Category Archives: World War II Letters

Sunday’s Obituary – Ruth Elizabeth (Yegerlehner) Mutchler (1900-1983)

Leave a reply

Mutchler, Ruth E. (Yegerlehner) - 1983As I sit down to write about my great aunt Ruth, I’m not sure what to write. Her obituary is so brief and it tells so little about her life as well as the fact that I don’t really remember her at all. One thing I do remember about her is her name – Ruth. You see, my family has an affinity for the name Ruth. It’s not like it has been purposely passed down from one generation to another. It is more as if, one Ruth is somehow attracted to another. My middle name is Ruth, so is my mother’s. That was a deliberate naming. My paternal grandmother also has Ruth as her middle name. My grandmother had two sister-in-laws named Ruth, one was her husband’s sister and the other the wife her husband’s brother. One thing that I do have to be careful about when transcribing the World War II letters is to make sure I reference the correct Ruth.  My grandfather’s sister was usually notated as Ruth M. because her married name was Mutchler. The two Ruths are mentioned rather frequently in my grandmother’s letters.  Case in point, I just emailed my dad to see if he could remember anything about his aunt Ruth. He replied “Which One?” When I was in high school looking over the Yegerlehner family tree, I remember counting how many Ruths there were in the family. It seemed like there were a lot. Ruth also named her daughter Ruth, but her daughter always went by her middle name.

I have read a couple short autobiographies written by my grandfather regarding his family. He always mentions his sister Ruth, usually in the context of being the sole female in a household of boys. There were 6 boys to 1 girl. He sympathizes with the plight of his mother and Ruth being responsible for cleaning up after all the men and boys in the house. For some reason, my grandparent’s generation seems to be devoid of females. My maternal grandfather didn’t have any sisters, and his father didn’t have any sisters either.

Ruth graduated from Clay City High School in 1918. She married John Earl Mutchler around 1923. The Mutchler family must have been very friendly with the Yegerlehner family. When my grandparents got married in 1929, Victor D. Mutchler was my grandfather’s witness or best man. Victor was John Earl’s younger brother. Victor and Earl’s older half sister was Lucinda (Mutchler) Steiner. Lucinda Steiner was best friends with my great grandmother Lovina Yegerlehner. The Steiner family and the Yegerlehner family lived near one another in Harrison township, Clay county. Both families also belonged to St. Peter’s Church, a small German Reformed Church in Clay City on the Owen county line. So I guess it is no surprise that Ruth Yegerlehner knew Earl Mutchler. Coincidentally, Lucinda Steiner also named one of her daughters Ruth.

When Ruth and Earl got married, Earl was already a widower. His first wife Edna Grace Ream (FindAGrave) had died in 1919 after childbirth along with their infant son (FindAGrave). Ruth and Earl eventually moved to Wilmington, Illinois. Earl worked as a mechanical engineer and a locomotive engineer for the Northern Illinois Coal Corporation’s strip mine in Wilmington¹. They lived there for many years. My father always remembered her at family reunions, he wrote “I always found Ruth to be kind, warm and with a sense of humor. I remember her laugh and her grin.” I figure she would have to have a sense of humor to survive growing up in a household of 6 boys!

Ruth and Earl had one daughter, Ruth Romaine. Earl died in 1964 (FindAGrave), leaving Ruth to survive him for almost another twenty years. Ruth is buried next to Earl at the Oakwood Cemetery in Wilmington, Illinois (FindAGrave).

Note:

  1. Short article on coal mining in northern Illinois (here)

Letter transcription:

Sun P.M.¹

Dear Mother,

Got your first letter off this A.M. but since Dr. Lentz is playing golf and I’m sitting in his car at the club house I’ll write more of the days happenings. He has been crazy to go swimming in the ocean so I took him up. We were in for almost 1 ½ hours. It wasn’t very rough but the waves were sometimes above our heads and the salt water got in our eyes, nose hair + ears. I rather enjoyed it but didn’t want to stay too long because of too much sun burn. I wanted to read but got sleepy and when one is around the house there is no rest. Mrs. E. keeps up a running conversation. It wouldn’t be

(page 2) so bad but it’s the same thing over and over again. Each time she tells the same things. Just like Uncle Geo.²

I don’t believe it would hurt you if you came in the car and took your time. We just won’t be able to look for anything unless we have the car and I can’t ask Dr. L. for his because he don’t want his tires etc. worn out by us. I’ll get some dope on the gas thing tomorrow and send the card back. I’m sure if you keeping asking ahead you will be able to find out where the gas rationing starts and be able to fill up. Then you  are allowed 3 gal. per wk without a card so the last 60 miles could be on that 3 gal. There shouldn’t be too much traffic most of the way unless you hit some of the larger towns. In case something does happen go to a hospital and call

(page 3) or wire me. You might bring the small radio, th my safety razor and a laundry bag. One of those we used to collect towels in at the office. You of course will have Dorothyᶟ or this other woman or some one drive you. I’d feel better if Floyd could drive you down. Will you have to take the kids over to someone or will they come to get them.

