Category Archives: Foster

The Crazyiest Letter (Roscoe)

1 Reply

: June 21, 1943 envelope

: June 21, 1943, p. 1

: June 21, 1943, p. 2

: June 21, 1943, p. 3

: June 21, 1943, p. 4

Letter transcription:

Lieut R. S. Yegerlehner USNR
Navy 60 F.P.O. S.F.C.
June 21, 1943

Dear Mother,

Yours of June 2, 4 & 5 came yesterday. I just wonder if that of the 3^rd was v-mail and if so it is a little late. It seems from your letters that the bunch of mail along about the time I mailed the last two checks is delayed but I still have hopes.

Mark was home when you wrote the last letter so that was a relief. You mentioned something about not having too much pep – watch that garden work – yard

[page 2] work and all the other duties you have to do. No need of getting down for the sake of a small garden.

This is the first day of winter and it’s hot as the devil. Really I don’t expect any snow at all here maybe we’ll have to use the sheet and bed spread instead of just the sheet at night.

You haven’t made any mention of the bank acc. for a few days. In fact I think it was the first of May. If you could remember a word around the first of each month would keep me informed. Not that

[page 3] I could help any but it would give me an idea of how things were going.

You said Mark’s Adenoids weren’t bad but the tonsils were only the letter describing them I guess was the one of June 3^rd which did not arrived.

I got a letter from Hicky yesterday and also the note that was sent up personally. I had sent a letter back to him that was 2/3 cut away by the censore so he wrote me another which was OK, and nothing cut out. Said he must have pulled a boot in the previous one.

There was also the crazyiest

[page 4] letter from the Indiana State Med. Assoc. It was in the way of giving advice as to health – diet, exercise, etc. I would sent it to you but I want to send it back with some modifications and additions. One thing they suggested was to sleep 8 hours every night regardless let nothing interfere. They haven’t been where I’ve been. Another was to diet –Eat only white meat of chicken & pheasant. The red meats are too fatening. They just haven’t eaten any field rations. And so the paper ran. I’ll fix it and send it back to them if I don’t lose my ambition

Love Daddy

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

©2014 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2014/08/26/the-crazyiest-letter-roscoe/

Left A Hankie (Gladys)

4 Replies

Letter Transcription:

MRS. R.S. YEGERLEHNER
KENTLAND
INDIANA
6-21-43

Dear Daddy – Five letters today. One May 27 – the rest in June – latest June 6. I repeat rec’d all the cks – Paid off J. H. Ins. loan and have receipt. It is a beautiful June day – had a hard rain that cooled things off yesterday. Have lots I want to do today but not getting much done. Just wrote an answer to a letter from Helen H. I stayed there the night I took Mark to St. E. and left a hankie so Helen returned it in a letter. Said she wasn’t hearing from Dan so much at present & doesn’t know his location. The Readers Digest came and John has it going from cover to cover. I think he reads it thru every month. Mark just got up and has had breakfast. Since his tonsillectomy I let him sleep as long as he wants to sleep. I think he is much better – in the way of nervous habits. I think if I can get him to eat & sleep enough he will get over twitching. John said he thought Mark is better & he watches him rather closely. David supposed to be taking a nap but I hear him singing. It will soon be time for him to have a bath. I woke at 5 a.m. to see him walking around his bed – I got up at 5:30 & got his bottle – I feel sleepy from waking so early – Maybe I can get a nap some time but I doubt it – I sent you several pictures June 12 – let me know when you get them. Will send more next week.

Love Mother

©2014 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2014/08/25/left-a-hankie-gladys/

Father’s Day (Roscoe)

1 Reply

: June 20, 1943 envelope

: June 20, 1943, p. 1

: June 20, 1943, p. 2

: June 20, 1943, p. 3

: June 20, 1943, p. 4

Letter transcription:

Lieut R. S. Yegerlehner USNR
Navy 60 F.P.O. S.F.C.

Dear Mother,

Sunday A.M. and sorta loafing around just like a nice summer A.M. at home. Even had a late breakfast. I think the cooks must have had a rough Sat. night possibly down at the corner drug store or in Joe’s Bar room. I doubt if anyone knew or cared whether yesterday was Sat., etc. It’s really funny sometimes about the arguments as to the day of the week. Sometimes one is off as much as two days.

[page 2] Just got a note from Hicky. He gave it to a passer by and it came to me this A.M. It was written yesterday. He always wants me to come and see him but our modes of travel are not for visiting purposes. It sure would be fine to talk to someone from home and someone who appreciated Indiana and it’s “corn” as much as I do. Of course, every state takes a beating in turn. We think Reno will soon find out about the war because the stage coach is due there now that spring is here and

[page 3] the roads are passable – and so it goes.

