***Wow! Fully typed, this letter tops out at 4 1/2 pages! As she got older, her letters got longer and longer! Enjoy.... Lori
August 13, 1945
Hello,
Well, you all will have to make the best of this, because I guess this will be about the last long letter you’ll receive from me. I’ve accumulated letters till I have eight from the family, so decided to write. In case you’re wondering, two are from mom, one from pop, and five from Audrey. I think I answered Nannie’s in one of my other letters, cause her’s isn’t here, but this is to her and all of you-all.
I’m telling you, they really believe in working us there at the office. We never have any time to horse around and we never did anything but, last year. I’ll be glad of a rest when I get to Maine, so don’t plan a lot of things to do. One thing I want most of all is to be able to sleep as long as I want to in the morning.
You asked what I wanted to have for dinner the day I get there… shall I dream up a meal? I did this morning before the boss got there and had them all drooling. I told them about mom’s angel pie as well as I could remember and they want the recipe. Everyone has a recipe of the rolls. When I brought some over to Louie’s house by way of the office, I gave them all a roll or half of one and they loved them! Anyway…. Fried chicken would be good to start with, mashed potatoes, peas, or creamed string beans, or coliflower (or is it cauliflower?) for a vegetable, milk, rolls (any kind if they’re home-made) Nannie’s apple pie and Mom’s French vanilla ice cream. Well, I can dream, can’t I? I’m so sick of my own meals, that I could eat any old kind of slop, as long as I didn’t have to cook them. I discovered anyother drug store around the corner from the Governor Shepherd and they have real good hot dinners, so I get a good dinner every noontime. Then I only have a sandwich at night. That’s so much simpler. Also, since the secretary left, there’s a real cute girl around 26 who’s married and lonts of fun whom I eat with, so I don’t eat all by myself and not eat much. We both have good meals.
Let’s see, what else do you all worry about? My love life, I guess. Well, rest your weary minds about that. It’s all shot. I see Louie once in a dog’s age and Herb about the same and Roger about the same. Louie hasn’t called me since I told him I already had a date and couldn’t come down to his cottage with him the week-end before last. I had a date Sat (4th) nite with Herb and Sunday (5th) all day with Roger. We got in around 6:00, Roger stayed to dinner and Herb came around 6:00 (I’d already invited him to dinner) so we had a rare old time. Roger left around 7:30 and Herb and I went hunting a Watergate Concert, but they didn’t have any that night, so he brought me home and left around 10. Last Sat. night I was supposed to have a date with Herb, but I went to the beach with Roger in the afternoon and he lost his way home cause he’d only been on the road once before in the daytime, so we didn’t get home till 11 and that was too late to ask Herb over. I called him and he was mad as heck. Tough. He came over for breakfast Sun. morning and we went to fifth church. We saw Mary Jane and Bill there. I took him all over sight-seeing yesterday afternoon. I haven’t been inside the Capital Building since heck was a pup. More fun! He wanted to walk over and see the Jefferson Memorial, but I told him to be satisfied with the Lincoln Memorial this time. It was late and Jeff. Is too far away. Wish we’d had a car. I guess I’m not a very good guide for Wash. And suberbs. He left early, too, so I was in bed by 11 last night. I’m a good little girl.
Nancy and Ralph found a car and picked it up Friday night. I went with them to get it. It’s a 39 olds. Pretty good. I think she’s going to have a baby, but she hasn’t told me yet, so I guess I’ll wait till she does to congratulate her. I could be wrong, but I doubt it! They are leaving the 18th or the 19th, and Betty and John found an apartment in Alex… the Park Farifax, so they’ll be leaving around the 15ht or 18th (they don’t know when, really) and I’ll be all alone and an orphan again!
Don’t worry about it, though. I can take care of myself and Mr. Wardlow. I won’t have any boys in when they leave. I seldom do now, anyway. I had Roger to dinner one day last week, but we left for the movies right afterwards, and I won’t have anyone to dinner after they leave except maybe Mary, Jane and Bill. The laundry came today and I left the check. Nothing’s been lost so far. I can take care of it.
