Dear Nannie,
You really ought to have been in Washington last night! What a night! In all my life I never saw such a crowd. There were people oozing out from every nook and cranny imaginable. I’ll send a couple of clippings from the paper if I remember. I guess this will take longer than the usual two days to get there. Probably the other letters I mailed night before last will, too.
I had a date with Roger to go to the movies last night. We had just gotten seated at 7:00 with the news on the screen when they flashed on “THE WAR IS OVER” and they sang the National Anthem. A few got up and left. Most of us didn’t believe it. We thought it was just part of the news saying that the war was almost over and didn’t thing the President would announce it that night, so we stayed to see the picture. It was Ernie Pyle’s “Story of GI Joe”. It was pretty good. I don’t think you’d like it, though. I remember that you don’t like pictures of people chasing each other around circles and behind trees. We got out around 10:00 (We went to the Ambassador) and everyone was shouting and screaming bloody murder. The streets were littered with every scrap of paper imaginable! We bought a Times Herald paper which had tremendous headlines saying “TRUMAN ANNOUNCES…. THE WAR IS OVER”. Underneath it said all Government and District employees get Wed and Thurs off. Boy, then I really howled. So here I am today spending the day writing to you all.
When we had seen all we wanted to see on Calvert street near the Ambassador Theater, so we went around the corner to Roger’s sister-in-law’s house. It was a boarding house and everyone in the house was down on first floor singing, dancing, and playing the piano. Not a soul in the house except his sister-in-law was sober. Her baby was up on third floor sleeping soundly. We went up to see him and he slept through it all. I don’t know how, though. It was enough noise to wake the dead and the angels.
We didn’t drink, so not wanting to be too different, we left. I announced that if I had to go all by myself, I was going downtown and see the crowd. So, he took his car (we were going by street car, but it was late and he had to get up early. It’s lucky we didn’t go by street car, anyway, as we never would have gotten there. All the busses and street cars were jammed with people hanging out all over. Some road on top of the roof for the novelty. They smelled like heck, too, from so many bottles.) Anyway, we got in the car and drove down as far as the Statler Hotel. A few blocks farther and we couldn’t move an inch. After sitting for a few minutes, we made a turn and inched our way home. We saw one car all smashed up. The taxis were all filled to overflowing and you know how taxis drive. We missed about 10 cars by the skin of our teeth. Roger was smart. He had me roll up the windows and lock the doors. People would come and hop on the side. The papers say soldiers way down town hopped on the running board and kissed all the nearest girls. I’m sorry to say, I missed that show!! One car went down the street with about ten people hanging out of the window and streams and streams of toilet paper drooling down the sides of the car. Tin cans were tied to the rear bumper. They were really having a good time!
Well, I wish we hadn’t had the car along. I wanted to go way down to F Street and mingle with the crowd there. I’ll send you a picture. What a mess! But we’re going down tonight and see if we can dig up some excitement. This time we’re leaving the car behind and taking another couple for protection. Ralph doesn’t think there will be a bog (big) crowd there, Roger does. We will see, soon. We’re going down Pennsylvania Avenue, down 13th and F Streets, and around the popular places hoping to see what we missed last night.
I’m telling you, much though I’d like to be in Maine, I’m darned glad the war ended while I was here in Washington. This is really the place to be with the war all over. New Year’s Eve in Times Square had nothing on downtown Washington last night, I hear. We didn’t get clear down, but far enough for a car, believe me. In Peacock Alley at the Willard, they had all the furniture taken out and the rugs removed. Loads of people were cutting through there, of course. We didn’t go, we just heard. I was so mad when I found out that we wasted half the evening seeing a show while the war was over. He asked me if I’d like to leave and go down town and see the crowd and I said that was just part of the film, that the war hadn’t been announced to be over and the celebration wouldn’t be till then. I can be awfully wrong, I see.
Well, I guess I’ll quit writing now and do something. There’s lots of things to be done on a holiday. Betty and I went shopping and none of the stores were open, but the little delicatessen on the corner of Ordway and Conn., and the line was a mile long, but I stood in line and held the place while she shopped, so it wasn’t very complicated. That way we only waited half an hour instead of an hour and a half as it would have been. Then she got her gas tank filled with what coupons she had left. Rationing has been called off since then, but there’ll be a serious shortage of gas in D.C. during the holidays, I bet. There were about ten cars waiting for gas at the station we went to, the only one open… that Esso one on Porter.
Ralph is leaving for New York next Monday. He has a fifteen day leave and is traveling over the east coast with Nancy. He’ll be assigned to a ship scheduled to leave New York sometime around the 1st of Sept. You remember, he expected to be sent to California. They’re kind of disappointed, but they’ll get over it. They said they might come up near Maine. It would be swell if they could visit us for a day or so. Could they?
Roger says he could take me as far as New York in his car, he thinks. I don’t think I’ll go, though, cause it would upset my plans. If Ralph were leaving later, they could take me to Boston. I guess I’ll get there, somehow, though.
Horns are still blowing and it’s two o’clock in the afternoon. We blew our horn till it couldn’t blow anymore.
All the folks are going down to Anapolis for a drive today with a full tank of gas. They asked me to go, but I had this date, which I could have broken, but I want to go down town.
Betty had a letter from their movers and they can’t get the furniture here now till after the 20th, so they’ll probably be here till I go.
We got everything we wanted at the store today but milk. I hope the milk man comes. We had one mail delivery today. I got a letter from Joe Woodson, who’s in the South Pacific on a Destroyer. The commanding Officer is a Lieut. Commander and Joe’s and Ensign, so he’s probably got a nice job. I also heard from Eddie and he shill can’t figure out who he likes best. Tough!
Now I really am finished. I’ve been doing lots of things lately, so I’ve sort of neglected my washing. I’ve got to wash out some dresses so I can look at least half way decent for the last week of work.
(signed)
Love, Sibyl
P.S. Patti wanted me to come down to the farm for the holiday, but I decided there might be crowds all over, so decided to stay home. She’s coming over tomorrow. SMG.
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