Letter transcription:

Kentland Ind.
Nov. 25 – 1943

Dear Daddy –

One more year your birthday comes on Thanksgiving Day. Hope you cards have caught up with you by this date. Mark said “life begins at forty.” I said that may be true for Daddy, only I am hoping yours will begin again for your family soon after 39. That may be put crudely, but I think you will get what I mean.

It’s after 4 P.M. and David and his mother slept from 2 till 4. I kept him out in the warm sunshine until he got cross, then decided he should have his nap. He used to take a nap after his bath, orange juice & oil at 10 a.m. but won’t go to sleep any more at that hour so we wait until afternoon now. It has been sunny the past few days so in order to get him out during the best of the sunshine take him out right after lunch. He will stay in his Taylor Tot a while then wants to get out & walk around. His 8^th tooth is almost through.

[page 2] I didn’t want to go into the locker because of my sinus & throat condition – which seem pretty good today – so Link said he would be going over. We wanted a chicken for dinner but Link forgot all about going. He had told me he had to go for them. So we had beef roast instead. I made dressing, baked potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, raw carrots, celery, pumpkin pie and tea. I think we fared well enough. J. & M. kept referring to the meat as turkey. The Zells ate with Shirks. Chafee won a 16 lb. turkey at the raffle and couldn’t find anyone to dress it, so Mr. Z. dressed same then Shirks invited Zells to dinner. The Shirks & Zells used to live in Brookville at the same time. Johnsons also won a turkey and dressed it and put it in our locker for Christmas. So far I haven’t planned much for Christmas. I don’t want to plan on going to C.C. I think that is too far to go with D. in cold weather. We may possibly go to Mutch’s or have them come over here if Earl can get the gas. If not we can just remain home. I suppose R. & F. will go to C.C. If it gets as cold this year as it did last I would much rather stay home than try to go visiting. After all with the four of us we can make merry right at home. Of course we would

[page 3] enjoy being with the family, or having a part of the family come here.

I’ll mention again in case those other letters do not reach you – I rec’d two bouquets of flowers. Lt. Palmer wrote a nice letter to Bergens and they passed it on to me. He was very complimentary about you. But why shouldn’t he be – you deserve it.

I rec’d a letter from Dolores. She sent me some pictures of her & Steve. I think he is a nice looking young man. She didn’t mention his present location. He must have had several days off when they were married – she said in her letter she went back to work the day after Steve went back to camp.

I have to make another trip to Laf. to get the lenses for my glasses. I had planned to go Tues. but Mark was home and I couldn’t get Clara to come and stay with Mark and David, so was going to have Arlene get the lenses for me, but they have to have my frames to drill the holes in the right places, so we plan to go tomorrow. School being out J. & M. can take care of David in the car. I will try to do a little Christmas shopping but I know I won’t do much. The stores are jammed and the stocks are low.

[page 4] There seems to be three or four persons to any article for sale. The stores are short of clerks. I don’t like to buy anything I don’t have to. You can hardly imagine the change in business conditions. I want to buy gifts for Jimmy, Bobby, Donald, & the Zell girls and frankly I am “stumped.” The prices on toys are high and the toys offered this year are nothing compared to former years. I am not complaining. It’s just a natural condition arising from circumstances – Just wish I could find something to give that would do as good as toys. I suppose I will if I think hard enough. I told J. & M. I am going to give them money. Of course I will get something else – probably some clothing & wrap it to put under the tree. They have been wanting to know what to get me. That is as much a problem as any, but we will solve all these by Christmas and try to have a Merry Christmas.

Last Thanksgiving was a week earlier than this year and it turned cold and stayed cold all winter. I remember we hung clothes out on the line & they froze. We didn’t hang clothes out today but it was nice & warm.

It’s five o’clock and I have rambled on without saying much but hope it will take up a little of your time
“Love – Mother”

©2015 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
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