Tag Archives: Mary Thompson

Cotton Shortage (Gladys)

: October 7, 1943 envelope

: October 7, 1943, p. 1

: October 7, 1943, p. 2

Letter transcription:

Kentland Ind.
Oct. 7 – 1943

Dear Daddy,

Yours of Sept. 28 & 29 came today. Also this letter from Mead Johnson & Co. Thought you might like to see it. I will write them & thank them and if you want any vitamins you can write too. I went to town this a.m. – the stores still close Thurs. P.M. and I needed a few things. I heard that Doris Wilson is going to have another baby – There last is just younger than David. Did I mention that the Bob Hufty’s are also looking for the bird again? I believe some time after the first of the year. It seems this wave of babies is still riding high. The Herb Richcreeks’ have a baby boy several weeks old. I told you before that Louise Krull is expecting again. I saw Mary Thompson Tues. and she looks like she is ready to go to the hospital anytime – and Oct. is her month.

I am planning to go to the hospital again tomorrow and intend to bring Dora Diedam home for the week-end. She is a grad. now & works in O.B. She was on 3^rd north just around the corner from Mother’s room but she was changed to 4^th. Alice is in training now and Dora told her if she intended to smoke and do things Dora hadn’t done while in training she couldn’t come down there. There are three Kentland girls there in the new class: Mary Tuberty, Alice D. and Joan Hall. The hospital is so short of help they are going to put the new class on the floors as soon as they can get their uniforms. The maids have to help with patients sometimes now. Mentioning the uniforms makes me think of the cotton goods shortage on the market now. I tried to buy shirts for John and Loeb’s only had rayon at $2.50 ea. I got two shirts, at B. & B. and they fit except for the arms (sleeves) & John’s arms are so long. I am

[page 2] going to try & get a size larger if they have any. Mark has plenty of shirts – he gets what John outgrows.

I hid Mark’s bike and he thinks it has been stolen. I am going to let him walk to school a few times then maybe he will be more careful – or will he?

Ina May Walkup is going to have an operation on her neck – do you remember her – in John’s class and her head is drawn to one side. The class is having a party for her this evening after school and J. has to take jello & 5¢. John was talking about football today and I discovered he has to play every day in physical ed. I asked him about his glasses & he says he just leaves them on. His hay fever is much better and he hasn’t complained of a headache lately. David’s cold or allergy (I couldn’t tell which it was) has cleared up too. His vaccination is getting along fine. There is a scab forming now.

My throat trouble seems to have cleared up. I told John I was allergic to our company because after they left I didn’t have sore throat – and I hope it doesn’t come back. If it does I’ll go see Dr. Ade again. I was glad to have Glen & Pauline here but I believe I was nervous with someone else around all the time & that contributed a lot to my throat condition. It seemed I was in the kitchen cooking or washing dishes most of the time. Pauline did a lot of work for me – the house cleaning, but there was more or less confusion all the time with two babies to feed & bathe, put out of doors, etc.

Lucile Ortner Jones has been in Manitowac with Ken but is back and is going to work for Nick – I think she is going to cook. – Doris Green is married & Van Scoycks’ daughter Margaret is going to marry a Dr. Klemsmith, a chemist – John Sullivan has the auto license office now & Dorothy Nugent is going to be clerk. – Bill Nugent won first at Hazeldon’s golf tournament. I scanned over the paper and collected these items – almost forgot Joe Fletcher is going to work for the Power Co.

Love – Mother

World War II Cadet Nursing Corps Card for Alice Diedam (Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

©2015 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2015/03/28/cotton-shortage-gladys/

Canning Beans (Gladys)

1 Reply

: July 16, 1943 envelope

: July 16, 1943, p. 1

: July 16, 1943, p. 2-3

: July 16, 1943, p. 4

Letter transcription:

Kentland Ind
July 16 – 1943

Dear Daddy,

It is cloudy and thundering and I believe we will get some rain. It has been dry and hasn’t rained (except a little shower this a.m.) for more than a week. Mrs. Zell said if it rained they would get lots of beans now. We have some ready to pick and I suppose I will have to do the picking – Mark has gone out twice but come back each time with an excuse, of some kind about not picking any. It won’t take long to can a cooker full (4 qts) if there are that many to can. I don’t intend to can carrots. There is a method of preserving them raw. Just put them in a heavy jar and cover – leave in basement & they keep as long as they last. So that eliminates

[page 2] that vegetable from the canning list. It is still doing a lot of thundering and a few drops have fallen but no heavy rain yet.

