Dear Joe,

How are you and DeLores getting along these days? Your mother is ok so don’t worry if she doesn’t write. She has such bad hands as you know.

We have a Victory Garden in the back of the house now that the shed is tore down. We have lettuce, radishes, parsley, beans, onions, carrots, tomatoes and more carrots planted. I dug the garden up and Mother did the planting. I’m sure glad we decided to have one as that way she doesn’t have as much time to sit and think. The weather has been just awful lately. It has been raining off and on for quite some time.

I am fine except for a bad cough as a result of a cold last week. Aunt Linka is better now so let’s keep our fingers crossed. Jenny said she would rop you a line as soon as she has time. Yes, Aunt Jenny is busy in the garden, but it is awfully cold by the lake now. I sure wish it would warm up.

Now I’ll give you the dope on the neighborhood. Mrs. Bohlander has been quite sick, but is better now. She has to walk on crutches for some time. It seems she has something wrong with her spine. Adina has been taking care of the Bohlander family and is feeling fine. Mrs Stone fell and sprained her ankle so now she is walking on crutches also. Some fun, eh? Junia Dean got a discharge from the Air Corp on account of his eyes. Next month he is going in the Army.

The Valley boy came home on a furlough last week so he dropped in for a few minutes. He is stationed in Georgia but doesn’t like the outfit he is in. Milton Stone has a good job now in the railroad office and Gordon works at New Brighton. Aunt Minnie sent us a letter last week and asked about you. I gave her your address so maybe she will write to you. She hasn’t been feeling too well lately. Your cousin Milton is now a Lieutenant and is still in this country.

Mother bought a monument for Dad Ackert. It is going to be put on his grave for Father’s Day. The Ackert kids said they had written you a letter so I suppose you have them by now. Ralph sent them each a Vmail letter and were they ever thrilled. They called me up and read them over the phone.

I got a telegram from Ralph last Thursday and for a minute I thought it was bad news. He sent that instead of a letter as he is too pretty busy to write much.

Well guess I have told you all the latest gossip so will close for now. Mother sends her love to you and DeLores. She wants to know if your legs ever bother you anymore. I don’t care if you don’t get a chance to write to me as long as you write to Mother.

I hope you come home soon and Ralph too then we will really celebrate. Say hello to DeLores for me.

Lots of love from both of us.

Bernice

P.S. I hope you have received your cookies from Mother by now.

My dear children De and Joe,

Received your welcome letter and money order. I put $10 at St Paul House, $20 at Ed Hoffman, $5 at Newmans, $45 at K Wright Studio. Balances are Saint Paul House: $134, Hoffman $182, Wright $15, Newman $20. They are mailing your pictures tomorrow. So that sent it down in swell shape. I gave Wright Studio an extra $5. They were very nice about it but the St Paul house gave me the department’s regular. For them or I will pay it. I don’t like that place one bit.

Honey, mother hasn’t been feeling very good. So tired. I get home but will try and do better. Eileen has her leg in a cast, poor little thing. I am as sorry for her. Darlene said tonight she will have to go and see and Dar has such terrible back ache. Jerry is so cute you should see him drink beer.

Honey I miss you so much. Never that Hello mom when you came darling in but hope it will be different soon. Emalene wrote me such a nice letter. She likes you so much and she hopes that you like her too. She fell in right with Joe so very nice.

Dad got a c. book now so so we can go places closely. Anyway. He wants to know about your ration book. Will you take care of it or what shall we do. Don’t loose your canning sugar. Our garden is up. And flowers look nice. Dad has much work. I have to work Saturday 5 hours again. I think I will get Dad a watch for Dad’s day if I can make it. The gang will be here Sunday afternoon to celebrate his birthday, which was the 17th. But he doesn’t know it.

I just can’t like Kathryn for some reason. She never thanks us or wrote a line or anything. I tried to be nice to her. Frances is on her way out. Maybe you will see her out there. I am glad everything is under control so far. To be sure you can write Mother about ti, your best friend always. Don’t forget. How is Joe? I haven’t written to him but my letters are for him too.

No dear, we didn’t get to take a picture but Dad did look very nice. He looks so nice in brown. I wish Emalene could have seen him. His hair is so white.

Honey, I will wait until you are back to get that purple hat. Don’t be angry with me your account is in arrear $10 yet at Hoffman so I put it on that account. You are a very sweet girl to think of Mother and I love you for it. When we get this down then we can talk turkeys. What do you say?

