if any descendant of mine fails to discover anything about our family tree, it won’t be because I didn’t try!) For years, my father read biographies on every United States president. He once quipped that he would never forgive Martha Washington for burning all the letters that she and George wrote. What would historians be saying today about our country’s history without the letters written between John Adams and his wife Abigail? I use the Adams letters as an example as I would never presume to say that my grandparents were as historically important. My grandparents were everyday people, living in extraordinary times. Their letters make up one tiny piece of a much larger puzzle.

With this blog, I will share parts of myself so my children will know what was going on inside my head, all those many times they were orphaned by the family’s history; I write my blog to connect with distant family members; I write my blog to share fascinating stories from my family tree; AND I write my blog to share how two ordinary people lived through an extraordinary period in our country’s and our world’s history.

Letter Transcription:

Fri.
Dear Mother,

The address I gave wasn’t right but in case any comes then it will be forwarded. From now on address me as

RSYegerlehner Lt. jg MCV (S) Unit A
Unit A Dispensary
N.T.O.
Norfolk Va.

There isn’t much to write as yet but more will follow we hope. I think I would like it swell if you could be here but will see about that later-

Daddy