No mail today but didn’t expect any. However this is the third day about the time the mail all gets caught up then it stops coming for a few days, sometimes a week. The last was of July 3. So glad you had rec’d the pictures. If I can get my hands on the negatives Betty Lou took I’ll send some more soon. Dorothy promised to have more made but I haven’t seen them.

I think Mother is getting better, tho slowly. She eats a little better and takes her medicine every meal (before & after). An appetite stimulator and “acidophilus broth” – whatever that is. Have to keep it in the refrigerator and she takes it in milk.

David is having a screaming good time. Is standing up

[page 3] in his bed. He is getting so he doesn’t care to eat every 4 hrs. so think I’ll put him on 3 meals a day. He sometimes gets awake at 6 but I just pay no attention to him so he goes back to sleep and the last two mornings he hasn’t had his first bottle until about 8 a.m. He doesn’t seem to mind at all. He takes more than a can of carnation a day – potatoe, apple saude, cereal, egg yolk, vegetable soup, carrots, peas, asparagus, etc., in turn. I sometimes give him vegetable soup with beef broth. He likes it.

I was surprised the other day. While the Thompsons were visiting Foulkes, Mary came up to see David & brought their David along. She is expecting the stork again. I believe it is due in Oct. Davie doesn’t walk yet. He is short – I don’t believe he is as tall as David and he is 5 mo. older, but what could you expect. They aren’t very tall.

[page 4] The Foulkes had a party on their terrace last night. Seems they have one every night or so – and they always get to vocalizing – With what they have had to bring on singing you can imagine how it sounds up here – not good. I don’t mind, they don’t bother me, but it does disturb Mother some.

I see in the paper John Krull has been sent to a camp in Mich. He was home on furlough not long ago. I think I mentioned it before. The acc’t of Lon Staton’s death was in last week’s paper but don’t think I mentioned it. I have scanned thru the papers but see nothing I think would interest you – anyway if I miss something it will be news when you get the paper.

David seems to be having some trouble of his own. I think he needs to go to sleep but doesn’t want to give up. Just looked in and he is trying to take off a shoe. John is reading and Mark is working on his airplanes.

The water meter was read today & Fred said it was only 4:00 this time – was $6 last. I sprinkled the flowers once this summer – last nite.

Love Mother

©2014 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2014/10/13/canning-beans-gladys/

Have David For A Brother (Gladys)

3 Replies

: July 14, 1943 envelope

: July 14, 1943, p. 1

: July 14, 1943, p. 2-3

: July 14, 1943, p. 4

Letter transcription:

Kentland Ind
July 14 1943

Dear Daddy,

No mail today but I didn’t expect any since I had rec’d up to July 3. Had a letter from Marie Mace – Said David has been having rheumatism again. Marie said if he didn’t write to you she would and his reply was that, when he finished a letter to you and read it over it seemed toobe to be so “ped-dling” in the face of things you must be seeing and going through with, he felt it shouldn’t take up the space it would in going to you. He lost 26 lbs. then gained back 6. Marie says his clothes are so loose they hang on him.

Sometimes I feel

[page 2] that way about my letters to you but I go ahead and mail them anyway. I wish every day I could write volumes of interesting thing but hardly do that.

It is cloudy today and has rained a tiny bit and looks like all the time will rain hard. It is cooler than yesterday and I am glad because of Mother feeling so weak. I brought her home yesterday. She is upstairs in bed. Dr. Cole has her taking acidolphilus broth in milk after each meal and a tonic before meals. He said the after meal medicine is to help heal her bowels. She says all the soreness is gone. Is eating a little but not much. If you can imagine her being thinner than she was. Her clothes are too large too.

