Category Archives: Rotary Club

The mail was better today (Roscoe)

4 Replies

Letter transcription:

Dec. 13, 1942

Dear Mother,

Nick Krull, circa 1960

Nick Krull, circa 1960

The mail was better today. Got two letters dated Nov. 25 from you, and one dated Oct. 14 from you – a package from Boonie – (a box of candy) a letter from John – V-mail and two birthday greetings from Nick & Dorothy. One of the greetings wasn’t very nice and Dorothy wouldn’t have her name to it so she sent another with both their names. I guess all of our mail will finally get here. John said he was down in the dumps because didn’t have meat for dinner. After all if a fellow is hungry he isn’t very happy.

I’ve written the folks their usual weekly letter today. Wrote it just before chow and it is after church now. We had a visiting Chaplin give the sermon tonite a change now and then is pretty good.

Today has really been hot. I believe it’s the hottest day we have had even in our hut it was hot. We’ll have to get us an electric fan now – maybe – again it seems pretty definite that we probably will stay here for some time – and now that you

[page 2]know where we are it won’t be so bad. Today’s letters were the first with the new address and I suppose the next ones will have the addition that were attached a day or two after the first address came out. Fred got a package from his wife – Had – candy – nuts a pipe – cigarettes etc. The peanuts were very tough but still good. I’ll have to write the Krulls and the Boones and I almost forgot – Otto Paul. His letter would come thru. I’ve already wrote you about that so you tell Boonie and he can send him the stuff and I won’t have to write.

I wrote Joe Roberts the other day but didn’t have to use all the address left off the San Francisco part. The P.M. told me here it wasn’t necessary to send it back to San F. If Mrs. R. don’t know where he is you should tell her because I wrote it to you. Wish I could go over from Christmas but it’s to[o] far to paddle a row boat. He should get my letter in pretty short order, but it would be as hard for him to get over here

[page 3] as me there.

Dr. Huth took some pictures the other day and we developed them in the Xray tank and today we tried printing some of them. I’d almost forgotten how it was done but we got a few out. Our fixer solution isn’t quite right for pictures because they turn yellow around the edges. It seemed I was the only one who knew anything about printing and that wasn’t much because it‘s been years & years since. I had the carpenter make the frame. I think I told you something of that last night – well we had no glass so we just had two boards one with a hole slightly smaller than the film. In time we should get pretty good – especially if we can get the Corpsman to do the work. I’m going to have to have a Corpsman when I get home to do the work for me. It’s just like having a colored maid. Maybe I’ll get over being lazy. I hope.

Have a boy in the hospital now with hands just like yours used to be. Of course, we have no zimocol but I’m giving him Hcl just the same. He got his washing his hands

[page 4] in some kind of soap he thinks. Or maybe he had to wash dishes. Could be the same as yours and maybe not.

The original four members of the Rotary Club: Paul Harris is on the far right, while Silvester Schiele (Roscoe’s uncle) is second from the left.

Guess you were somewhat honored to have Paul Harris as your guest even though it wasn’t but a little time. Wish I could have been – there- It’s a little late now but you must get that in the paper. I mean it – call Bart and tell him Uncle was along and Paul H. The founder of Rotary was with him. Make a nice little story. Things like that don’t happen every day. Maybe you have already done so – if not do it. I can read it too if and when the paper gets here.

Well, must stop and rest – work or write another letter – don’t know which –

With lots of Love

Daddy

©2013 copyright owned and written by Deborah Sweeney

Post originally found at: https://genealogylady.net/2013/08/25/the-mail-was-b…r-today-roscoe/

Emily Hogue (Lawhead) Foster

5 Replies

Today’s letter is very special. I believe it is the only letter I have in my collection by my great grandmother, Emma Foster. Chronologically, it falls right after my grandfather’s last letter. The two letters are postmarked the same day. Word is definitely getting around that my grandmother is heading to Norfolk. An added bonus (genealogically speaking) in the letter is that Emma ran into Uncle Wes and Aunt Jessie one night in Terre Haute. Uncle Wes is Silvester Schiele, my grandfather’s uncle. You may recall an earlier post I did on Silvester. His friends and family called him Wes for short. Wes and Jessie must have just come through Kentland on their way down to Clay City from Chicago.

