Tag Archives: Boston University School of Theology

Take Over the Practice

Letter transcription:

January 18, 1967

Dear David and Bonnie:

I have been wanting to get this letter written all week – this is Wednesday night and it is almost Thursday. Have been so very busy since coming back from our vacation. We (I think we told you over the phone) had our car – Buick “bruised” as Dad says, coming home. Our insurance company has paid the estimate, but Saturday we received a notice we are to appear in a Justice Court in Colton, Calif., on Jan. 27^th. We just turned that over to the Insurance company to handle – that is what we pay them for. The officer who investigated the accident wanted to know if we wanted to prosecute the offender and Dad said “no” – so the officer said, just turn your claims over to your insurance companies and that will be all there is to it. We don’t understand all about it, but one thing sure, they aren’t going to come to Kentland to get us.

A Dr. Hensley (he works in Medical Health Center at I.U.-Bloomington) is coming Saturday to talk to Dad. He says he definitely wants to come here and take over Dad’s practice. Bob Batton talked to him last Saturday. The Battons were in Bloomington. We really hope he comes and is OK. We do hate to leave the town without someone – for the good of the town and if he takes over our office, we will get some revenue out of it. Dad has stipulated $100 a month rent and 2% a year of the gross for five years. Dad talked to him on the phone one day last week and told him if he would come and let the girls run the office for him they would make a living for him. It isn’t that simple, but they certainly can be a great help to him if they stay and they have indicated they would like to stay. However, Dad told them they probably would have to take a cut in salary.

We haven’t made a decision about where we will live in Lafayette. I have looked at apartments – a brand new one on the by-pass – looked at it last Thurs. – costs $175 a month for 4 small rooms. I told Dad it would be like living in a cell. I told the family over the weekend we would live I a motel room if necessary until we can find something suitable. John didn’t think that would be very wise, since we would have to pay about $15 a day for rent. I don’t want to sign a lease for a year at $175 or more a month. I would rather be putting that into a home. I found a place for sale last Thurs. It was a house with a full basement and four bedrooms. It was a nice place. I don’t think Dad would want to put $37,900.00 into it and that was the asking price.

I read Mrs. Myers last letter and was quite interested in your experience on the radio. I took her to the office yesterday and thought I would freeze in the process, since the temperature was low and we had quite a wind. Today I wore wool slacks when I ran my errands and that helped a lot.

When we were in Switzerland last summer we ordered a wappen (family crest) for Romaine and decided to get one for ourselves. It came last Saturday. We gave a program for Woman’s Club last night and talked about Switzerland and showed our wappen. We think it is quite good looking. I have it in a frame. After paying $20.00 for it I think we should take good care of it.

The Harrises are leaving Kentland. Mr. H. is going to be manager of a large 6 floor Sears store in Portsmouth, Ohio. The man who is going to be manager at this store is coming to town tomorrow. If he is interested Mr. H. is going to bring him out to look at our place. Lucille and Marian Sizelove came out Monday night and said they liked it, but said they couldn’t afford it. We really haven’t tried yet to do any selling. I know I am going to be hard to please after living here 10 years. We may build after we go to Lafayette. We aren’t sure yet.

So many people say they don’t know what they are going to do without us, but they are glad Dad is going to be where he won’t have to work so hard. Ruth Ford called me today and said when she heard the news she cried. We have had so many well wishes it makes us feel like people have really appreciated the way Dad has worked. I attended a meeting at Joe Wenger’s tonight and something was said about losing us and what that would mean to the Church here. The Sears employees had a farewell dinner for Mr. and Mrs. Harris tonight. Mr. Harris has to go to his new job next week.

The enclosed came with our wappen. Please return the greeting card, but you may keep the wappen information (over)

Love Mother

©2017 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2017/03/23/take-over-the-practice/

House Hunting

2 Replies

Letter transcription:

December 17, 1966

Dear David and Bonnie:

