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!
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Book 1 – Letter 14 Received May 9, 1942 from Lois Jean
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…
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Book 1 – Letter 13 Received April 29, 1942 from Lenore
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.
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Book 1 – Letter 12 Received April 22, 1942 from Miriam
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.
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Book 1 – Letter 11 Received April 20, 1942 from Lois Jean
Interesting perspective that her church was 7 miles away and this was a challenge to attend Luther League.
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Book 1 – Letter 10 Received April 20, 1942 from Mary Wilder
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!
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Book 1 – Letter 4 Received March 28, 1942 from Pidugu Mary
The next letter arrives from a girl in India via the Rev. J.H. Schneider in Columbus, Ohio. I think the church in Dola, Ohio where my Aunt belonged probably sponsored a family or a child in India. She writes about her family, learning bible lessons and about her village having 6 christian houses. Interesting that she signs “Your most obedient child”.
The origin of the letter from P. Mary is Chittoor District, Madras Presidency, British India
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Book 1 – Letter 3 Received March 18, 1942 from “LR”
The 3rd letter is from a friend in Iowa. This is still early in the process and as you can see she gets more names to correspond with. In current terms this would be known as “networking”. I also find it interesting that this is a girl who really wanted to be in school but due to family obligations she needed to stay at home and work.
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Book 1 – Letter 2 Received February 9, 1942 from “Jay”
The next letter finally arrives February 9th from Jay. As you can see it was post marked January 15th and shows the censor marking “Released by I.C.B. 129” This was the Information Control Branch, an American agency.
Jay makes reference to she and her sisters not being able to go to school after the attack on Pearl Harbor. There is no doubt that this tragedy affected everyone.
Next letter will arrive March 18th from a new pal.
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December 1941
Book 1 – Letter 1 Received December 15, 1941 from “Jay”
Jay writes from Honolulu Hawaii and the letter is postmarked December 4th, 1941. Just 3 days later on the morning of December 7 the Japanese attacks Pearl Harbor. The attack led to the United States’ entry into World War II. The next letter from Hawaii does not arrive until February 9th, 1942.
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