Trumbull – Dear Lad (2) – Good Investment – November 5, 1939

Grandpa with Mack on the side yard

Page 2 of R-48

Your reference to the pilot, Dave Duryea was quite interesting. I wonder if he is not some relation. My mother was a Duryee or Duryea as it was sometimes spelled. Her father, Joseph Duryee was one of several brothers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (twins) Joseph, my grandfather and William. Abraham was a noted general in the Civil War, head of the Duryee Zouaves and commander of the famous 7th Regiment of New York. Perhaps that will give enough of the family background to enable him to identify the family if he knows the family history. The family originally was Long Island Dutch and before that were French Huguenots.

Your comments on the prospects of taking Mr. Leander’s place versus being a diesel man are interesting. I think your idea of playing along for a while to see what happens is a good idea. It may be if the new man is a veteran or expert diesel man and you, more or less, come in contact with him, one of two things will happen. You will have an opportunity to learn something from him that will increase your knowledge or he will soon learn your value and knowledge in this field, and if the work increases so that he will need an assistant, he will want you and you will be in line for advancement in this field, as you now are in the transportation and garage line.

It is now 7:45. The electricity in all the vicinity is still absent. My one candle is burning low and I don’t know how much more of this letter I can write under the circumstances, but there is one topic I want to cover before the candle fails entirely. Perhaps you remember Bob Shedden. He is now selling a form of investment known as Investors Syndicate. He told me about it. I had heard it before and knew it was a good thing. I told him I would take out, in your name, a share or whatever they call it, which will cost about $130 a year and which at the end of 15 years yields a good income, which in the meantime is entirely safe. It is a combination of all the best features of Building and Loan, insurance and investment combined. I have asked him to write you about the details and have you sign the necessary papers, but I have definitely told him to go ahead. I will take care of the payment out of the money you send home. I don’t approve of putting all funds in one thing, putting all your eggs in one basket, as the saying goes. So with the home building and loan card, for which I have received duly signed by you, and this Investors Syndicate, we have a good diversification in, but will yield a good income in time, be safe and still leave some funds to be invested in some other form of investment that will be worthwhile.

I brought Elizabeth home from St. Vincent’s Hospital on Monday. The baby (Raymond Zabel, Jr., Biss (Elizabeth (Guion) Zabel) and Zeke Zabel’s son) is a cute little tyke and seems to be good and doesn’t cry much. Well boy, this is about all that little candle will permit me to do tonight. Until next week, then old Laddie, my very best hopes and wishes and love from your one and only    DAD

I know about the 7th Regiment of New York but I’ll do some additional research and do at least one post about that. It’s quite an interesting story.

Tomorrow and Sunday, more Special Pictures.

Judy Guion

Special Picture # 344 – Christmas in Florida – 1934

 

 

Grandma Arla (Peabody) Guion passed away in June of 1933. Elizabeth (Biss) was fourteen years old. She was having a hard enough time without her Mother but I believe the adults expected her to take on a much bigger role around the house. Biss resented this and wanted nothing to do with it. Grandpa and the Peabody Aunts (Helen, Anne and Dorothy, Arla’s sisters) decided that Biss needed a change . Since Anne (Peabody) Stanley) was going to Florida with her children, it was decided that Biss would go with them. She was expected to help with the children and chores in the house, as well as continue her schooling. The letters exchanged between Biss and her Father can be found in the Category “St. Petersburg Adventure”. 

Christmas was approaching and Biss didn’t expect much. She knew Grandpa was covering school fees, books, clothing etc. for her. Her fifteenth birthday was also coming up on January 6th. Grandpa decided to really surprise her and take the entire family to St. Petersburg for the holiday. I believe the following picture was taken during that trip.

Back row: Ced, Dan, Lad, a school friend of Biss, Grandpa,

Front row: Don Stanley, Gwen Stanley, Biss with their dog, Dave

 

Tomorrow, another Special Picture.

Judy Guion

Trumbull – Dear Uncle Alfred (1) – Exciting News For The Family – October 22, 1939

In this weeks letter, Grandpa starts off with a  very mundane piece of information before getting to  some surprising news for Lad and the family is quite excited about it. He rounds out the letter with lots of news about everyone else.

October 22, 1939    

Dear Uncle Alfred:

I am starting this letter a little late today due to the fact that I have taken time out to fix the space bar on this typewriter which has been broken in two for some months and which was, I believe, the reason for the tendency to skip spaces which you undoubtedly have observed in former letters. Some time ago I did try to fasten the two pieces together with rubber insulation tape but that still allowed the bar to sag in the middle. Then I asked Dick to cement it with a hard rubber cement but that did not hold, so today I got an old hack saw blade, broke it in pieces of the proper length and using these as splints, fastened them in place with cloth adhesive tape so that, while it does not look especially neat, it seems to have been doing the trick, if the foregoing paragraph is any criterion.