Edward has his car fixed up. It has a new rebuilt engine so it runs nice. We bought a ton of coffee. Will get after 1 of [can’t read]. So I have that to pay for. Bought 2 bonds this month. Picking up a bit. I have a new baby canary, yellow with a V on his beak so we call him Vic. He can sing so nice. Only 3 months old. Nothing else to do but take care of pets.

I will try and find you some pictures if I get these. I any taking her for her coats to Bannon’s Saturday. Well honey dear, I must write to Bud yet so will close.

Love to you and Joe. God bless you both.

Love always,

Mother

P.S. I called Mrs. Lehner and you must write to her right away. She will feel better about it. Did you get Will’s letter that forwarded your Rev Ubersghultie [so unclear] was here Monday he wanted your address so you will hear from him.

Blog Note: the c. book likely is referring to ration book for gasoline, and with sugar scare, the note to guard the sugar was important for future garden canning.

Dear DeLores and Joe,

How did you find Bremerton on your return and did you get your days off settled? When you left you thought you would be able to come down this weekend and I’m looking for you. Hope you get off in time, DeLores, on Saturday so you could come down Saturday night. As I said before, if you go to Tacoma, and ask for Pioneer bus to Puyallup, you can get off at 9th street on Pioneer, and then you are just one block and a half from the house, or if they are too far between, take any bus to the depot, and call me. Hope it is this weekend because over Decoration Day, I’ll have Monday too, I am going to Portland on Saturday and come back Monday.

Put in a Garden Monday, becoming a gardener as well as a housekeeper and office gal. But when I paid $.35 for a head of cabbage yesterday, I got disgusted, and said “With a little energy I can raise twice as much at less cost.” So long as we have the ground, why not?

These days give me the spring fever. Hate to come in. Jeannie asks for Joe each day. A soldier came out yesterday, and she immediately said “Is dat Joe?” or Where is Joe? Afraid you have a way with the women, Joe.

It is lunch time and I must stop. Until later,

Aunt Emalene

Dear De and Joe,

Received your letter and don’t get blue on me. I had the kids all in for supper but Dar for Dad’s birthday. Eileen and Donald gave Dad cigarettes. Addie was a month early. Eileen has her leg in a cast. Was run down by a bicycle had a big tommy on her head and cracked her ankle. She can’t go to school but is doing her work at home.

It is after 11 so I better turn in as I can’t take it. I will write more tomorrow. I wish I could give you a piece of pinabble pie.

Hugs and Kisses to my own little girl always,

Mother

Dear Joe,

Received your letter, flowers and lovely Mother’s Day card for which I wanted to thank DeLores and you.

Rose send me a lovely Broch for Mother’s Day, she never forgets. I really feel very sorry for her, but there is nothing I can do.

Dear Joe I am glad to hear that you are happy and I hope it will last all the time in your life. So I have to make the best of everything. I just hope this war is over and with God’s help all the boys come home soon.

With regards from Bernice, she will write you soon. With loads of love to DeLores and yourself from your loving,

Mother

Dear De and Joe,

I received your flowers and sure was so proud to wear them. Thank you so much. Kay was here and rather spoiled my day. Had to take her along in an old seersucker homemade dress and a faded old blue coat dress hanging 4 inches below it so you can very well see how I felt. Dad wore his brown suit and I wanted to wear my black suit dress but it is a mile too big for me now. I had my hair cut short and it looked so nice the girl at work wanted me to get a purple outfit with my white hair. It is so white. I paid Cardaze in full so that is out of the way.

Ed and Helen were in and I got a sachet bag full of rose buds to put in my dresser. It smells so nice. A box of candy from Addie Black from Dar. Lord supposed it is very nice. We ate at a Roman cafe and had lunch with Dar and Jerry and Dar took us to the curtai and he paid. Was very nice to us so mother was very happy, your card I am trying to find a frame for it. It is so wonderful I want to keep it.

How are you getting along and how was Emaline? Did you like her and was she nice to you? I would like very much to see her. Tell me about your visit there.

Mrs Edgrist cleaned my 2 front rooms and washed the curtains and I am all through now. Put in a victory garden. A little of everything. Mr. Warhhin went to Alaska and the old home looks tough to say the least. Dar’s little place is very cute.

Had a letter from Bud. He is ok.

301 And Regh Base
CoP1st Bn.
APO 100
c/o Port Maslig
New York NY

So you can write to him and do that little thing he asked us to write more often. The war looks pretty good in our favor now or at present. I am going to get a nice wrist watch for Dad’s day. I am sure he will like one.