I may not have time to write later. Yours just received, so thought I would answer while yours is still fresh in my mind. Your birthday card for Dad received and enjoyed very much. We think your plans sound very good and we hope you will be able to carry them through. If you don’t set your goals high, you won’t attain a high mark. – as Kirk would say “right?” So just keep planning and hoping – and perhaps a little praying – or maybe a lot. We haven’t made any announcement yet, but have been hearing some rumors. Dad says if it isn’t out by the time we come back from Calif. we will make an announcement. We just want to avoid as much fuss and commotion as possible. You know it is going to be like a bomb going off when the majority of the people hear about it. Dad came home at noon with an idea about someone who is planning to build a house who might be interested in buying this house. However, we haven’t talked to them and he was just surmising. I went to Lafayette Tuesday and spent some time with a rental agent. We looked at an apartment on N.W. Ave. – just across from Purdue. It is quite lovely and the people who own the house live downstairs. It was built before a zoning ordinance. I presume it would be impossible for anyone to do that sort of thing now – that is make an apartment to rent in a private home. It has two large bedrooms, a very large living room with windows on both sides and a dining area and a kitchen fully equipped. We may take it if we don’t find a house we think we might like to buy. There are no houses for rent. Either rent an apartment or buy a house. The rent is $190.00 a month and that doesn’t include utilities. There would be no upkeep. It would be close enough Dad could walk to work. He wants us to sell one car, but I refuse to be without a car. He said he wouldn’t need one if we lived close enough to the campus. We looked at two houses for sale. One was a stone with a very nice yard and a two car garage with electric eye door opener. The only thing – the house was built without any imagination and to be happy in it I would have to tear out a few walls, etc., and I think by the time I would get it to the place I would feel like I would want it, the cost would be a little much. The asking price at present is $29,550, but Dad thinks we could get them to come down. The carpet in the living and dining area is the most awful dirty shade of grey. I don’t think I could stand the carpet. I think I would rather dye it black. But I doubt we will be interested in trying to revamp the house. I looked at another which had a beautiful yard with picture window across the back of the house, but there were two floors with two complete houses – the lower floor didn’t have any bedrooms, but had everything else. It was priced at $32,000.00, but it was too much house. It was a National and the halls and bedrooms are too small. – I talked to Mrs. Myers this morning and I told her I was going to keep her gift from you (if it comes in time) here and give it to her when she comes out Christmas Eve. I got her a beautiful Jansen sweater and Doris and Harold got the skirt to match. The reason we did that was the whole outfit cost $35.00. I had bought the sweater last week and when I had my hair washed yesterday Doris said they didn’t know what to get her. I suggested they get the matching skirt and they did. I also got her a new billfold which she had been talking about for some time. I just hope the one I selected will please her. The opera today is “Frau Ohne Schatten” and believe it or not, I can’t get it on my big set and have to listen to it on this little clock radio which used to be on the cabinet – you know the one which used to start the coffee pot in the morning. It isn’t much of a radio, but better than nothing. There is a roar and grinding which comes in on AM in this neighborhood – it may be something in this house, but is makes listening to the big set almost impossible. It doesn’t bother FM and I can get the Zenith station without any trouble at all. The pictures we took at Becks were not very good, so I didn’t bother to have any prints made. So sorry. I have written to Becks thanking them for the Tea. I am going to send them a Christmas greeting. Jeannette Batton’s father droped dead last week. I went with a group to visit the funeral home on Wednesday evening. I had been to Lafayette the day before, but the trip over to Converse (two hour drive one way) and back made me so tired I wasn’t much good the next day, but I was glad I went. The whole Batton family seemed so pleased to see people from Kentland. Jeannette says she doesn’t have any family – just a few cousins and that if they ever have a wedding they will have to count their friends in Kentland as relatives. Her mother is still living and they think she may come to Kentland to live. She is 78 and doesn’t drive and as Jeannette says, most of her friends are gone – being 78 one wouldn’t have to many contemporaries. Al Thomas has bought the other drug store and is moving into that big house just north of the VanKirk house. The people who lived there, the Whaleys own the farm the Fitzgeralds used to own and they had to move since Al Thomas wanted possession immediately, so the Whaleys moved to the farm (temporarily – and Dad thinks they might be interested in looking at this since Mrs. W. moved to the country with the stipulation they would buld a new home in town within a year). The Fitzgeralds moved into the house Dr. White (Vet) used to live in.

That is all the news I can think of now.
Love Mother

(over)
I have decorated the grapefruit tree. It looks rather like a Christmas tree (I think).

©2017 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2017/03/22/house-hunting/

The General Idea

1 Reply

Letter transcription:

12-12-66

Dear David and Bonnie: Haven’t written to you recently or heard from you. Seems I have been pretty busy, but this afternoon am in the process of defrosting the refrigerator and at present waiting for all the water to get from one side to the other and it seems to take just so much time for that, so while I am waiting will get a line or two to you. We have our tickets for the Rose Bowl Game. Those are hard to come by, but we managed through the Health Center at Purdue. We haven’t made any official announcements yet, but Dad says if it isn’t out by the time we get back from Calif., we will make an announcement. I think he plans to tell the Rotary Club – give a program for them and tell them in that way. He probably will make some kind of program about his years here. Floyd and Ruth were here yesterday on their way home from seeing Ruth M. I had stopped at Lebanon one day and told Ruth. Floyd was talking on the phone to Ruth M. and mentioned something to her and since we hadn’t said anything to her she was about to burst from curiosity. She called me one day last week and wanted to know all about it and I told her I couldn’t talk to her about it over the phone, but by giving her a few hints, she got the general idea. When R & F were here yesterday they said she still wanted to know more. Such as where we were going to live, etc. We don’t know that yet ourselves. I thought I was going to have to go to Lafayette to attend a Comm. Meeting this week (but found I don’t have to) and intended to go to a rental agency and see what is available. I think we will probably get an apartment for the present. One with the kitchen furnished.