My great grandmother’s story is one that I had to figure out mostly on my own. My grandmother gave me a little information to start with but the rest of the journey was all mine to uncover. Emma was a twin. Aunt Minerva, the one mentioned in the letter, was my great grandmother’s twin sister. One story that my grandmother did relay to me regarding her mother was the story of her naming. Emma Foster was born Emily Hogue Lawhead, daughter of James Henry Lawhead and his second wife, Margaret Allie Rea, on November 14, 1872. The twins were the second and third children of Margaret & James. Margaret was to have four more children, but none survived their infancy. Their oldest child was a boy, Jasper, who was born in 1869. When the twins were born, Margaret did not know what to name them. I suppose Margaret was out of the question as she already had an older step-daughter named Margaret. The story goes that Margaret named her daughters after the first two women who came to visit after the babies were born. I don’t know what Minerva’s middle name is so I haven’t been able to track down her namesake. There was a young woman named Emily Hogue who lived in the neighborhood so there does appear to be some validity to the story.

In 1894, when Emma was 22, she had a child out of wedlock. I have no idea who the father was. According to my Dad’s cousin Juanita, Emma talked about Jesse all the time but she didn’t know who he was. She assumed he was given away. On the 1900 census, Jesse was living with his grandparents, Emma’s parents. If he was given away, it wasn’t very far. Jesse lived with his grandparents and migrated with them to Arkansas. Jesse stayed in Arkansas after his grandmother died and his grandfather returned to Illinois. Another comment made by Juanita in one of her letters was that Emma had grandchildren but they were too far away. Jesse had three children: Alvin, Elwin and Francis. On his death certificate, Emma is named as his mother, but the line for his father is blank. Who knows what happened to this mysterious male in my great grandmother’s life? Was she raped? Did he run away? Why didn’t they marry? I have lots of questions and no solutions for solving this puzzle.

On February 29, 1896, Emma married James Edward “Ned” Foster in Hutsonville, Crawford, Illinois. I would love to say that he was a good man, and was able to accept Emma’s past. I don’t really have an answer to that. What I do know is that their marriage was a rocky one.  James was an alcoholic. Over the years, Emma threw him out several times. I assume in the beginning that things were good, but I really don’t know. Love works in mysterious ways, plus it might just have been all about the sex. James and Emma had at least five children. The ones who grew to adulthood were Lydia Allie, Glenn Edward, James Laughead, and my grandmother, Gladys Ruth. Evidence suggests that there was another child Forrest that died young. I have a photograph of a large family grouping. On the back it written: James, Emma, Lydia, Glenn & Forrest. Emma is holding Glenn and a baby on her lap in the picture while Lydia is sitting by her feet . Lydia was born in 1897 and Glenn in September  1900. There is a jump in births before James was born in February 1904. The 1900 census records that Emma is the mother of two living children; this would be Jesse and Lydia as Glenn wasn’t born until after the enumeration.  On the 1910 census, Emma is the mother of 6 children, 5 living.  The five would include: Lydia, Glenn, James, Gladys and Jesse.

I don’t know where or when baby Forrest died or where he is buried. The family moved back and forth between Crawford and Clark counties in Illinois and Terre Haute during these years. James was a laborer and he moved to where the work was. They were probably pretty poor and couldn’t afford a stone for Forrest’s grave. Both my grandmother and Uncle Jim were born in Terre Haute.  After that, I think the family pretty much stayed in Terre Haute. Sometime before 1920, Emma kicked James out for his drinking for good. On the 1920 census, James is not enumerated with the family. Emma’s profession was a pie baker for a Baking company.  Cousin Juanita also mentioned in one of her letters that Emma did this along with Aunt Cora. Cora Miller was one of James’ sisters. Apparently at one time, they all lived in the same building (but not on the 1920 census). A couple of the Terre Haute directories after 1920 record James and Emma living together but I think this might have been a smoke screen. Emma and James never divorced. Even on Emma’s death certificate, my grandmother reported that Emma was married.

