Another letter arrives from Lois Jean. You can see from this letter the war is close to home now as 90 boys from Struthers Ohio leave to join the Army with more to leave later and some already there. According to the internet the town of Struthers at that time was less than 12,000 people so this had to have had an intense impact on the community.
New Pen Pal Helen knew Patricia previously. I can only imagine that they went to the same church or school. My Aunt and Grandparents had previously lived in Tiffin and my Dad was born on Schonhardt Street which is just one street over from Helen.
Another letter from Lenore with a picture. She mentions seeing the movie Kings Row (1942) with Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan and Ann Sheridan. It prompted me to add it to the Netflix list.
Another letter from “Pencil Pal” Mary. Some cute little yarn dolls were included in the letter but no mention of them. I remember making dolls like this as a child. They have stood the test of time, 73 years old!
The next letter from Lois includes a picture. How nice to put a face with the name. As a side note I got a very nice letter from Lois a couple of weeks ago. She is 88 years old and still lives in the same house! I can hardly believe that I am corresponding by letter with one of my Aunt’s favorite pen-pals. More on that later…
Another letter arrives from Lenore. She mentions seeing Gone with the Wind 3 times! It was originally released in December 1939 and re-released March 1942.
Perhaps Patricia and Miriam would have met at the music trials in Ada but the previous letter arrived just a bit too late. The Dr. Altmaier that she mentions married her cousin. Research from the internet reveals that he practiced medicine in Marion and passed away in 1986 where he is buried.
Interesting perspective that her church was 7 miles away and this was a challenge to attend Luther League.
Mary is a new pal that lives on a 900 acre wheat farm in Kahlotus, WA. Currently the population is less than 200 and the town is listed at about 300 acres.
There are 2 letters that arrived on the 20th so I will post the other one tomorrow. Stay tuned!
The next letter from Jay arrives. It took about 6 weeks to arrive from Hawaii to Ohio. The envelope was examined by censor 2675.