Harold Foulks told me Nate was in the dispensary. Well so am I. They don’t seem to make much fun about who you are or what. There are several Lt. come in the same place I am.

The P.M. rains we used to have are no more it hasn’t rained for same time. The grass is all brown and it is illegal to wash a car or water the lawns. The added construction and the increase in population has cut the water

(page 4) supply very low, in fact it has a muddy taste. It looks a little cloudy this P.M. but not too much like rain.

As quick as you decide definitely after you get the card back, what + when you are coming let me know and I’ll try to make some arrangements for you while you are here.

Well I’m about run down. Maybe a little later I can finish-

9:20 P.M. I’ve tried twice to call Jim and no success. In fact I’ve tried every eve this week and wrote him a letter and still no answer. He is still there but they can’t locate him.

I’m beginning to get pink from my sunburn and feel sorta hot all over. I’ll write more tomorrow eve Maybe I can send the registration card back

Love Daddy

Notes:

  1. This letter was written on the evening of Sunday, June 7, 1942 and was mailed the following morning. The Battle of Midway was being waged from June 4th through June 7th. The Battle of Midway “is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II”. To read more about the Battle of Midway, click here. This battle influenced my grandfather’s impending future over the next few weeks.
  2. Uncle Geo. was George Yagerline, brother of Roscoe’s father John Henry. George lived in Indianapolis, Indiana. His branch of the family changed the spelling of Yegerlehner to Yagerline.
  3. Dorothy was Dorothy Krull, one of my grandparents’ friends and neighbors in Kentland

Saturday’s Surname – Foster

6 Replies
The Foster Family, by The American Genealogical Research Institite, 1973.

The Foster Family, by The American Genealogical Research Institite, 1973.

Many years ago I was given a copy of the book The Foster Family from the American Genealogical Research Institute. The book is copyrighted  1973 and it does not specify whether there were multiple printings or additions. I know the book was given to me by a well meaning relative but I don’t remember who at this point. The book has several chapters ranging from “the family name and arms”, “census of 1790” and “constructing the foster family tree”. And before you comment upon my lack of capitalization, I am copying straight from the book. Books like this are great for the novice genealogist, I guess. But even when I received the book, I already knew how useless it was for my own research. Books like this are mere grandiose summaries. They talk big, but they have no meat as they are comprised mostly of lists.  And since the book was written in 1973, much of the information is likely inaccurate and obsolete.

One fascinating aspect of the book is the first section “the family name and arms”. It gives a brief history of Europe, which starts laughingly with the collapse of the Roman Empire and the waves of Barbarians sweeping across Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries. Wow! Really, how does this help me trace my Foster family? The narrative continues with the Norman Invasion in 1066 and then engages in a mini lecture on the evolutionary nature of names. According to the book, Foster was originally Forrester. The title of Forrester was given by the Saxons to men appointed to guard the forests and to protect the Lord’s hunting rights. Over time the name Forrester evolved to Forster and then Foster. That may be, but how does that help me trace the lineage of one Gladys Foster, born 1905 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Frankly, it does not. There are multiple origins of the name Foster. What about those individuals who “fostered” children? Or, I like this French version “Shearer or scissors maker” from the Old French “forceter”. Regardless of the actual history of my Foster family, I am sure it has little to do with this pompous tourist brochure that now takes up precious space on my bookshelf. I guess it is good for a laugh or two.

Chart of the children of James B. Foster and Lydia C. (Dicks) Foster, in my grandmother's handwritting

Chart of the children of James B. Foster and Lydia C. (Dicks) Foster, in my grandmother’s handwritting

I was lucky enough to inherit a lineage chart that was written in my grandmother’s handwriting that traced her father’s family. The chart names all of my great grandfather’s siblings and his parents. Considering my grandmother never spoke about her father or his family, it is rather fortunate that the chart even existed. My great grandfather was James Edward “Ned” Foster whose father was James Benjamin Foster whose father was Benjamin Coates Foster. And that, ladies and gentleman, is the end of the line, the brick wall of my Foster family. I have traced the line back as far as my 3rd great grandfather, six generations. That’s decent by some standards, but not good enough by mine. I’ve hit that proverbial brick wall because of those early waves of western migration that brought young Americans from the coastal states to the new territories of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois and the lack of proper recordkeeping.