David’s eyes got red looking – the whites were blood shot so I took him to Dr. Ade – he

[page 3] said it was an infection that was going around and gave us a prescription for drop to put in three times a day. He said it should clear up in a few days. David doesn’t like the drops but I manage to get them in. He has had them three times and I think his eyes are better.

Mark is working on airplanes today. John is practicing. There is a plane going over & Mark has run out to see it. This must be a regular route now because planes go over almost daily. I am writing with an old pen and I keep making mistakes.

The Thompsons are visiting the Foulkes. Tommy is still helping his father farm. I haven’t seen them only from a distance. Mark saw Mary and asked her how much Davey weighed. She said 22 ½ & he is 16 mo old – can’t walk alone yet. Mark

[page 4] thought their Davey is a little slow in every way. Of course I haven’t seen him and can’t say. Yesterday Dr. Ade said he had two girls who would be glad to have David for a brother. John was with me and he said there were 3 girls next door who would like to have him too. It seems almost everyone things he would be pretty nice to have.

When I paid Mother’s bill I had 41⁰⁰ bal. in the bank. Her bill for a week was 47⁰⁰ – that included medicine & lab fee. I had put 52⁰⁰ of her money in our acc’t and you can see there wasn’t much of hers left.

Irene is home this week keeping Jimmy. Said she didn’t know what she would do next week and thereafter – Her mother isn’t coming back yet and she has to find someone to take care of J. when she goes back to work.

I have to make a trip to town.
Love Mother

©2014 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2014/10/08/have-david-for-a-brother-gladys/

The Dionne Quintuplets (Gladys)

1 Reply

: May 9, 1943, p. 1

: May 9, 1943, p 2

: May 9, 1943, p.3

: May 9, 1943, p. 4

: May 9, 1943, p. 5

Letter transcription:

Kentland Ind
May 9 – 1943

Dear Daddy –

Sunday afternoon – It is cloudy and a little cool so we are all in the house. John is listening to musical programs. We all listened to the Quintuplets – they were in Superior, Wis., at a ship launching ceremony – they spoke and sang in French & English. There were five Merchant ships launched and the quints christened them.

I wrote you yesterday and if you get my letter will think I am a little mixed up – well I read your letter in a hurry and wrote to you before I re-read it – It was about the box you got & the chicken bones – It sounded like the bones had been taken out of the tin can, until I read it again and it was the candy in wrappers you meant the ants got into – so much for the chicken bones. I had four letters from you to read – hence the hurry –

[page 2] David seemed to have quite a cold yesterday and didn’t sleep so good last night – I’ll have to put that down against him – the first night he was disturbed me in the wee hours of the morning, but I think his gums are bothering him – He feels fine today and very little evidence of a cold. I think he had what John had earlier in the week. John seems to be alright now except for headaches, so I am going to take him to Dr. Ade this week and have his eyes checked. Mark had a slight cold too but didn’t lose any of his pep. There are a lot of colds around, but these didn’t last long so can’t complain. It has been raining or cloudy since Thurs. so David hasn’t had a sunning since last Wed. He was getting so tan – and it was very becoming. I think he will tan like Mark does & you. I don’t know whether Donnie Funk gets in the sun as much but he is very fair and maybe doesn’t tan as readily as David.

The dandelions are in full bloom now. Our lawn looks very yellow as well as all the lawn around here.

[page 3]Tonight is the Baccalaurate service at the high school. If I had someone to go with and someone to stay with the boys I would go – so I think I’ll save the trouble and stay home.

I see in the paper that Ira Dixon is home from the hospital. He has been sick for about two months. Gretchen lives here now since her husband is in the Army. Her baby is about 3 mo. old now. He was a little fellow – smaller than D. when he was born, but is coming along nicely.

Bethel Wilson is in Florida – you know she is in the W.A.A.C. – Ethel went to see her and had to stay longer than she had planned – couldn’t get reservations on the train to come home when she planned. Travel has been curtailed a lot – Mrs. P. said they had to stand part of the way back from Fla. They came back and both got sick from the change in weather. Mrs. Dixon & Nettie said they had noticed the chilly weather a lot this time. They went down last fall & spent the winter. People shouldn’t come back so soon – when we have this kind of a spring. Every time it gets warm for a day or two we think cold weather is over, then we have a cold snap – so much for weather.