This picture was taken when Raymond Zabel, Jr., known as Butch to the family, was baptized, probably in the summer of 1940. L to R: Alfred Duryee Guion (Grandpa), Richard Peabody Guion (partially hidden behind Grandpa), Cedric Duryee Guion, Elizabeth (Guion) Zabel (Biss), David Peabody Guion, Raymond Zabel Sr. (Zeke to friends and family) holding Butch, and Daniel Beck Guion. Alfred Peabody Guion (Lad) is the only sibling away from home in Venezuela.

Well, the big news of the week lies in the salutation above. I am a grandfather and you are an uncle, Grandma is a great grandmother, and Aunt Betty is a great-great aunt. You have a nephew. Thursday evening after coming home from work I was looking for David to help with the supper and suspecting he might be in with Elizabeth I went into the apartment and there they both were listening to some comedian. Elizabeth was feeling chipper as ever. Late Thursday night however, Elizabeth began to have pains and because they were becoming worse and more frequent, she called up the hospital and they told her it didn’t mean anything. However, as time went on and she had no letting up, she finally decided to go to the hospital anyway at about midnight and about 2:30 AM Friday morning the little fellow arrived. Friday morning as I was shaving Ced came up with a big grin on his face, knocked  on my bathroom door and said, “Good morning, Grandpa”. Suspecting nothing, I didn’t show enough excitement to suit him whereupon he asked me if I had seen the note Zeke had left on the top of the stove downstairs? This note said, “Biss gave birth to a daughter this morning”. Both Zeke and I naturally told those interested that the baby was a girl. It was not until later in the day when I called at St. Vincent’s to see Elizabeth that she told me it was a boy. “It looks just like a little Dutchman,” she said. Both are doing very nicely.

Ced did not have to work yesterday so he started off at 7 AM to visit the World’s Fair. After that closed, he drove into New York and went to the automobile show. This morning he is all excited about the new Willys, which he feels is ace high this year. He even offered today to help me on payments for a new Willys if I would turn in the old on a trade and let him use it some of the time. If I make a killing in the stock market or something I might be tempted to do this as my old boat is getting to the point now where it is beginning to need frequent repairs and adjustments. It has gone over 30,000 miles and I suppose this is quite natural.

Dave wanted me to tell you that he noticed Wells has a new bus which was bigger than the regular buses and as it had a charter sign on it, he assumes it will be used for that purpose.

In another session of the adjourned town meeting held Friday night under Mr. Sexton’s leadership, they decided to refuse to select the report of the town officers.

Tomorrow I will post the rest of this letter filled with news about family and friends. On Friday, another letter from Grandpa to Lad.

Judy Guion

Special Picture (341) – Grandpa’s Children – 1914 – 1927

In this Post I am going to show group photos of the children as they were growing up.

 

                           Arla Mary (Peabody) Guion with her first five children – Dan, Lad, Ced, Dick and Biss, circa 1922

 

 

This shows some of the children playing on the dirt road in front of the house. I believe Ced is to the left, Biss is in the middle and dick is on the right. This would have been 1925 because Biss was five years old when she broke her arm.

 

Dick, Dan, Ced, Lad and Biss circa 1927

There is another picture I have found on my computer but I can’t seem to get it in this post. I’m giving up.

Judy Guion

 

 

 

 

 

Family – Dear Caric – Butch Asks Biss to Write to Ced – September and October, 1944

             Elizabeth (Biss) Guion Zabel

Sunday Night,

9:39 P.M.

9/24/44.

Dear Caric,

You can thank Butch for this unexpected letter from me. You see he and Marty were having an argument the other day over who was going to wear a pair of slippers that Butch received from one of you boys up there in Alaska about two winters ago and I told Butch that they fit Marty so let him have them as he had no other pair and Butch did have an extra pair. Well Butch let Marty have the slippers but very grudgingly and he told me to go down town and buy him another pair just like those so I had to explain to him that I could not buy another pair like that as they had come from Alaska and they did not sell slippers like that around here so he told me to write to Ced—-right now, mother! I told him I would write to you and see if you could get another pair for him so can you? Here is a description of the slippers if you can find another pair similar to the ones here. They have three “A” markings on the front in colored beads. It seems to me that there were some other beads on it too but I wouldn’t be sure now. He wears a size 12 children’s shoe if you do happen to find a pair.

