September 30, 1933 - Saturday

Dear Mother,

I received your letter this morning, and I thank you very much for it. I am a little better today, but I still feel peculiar. It is the oddest sensation I have ever felt. I am dizzy all the time, and it seems that I can never get enough air. The dull ache is still there, but I know everything will clear up.

Dick Ness, a Beta, is a second year law student; and he invited me to go to church with him Sunday. He discovered that I was interested in Science, and he has very kindly approached me on the subject. I plan to go with him every Sunday from now on. Every Thursday evening there is a student meeting of Christian Scientists here on the campus too. We are going to them too.

My work in the law school is very interesting, but it takes lots of time. Ray and Bill Neighbor and I have averaged about nine hours a day, all this week, up in the law library. Dear Mother, I hope I do well enough to stay there; my whole future depends on it.

Stan Haberlack left my laundry bag at home. Thank you so much for my curtains. Our room looks pretty snooty now.

Last evening Ray and I took in a show. Other than that my entertainment side of life has been nil. The Alpha Phis were over for dinner Thursday, and I had Margaret Woodworth. She is a cute rascal.

This will not reach you until Monday, but I will write another letter Sunday.

Love, Brother.

September 29, 1933 - Friday

Dearest George,

Now it’s my turn to talk about the heat. Goll-ee has it been hot!! You feel as tho’ you were sitting in an oven because there isn’t a breath of air but luckily for us that doesn’t last very long only from about eleven until about five. In the evening and early morning it is delightfully cool. It doesn’t bother me very much but Mom feels the slightest change of temperature. First she’s hot when it gets cool she gets cold. June is that way, too. I guess I am filling my place in the world dear. I am not being a leach all together because Mom said today that she didn’t think she would have been able to stand it if it hadn’t been for me. She doesn’t have to think of food or the kitchen at all and that’s what would have worried her beyond all measure.

I haven’t told you what happened to one of the turtles have I? One of them is lost. I am just sick about it but we can’t find it.  It was one of the first days we were here and I had them in a little shallow dish until I could fix an aquarium. The dish was deep enough so one couldn’t get out but one of them got smart and crawled up on top of the other one and climbed out. It was one of those first days when we were rushing around cleaning up and we hadn’t looked at them all day and when we did one of the turtles was gone. Today I fixed an aquarium for the other one and he has been thrashing around in the water all day long. He doesn’t show any signs of dying of lonesomeness. I do wish we could find the other one.

I am worried about your head dear. Do you wear your glasses all the time? You certainly have to do an awful lot of studying, don’t you? But I am sure you will come out on top. Did Ray Mize come down to school as he planned? When do your classes come? Mostly in the morning? Do you have much chance to do most of your reading by daylight?

Darling, I love you and I want to starve with you ---

Good night, lover

Ann

September 28, 1933 - Thursday

George darling,

When I was at dinner tonight I didn’t know whether I was going to stay up long enough to write to you or not because I felt so rotten. But I feel better now.

This morning I got your letter with the pledge list in it but I had already mailed mine. I am sorry that I made that second request. It was interesting wasn’t it? I noticed that we had the second largest pledge class in the women’s houses. I got a letter from Doro today. She said that she hadn’t been down for rush week but from all the reports the Alpha Phis seem quite pleased with themselves. Jean had mailed the letter for her and on the back was written “Mailed by J. L Grady, love and kisses”. I felt quite smart today because I got three letters. The other one was from June. Mom and I went into town this morning and did the marketing and shopping. We are still buying supplies for this house because there were so many things missing. This morning we got a wash tub and a board. We have to go into town everyday at least. I do all the marketing for the house and have complete command in the kitchen. I haven’t got things running too smoothly yet because the house isn’t in order but I will as soon as I can get my menus planned farther ahead.

Just as soon as I have time I am going to plan my menus a week at a time and then I will know exactly what I want when I go into town. So far I have only made one mistake. I forgot to order eggs one day so there weren’t any for breakfast but I fixed hot cakes so it turned out all right.

Lover, I have to go to bed. Please excuse this awful letter. I don’t even know what I have written but I’ll write a better letter tomorrow night.