According to the calendar today is Father’s Day so will have to add a little something to my letter home to the folks. Of course it should have been done several days ago but I just forgot it.

Just stopped to take on a cake of chewing gum. W With that you sent Christmas and with what Mom sent I still have quite a supply.

It seems funny to hear some of the new fellows talk – all about the “zoot suits” and the

[page 4] color of the Ration cards and the different cards in use and also about some of the latest shows and new books. We don’t get those commonplace news and you folk back there think nothing of it because it’s just a gradual process.

In some of the latest magazines there are jokes and cartoons regarding shoe rationing which are a little hard to understand. I guess we won’t have any trouble catching on to those things – anyway just give us a chance –

No mail again yesterday
Love Daddy

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

©2014 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2014/08/24/fathers-day-roscoe/

Father’s Day (Gladys)

1 Reply

: June 20, 1943 envelope

: June 20. 1943,p. 1

: June 20. 1943, p. 2

: June 20, 1943, p. 3

: June 20, 1943, p. 4

: June 20, 1943, p. 5

: June 20, 1943, p. 6

Letter transcription:

Kentland Ind
June 20 – 1943

Dear Daddy –

Sunday and rain again. John has kept check on the rain on Sunday’s since Easter and this is the 8^th Sunday. It rained on Easter and he wanted to see if there was anything to the old adage about rain for seven Sundays – I think he said today disproved that because this is the 8^th. It hadn’t rained for a few days so I think this rain was beginning to be needed. However some of the farmers will need to replant corn because cut worms have ruined entire fields of corn around here. Washburn’s lost one field and everyone was so late in getting corn planted due to the continued rains. The cut worms

[page 2] have kept Mr. Zell on the jump. He has helped us with our garden and the boys in turn help him around his place. They moved the lawn for him last week and Mark helped him plant late potatoes last week. I don’t remember you ever ridging potatoes in our garden, but that is his method so he run the garden plow thru our potatoe and J. & M. hoed up the ridges. Now they will help him ridge his. They haven’t a pressure cooker so I took our cooker over and helped her can peas one night this week. We didn’t raise enough peas to can but I have been buying canned peas each month with our points. I bought some canned pineapple last week – and a medium size can takes 24 points – or half of one’s ration points for a month.

[page 3] Oranges are 55¢ a dz. – but we don’t use many because David hasn’t been able yet to take orange juice and J. & M. don’t care for it all the time. I still give D. Vit. C tablets. I tried to give him juice one day this week and he threw it up. We have a Baby Care Manual that was given to me at the hospital and in it are listed the achievements of 3-6-9 & 12 mo. olds. We checked on D. and he can do some of the 12 mo. things – like walking around his pen. It doesn’t say anything about a baby standing up in the buggy & holding on to the top. That’s one thing he has on the book. He tries to climb out of his play chair and got so I couldn’t feed him he was always twisting and squirming around and climbing over the side so yesterday I decided it was time to do something about the situation and I spanked.

[page 4] He cried and kept on so I spanked again – he cried a while then settled down and had his breakfast as nice as he should – now we have no trouble at meal times. John & Mark were both present at the time and both agreed it was the thing to do. They are both very much attached to David but agree he must be corrected when necessary. John said we corrected him when he was small and must do the same with David. J. & M. say they don’t want David to be a “mean little kid.” John is entertaining him now. He woke up too soon from his nap and has been a little cross and it’s getting near his 2 P.M. feeding.

I went to church this morning. Mother said she didn’t feel like going. It was getting cloudy when we got out of church and a few

[page 5] minutes after we came home it was so dark we had to turn on the light, such a black cloud in the north spread over and then it poured down for a while – now it just a steady sprinkle.

After our garden work yesterday we cleaned up and went to town – I told John it was silly for town people to go to town on Sat. nite – I wanted to get a gal. of wax – I got it at Childress – He had his office open but he wasn’t selling gas. We parked the car there. He closes every evening at 6 P.M.

I rec’d 18 letters last week – the latest being June 5 – Also the 100⁰⁰ ck – I paid the Ins. loan. At present I have a bal. of 189.70 but will have to pay ins prems. Next month $83.66 altogether, also have some other bills amting to 21⁰⁰ – However I will get 200 the first of the July & your Ins won’t have to be pd till after I get that – also will have to pay Link for the bicycle – The auto ins. will be due in Aug but will have two cks before it is due. David has had his vegetables and is asleep now.