I have to stop now just as I am getting started as Zeke wants to get to bed early tonight and I have to take a bath. We have all been sick this week so that is the urgent reason for getting an early start to bed but I will tell you more about that tomorrow when I continue this letter to you. Good night for now from me and Zeke too.

Sunday Night,

9:23 P.M.

10/1/44

Well, here I am again! I put down the ”9“ and then looked around at the calendar to see what day it was only to find that another month had crept up on me unawares. I think I will send Dave a note tonight too to wish him a happy birthday.

I suppose Dad has told you by now that Bob Peterson died this past week from a Tumor of the brain. It was a surprise to us here as we hadn’t even heard he was sick. Dad probably mentioned how long he was sick.

Zeke and I started bowling this last week and I am proud to state that I had the honor of bowling high score for the night with a score of 126. We bowl with the Singer dept. that Zeke works in. Johnny and Dot Heigelmann bowl with us. They give a prize for high score for women at the end of the season and if the scores had counted that night I probably would have had a good chance to win it right then and there.

Did Dad tell you that Aunt Betty fell last week and hurt her knee? I guess she had one of her dizzy spells as she didn’t trip on anything but just fell. I greatly doubt that she will last the winter out as I can see her failing more and more every time she comes down here for a visit, I believe she is losing weight too. We were talking about Christmas today and trying to find out what the different people wanted and Aunt Betty said she thought having somebody else do the cooking would be the best Christmas she ever had in her life. I felt awfully sorry for her at the time and thought what a shame it was that she had to do all the cooking.

Well, Zeke wants to go to bed early again and is almost finished with his bath so I had better cut this short if I want to get that birthday note written to Dave tonight.

Love,

Biss

P.S. The rest send their love too.

Tomorrow, a quick note from Marian to Grandpa, then another letter from Grandpa to his boys (and Marian). 

Judy Guion

 

Family – Birthday Wishes To Ced From Biss – June 7, 1945

Elizabeth Westlin (Guion) Zabel

Sunday Aft.

4:40 P.M.

6/2/1945

Dear Ced —

Just a short note to wish you a Happy Birthday. I thought (Butch was pestering me there, I made a mistake) of you yesterday and was going to write you a note then but I got busy washing the walls here in the kitchen and didn’t get the time. I should be washing this floor right now but I don’t feel ambitious enough at present so I’m not going to bother. I got a letter from Barby (Barbara Plumb) this past week and she mentioned that she had gotten a letter from Dan in which he said he only needs 71 points so I don’t know what they will do with him. She has only 41 and is longing to come home on a furlough and then get to another theater of war. That must mean the Pacific. She said she wouldn’t want to be kept in the states. I also got a letter from Dave, which I have to answer this afternoon and they cut half of it out so it didn’t make much sense. He was talking about morals. Zeke went up to get his physical this past Thursday and his papers were stamped with “general service” but I doubt very much that they will take him as the quotas are very light from his board. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens – it’s pretty late for him to go in now tho’.

Jean (Mortensen) Guion (Mrs. Dick)

I guess Jean is pretty thrilled about going to S.A. (South America) to join Dick – I imagine she will go around Aug. or Sept. Dad has probably told you about it in a letter to you. Another thing he probably mentioned is that it is a horribly disagreeable day today. We had snow flurries here this past week. Mrs. Zabel lost all her string beans, two tomato plants, her strawberries, and I believe her grapes. Imagine having freezing weather in June! So is it as bad up there too? We had some flatfish for dinner this noon that Zeke caught this morning. He is going to go out again next Sunday. I think I’ll cut this letter short as the kids are slowly driving me nuts! They have had two fights already since I started this letter and they are being a general nuisance – they keep hitting my arm and touching the ink etc. I wish it were nice out so I could kick them both outside. They have been heckling both Zeke and myself to go up to Trumbull but Zeke took a snooze and neither one of us feels like going out. Zeke just suggested going down to Tomlinson’s for a hotdog but I don’t want to go unless he goes too. It’s raining and I don’t feel like standing in line for 15 minutes just to get a hotdog. I weigh 117 ½ pounds now and am feeling much better as a whole than I did back in January. The kids haven’t been sick once since I had their tonsils out last Nov. Of course they have had one or two slight colds – but no fever or anything. Well, I’ll write you again sometime when I have the time and when I have something to say – which isn’t very often.