I haven’t heard anything from Maryland U yet. I guess I won’t for a while, but I wish they’d hurry up and ask for the $15 while I still have it. Roger’s going to Maryland, did I tell you? He’s planning to go for 3 or 6 months, (I’ve forgotten which he said) and take engineering and then go to MIT.
Dick Hinson was home for a while, I heard. Daddy saw him, I didn’t. I guess he came home for his sister’s wedding. We owe her a wedding gift, by the way. They sent us a very nice invitation, and I meant to go, but didn’t get to it.
I’m sorry I haven’t written lately, but I haven’t had the time, energy or ambition. All I do all day long is type up letters for overseas with 14 carbons, or type reports for the boss which have to be letter-perfect, with pages and pages of figures. By the time 5:30 comes, I’m all beat, and I’m not kidding. I’m not going to look like any picture of health like you said I did last year. And it’s not staying up late that did it, either, it’s those reports and just the steady hard work all day long. I’m not complaining. I like my work a lot, but I hate the thought of a typewriter when I come home. I haven’t written a letter in two weeks, except for this, and that’s no stuff! I’m not going to, either. I’ll bring all my letters to Maine and try to answer them there in longhand.
I think I’ll work all day Friday, the 24th, (the day I leave) cause I want to get paid. I’ve already put $30 in the bank and I’m going to pu t$20 more when I can catch it open. I’ve got to save the rest, though, cause I’m afraid I might not have enough to pay for my train fare. Daddy said it might cost $28, so I’ve got to save it up. I’ve been paid two $70 checks and a $30 check. When mom said I ought to write down where I spent every penny, I almost split my sides! Sure, Nick, I’ve got all kinds of time to write down where every penny goes! (Now you hold the lantern and I’ll shovel!) I’ll keep a budget of my accounts every night instead of writing to you-all, OK? Like heck. I can account for most of it, but as for my spending money, if I can’t have some of my own money to spend like I want, it’s too bad, cause I’m not going to keep a budget this summer. I spend about .60¢ for lunch on the average and $1.25 for a pass every week. Daddy says I don’t get a clothes allowance this summer, so I spend my own money for clothes. The other day I got three pairs of silk panties with rubber in them @ 80¢ a pair, which is high, I realize, but they’re good pants, and rubber is rubber. Anyway, I haven’t got time, space, or patience to enumerate on all the stuff I bought and how much I paid for it, so I’ll tell you when I get there.
Herb’s a good kid, if you like kids. He hasn’t grown up yet, though. Even if he is 20! He wanted to give me his silver identification bracelet which is worth between 8 and 12 dollars, and he wanted me to wear his high school class ring, which is heavy gold and a size 9 (which is about ¼ inch bigger than my thumb. I’d have worn it better on my big toe!). He said he could tape it up to fit me. The ID bracelet was so big I could slide it on my wrist without using the clasp. It’s kind of tight on him. He really is a big-boned farmer from the country! He’s awfully nice, though, and kind of bashful (of all things!), so I told him as nicely as I could that boys just don’t go around giving their nice rings and bracelets to just any girl they happen to meet and like. I think he was kind of hurt that I wouldn’t wear them, but I told him they were too expensive. I’m not going to write him for a while. He’s getting too serious. He needs his mother just a little while longer. Some girl is going to play him for a sucker someday if he doesn’t watch out and someone’s going to be terribly hurt. That’s his worry, though, not mine. He’s still a nice guy.
Well, it hasn’t rained now for three days straight now! I can hardly believe it! It’s 85ยบ out now and humidity is 93%! (The time is 9:00pm. Wish I were in Maine where it gets cold at night! This is really the first rather hot night we’ve had for quite a while. This summer’s been nice and cool most of the time. If it didn’t rain so much, it’d be nice.)
I was awfully disappointed about the flying and I never got around to telling you about it. I supposed Daddy had. I’m going to resume my lessons the minute we get back, however, so never fear!
I’m sending 40 name tags. Not that you’ll need that many, but I’ll probably want some to use when I get up there, too. I need a lot of white cotton socks for this fall, and I haven’t had time to shop down town at all and probably won’t. I’m too tired when I get out at night and I hate to take time off from work. I may do it sometime when I work overtime. I hear that you can’t get paid for over-time work. You just get compensatory time off. You see, pop, these reports that I’m doing just have to be out by Wed. (each Wed.) at the meeting 10:30 AM, so I have to work over-time either Monday or Tuesday to get it done. We haven’t got a secretary now and won’t get one before I leave. I’m doing double duty now and it’s no easy job.
