Tag Archives: Louise (Sommers) Ramp

Grandma Ramp (Gladys)

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Letter transcription:

Kentland Ind
2-13-44

Dear Daddy –

Sun. evening and just back from a walk. Mark and I walked to town then over to Johnsons. Lucile said she would keep David tomorrow if I wanted to go to Music Club at Cokes but there isn’t any school tomorrow due to the snow on the roads, so I told Lucile the boys would be home to take care of D. – That is Mark will – John will probably go with me because Coke is going to play the opera La Boheme on their phonograph for the Music Club and he wants to hear it. This afternoon I took David and Mark and walked down the street – We called on Mrs. Krull then on the way back stopped at Funks. Mrs. Krull told me about her mother. Grandma Ramp was here with Mrs. Krull when she died. She wasn’t feeling very well and Mrs. K. asked her if she wanted a Dr. Grandma R. said “if you can call the Dr. you had when John was born,” who was Dr. Van Kirk – so Mrs. Krull called him. He gave her some medicine but told Mrs. K. there wasn’t much to do for her – she had pneumonia. She had been restless all day Wed. and the Dr. came in the evening and gave her a hypo and she went to sleep – and slept. Mrs. K. said she didn’t awaken after that. She was almost 88 year old. When Father Krull died about a month ago, Grandma Ramp wanted to go along to Ohio with Mrs. Krull and the family wouldn’t let her go. Mrs. K. said that made her mad and she

[page 2] didn’t get over it. She told them she was able to go on the trip – but they wouldn’t allow her to go.

While at Funks I said something about coal and Bill said if I couldn’t get any he would send us a load from the seed corn house. We have enough to last just a few days. I called Chet Harlan some time ago and he promised to send us some as soon as a car load comes in which should be now.

Funk’s had to change bedrooms with the children. Their nursery needed more room so the children now have the front bedroom. There is room for Donnie’s play pen (where he plays most of the time) – we folded David’s up long ago. When Joy gets too large for the basket there will be room enough for another baby bed in the nursery. They put the twin beds downstairs and with a bed table between and a chest of drawers the back bedroom looks roomier than the front bedroom used to look with the large bed. The only thing, Arlene loves to move furniture around and she can’t do that now in that bedroom.

The Music Club chorus is coming here to practice before Club tomorrow – so I’ll have to get some dusting done – with this coal dusting is necessary every day to keep the furniture from looking white. I’ll have help tomorrow since there isn’t any school.

Since taking the walk I have had some good sinus drainage – It feels all cleaned out now – It is getting around my bedtime – I am sleepy after that invigorating walk.

Love Mother

YEG1944-02 - Mark in snow

©2015 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: ‎https://genealogylady.net/2015/12/05/grandma-ramp-gladys/

Where’s Daddy? (Gladys)

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Letter transcription:

Kentland Ind.
2-5-44

Dear Daddy –

No letters since Wed. If I thought it meant one thing I wouldn’t care but am almost afraid to build upon that idea. I will hope just as I have been all along.

It is windy today but not very cold. However it may get cold. The weather has been unusually warm for this time of the year. Some days the grey overhanging sky seems very bleak and I long for sunny days and to putter around in the yard.

David just awakened from his nap and Mark took him to the bathroom. He doesn’t show much tendency toward helping us train him. If we take him to the bathroom at the right time we save a diaper, otherwise it has to be washed. Mark & I were in the nursery with him and Mark said, “Where’s Daddy?” David was on the couch and got down as quickly as possible and went to the living room I such a hurry we followed to see where he was going.

[page 2] He went to the table and tried to get your picture. I gave it to him and he pointed to it and said “Da.” His picture & yours sit side by side but he seems to know which one to get when we say, “Where’s Daddy?” He understands so many things we say, we have to go around spelling things that concern him. I suppose he will soon catch on to the spelling.

John is listening to the opera and doesn’t want to be bothered. Mark and I are keeping David in the nursery, because you can’t concentrate on much when he is bothering around. Mark is entertaining him while I write. Now it isn’t as bad as it sounds, but he is a live wire.

Mark was so afraid he had been exposed to Rabies he was ill. Fri. morning he said he didn’t feel like going to school so I let him remain home. I tried to tell him he couldn’t get rabies from just touching Sammon’s dog, but he was too scared to

[page 3] be convinced. Buddy & Betty are having to take shots because their dog died from Rabies. Fortunately Mark hadn’t been around Krull’s dog recently. Tommy Britton seems to [be] very glib in telling stories. He was telling that Buddy had rabies. Dorothy was so angry with Tommy she said he was a little so and so and she would like to slap his face, etc., etc., etc.

– My nurse maid ran out on me and D. is up on the couch climbing around me and how long I can write before I stop and put him down is a question.

I saw Nick’s car pull in down at his Mother’s. I suppose he was bringing her back from her mother’s funeral which was held this morning in Rensselaer. Mrs. Ramp was visiting here with Mrs. K. when she died Thurs.