Love,

Biss

P.S. I had a swell time when I went to New York with the girls or did I tell you that in my last letter?  B

Tomorrow and Sunday, two more letters from Biss while she was living in St. Petersburg in 1934-35. Next week I’ll be posting letters written in 1941

World War II Army Adventure (58-2) – Dear Dave – Hurricane Damage – September 16, 1944

This is the other half of the letter Biss began on Thursday night, September 14, 1944. These are pictures of some of the tree damage around the Trumbull house.

 

 

 

Saturday night,

11:13 P.M.

9/16/44

I regret to inform you that quite a bit of damage was done to the old hunting grounds.  The other half of our pet Apple tree finally succumbed to the ravages of Mother Nature.  A large limb from the Maple tree standing just over the old sand bed fell over the roof of Kit’s side of the house but as far as I know there was no damage done to the house itself (Kit is Katherine Warden, who is continuing to rent the apartment, with her two children,  while her husband, Paul, is in the service.).  The maple in the front of Kit’s part, where we had our rope swing at one time, also lost a large limb and leaves quite a large opening in the front of the house.  The maple on the same side, only across the driveway, which was a fairly young one if you remember correctly, fell down and knocked the pine tree that was beside it down also.  The top of the pine tree in front of the house came off but luckily it doesn’t show, however, the top of the pine tree just in front of the garage also lost its top and it very definitely does show.  I believe we lost one or two of the pines over by the garage, you know the small ones that were put there in recent years.  As I remember it, that is the extent of the damage done around our house.

Now for the rest of the neighborhood.  Do you remember the great big maple that used to be at the side of Mantle’s house? Well, it is no more.  From the looks of it, it pulled up the sidewalk at the same time.  The pine tree in front of Bushy’s old house was cut in half and I guess they will have to cut the rest of it down themselves.  There are a couple of Elm trees or something in front of Danny Well’s old house,  or in other words, Bushy’s present domicile, and I don’t know whether the trees fell down completely or whether just the large limbs fell, but I do know that what ever it was it blocked the road pretty completely.  I was too busy trying to maneuver around the tree to notice what it was that had fallen, Dad will probably give you a more accurate description anyway so it doesn’t really make much difference that I didn’t notice too closely.  I am three quarters asleep so you will have to excuse the numerous mistakes.  Zeke is in the other room sawing wood and I think he has the right idea.

Marty was sick last night and I didn’t get to bed until about three thirty and I was up off and on through the rest of the night, so consequently, I have been rather groggy (nothing unusual, I know.)  all day.  Butch didn’t think I went without enough sleep last night, so he is sick tonight, to finish me off completely.  Don’t ask me what is wrong with them as your guess is as good as mine.  It seems to be a touch of indigestion along with a fever and it only lasts for a day – – something they ate no doubt.  Maybe it was the excitement  of the storm that caused it, who knows?  It could be the apples that they have been eating so abundantly of late too.  We have about a bushel that fell off in the storm and every time I turn around, the kids have another one in their mouth.  There are about six apples in the basket with one bite taken out of each, that I rescued from the kids.  It reminds me of that old story of the farmer boy that took a bite out of each apple in the barrel at his grandmother’s house or something, you get the idea anyway, I hope.  Well I have to stop right here in sheer desperation as my eyes refuse to stay open any longer and I don’t even know what I am putting down on the paper anymore so if the end here is incoherent you can understand.

Love,

Biss

P.S. I almost forgot – – Butch gave me explicit orders to tell you that he wants you to come home Wednesday as he wants to visit with you and then you can go back the next day after Wednesday — What day is that, Mommy?

Tomorrow, I will begin posting a week of letters written in the summer of 1944. 

Judy Guion

 

 

 

World War II Army Adventure (58-1) – Dear Dave – A Letter From Biss – September 14, 1944

 

         Elizabeth (Biss) Guion Zabel

Thursday night,

9:15 P. M.

9/14/44.

Dear Dave,

As you have guessed from the time on the letterhead, we are in the middle of our second hurricane — at least the second hurricane that I can remember.  There is no sign of any damage around here but tomorrow I expect to go for a ride and see what I can see.  I woke both the kids up to see the wind but Butch wasn’t interested.  Marty got up and watched for a few minutes but he didn’t seem too impressed at the time altho’ tomorrow he will probably be all excited and Butch will probably be quite put out that we didn’t awaken him to let him see it to.  I may not be able to finish this letter as the lights will probably be going out pretty soon they have been flickering on and off all evening.

Dad and Aunt Betty were down for supper tonight and Aunt Betty was quite worried about the storm altho’ it didn’t seem to faze Dad in the least.  I guess they got home all right tho’, as they left here about 7:30 and the storm didn’t hit here until about 8:30 and that was plenty of time for them to get home.  I guess Jean went straight home from work when she heard the storm warnings and saw the rain beginning to come down.  That started coming down about 5:30.