Mr. Stanford never phoned about Audrey’s room. He couldn’t have it now, anyway. Betty asked her little cousin (little, I say, she’s 22 and real cute) down from Connecticut for about 4 days.
I don’t go over to the pool much. In fact, I haven’t been since the week you left. I don’t like to swim by myself and there’s no one there I know very well or care much about. It’s been too cold to swim most of the time, anyway, and I’ve been too tired to change and go over to get wet the rest of the time. I sound like an old lady, don’t I? I probably look like one, too. I never look in the mirror anymore…. Too scared of the consequences! My nose peeled last week after I’d gone to the beach with Roger!
Nope, I’m not robbing the cradle in going out with Roger once in a while. We had a long talk the other night about college. He hadn’t even gotten a catalogue of Maryland U., so I loaned him mine and told him all about it as much as I knew. He’s pretty smart and older (a little older, anyway) than his years. He’ll be 17 the 19th of this month! I think that’s funny as heck! I didn’t know his father was dead till last week. Why didn’t you tell me, Audrey? I almost collapsed! He bought another car, by the way. This time a ’38 Chevy Coupe. Something went wrong with his other car, so he sold it.
I got a nice letter from Eddie at Sampson last week. He sure is mad about Beverley. I’ll have to look her over and see if I approve. Don’t worry, Audrey, I did tell him that I’d get along without him on my list, cause I still had Willie, and Louie, John, Jack, Buddy, Herb, and a few others. I put it a little nicer than that, though, but nearly as sarcastically as he did when he said I might still have a chance! He’s a character. I hope Subby’s still there when I come up. Will he be?
That’s enough about boys. On to a more pleasant subject. Isn’t the end of the war soon to come wonderful? Passing the White House yesterday we saw all the mob of people waiting for the news that the end had come. They had a little truck with a broadcasting station hooked up to give the news. It was pretty good!
Nope, Mr. Wardlow hasn’t taken me to a big league game yet… Darn!
I’ll try and write you a post card or something every day or so, but I won’t promise. I’ll probably forget.
I’m enclosing two dollars for Daddy. Remember the time I borrowed $2.00 for the Aviation Club when each of the officers had to put up $2.00 in order to get $10 right away for the picture in the yearbook? Well, I just got mine back the other day. Mrs. Robinson brought it to me with a note. The treasurer of the Club (Tom Carter) had returned everyone’s $2.00 but mine. She asked him about it the last day of school and made him feel so ashamed that he went among his many boy friends in the club and collected enough dimes and nickels to get $2.00. Wasn’t that nice? Sorry I’m so late in returning it. I would have returned it in my own money, but I though I’d get it back eventually, by fair means or fowl!
Also there’s a check of some oil they left, I guess. I’m sending all this junk cause I think you might want to see it. You can send it all back and tell me where to put it, if you like, but I don’t know what you want to see and what you don’t! So, you’re getting it all!
The Post is still coming, but the Star isn’t. You cancelled it, didn’t you?
Those 3 prs. Of white nylon and rayon socks sound wonderful. Thanks a lots, Nannie. Did I tell you that I’m forced to wear my new loafers to work? My others split down the sides. The leather rotted from walking in the rain in them. I haven’t gotten these wet at all. I wear my boots when it rains hard and if it’s sprinkling, I wear something old, but all my shoes are uncomfortable to wear all day long, so it’ll do no good to argue about it, I’ve got to have something comfortable on my feet when I work and play shoes are far more comfortable to wear all day long.
I can’t think of anything more to tell you, but it’s taken me long enough to say this much. Seven pages is plenty for any one family, anyway. Now I’ve got to take some more time off and write Audrey a letter separately. Not because anything is secret, but I haven’t written the old girl one letter for herself and she’s written me 5, which I greatly appreciate in these days when I don’t get much mail, cause I don’t write any at all!
By now,
Love to all,
Sib
PS I expect a long letter from everyone now! SMG