But I love you, dear

Goodnight,

Ann

September 27, 1933 - Wednesday

Darling,

We have been out on the lake tonight in a boat. It was lovely because there is a perfect moon tonight. Sweetheart I missed you so that I sang to the moon –

Moon beams shining soft above

Let me beg of you

Find the one I dearly love

Tell him I’ll e’er be true

Fate may part us

Years may pass

Future all unknown

Still my heart will ever prove

Faithful to him alone.

When you come down next summer when the moon is bright we will go out in the boat by ourselves. I love you.

Everyday or so Mom takes some new things out of her trunk and the house is getting to look quite nice and there are only a few corners left that aren’t thoroughly cleaned yet. This place is very restful for the nerves. The only thing lacking is you. Now you will find this just the place for you after your hard year at school. I’m sure you will like it. Mr. Cresap firmly believes in the farm. He says sometime soon, maybe in the next five years, there is going to be a bloody revolution and then only safe people will be those on farms. Of course I don’t believe in all that but it made me think, dear, about something that has never occurred to us. It is this, if any big disaster like that did happen to the US we must get together. So many terrible things are likely to happen we don’t want to loose each other.

Dear, I asked you for the list of names of all the new pledges that was in the “Oregonian”. I guess you forgot it. But do you suppose that you might still be able to find that paper around somewhere and send it to me?   I am very curious about several people.

Lover, I am sleepy as you have probably noticed in my writing, I went swimming again today because the weather was so perfect. Our electric plant isn’t working yet so I am going back to nature and using a candle. I love you, dear, and good night.

Ann

September 26, 1933 - Tuesday

George darling,

I has been quite a few days since I have written you a real letter, dear, but it isn’t because I haven’t tho’t of you. I think of you all the time, dear. It will be an even longer time between letters at your end because I found out that it will take twice as long for my letters to get to you from here as it did from Berkeley because they have to go clear back to San Francisco before it goes on up to you. I should have written to you last night because I got three lovely letters from you yesterday but Pop and I took the night off and went to see “Morning Glory”, which by the way I tho’t was very good, and the house was dark and everybody was in bed so I went to bed, too, when we got home. It is so hard to write a letter to you these nights because our lights are from our own Delco plant which is on the blink now and we have to use a kerosene lamp. The whole family is sitting around it talking and reading and I can’t feel as close to you as I would like to. Darling, I was so pleased with the letter that I got from you this morning. It was the one about early marriages. Are you changing your ideas, dear? I do hope you are because that would mean that we could be together so much sooner! We were talking about that here the other night, too. Mr. Cresap said he believed absolutely in early marriages. He said if you wait you don’t get married. See dear? Pop said that when he married Mom he owed $500 and borrowed the money for the honeymoon and Mr. Cresap said he owed $1,000. O, darling please, don’t let’s wait too long. Mom and Pop both taught night school after they were married to pay off the debt but they were together!

We haven’t got this house cleaned up yet. We do something everyday. But we will have everything fixed up before long. When we get everything running smoothly I will have time to try some pies and cakes. I wrote to Mrs. Larson tonight and I will be sending you some cookies before very long. So far I haven’t had much time to fuss with fancy things because except for about an hour before each meal I haven’t spent much time in the kitchen. We have to get the house clean first. This afternoon I took time off and went swimming. I haven’t had any exercise for so long that I am pretty tired tonight. I am tired every night but I am particularly tonight. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that this farmer’s daughter business is any snap. It’s all in getting used to a thing tho’ and we’ll get this thing down to a science. I am keeping the accounts, for the kitchen so I am getting some practice. I am sure that I could work beautifully on a budget.

By the way, sweetheart, you haven’t told me whether you deposited our pennies or not. I am very interested in them. I haven’t been putting pennies in a bank but I have been saving them. Did you do anything with that book of green stamps that I left on your dresser? I found some more in my suit case so I am enclosing them in this letter.

Lover, I am so tired my writing is getting worse and worse and with all these people talking around me I can’t write a decent letter but, darling, I love you and I always will!

Good night, dear

Annie

September 22, 1933 - Friday

Hello Family,

The week is over and we have seven of the nicest boys you have ever met. All the boys are as happy as they can be over it.