Benjamin Coates Foster was born April 13, 1797 in Pennsylvania. Yeah, Pennsylvania! No county, just Pennsylvania. On the 1800 census, there were 602,365 people enumerated in Pennsylvania. There were at least 68 heads of household with the surname Foster. (I got this figure from Ancestry so we also have to allow for entries misspelled in the index). The first time I can legitimately find Benjamin C. Foster on a document is his marriage on March 28, 1828 in Lawrence County, Illinois to Belinda Barker. He appears on the 1830 census in nearby Clark County, Illinois where he remained the rest of his life. In 1838 and 1839, there were several land purchases in Clark County. Benjamin can be found on the United States censuses for 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, and 1870 in Clark County. I have also found him on the Illinois State censuses of 1855 and 1865. One of my favorite things that I learned about Benjamin from the 1850 and 1860 censuses is that Benjamin’s occupation was a tailor! For those of you that don’t know me, I am also a seamstress and pattern maker so it is nice to know that such things are in my genes. This is also why I like the French translation of Foster since it has to do with scissors.

Benjamin and Belinda were blessed with at least 9 children, of which only 6 survived to adulthood, and of those only 4 had children to pass on the genes, 2 were male, leaving my 2nd great grandfather James B. Foster the only child of Benjamin and Belinda to have any male children to pass on the surname of Foster.

I believe this is one of the last letters I have from Uncle Jim for awhile. It is good to know that eventually the brothers-in-law will meet up.

Letter transcription:

U.S.N.C. T.C. Camp Bradford, Ships Co. c/o Camp Allen, N.O.B. Norfolk, VA

Sunday 7 June 1942

Dear Sis-

Just today received a letter from Jake, he wanted me to meet him last night at the Y.M.C.A., mail is not so fast here as you can readily see, anyway I wrote him and I think we will be able to get together soon.

Please let me know when you plan coming for sure I will try to get two or three nights away if you want me to, if that won’t interfere with your plans, maybe we can have a grand party, or something. Anyway I will get to see you at least once, I am writing to find out if Thelma is going to get a vacation, if she does I will have her down here for a week or two. It won’t be in June I am most sure of that, but sometime later.

Hello John and Mark, you should see your uncle Jim in a sailor uniform.

Love Jim

©2012, copyrighted & written by Deborah Sweeney

Follow Friday – There’s so much good stuff out there

6 Replies

I am pretty new at blogging. I’ve very quickly discovered that if you have an interest, there’s probably a blog for that. I started my Facebook page for Genealogy Lady last July. This was not my first Facebook page. I have my personal Facebook page and one for my fibre arts business (sewing and knitting). I tried starting a couple smaller genealogy pages, mostly dealing with the descendants of one specific ancestor. I consider them to be my stepping stones. I eventually deleted both of them and combined all my genealogy onto one page. Once I started the Genealogy Lady page, I began to look at who else had genealogy related pages.  There are other genealogists, genealogical and historical societies, libraries; you name it! I started liking pages that interested me. It’s basically the same thing with blogging. Once I find a blog I like, I want to come back every day and follow them.

The first blog I ever started to follow was The Legal Genealogist. We all know how much she rocks! Since I am going to be starting Boston University’s Genealogy certificate program in January, I feel like I’m getting a head start on some of the legal issues I might run into as a professional genealogist. Judy’s blog is one that I read every day. I’ve even been brave enough to make a couple comments.

Once I started publishing my blog, I developed a small fan base, i.e. MY FOLLOWERS!  It still amazes me that someone actually reads what I write every day, or at the very least, occasionally. I’ve clicked on the links to the people who liked my posts. I’ve found several people who have similar blogs to my own, at least in theme and scope. I now follow about 20+ blogs on a daily basis at this point. Two of the blogs I would like to mention are Masako and Spam Musubi and A Hundred Years Ago.

In Masako and Spam Musubi, Mustang.Koji talks about the experiences of his Japanese American relatives who fought on both sides of the Pacific during World War II. I find his blog is a nice compliment to mine. He gives me another perspective of life during World War II. As I write about the experiences of a country doctor from Indiana, Koji writes about the heroism of his uncles as they served their countries,the prejudices they endured as well as the sufferings of the Nisei and the non military members of his family. As a California transplant, the plight of Japanese Americans is a part of our American history that I did not learn about until adulthood. The subject was not covered much in my Massachusetts history classes.

In A Hundred Years Ago, Sheryl transcribes and writes about the entries from her grandmother’s diary. She posts each entry exactly one hundred years after it was written and then includes a modern commentary of the events. She also draws on contemporary sources to document the diary. I wish I had the forethought to align my grandparents’ letters to the actual calendar days that they were written. Since there are so many of the letters, it probably wouldn’t have worked out in the end.

I’m still looking most days for new blogs to follow. I found a great one this morning from a gentleman in Ireland who writes about the foibles of the English language.There‘s so much good stuff out there that it is hard to stop reading.