[page 2] As yet we have had no indication that any MD is interested in coming here. Dad as a friend in Indianapolis who is going to post some notices on bulletin boards in several hospitals around Indianapolis where interns will see them. He is to write to Dad if he finds an intern or two interested in coming here. To look in the Medical Journal want ad sections, one gets a little discouraged about trying to find someone to come to a small place like Kentland. It seems there are opportunities in places with more to offer. I think one of the big problems is, not many people are willing to work like your Dad does. We were talking to Bob Batton about what a Dr. could make here if he is willing to work. Bob calls it a little gold mine. My answer was, “yes it is a gold mine, if a person is willing to work it.” Well, be that as it may Dad intends to go to Purdue March 1^st and I hope to have us a place to move to by then – or a little sooner. I may possibly go to Lafayette tomorrow. I do have some shopping I want to do. I did shopping for Mark and Shirley via Sears. We called them last night and only part of the order had been delivered. However, I sent them two packages from here Saturday and they should get them this week sometime. Dad has just finished a sewing cabinet for Lea and it is a beauty. I said I wanted one and when the family was home for Thanksgiving, in unison they said “what for, you never sew.” However, Lea stuck up for me and said she thought I should have one, so after Christmas Dad has promised to make one for me. He put the finish on hers last night – it is an oil and makes a beautiful finish. When she was staying with me after I

[page 3] come home from the hospital she was looking through a catalog of patterns for woodwork and found the sewing cabinet and said she would like to have one. Dad said if she would order the pattern he would make it. This year I am not going to gift wrap her present. I think you were home last year to help me. I have gotten Mrs. Myers Christmas gift – a Jansen sweater which I think is lovely and a small coin purse and billfold combination. She is to come out for Christmas Eve dinner and since there won’t be anyone around with chicken-pox, it should be safe.

Love Mother

P.S. Our Christmas cards haven’t come so I am using note paper form last year.

©2017 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2017/03/21/the-general-idea/

The Big News

2 Replies

Letter transcription:

November 9^th 1966

Dear Bonnie and David:

In the morning I am going to send y parcel post a package containing pills (you know the kind Dad said he would send) and the dress material which I purchased in Damascus. I do hope it will be enough for a dress. If not, perhaps you can buy some plain silk and make a two piece affair. Since that was the last of that bolt it would do no good to send back for more of that particular piece. The material is wrapped (for Christmas) and on top of the box. The box was so full of “that other stuff” I couldn’t get the package inside.

Tomorrow we are going to entertain Arvella and Edna at a dinner at Colonial Inn and come out here afterwards to break the news to them. We had Bob Batton come out Monday evening and told him. He said he didn’t blame Dad, but said he hated to see us go. When he first sat down and had his cigar going, Dad said “we are going to leave Kentland,” and his mouth dropped open (the cigar was saved) and he uttered something I won’t quote. We said it would be impossible for us to retire here and he agreed with us. He said he had been thinking about this, but just hadn’t done anything. He is going to start looking and see if it is possible to get someone to come in and take over the office. He even suggested that Sarah Shirk should buy this house. As to that – well she should, since she has been wanting a new modern house for years without going through the fuss of building one and Bob says she has the money – but – if she would spend the money is something else. I said she has the “nutty” idea – and that is just the phrase I used, that she has to sleep on the second floor because of her sinus trouble. He said, “if she would have an air conditioned house it wouldn’t make any difference which floor she slept on.”

It is 10:30 and I am getting a little tired, so am going to go to bed. Hope you get the box without too much delay.

Love Mother

P.S. Bonnie – I think this tag was on the coat.