Dorothy Cobb Stevens’ husband is in the Navy and at present is in Base Hosp. #5. She doesn’t know where he is except in the S.W. Pacific. He had an operation recently for hernia.

The sun is shining faintly so think I’ll put D. out in his buddy and let M. watch him. Mark is out skating with Virginia.

[page 4] We baked a cake and cookies this A.M. – John mixed the cake before he went to take his music lesson. It is chocolate. That isn’t good for John’s pimples – he still has a few but we go lightly on the choc. most of the time. The Gym Class took some new exercises this week and John was sore for a day or two. They took a hike around Kent Pond. I told him it was a good thing for the class to do something like that, otherwise he wouldn’t and I think he needs more exercise than he takes.

Zells are still working on the upstairs. They are going to put a dormer in the front where that little decoration on the roof is. They will have quite a nice room when they get it finished. Mr. Z. had to take a physical but doesn’t know whether he will have to go because Purdue says the Co. Agents are to be deferred for occupation. However it is known that he has taken the exam and the stories are circulating. One story Dorothy told Lucile for positive was he had enlisted in the Navy. Lucile said she didn’t think he had but D. said it was so. Well the truth is he hasn’t enlisted and didn’t have any intention of doing so. When

[page 5] he talked about enlisting he was told he should remain on his job as it is considered very essential. He isn’t taking all the “gossip” very well. He says he wishes he had gone to Brookville and gone with that group and no one here would have known anything about it. He is registered at Brookville.

I haven’t seen Art Kenny. He has been home several days. His mother is very ill and he probably is spending most of his time with her, because he is on his way “out.” He says he will be in the South Pacific.

I haven’t heard from Jim but once since Christmas. I wrote him not long ago and told him to let me know if he is sent out. In that event Thelma would return home and I am sure would let me know.

I must get this finished so it can be mailed.
“Love Mother”

©2015 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2015/11/20/wheres-daddy-gladys/ ‎

Post War Planning (Gladys)

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Letter transcription:

Kentland Ind.
2-4-44

Dear Daddy –

The third day without mail but tomorrow is another day. I attended the Post War Planning meeting at the high school last nite. Al Case acted as chairman to start the meeting, then appointed Howard Washburn, Stu Beatly and H. Healy to select a chairman, Vice and Secy. The committee nominated Al for Chairman, Mary Roe, Vice and Bud Weldon, Secy. Others present were Newell Lamb, Judge R. Bower, Bill Ross, Mr. Brandt & Mrs. Brandt, Rebecca Cannon, Lucile Rhude, Howard Hiestand, Ira Dixon & Kenneth McCarty. The State is asking for such committees to be organized all over the state, in every town and city, and the purpose is to help take care of re-adjustments,

[page 2] etc., after the war. The think the committee decided to begin working on now is a recreation center for everybody, to be built next to the high school. Other projects were discussed but it was decided it would be better to concentrate on one thing. They are going to invite one of the Funk men to represent the company, Harold Foulkes, the Cheese Co., and Link having already been appointed to the committee to represent D. Davis Co. Since all three are sizeable concerns, for this size community, should be represented. I don’t know how all mentioned were appointed. I was asked to represent the Woman’s Club and Mary Roe the Jr. Club. I imagine Rebecca Cannon is from the Amer. Legion. – One thing that was mentioned was the ditch, and Bill Ross doesn’t want

[page 3] anything done that will interfere with his farm drainage, but I doubt if anything will be done about the ditch soon. We have had it this long so why hurry. To get along with the meeting, Judge Bower having a poker party in progress at his home had to leave before the meeting was over also Mrs. Cannon had to leave to attend same poker party. I wanted to tell the rest of the committee I was glad they could remain. Of course I didn’t say anything, but you know how important it is to our townfolk to keep up their poker, etc. I thought Rebecca was unusually quiet for her and I suppose she didn’t want to say too much when she didn’t intend to remain thru the whole meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for

[page 4] about a month from now. Will give you more dope on it later. I don’t know what you think of the whole thing, but I believe some good can be accomplished if this same group work on it.

It is warm and sunny today. I hung clothes out. There is just enough breeze to swish the clothes a little.

Nick’s grandma Ramp died yesterday at Mrs. Krull’s. She was 88 years old. I suppose you met her sometime. I never did. She was quite a character from all accounts.

There is a rabie scare around. Krulls had a dog that died and it was determined that he died from rabies so now all dogs are to be quarantined. Mark was so worked up over it he thought he might get rabies because he touched one of Sammon’s dogs. I told him he could only get the disease from the dog biting him or getting saliva into a cut – His imagination ran away with him for a while. John said he didn’t like dogs and they don’t like him.

Love Mother

P.S. David it out in his buggy getting some sun. Must go see how he is getting along.

©2015 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2015/11/18/post-war-planning-gladys/ ‎