My grandfather’s letters are in a bit of a loop at the moment. Several of the same themes are being repeated over and over. My grandmother’s impending visit is taking up a lot of paper as well as the attempts to locate Uncle Jim. This letter did provide me with a bit of medical jargon which was surprisingly easy to interpret.  There are about five more letters until my grandmother finally arrives in Norfolk!

Letter transcription:

Sun A.M.

Dear Mother,

Received your letter last night about 9:00 P.M. I’ll try and see what I can do with that card and then send it back – so that you may drive down if you can make good arrangements. You shouldn’t try to make the trip too fast. Just take it easy. Of course I’ll be off Sat. P.M. – but you can get here sun if you can’t make it Sat. You can let me know later in the week. Which ever way you come Telegraph me as to about the time you’ll arrive especially if you come on the train. If you should come in the car and get here during the day come to the house first because you can’t come into the base without a pass.

(page 2) you can get 50 gallons of gas per mo. without an X card. So if you inquired ahead and got a big tank full. Then you would have enough to make it on in.

I haven’t been able to contact Jim as yet. I’ve called out there but they can’t locate him by telephone-And on thurs-I wrote him a letter and still no answer. Maybe he has been transferred.

This Mrs. Ahern was getting Theobromine sod[ium] acetate¹, Ammonium Chloride² and digitalis. If Art still has some you might send some but if not return her money and tell her to see a Dr. there. That probably would be the best thing to do.

In case thisI don’t get this registration card back in time go to Joe and have him make out a duplicate. I may write more later

Love Daddy

Notes:

  1. Information on Theobromine sodium acetate can be found here.
  2. Ammonium Chloride is used as an expectorant in cough medicine. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_chloride)

©2012, copyrighted & written by Deborah Sweeney

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

Wednesday’s Child – Wesley Foster McCammon (1916-1927)

4 Replies

Wesley was the son of Jesse and Lydia Allie (Foster) McCammon. He died when he fell off the back of a wagon and was trampled to death. His short life was also filled with tragedy. When he was almost three, his mother died. He spent the rest of his life moving back and forth between grandparents’ homes and his father’s house.  Jesse McCammon remarried in 1921, and quickly started a new family with his new wife.

My grandmother Gladys was Wesley’s aunt. Part of the time, Wesley lived with my grandmother, great uncle Jim and my great grandmother Emma in Terre Haute.  In one of the letters I exchanged with Wesley’s sister Juanita in the 1990s, she talked about how my great grandmother’s sister Minerva wanted to adopt the two of them after Allie died.  My great grandmother would not let her. Emma wanted her grandchildren close to her, not over in Illinois where Aunt Minerva lived. It made me wonder, if Minerva had adopted the children, would Wesley have lived? (FindAGrave)

Letter transcription:

Fri.

Dear Mother-

Guess you’ll miss a letter one day because I was on duty and didn’t get a chance to write until about 2300 and that would do no good because no mail leaves the base after that time.

When we are on duty we have to inspect the mess. That is we have to see that things are clean and then we get our own meals there. They serve us meals in a special officer’s mess. They have several colored persons who are in the navy but are training them to be mess boys. Last night at one of the tables across a guy was pouring some ice water to an officer and th a chunk of ice went out with the water and

(page 2) you should have seen the colored boy make a pass for it. The other colored mess boys get tickled and it was a little to break the stiff silence. They really have some service. Meet you at the door-take your cap, pull your chair back and then serve in courses with a finger bowl etc.

The X card won’t do any good because they are calling in all of those already issued and it is doubtful if the Drs. unless they have no other way will g be able to get a card. We had an officer notice to that affect a day or two ago.

So far as I can tell I’d still like you to come down and if you can get here one week from Sat. I’ll

(page 3)have duty on Fri nite before and will be off on Sat. Just like I am this P.M. You had better take a pulman from Cincinatta. And you have to get off the train at Newport News. Rather than Norfolk as I thought. At Cincinatta there are separate gates for pulman and coach passengers so be sure and inquire – they have a man stationed at every gate-And don’t burden yourself with many clothes because there aren’t any places to go without a car. You’ll understand when you get here. I think . Should I get you a room in a hotel or do you want to stay here I’d rather stay in a hotel. If not we would have no time to ourselves. It’s just like pulling teeth to get to

(page 4) our room now. Mrs. Evans has to talk. Has told me about the death of her husband several times etc. Think it over.

I’m going down town to get another shirt or two seems of as if laundry is very slow. And this one is smelling rather badly.

Got a letter from Mom today, said she was up and around some. Well, I’ll wait until this PM. mail maybe there will be something to answer.

I called Jim but couldn’t get him on the phone. So I wrote to him. But I’ve found a way by which I can call him now, going to try to get him to come to town Sat. nite if he can get off.

Just got your Tue letter. The one you started Tue + finished Wed. Guess I have all the questions covered. Will try to keep a letter coming each day.

Love Daddy

©2012, copyrighted & written by Deborah Sweeney