Life in St. Petersburg (9) – “Miss Connecticut” – April 12, 1935

My Aunt Biss (Elizabeth) has been living in Florida with her Aunt Anne to help care for Anne’s children. The grownups thought it would be helpful for Biss, after her Mother had died, to get away from Trumbull for a while. She is a Junior in High School and worried about her grades.

Elizabeth (Biss) Westlin Guion

Sunday evening

9:00 PM

4/12/1935

Dear Dad:

I have actually kept my promise and written even though I have not received a letter from you since I last wrote.

Aunt Anne went to Gainesville, Florida this morning and got back about 6:45 PM so we had the Chevy all to ourselves – Don, Gwen and myself– and we went out to the military school and then drove to ”Little Bohemia” to eat.

We decided to go to school out at the military school for they get out in just four weeks and we don’t get out for eight weeks yet.

Aunt Anne is thinking seriously of staying here in Florida through June so you had better not expect me until July 1.

Marks close in a week or two so you will soon be finding out how I am getting along in school – I am afraid I am going down for I have gotten frightfully sick of school – I am fighting this feeling and am not sure how well I have succeeded and have to wait for report cards.

If I could possibly persuade Aunt Anne, I hope to take a vacation from school Wednesday and go up to Tarpon Springs with Bill Garlington, his sister and several friends of theirs. I doubt very much if I will go or not –

Aunt Anne was wondering what had happened for we haven’t heard from you for such a long time – I explained to her that I sadly fear I am at fault for I wrote to you so seldom that I admitted that it seemed funny to me that you had not answered my letter but I think perhaps you are taking me up on the sentiment that I said – that I would write whether you did or not –

Poor Aunt Anne is having a rather hard time for Uncle Fred isn’t doing well and she evidently didn’t get her full allowance this month so we’re trying to conserve in every possible way.

My guitar lessons are getting along very well and it fills a little teeny bit of my longing for piano lessons. I love these guitar lessons and live from one Thursday to the next just waiting for the time for lessons – I always go down 15 or 20 minutes early so I can play the piano.

It is now 9:15 and I haven’t seen 15 minutes go by so quickly in a long time.

The fact is I am sort of lonesome for some news from the old home town for I ain’t heared a word from no one for about a week and a half now – It is my fault though for I haven’t written to anyone myself –

I have written several people, yes – but I have not as yet mailed the letters so, of course, they didn’t know I have written. How many deaths, marriages, engagements etc. have there been since you last wrote to me?

I got a complement! One of the boys down here told me that he thought I would have been Miss Connecticut if I had gone in for it – wasn’t that nice of him?

Mosquitoes down here are three times as bad as our Jersey mosquitoes – you feel as if you had been bitten by a snake when one bites you.

Expecting to hear from all of you soon – seeing as how I’ve upheld my half of the bargain.

Love,

Biss