Emma had a decent life but it was filled with hardship over the years. Any of these events would have broken a weaker person: an illegitimate child, an alcoholic husband, the death of a baby, being a single working mom, her beloved oldest daughter dying young, her grandson being killed in an accident. Her life could be measured by these tragedies but I would rather think of her as my grandmother’s mother, the woman who came to Kentland to help my grandmother while her husband was away at war, during the time after she had the baby (my father). I like to look at her pictures and her elusive smile. Yes, she does look old for her age in most of the pictures, but I look and I see a little part of me looking back at me, and it makes me proud to be her great granddaughter.

In school, Emma achieved a sixth grade education according to the 1940 census. While transcribing her letter I struggled between trying to make the letter readable and making an accurate transcription. If you want to see the actual letter, click on the pictures above.

This letter also mentions that Gladys’ mother-in-law, Lovina Yegerlehner, has not been feeling well lately and that Ruth has been home helping her mother while she was sick. Paired with yesterday’s letter from Roscoe which also mentions his mother not feeling well, that’s a nice bit of documentation from two corroborating sources.

Letter transcription:

6.8.42

Dear children + grandson

Receive your letter this morning. I had to go up to town yesterday afternoon + was walking along + seen a group of folks? standing in front of a restaurant first like that had their dinner, said to myself that look like uncle Wes + stop + look + sure among it was aunt Jessie, Mary Sheperman + some more I didn’t know so stoped + talked to them a litter whin? + they said that they stop at your house + seen you + the boy + that

(page 2) you was going to see Jake next week. Said that they would tell you that way seen me. I have had a letter from James + he never said anythins about seeing Jake yet James has got his insinmet[assignment] + will be there six month or a year he said I sure am glad that Ruth is at home with her mother this week it will help her as much as the medison[medicine]. I thought that I would get down there this week but it has been so hot here it seems to take all of the pep out of me your aunt Minerva is looking for me to come over there + stay

(page 3) a few day but can’t pick up the nerve to go. I am writing you some of her tales of woe. when I got up yesterday morning I felt like going back to bed + giving up the strnge[strength?] + say here lord take me I have a little more pep today. I don’t feel sick + can eat good but is seems like it don’t do my any good hade plenty to eat this is my tail of wo[e] I said to my self this sond like aunt Minera letter.

(page 4)I would like to hear John play at the resite[recital] hope that he comes out first it sure is hot today I hope that you do go + see Jake + get to see James it will cheer him up to see you if I had a place for the boys to sleep they could come + stay with me. I see so many dresses in the window up to down. I told Mrs. Welsere I was going to write + tell you about their that is the seersucker only haha will sign off

Mother love

©2012, copyrighted & written by Deborah Sweeney

Silvester Schiele

Leave a reply

In yesterday’s letter (1942-05-23 730 AM), my grandfather mentioned the Rotary Club.  He asked Gladys to thank the Rotary Club members for the pen they gave him.  For a man about to write hundreds of letters, this was a practical gift. On the surface, this would seem like an ordinary gesture; the local Rotary Club giving a leading citizen a gift as he went off to war. However, in the case of my family, there is a second deeper understanding of these events. My family is inexplicably bound to the Rotary movement. You may recall from an earlier post that my grandfather’s middle name was Schiele. Schiele was his mother’s maiden name. My great grandmother was Lovina Jane (Schiele) Yegerlehner. She was the sister of a man named Silvester Schiele. If you know anything about the Rotary movement, this name should be very familiar to you. In 1905, Silvester Schiele and his lifelong friend Paul Harris founded the Rotary Club in Chicago.

Silvester and his wife Jesse were frequent visitors at my grandparent’s house.  They would often stop by Kentland on their way to Clay City from Chicago, or on other trips that Silvester took for the Rotary.

If you are interested in learning more about Silvester Schiele, check out the RGHF (Rotary Global History Fellowship) Internet project: http://www.rotaryfirst100.org/leaders/schiele/

 

Getting settled

4 Replies

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

©2012, copyrighted & written by Deborah Sweeney