©2017 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2017/03/20/the-big-news/

Mrs. Myers Fainted

1 Reply

Letter transcription:

Sun. Oct. 9, 1966

Dear David and Bonnie:

Will see that your applications gets to Clerk’s office. Will also send you the Enterprise. Last night Mrs. Myers fainted and was on the floor for some time—how long I have no way of knowing. I had taken her a dinner in a corning dish and told her she could reheat it on a burner with low heat. When I stepped into her apt. I could smell the dinner and could tell is had been on the heat too long. She had her coffee pot connected and asked me to disconnect it. That was the first thing I did and while on that side of the kitchen turned off the gas. She was lying on the kitchen floor with her head toward the living room. She has a telephone in her kitchen and I don’t know whether she called from that phone, but she must have. I didn’t have time to question here since the ambulance arrived shortly after I did and I was busy getting things ready for her to take with her to the hospital. She called here shortly before 10 o’clock and Dad asked me if I wanted to go down and help her get ready to go. He didn’t go because he said it wasn’t necessary. He called orders into the hospital and made a routine call on her this morning. She said she was nauseated and fainted. Earlier in the week she had an attack of asthma and he had given her a shot. He said this morning she didn’t have any asthma or trouble with breathing. She did say this morning she thinks she injured her hip when she fell, so he has ordered an x-ray for morning. That was one of the arguments I had against her staying along, but she was so opposed to giving up her apartment that I gave up trying to convince her she would be better off in a nursing home. I think perhaps it won’t take any arguments now. She should not stay along.

Mark and sons will be here for dinner. Mark will go on and the boys will stay. Shirley and Becky will come Thurs. evening and spend the night then go to Indpls. Fri.

Herewith returning the enclosures. No comments (will discuss when I see you). Have you saved me your sermons from this summer? Will be glad to attend S.S. with you. Also think it will be interesting to visit the Adams home and also visit with Dr. Beck. I think the idea of having tea with them is quite nice.

We will have to leave Boston on Sunday around 2 p.m. Will arrive on Wed. the 26 at 11:20 if plan is one time. Will let you know the flight no. when our tickets arrive, which should be around the 17^th.

Love Mother

©2017 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2017/03/19/mrs-myers-fainted/

Missionary Required

2 Replies

Letter transcription:

Oct. 5-1966

Dear David & Bonnie –

Last Thurs. I went to Madison, Wisconsin, to attend a Jurisdictional meeting. Came home Sunday. I called Bonnie’s mother (your Dad wasn’t home) about meetings for next April. We need a missionary for 5 District meetings. I told the committee I knew a team. They have promised to speak, so don’t plan anything for them April 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7.

Mark got T.W.A. tickets for us (Wed. Oct. 26). We will have to fly to N.Y. and change planes there. We won’t arrive in Boston until about midnight, but that will give us Thurs., Fri., Sat., and part of Sun. I haven’t learned yet just when the return flight leaves Boston. We will be using Indianapolis as a terminal now instead of Chicago.

I have just been to see Ruth M. She was beginning to have an attack Monday. She is better now and I am going to take her some supper when I go to the office at 5. She didn’t want to go to the hospital and any way it is so full now there are beds in the hall. She is much better and I think won’t need the hospital.

Mark and Shirley are going to move to Indianapolis next week and I am going to keep the baby and maybe Kirk. Mark is going to bring them down as he goes back to Indpls. on Sunday. I am supposed to attend a committee meeting Monday & Tuesday at Battle Ground but won’t get to take in any of it unless I can get a sitter for one day. Could take the baby along. He is so good he wouldn’t mind, but if Kirk is here I think that would be a little too much. Will let you know later what develops.

[page 2] I think Dad has spent most of today in the hospital. He was over then when I went to get the mail this a.m. and the car was not by the office when I passed this afternoon.

Did you keep those sermon copies for me as you were supposed to do? I had loaned two of your sermons to Norma Z. and she just returned them.

Love Mother

©2017 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2017/03/18/missionary-required/

Nobody Reads

1 Reply

Letter transcription:

Sept. 20, 1966

Dear David and Bonnie:

Here are your absentee ballots. Do you want me to send you a paper (Enterprise) with the names of candidates? I will pay your taxes and you can consider that another birthday gift for both of you. The reason I sent your card so early, I had it on my desk and thought it would be better early than late (like Bonnie’s).

Your comments about the S. S. class you teach makes me think of Bible Study Class at Trinity Methodist. It makes me wonder about people who go to church and Sunday school. I have tried since trying (I will say trying, because I am not sure I teach them anything) to teach that class to get them to read. Not just the Bible, but read, but it seems they have time for everything else. They—most of them at any rate—can’t even discuss topics of current interest. I will ask if they saw such and such on the news, or heard it on the news and usually the answer is “no.” Just blank stares most of the time. Once in a while someone will have read about something of interest. I am beginning to think that few people I know read. I am currently reading—have been intending to read it for a long time—the biography of David Ben-Gurion. It is most interesting and I hope Israel will be able to hold out against the Arabs. My sympathy is with Israel. Although I do not believe the way they do, I still admire them for what they are doing in the way of developing a land. There is such a contrast from what one sees in the Arab countries and Israel.