Love – Mother

(over)

Just came from Arlene’s – she told me Marie Steinbaugh’s breast operation proved to be a very deep cancer – they took off her breast and cut into her arm. She will have to take radium treatments now – also Rosemary is in the hospital for an appendectomy – her baby is 7 wks old.

© 2014 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2014/08/23/fathers-day-gladys/

“Nuthin” About Gardens (Roscoe)

1 Reply

: June 19, 1943 envelope

: June 19, 1943, p. 1

: June 19, 1943, p. 2

: June 19, 1943, p. 3

: June 19, 1943, p. 4

Letter transcription:
June 19, 1943
Lieut R. S. Yegerlehner USNR
Navy 60 F.P.O. S.F.C.

Dear Mother,

Well, it’s been some time now since the above was written – just sitting trying to think of something which might be slightly interesting.

I see someone working in my garden – probably pulling weeds and I think it will probably be a wreck because one of those fellows thinks he knows but he don’t know from “nuthin” about gardens. One time he gave his experience in horticulture – which was one lilac bush planted and someone

[page 2] stole it before it had a chance to grow but he still insists he knows so that the reason I’m afraid the whole project will be ruined. I’ll make a report on that later.

My chief pharm. and corpsman sometimes get under my skin always wanting something like a bunch of kids. The chief thinks he should have more men and I tell him to make the boys he has work. The boys want time off and they don’t like where they live, etc. Just a big happy family. Of course, most

[page 3] of the time I just laugh at them and as Dorothy K. would say pass out some sarcasm, and they like it more than somewhat.

By the way – do Krulls still have their car and are their tires still holding out. As I remember both car & tires weren’t so hot when I left. And maybe I’d better ask the same question about our own car. Hope you don’t drive it as much as Alma W. used to drive their car, but I’m not worried about that because the gas rationing wouldn’t allow that. Has anyone been able to get a new car?

[page 4] I talked to a Dr. yesterday who left the States in Apr. 43. I just sorta stared wondering what it was like. Then he stared back when I told him it was Aug. when I had last seen the States. I also asked him if he had heard of how long our stay out might be and he had nothing to offer in that respect.

The chief was back again for some more dope but no requests this time so we parted good friends –

Excuse this letter please
Love Daddy

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

© 2014 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2014/08/22/nothin-about-gardens-roscoe/

Happy Father’s Day (Mark)

1 Reply

Letter transcription:

MARK YEGERLEHNER
KENTLAND
INDIANA
6-19-43

Dear Daddy, tomorrow being “Father’s day” we forgot to send you a card in time to get it. Mother is going to send you a picture of David but it won’t be finished until next weekend. Since my tonsil operation John has had the weed in the garden and hoe around potatoes. I’m still working on my model air plane and if I get one finished I am going to hang it up in Pediatrics. David as you know has two teeth that are pretty well through. My 4-H club is having a picnic June the 22^nd and I think that I will go because I haven’t gone to any picnics this year. The weather is hot we don’t work in the garden now so I wrote you a letter for Father’s Day. Well that’s about all

Your Loving Son,
Markie

P.S. We’re all fine.

Mark (January 1943)

©2014 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2014/08/21/happy-fathers-day-mark/

Happy Father’s Day (John)

1 Reply

Letter transcription:

JOHN YEGERLEHNER
E. DUNLAP ST.
KENTLAND IND.
6-19-43

Dear Daddy,

Since tomorrow is Father’s Day I am writing you a letter. I am sorry I didn’t think about getting a gretting off to you in time for you to get it tomorrow. I have had to mow the lawn quite a lot this spring because it has been hot and wet. Mother had David’s picture taken by a photographer. He had his mouth open and maybe his two teeth will show. David can pull up to sitting position and he can take a few steps when somebody is holding on to him. David woke before his map was finished and he is kind of cross. He’s just had dinner so maybe will take a nap.

