Letter #10

Sept. 20, 1942.

Sunday Evening.

My dearest,

Well, I haven’t received any letters from you since I wrote and cabled last Thursday. I have all letters through Sept. 9, #3, except #2. I presume that #2 and maybe a couple of other letters will come sometime this week.

I did receive something from you on Saturday, however. The package arrived. And darling, that teapot cover is so cute and nice. I just love it. I never saw such a nice one before, or such a clever one. It is so very different, and I thank you just loads for it. You surely pick out nice things when you go shopping, honey. And what do you think; there was not any duty on it. I don’t know how that happened.

Aunt Stubby Sanford was here when I opened the package, and she thought the cover was awfully cute, and said that if I didn’t want it, I could give it to her. Then I came upstairs and got the tablecloth you sent, and took that down to show to her, and she was just speechless for a minute. Then she told me how wonderful it was, and used up all the adjectives in her vocabulary exclaiming how lovely it was. And I feel the same way about it. I just can’t describe how beautiful I think it is. I often get it out and look at it. And now that the teapot cover is here, I know I will often get that out to look at it too.

Also Saturday, I got a notice from the Office of the Chief of Finance stating that you had increased my allotment and that on or about Oct. 1, I would receive my check for the new amount.

Your blouse is all packed and ready to be mailed, and I will see that it goes tomorrow. It was ready to go Saturday afternoon, but I understand that the Post Office is not open Saturday afternoons for packages to be insured and mailed. But it will go tomorrow, so you should get it in 2 or 3 weeks after you receive this letter.

Grandma Cook was over to dinner Friday night, as I wrote you she would be. I guess she had a good time---she seemed to enjoy herself, anyway, and we were glad she could come. And dear, she said that she saw a little article in one of the papers---she thought it was the “Sun”,---stating that troops stationed in North Ireland could vote in this fall election, but that no other troops outside the U.S. would be allowed to. I didn’t see that article, and neither did anyone else in the family. She said it was a very small notice.

Saturday noon, or rather at one o’clock, I came home, and of course, as I wrote you, the Sanfords were here, and also Ruth Bogardus. The Sanfords left in the afternoon to return to Oneonta. (At least, I think I wrote you that the Sanfords were coming down to spend the day here Saturday.) And Ruth is here on her way to Poughkeepsie.

Well, anyway, I went over-town Saturday afternoon, and did some shopping and bought a dress, which I paid cash for with money I earned at Red Cross. Then I got a sandwich, and went to the Beauty Shop, as my appointment was a 5 o’clock. When I was ready to leave the Beauty Shop, I called the house here, and Auntie, my dad, Ruth and Sylvia came over and met me at the Riviera, and we went to see Diana Barrymore and Robert Cummings in “Between Us Girls,” which was a comedy, and really funny, we thought. I had never seen Diana Barrymore before, I guess this is about her first picture, and she is attractive, and quite a good actress, as well. After the movie, we went in Sherwoods, and I had another sandwich and a cup of coffee. After we got home, we listened to the ball game, as it was not yet over. And Scranton won, and the season is over. This was the playoff, you know, and the winning team had to win four out of seven games. They only had to play 5, as we won one, and Scranton won four. So Scranton gets the Governor’s Cup, and as I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Albany got the pennant. But we had a good team this year. We were third in the series, and runner’s-up for the Cup.

Today, we went up to Vallonia Springs for dinner. Ruth Bogardus decided to stay over and go tomorrow morning instead of this morning. So she went and spent the day today with a very good friend of hers, on upper Front St. We took her there on our way to Vallonia, and went and got her as we came back. We had a nice time there today. The five of us went---Grandma, my dad, Aunt Sadie, Sylvia, and I. And there were five of them----Uncle Orin, Aunt Mildred, Mary, Homer, and Dorothy. Betty has gone to Syracuse. She graduated from college in June, and got a scholarship to Syracuse and is going there to study for her Master’s degree. She is a great student, and has always liked to study and is very smart as far as “book-learning” goes. Today was the first I have seen Homer to really talk with him much since he was a little boy. And really he has grown into a most attractive fellow. He is 17 now. He is a senior in High School, and was on the base-ball team last spring, and expects to play basket-ball this winter. And he plays the drums in an orchestra, a five-piece orchestra that goes around the country up in that section, and plays for dances. Last night he played in Guilford, and the night before, I think he said they went to Sidney. And he also raises pigs to earn money. He has raised pigs for several years, and he puts his money in the bank, and is saving it. He has two big pigs now, seven little ones two weeks old, and two pigs about five weeks old. He has sold six so far, and is going to sell the two five-week old ones tomorrow or the next day, whenever the man comes for them. He is not the least bit countrified, thought, and is full of fun. I think he is inclined to be a bit shy, but he wasn’t with me today, and we 5 young folks went in the music room, and played records and looked at old photograph books, and really had a nice time, although it may not sound very interesting. I like Homer and Mary better than Dorothy and Betty. Dorothy is 15, and Betty is 21. Mary is 19. It is easy to remember, as they are all two years apart.

While we were gone, the cat was down cellar, and Rover was out on the back porch upstairs. Both animals seemed glad to see us when we returned. They have 3 cats up at Vallonia, and they did have some kittens, but have given them all away. However, they have a little half-grown kitten that is sweet. He is all dark, yellow, and is so affectionate. The minute you pick him up, he starts to purr, and he purrs so loudly for such a small animal!

We got back tonight, or rather this afternoon, at about 5:45.

It rained in the night last night, and turned cold, and there is a cold wind blowing, too. Uncle Orin says that there will be a frost tonight or tomorrow night.

I saw Jim and Jack Davis and Bud Nichols on the street Saturday, but did not have a chance to say much, except “hello”, and Jim told me that he had received a letter from you that morning, and I believe he said it was written the 11. He smiled a big smile, and was so cute. He said it was a nice long letter, too.

I just called Dolores to get Joe’s address. It is 513 Warren Crescent, Norfolk, Va. Dolores said that she saw the letter you wrote the boys. She was over at Foley’s, and the boys took it over to show the Foleys, and so she saw it too. She said it was a wonderful letter for you to write to two boys like that. Of course, I haven’t seen it, and probably won’t. But Dolores said that it made her thoroughly ashamed of herself, and she made up her mind then and there that she would write to you tomorrow without fail. I thought that she had written to you before. Hasn’t she? She has told me a couple of times that she had a letter started to you, but hadn’t yet finished it, or something like that.

The enclosed humorous clipping is from my dad. He asked me to send it to you.

And darling, Ruth wants to be remembered to you; Ruth Bogardus, I mean.

Please take good care of yourself, sweetheart, for my sake as well as for your own.

I want you so badly, dearest, and I need you. You can’t imagine what it is like without you. I just feel lost all of the time. It seems as if there is always something that comes up that I would like to discuss with you, and ask your advice about. But one of the things I miss most of all is that companionship we shared together, and I always was happy wit you no matter whether we went out somewhere or had an evening at home. And all of those sweet and precious moments we had together.

I want you back safely, darling, most of all. Then I want to go back to our own home, and our neighbors and our former, happy life. I miss you terribly all of the time, but sometimes more than others. And tonight is one of those times when it seems as if I couldn’t stand it if you don’t come home soon. But don’t mind me---I’m all right.

I love you so much, and so deeply, my dear. All of my love and kisses to my wonderful husband, my sweetheart.

Most affectionately,

Your very devoted wife,

Jeanette.

P.S. I am enclosing a clipping about those women in Monday Afternoon Club. They are an unpatriotic group, all right.