There is a Club meeting (Woman’s Club) this afternoon (4 p.m.) with dinner at the Colonial Inn at 6 p.m. Tonight there is a Sunday school (ABC) Class party and I am to give a program. I am going to show some slides of Switzerland. If you have a projector or can get one, we will bring our slides along, but since we will be flying, I think it would be a little cumbersome to try to bring the projector.

Since we won’t have a car, we will be at your disposal, so you will have to plan our time for us.

Love Mother

Belated Birthday

3 Replies

Letter transcription:

Dear Bonnie (and David)

As of now our plans are to visit you the last weekend in Oct. We will probably fly to Boston Thurs. the 28th and come home on Sun. I hope that won’t conflict with your schedule. Since it is this far away, let us know in case we would need to change our plans. Sorry I am so late with your greeting but Sept. 1 seemed to slip upon me. I wonder why.

Love Mother

Back from Vacation

1 Reply

Letter transcription:

8-29-66

Dear David and Bonnie:

This card came for you and since cads can’t be forwarded, thought I would write a few lines and enclose it. Dad is attending Rotary and then the Club is going to the new high school building on an inspection tour. From what we have heard it is really a fine building with excellent equipment. I stopped to see Mrs. Myers today. She seems to be in good condition. I took her to the office Saturday afternoon for a check-up. Dad wasn’t working full schedule and I thought that would be a good time for her to go. He had a full day today and will have the rest of this week (and next, and next, etc.) Mark went to Indianapolis yesterday to report in on his new job today. He is with Jefferson National Life Ins. Co. The Wards brought Mary Lou and her four children here yesterday on their way to see Shirley. I had invited them to come for lunch. They live in San Diego and Wednesday they will go back to S.D. on the train from Chicago. Since Mark is in Indpls., Shirley will have to take them to the train. The Wards had intended to stay with them so they could take them to the train, but they had a death in the family and went back to Indpls. today. Now Mark has to house hunt and also get rid of their house in Hoffman. They have a renter, but would like to sell. Virginia Zell Gale and Betty Zell Gordy both live in Indpls. so I think Mark is going to see if they can give him some help in finding a house. We really had a wonderful vacation and I think it did Dad a world of good to get away six weeks. I would like to go back to Switzerland again. It is really a picture book land. Since the relatives were so hospitable, we probably will return. Our trip into Israel was most interesting. We saw a well in a church in Nazareth that legend—oral tradition—or what have you—claims it was the place where the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary she would be mother of Jesus. There is a painting depicting the announcement which shows Mary with babe inside. We also visited three places where the Jews go for pilgrimages—tombs of David and famous Rabbis. One of the places where there are two tombs—we were a little puzzled about the whole thing—I asked our guide later about it and he said people from that area go there all the time on pilgrimages. He said they stay several days. It was quite dirty and some of the Jews who were with us making the tour didn’t seem to know much more about it than we did and were not too impressed. We were on a 3 day bus tour of Galilee and some of the people didn’t get out of the bus. We were told we had to cover our arms and when we were back on the bus a nice little Jewish lady said to me, “and to think they asked us to cover our arms for that.”

[page 2] I have an appointment tomorrow with Dr. Beuerman (eye specialist). He just wants to check to see how I am getting along with my contacts. (Just fine so far, I hope) I was trying to get some book work done, but decided I had to write some letters. John was home for the weekend. He didn’t do much this summer, but did make a trip to see the Georges in Miss. Dr. George has gone to Lebanon to work in a University for a year. Mrs. George will go a little later to join him. He went to Beirut just two days after we left. Will let you know later when we will plan a trip to Boston.

Love Mother

New Stationary

1 Reply

Letter transcription:

June 1, 1966

Dear David and Bonnie,

Thought I would try out some new type stationary with a note to you.

I am still taking therapy—at Home Hospital and here. Mrs. Dorothy Tanquary with Mrs. Neal Tanquary, drove to Lafayette today and invited me to go along. I have to go again Friday and every time I can get a chance to go and not drive I take it. Next week should finish my trips.

Dad is back to work but not taking as many patients a day. He has retired and is asleep—was about the minute he went to bed. I wasn’t so sleepy, so thought I would do some more work at my desk—and here I get off on another track.

Our check for the intangible tax came back with the May statement, so you should be getting yours.

We are getting the new sewer connection. It makes quite a deep hole—or rather trench across the back yard.

See you the 12^th –
Love Mother