Your loving son,
John

John (January 1943)

Didn’t Get His Nap (Gladys)

1 Reply

Letter transcription:

MRS. R.S. YEGERLEHNER
KENTLAND
INDIANA
6-19-43

Dear Daddy – John & Mark wrote v-mails as Father’s Day greetings. I am going to send you another large picture of David as soon as it is finished – David didn’t get his nap out and was cross until after his 2 P.M. feeding – then I put him in his bed and after some play he has gone to sleep – wrong – he just began to sing – but we are all in the living room & he is alone in the nursery. Mark is at the piano trying to practice for another music lesson. He took one lesson before his tonsillectomy and is just getting ready to start again. He and John hoed and weeded some in the garden but didn’t finish so will go back this evening when it’s cooler. It hasn’t rained now for a few days and it’s hot today. I have been taking Bepron and Mother is taking it too and I believe it is helping her. I am feeling pretty good but take something off & on to keep fit. The heat wave last week-end was pretty hard on her. I have rec’d 10 letters this week – the last being June 5. Also got all three checks & paid the Ins. loan off. Had a letter from Glen and he wants your address – Someone he knows is where you used to be. Their baby is 5 mo. old and almost as heavy as David – but D. is heavy enough to suit me. He should weigh 20 lbs. by his 9^th month. All is quiet now. David has gone to sleep – John & Mark are readying & Mother’s mending sox. It is nice & cool here in the living room with a good breeze through. Greetings for Father’s Day.

Love Mother

Maybe Inspiration Will Come (Roscoe)

1 Reply

: June 18, 1943 envelope

: June 18, 1943, p. 1

: June 18, 1943, p. 2

: June 18, 1943, p. 3

Letter transcription:

Lieut R. S. Yegerlehner
Navy 60
F.P.O. San Fran Calif
June 18, 1943

Dear Mother,

This is one of those times when it seems there is nothing to write about but maybe inspiration will come.

To begin with our mail has definitely had the brakes slammed on and nothing came yesterday but the Apr. 29 issue of the Newton Co. E. As I’ve said before practically all of the news were old but some items weren’t issued before thru any other source. Again there was the usual home on leave boys, and J. Edward was one of those. I guess I shouldn’t be

[page 2] too jealous because it requires boys at home as well as out here, and maybe in due time we’ll all get our chance to get the much coveted leave.

I never did hear what happened to John Simons when he was in the hospital and I’ve often wondered how A.D. Washburn is getting along. Of course I wonder about others also but those two just happened to pop into mind. I often see Mrs. Dye’s name mentioned and wonder if her husband is still where he was when I was home. It seems the

[page 3] length of time out is generally greater when one has duty at a place like that before passing along. If that be the case it will work better in my case, but all those things remain to be seen. Guess maybe you begin to think that I think more of coming home than of the war but that isn’t true only one does like to think of home once in a while.

Well, I’m all out of anything to write so will try to do better next time

Lots of Love
Daddy

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

Father’s Day Gift (Gladys)

1 Reply

Letter transcription:

: June 18, 1943 envelope

: June 18, 1943, p. 1

: June 18, 1943, p. 2

: June 18, 1943, p. 3

Kentland Ind.
6-18-43

Dear Daddy –

A real hot summer day & no sign of rain. We are going our usual Fri. washing – Mark weeded carrots this morning after baking class – he made a spice cake at 4-H this morning. We are going to sow some carrots & swiss chard this evening. I think we will soon have potatoes to dig. Ours did very good. I have about a tub full of spinach to clean – I cut it off so we could replace it with the chard. John helped with the wash work – his big job is to mow and he has that done for this week. He is good help in the garden if needed.

We had David’s picture taken this morning. The photographer who always takes Jimmy’s picture came here and took the picture. Dorothy Schurtter brought Stevie and had his taken too.

[page 2] I would have liked to gotten the picture to you for Father’s Day but it won’t make it by then – however you can consider it a Father’s Day gift – which is this coming Sunday. I have mentioned it before but you may not get the letter.

I sent in the ck to pay off the ins. loan. It was $243.91 – that inclues Interest $6.36. So we will be rid of any kind of payment of that policy after I pay the last prem. due this month. Now to get that loan off mine and cut down more interest.

I got a bottle of Bepron and Mother is taking it. I think it is helping her. She seems to have a little better appetite & not quite so weak. She stays up all day but goes to bed early. I think it is better for her to keep going as long as she feels like it. She doesn’t do anything but it’s better than for her to be in bed all the time. I am taking the tonic too. I feel good but think it will help to keep me feeling good.

[page 3]I see in the paper that Jerry Sondergrath’s have another girl – Judith Ann. That was one I didn’t know anything about until I saw the paper. One of Leo’s girls is working in the bank and the second girl works in the garage office. Mrs. S. told me the girls didn’t like to work in the office for their Dad, but those girls are taught to do what their parents want.

–Had to stop & feed D. – now I had to change his pants and stop working on the spinach – We have all been out on the terrace working on the spinach. Took David’s pen out so he would be better satisfied – He climbs around in his buggy so much we can’t work if he is in it. John doesn’t eat spinach so I let him quit helping – He is going to town to mail letters.

Love Mother