March 22, 1942 - "You are a Very Game Girl..."

I should probably be preparing for my return to school, but I couldn’t fight the urge to upload just one short letter.  This one, like the one before it, is sent between Eagle Butte, where Jim was working, and Faith, where Ruth was teaching.  Based on the contents of this letter, Ruth had just been to visit Jim, and had a good time – despite a sprained ankle.  

Note:  I haven't figured out the scanner in my apartment yet.  I'll add actual letters when I do! 

Eagle Butte, So. Dak

Sun. March 22, 1942

10:50 P.M.

Dearest Ruthie,

Art Castle is playing “Give me one dozen Roses” – it reminds me very much of you.  – I got back to the “Dump” at 7:30 – no casualties, - good car, I’m beginning to believe.

I ate a sandwich when I got back, then found Gene, he had enuf in a pint to mix two cokes, so we went down to the restaurant, and drank them and talked about you for about an hour.  – then rode around in his car and listened to the radio.  they played a new piece, "I said a prayer last night" – anyway I recalled, saying one for you last night – or this morning rather when I went to bed, I believed it was answered cuz when Phil & I came down to Fisher’s you were doing O.K with the sprained ankle.

Ruthie, I really enjoyed myself this week-end – no kidding – Sheep Camp, Dance and everything were swell – especially you.  I just can’t get over how darn nice you are.  – I told Gene about the accident last night and even he agreed you are a very game girl.

We, Gene & I, were about ready to come home about 9 o’ clock, when Shannon O’Neill (sounds Irish doesn’t it?), another Irish friend of ours, asked us if we wanted to ride around with him for awhile, so we did, it was really nice out.  We all cussed the misfortune of being stuck in Eagle Butte – alone – when we could just as well be in Faith, – – with someone I love very much.

I just read this over and am wondering if you will be able to understand it.  I’m so darn tired – I’m kinda writing like I talk sometimes – in circles.

Gene asked me if I was writing to you already and I said “yes” – so he said to ask you when he could have a date so – “when can Gene have a date, huh?”

I intended to write this tomorrow noon, but found out tonight that I have to go out with Sandstrom and Warne to look over a gravel pit, so better I do do’od it to-nite – no?

I’m sleepy – Good-nite – I Love you very much, say hello to Phyl. & Beverly, write real soon,

                                    Jim

P.S. I Love you more than you love me, so there too!

As I read these letters, I have been realizing how young my grandparents were at this stage – possibly younger than me, even.  It makes me wonder how they two would have communicated if they were in their twenties today.  We romanticize letter-writing (and, to be fair, it is pretty romantic) but that was also one of the only communication forms available to them.  Based on the frequency of these exchanges I have a sneaking suspicion that a young Jim and Ruth would not have balked at the use of social media. 

People of their generation might have been less interested in sharing their every move and thought with an immense audience, but I feel like they would have appreciated sending each other lovey late-night texts, Skyping on an evening apart, or even (gasp!) sending each other Instagrammed photos of their dinner at the local bar.  As a gal who is currently far away from her fellow, I can understand the desire to share even the most mundane details of my day, in an attempt to feel closer.

Here’s to modern technology!

March 18, 1942 - "Another One For the Blonde."

According to the family story I'm familiar with, Jim and Ruth's courtship started off like a typical romantic comedy.  They met at a town dance in (probably) Timber Lake, and she thought he was rather cocky.

Of course, like most romantic comedies, we can see how this was bound to turn out.  He must have worn her down eventually (maybe it was that mythical gift of blarney), because after a few months of acquaintance they were engaged, and by March 1942 at the latest they were exchanging letters and seem on quite good terms.

The following letter was written from Eagle Butte, S.D., where Jim was plotting cross-sections for what seems to be (based on the stationary) the State Highway Commission.

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Wednesday March 18, 1942

Dearest Ruthie,

Received your letter at 11: a.m., it is now 12:25[.]  I'll bet you are starting back to school, are you not?  Was really glad to hear from you, I think I've read your letter over about 4 times already.

Last night after supper, I wanted to see you or hear you so darn bad, I decided to call you.  So I looked in my pocket, found 62 cents - asked the operator how much the call would be, she said 56 cents so I told her not to waste any time getting you.  You said you wondered if I miss you as much as you miss me, well honey, I think of you all the time, - yesterday for instance Gene and I were plotting cross-sections, and I read the same one to him three times, it took us 20 minutes to correct it.  Gene said "there's another one for the Blonde" and he was right, cuz I was thinking of you.