[page 4] Of course you remember Roscoe Kenoyer – they have a baby girl – they live near Otterbein now. Tommy Thompson’s have stored their furniture and rented their house – He is going to work on his Dad’s farm this summer. At present Mary is living with her mother. Fuells have moved out of town & Chas. Dienhart bought the Fuell house. Ellsworth bought Dienhart’s house for a rental. I haven’t heard anything about Eddie Ray in the past few days so he evidently is getting better.

I stopped to see Jimmy Ed Fri eve and it is almost too soon to tell whether the S.M.A. is going to help his skin condition. Dr. M. is using light treatments on him too. Besides the white flakes, there is a little seepage. – like my hands get when I eat something I shoudn’t.

David has had a nap and is making a noise so better go see what he needs – without looking I know – The same story – dry pants.

I have Mark reading a book – he brought 3 home from the library and I told him he had to read them.

Love, Mother

P.S. Your last letter was of Apr 21 – so that is pretty good time – I got it May 8 –

P.S. no. 2.

Had two “sets” of callers this afternoon – You remember the Luce man, who had the smashed arm – he stopped in – thought you might be home on week-end leave – but I told him you were on foreign duty – well he wanted to show you his arm – he has fairly good use of it now and is going to marry one of the nurses he met while in the hospital so long. The arm is not straight – and is bumpy in places but from the shape it was in when you got to him – I would say it’s a pretty good arm. He still gives you credit for saving it –

The other callers were Forrest & Gertrude, Chas (the sailor at Pern) and his wife, which I think must be recently acquired, Helen & her two children. Helen said Dan is still in Noumea but she thinks he wno’t be long. Mrs. R. called me this evening. She had a letter from Joe & he said he thought he might possibly see you before long.

: Charles Kline & his wife Rita (Photograph courtesy of Karen Kline Brand

: Helen (Kline) and her husband Dan Heindel (Photograph courtesy of Judith Bowen)

: Forrest “Bud” Kline, Jr, Helen and Charles Kline (Photograph courtesy of Judith Bowen)

: Forrest S. Kline, Sr. with his wife Gertrude and their children Helen (Kline) Heindel and Charles Kline, c. 1948 (Photograph courtesy of Karen Kline Brand)

Protected: The Day After Christmas (Gladys)

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First month’s check-up (Gladys)

4 Replies

: October 26, 1942 Envelope

: October 26, 1942, p. 1

: October 26, 1942, p. 2

Letter transcription:

Kentland Ind
Oct 26 – 1942

Dear Daddy-

I am a little tired this evening. Went to Lafayette today to take the baby to the Dr. He increased the milk in his formula and put him on a four hour schedule. He has been so slow in taking his feedings – he thought he would take his bottle better if he is on 4 hrs. After checking him over he said – “besides being bowlegs he is OK.” He weighed 6 – 3 ¼ when we came home 3 weeks ago and today he weighed 7 – 9 so he is making a steady gain. I am to start him on cod liver oil and orange juice tomorrow. His new or increased formula is milk 10 oz – water 18 oz – Dextri Maltose – 2 tbsp. Does that [sound] about right to you or is that too far in your past to remember. Dr. Cole always asks about you when he sees me. He is still very busy in the baby business. I went today with Mary Thompson & Marjory Wilson Ryan. She is due the first week in Nov. Her husband is in Great Lakes Training Station and is getting a furlough the first of next month and they hope it will coincide with the baby’s arrival.

[page 2] Ruthie was here last week and when Floyd came for her Sat. night he said he had to go back to Blue Island this week again and talked like she might come back for this week.

Took the family and went to Sheldon this evening for meat. Ordered another quarter of beef. Brought home several packages and stopped to see Dorothy and they had brought some over for me so we have enough meat to last two or three weeks. We are soon to have meat rationing and we are trying to be careful with our supply.

Rec’d two letters this morning. One letter was missing but it will probably come tomorrow or next day. When I get the packages you sent will let you know. Just hope you get our box we sent to you for Christmas.

The baby is wanting his bottle so must close & feed him.

Love
Mother