I have not written before, because my time has not been my own. There has only been one night that I got to bed before three. I am a pretty tired boy, now, but I will be all set for school.

Bill Neighbor is back, and he is going to study law too. We are buying our books together, so that will be an aid financially. At that, they will be eleven dollars. That is better than paying twenty-two, though. My course is so arranged, that I cannot take military. Gosh but that is a disappointment; I had counted so much on the money. Perhaps next quarter it can be arranged, but there is no hope this one.

Jim and I were certainly given a royal reception down here last Sunday night. A fraternity may be a luxury, but it is certainly the most worthwhile one I have ever indulged in. This college would be one lonely place for me if I were so unfortunate as to have been relegated to the hall.

I shall certainly write more letters from now on.

Love, Brother.

September 20, 1933 - Wednesday

Darling,

Today, I have been so happy all day. I got three lovely letters from you written Saturday, Sunday, and Monday and thank you so much, dear! After all the nice things you said about my letters I am ashamed and embarrassed about that letter that I wrote night before last. Pardon me, dear for being so blue in a letter to you but I did feel so down. I wish when you feel blue that you would unload to me. I wouldn’t mind at all and it does help.

You have no idea what a definite plan for the near future can do for one’s disposition. Today I haven’t felt a particle of blueness. I’ve felt like singing and dancing all day. In fact June and I had a giggling spell in the front room this evening. I haven’t felt better in weeks. I was so glad to hear all that news about the campus. I am certainly glad that Sigma Pi Tau made D.U. They certainly deserve it. I hope they get a good pledge class. When you go to their “house warming” you will have to notice and tell me. I am certainly glad that the Alpha Phis are doing so well. And darling, I don’t think you have anything to worry about! Good heavens, with nine swell kids sewed up by Monday of rush week by the time you get this letter you will have a wonderful class just the size you want of the best on the campus. I am sure with you at the helm this is going to be a boom year for the Chi Psis. You can do it, dear, I know you can. I have all the faith in the world in you.

I have faith in myself, too, now. I feel so good!! I am going out there and make that house attractive and make my family look forward to their meals and I am going to to mess around in a flower garden. But my biggest job is getting Mom out of the blues. One of her biggest disappointments is having to take Eleanor out of Mrs. Williams school. Mrs. William’s school is so small that she hasn’t been able to guarantee a permanent house for Eleanor. But if her plans work out she will be able to. Then Pop has a life insurance policy made out to Eleanor, which will take care of her if Mrs. Williams can do the rest. Then Mom’s care in that direction will be at rest. She has always worried about Eleanor being taken care of and she has also always worried about Eleanor being a burden on us (us being June & I), too.

If Eleanor is down there we can always see her as often as we want because Mrs. Williams welcomes visitors and she can come home at Christmas and summers. But as long as she is in that school we know that she is getting every possible advantage and chance to improve. Eleanor hadn’t seen Pop for four years and she didn’t even know he was coming and yet she knew him the instant she saw him! That’s more than lots of normal children do at her size.

Sleepy is so thrilled at the prospect of seeing Eleanor that she gets tears in her eyes when we talk about her. I’m a little worried about whether Eleanor will recognize her. She used to talk about June, Mom, and Pop to me all the time but never about Da (what she called Sleepy) but she must remember her because she saw much more of Sleepy than she did of Pop. It would break Sleepy’s heart if Eleanor didn’t remember her because she worships Eleanor. We’ll just have to wait and see. Please excuse the blots. The desk was inky.

Did you say that you were starting law school with Bill Neighbor? Did he decide to come back to school after all? Has he expressed any opinion in your presence about Ginny’s hair? Did Bill Weeks and Hauela start right in where they left off? Hauela broke off with the boy down here that she was mad about before she came up to school and she said that Bill had one likewise in Portland.

I have gotten so interested in everything that I have written to find out about subscribing to the Emerald for this year. Then being an alum entitles me to Old Oregon for a year. But that doesn’t tell me everything. By the way how is the student body president? Very busy these days?

Lover, I hope I don’t keep you too busy answering all my questions and I don’t want you to bother about them if it prevents your telling about yourself and your interests because those are the things above all else that interests me most because you see dear, I love you.

Goodnight, dear

Ann