Monday nite, [Travie], Gene, Ken & I were invited over to  [Warne's] (he is the 5th one of our crew) to help eat his birthday cake, we sure did a good job of it, - we played cards until about 12, then came home to bed.

I almost came to Dupree last night, after talking to you.  I came up stairs, shaved etc. then went over to Gene's room and listened to Red Skeltons - (did you?)  I almost fell asleep on his bed, so he and Ken went down town and I came over to my room and went to bed - at 9:05 P.M - and slept until 7:30 this morning.

I really hope you had a good time Ruthie, I'll feel much better if you always enjoy yourself, so there too!  Did Phyl. dance last night?   Or did she ride in a pick-up all night? -slam! slam! - tell her I don't mean a thing by it.

Well Gene and Ken have just left for work, so suppose I'd better write finis, to this.

I'm expecting to be called away anytime, I got a letter from mother this morning, saying my aunt was in the hospital - heart attack, -  Dr. said there was very little chance. - so if you don't hear from me for a couple days, you'll know what's wrong.

Well Beautiful, must close for now, but write to me real soon will ya?  Cuz- 

I love you - very much,

Jim

[Postscript] What do you think of the writing material Bushfield gave me?  

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It looks like I've inherited my grandpa's fondness for a heavy use of the hyphen.

A note on these transcripts:  I am trying to remain as faithful as I can to the form of the letters.  I will reproduce his use of punctuation, spelling, and spacing as much as I can.  If I ever add or change anything for the sake of clarity, I'll put it in brackets [like this.]  I'll also be using brackets if there is a name or word that I can't figure out, as with a couple of names above.  I'll be posting scans of the actual letters, so if anyone can decipher those words, let me know and I'll edit them in.

On another note, I'm not very experienced with blogging, and would like to know if it's possible to do things like footnotes, or change fonts within the post text.  If you are more blog savvy than me, help me out!

Also, I've had a couple of people wonder how they can stay updated with these posts.  There should now be a couple of options for subscribing to the blog, either through an RSS feed like Google Reader, or through email.  You'll find those along the left side of the page.

Thanks for reading!

Old Letters, New Life

I never got a chance to meet my maternal grandfather.  He passed away at a fairly young age, years before I was born.  However, his spirit still seems to be very present in our family - in the efficiency of my aunts and uncles, the wry humor of my cousins, the lines of our noses and the pride we take in our Irish heritage.

On the other hand, I did get to know my grandma for a while.  I can remember her as a card-player and a good hugger, but details are fuzzy.  I often catch myself wondering what it would have been like to know her, now, as "a real person." I wish I could talk to her and listen to her and ask her questions, rather than just beg for one of her famous cookies.

Through my conversations with older relatives, these two start to take shape.  James (Jim): the smart, capable Irishman, with a witty humor and a loathing for messy automobiles.  And Ruth: the beauty, the clever, charismatic favorite, who was sure to light up a room.

And, finally, there is a box of letters.  It's been resting in the cedar chest, and brought out occasionally for school projects, family lore, and general reminiscence.  The letters range in date from March 18, 1942 to September 10, 1945.  The first letter was sent within South Dakota, but over the years they start coming in from Kentucky, New York, France, Belgium...  These letters cover the length of my grandparents' courtship, marriage, and young family, set against the background of World War II, where James was a Lieutenant.

My goal is to transcribe and post these letters at the rate of one per week.  I would also like to scan digital copies of the originals, so readers can get a feel for the handwriting and layout, and possibly help to decipher any words that I can't figure out.

Partially, my interest in this project is professional.  I am currently going to school for a Masters of Library and Information Science, and I have a special interest in historical archives.  I feel these letters provide interesting snapshots of what American life was like during mid-century wartime.  They are interesting, comprehensive, and otherwise worthy of being kept.  I would like to type them up and scan them so that they can be preserved for the future.

But, really, my greater interest is personal.  This is a way for me to learn more about a side of my family, and feel a deeper connection to my own history.  Additionally, this will be a way to share the letters with family scattered all over the US.  I feel somewhat ill-equipped for this project, since there are many people who knew Jim and Ruth much better than I did, and I'm a little afraid of getting things wrong.  But I hope this will be an opportunity for other relatives to offer input, corrections, and their own anecdotes.  I think there is a lot of room to add to their story, and the story of the family.  While the archival side of things is interesting to me, I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't moved by the relationship of my grandparents, and interested in sharing the experience with others who knew and loved them.

So!  In the next post, we will be starting off in March of 1942, in the town of Eagle Butte, South Dakota, where James Flahaven wrote to Miss Ruth Schmidt to brighten her day and send her his love.