How is my little girl? Is your back alright by now? I have been pretty good lately. Work terribly hard. Make the dough. We are going to remodel the old place when they move out so we won’t do a thing now. Buying 2 bonds a mo now. Going to put in our eofal next week. If you don’t need all your sugar, send us the stamps and I will put in a few things for you and Joe.

My hope it will be over by winter, hope so anyway. Will write tomorrow and thanks again for everything. You are wonderful child dear and I love for it. With all my love to you both.

As ever,

Mother

My dearest wife,

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and I want to express to my darling wife a little bit of the thoughts that are in my mind at this time.

It’s such a wonderful feeling to know that we are united, man and wife. I do care for you so much that there isn’t any words to express my feelings. When I say, “I love you, dearly,” it comes from the bottom of my heart. My life is so dedicated to making you happy. I hope you will always understand that. Even more happiness comes to me by having you out here with me. It makes me feel just wonderful all over. I’m sure that when this business is finished we’ll live in complete happiness in our own home.

Darling, it is true that we do have little misunderstandings at times, but I’m sure that there will be very few. We have so much and I certainly don’t ever want to argue. I know you think the same. It is a small problem adjusting ourselves to each other but I know there won’t be much trouble. Our love is greater than that.

De, with all my heart and soul I hope and pray that a year from now we’ll be together for always. May God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, help us unto this beautiful hope. A hope and feeling that is shared with millions of persons, like us.

Your loving husband,

Joe

P.S. I tried to get some flowers but it was just about impossible to. I’ll try and see what I can do soon. I love you dearly.

Dear Joe,

Sure am glad to hear DeLores arrived safe and sound. You sure do get moved around, don’t you?

Mother got a cablegram from Ralph this morning at six o’clock and she sure was happy. It was a Mother’s Day greeting but a little early. Say what’s the matter with you? Can’t you remember his address? I guess you must be in love or something.

Your mother and I were out to the Prom the other night. Hy and Alice got some tickets so took mother along so she didn’t have to be home alone. She didn’t dance of course but she sat and watched the others dance. After the Prom dance I went to a swing dance with Beulah. I had more fun there than at the Prom because I knew more people.

Milton Stone has a job in some railroad office now. Aunt Linka hasn’t been feeling so well lately. She had a heart attack last week. She has a bad hip and had to have it taped up.

Ralph wants some pictures of the family but I can’t get any films so I guess that’s out. I got a nice two page letter from him last week and it wasn’t a v-mail, it was a regular letter. He said the people have funny sayings down there that in our country would give a kick in the teeth. He said when a person got screwed and knocked up she only meant she was tired and got paid. Kind of cute, eh? I get letters real often from him now which makes me feel swell.

I am all through with my lessons and in a couple of weeks will be confirmed into the temple.

Well I wrote a big letter to Ralph and sent him your address. It seems you both have a little trouble keeping each other’s address. Am sending it again. Please…. [missing last page]

Dear De,

Got your letter and your allotment came making it to you also. Dad sent the books to you registered it he has the receipt for it didn’t you get it. They were sent last Monday. I am sure you have them by now.

I had to work 9 hours today and feel pretty spent but ok otherwise. Dar didn’t come Sunday the yes man said no so we took in a show. Your dress is beautiful. Do you want me to send it to you? How is Joe? Had a letter from Bud and Dad got one too. He asked Dad to give Mother a big hug and kisses for him, isn’t that wonderful? He also stated that he is glad that Addie and you aren’t angry at each other.

Mr. Warthern went to Alaska. She and the kids are taking care of the land. We are going to put in some spuds and corn so we can feed you when you come springing on Ma. always welcome remember that won’t you dear.

I miss you more than words can tell. Well you little stink urid this all for this time. Love to you and Joe.

as ever,

Mother

Dear DeLores,

I suppose you wonder why I am writing you. I expect to leave for Seattle in 2 1/2 weeks. My boyfriend is at Fort Lawton and expects to work for Army Ordinance in a plant nearby. He is in limited service. I am driving out. The rationing board will give me enough stamps if I have proof I’m getting married and making my home there. Maybe we could have gone out together if we had known about it (you and I).

I intend to work. If I’m not too inquisitive, where do you work and what do they pay? I imagine there are lots of jobs, but I would like one that pays fairly well. I am getting $.82/hour now and that amounts to $42.64 a week. That’s 48 hours, time and a half for over 40 hours. I was looking at a Seattle paper and what’s “Seattle Transit Coach” operations?

I was over to Darleen’s for dinner. She had a swell pork roast and everything to go with it. Your mother and dad were over there last night.

How far are you from Seattle and Fort Lawton? Would you try and write me this week and answer the questions I’ve asked?

As Ever,
Frances