Butch does not live up to the Guion tradition of detesting school but quite the contrary, loves it very much and can’t wait to get there.  Every day he comes home and tells me everything that they did including going to the bathroom.  He only goes half a day and wants to know when he can go all day.  Marty is anxious to go too but he has to wait two more years yet as he was born after January 1st.  However, he is very glad to see Butch go every day as he can play anything he pleases without having any(one) plaguing him.  They have gotten to the stage where they are always having fist fights and of course Marty always comes off second best.

Bob Jennings is home on leave and he wishes he could see you.  I guess most of his friends are gone from the old hunting grounds.

If you thought about us here you would have made it a point to stop in and see us the last time you were home, you old so and so!  I’ll bet you that you heard from me before you did Dick — right?  In fact, I’ll bet you he won’t write for a good long time to come.  I’m still peeved because I didn’t get one of those good pictures of you and Jean did!  After all, there are a lot of pictures of you hanging around up at the house that she can look at any time she feels like but I can’t do that!  I resent being pushed into second place like that even if I did ask favors of you all the time.  I’ll bet Jean was always asking favors too.  Well I had better get off that subject as I always get in a stew about it and end up getting mad at Jean who isn’t to blame in the least except that she is favored above me because of her better disposition and looks but after all I can’t help being me!

Have you remembered that fellow’s name as yet?  I can’t imagine who he could be.  Maybe I didn’t know the guy for, as you know, there were a lot of people that went to school at the same time that I did and I didn’t know all of them by a long shot.

Well, I think I will stop here for now as it is almost 11:30 and I will continue tomorrow after I have seen what damage was done by the storm and report same to you.  I put 9:15 at the beginning only to find that the clock stopped at that time so I don’t know what time it was when I started this thing to you but I would guess that it must have been about 10:45.

—Goodnight—

Tomorrow I will finish this letter to Dave from his sister, Elizabeth, known as Biss to family and friends.  I don’t know how Elizabeth got the name Biss, but I have thought about it.  Biss was about seven and a half when Dave was born.  I can imagine that when he started talking, Elizabeth was a difficult name for him to pronounce and he might be, in fact, the person who first started calling her Biss.  This is only a conjecture on my part. 

Judy Guion

 

Family – Dear Ced – Biss Writes to Ced – May 3, 1945

 

           Elizabeth (Biss) (Guion) Zabel

Butch and Marty

Thurs. nite

10:45 P. M.

5/3/45

Dear Ced –

If my writing seems stiff tonight it is because I am cold and my hands are stiff. We got your package last night and enjoyed it very much. Butch has fallen in love with his slippers and Marty is quite jealous so he won’t allow Butch to look at his book. He gets a big kick out of the real fuzz on the bear. They got up before I did this morning and raided the candy, however I rescued about half of it so Zeke and I weren’t gypped completely. I was a little jealous of Butch and his slippers myself because my shoes have holes in them and it has been raining all this week practically and every time I go out I get my feet wet. I have no slippers and I was looking at Butch’s slippers with an envious eye wishing they were a little larger so I could slip into them and warm my feet up. Is it too much to ask to see if you can get three more pairs of slippers? I know that is rather nervy of me! Zeke wears an 8/2 shoe, I wear 6-6 1/2 and the slippers are a little large (size 2 – which is three sizes larger than his shoe) but they will be just right by the time winter gets here. Sooo – Marty, I should judge by that, should get about a size 13 child’s or size 1. As for Zeke and myself, our feet have stopped growing (I think) so we should have ½ – 1 size larger, I guess, then our shoes are. If you can get them (lined with warmth if possible – you know flannel or some other warm substance) please do and let me know how much I owe you. Zeke’s slippers are worn out and Marty’s have worn out since I wrote you that letter asking for slippers for Butch — Well, enough for that –

I suppose Dad told you Sunday, when he wrote, that Aunt Elsie came up from N. Y. Last Thursday feeling quite ill — well she was planning to go back to N.Y. Monday afternoon after she had seen the doctor but when she saw him, he told her she had to go back to bed for a week and under no conditions whatsoever was she to set foot out of the bed. She has a very bad case of varicose veins which caused her foot – rather leg – to buckle under every little while causing her to fall. I don’t know what happens when the week is up. As for me – my weight is up to 115 pounds now and I am feeling like a million dollars, full of pep and rarin’ to go. I have better color than I had and I haven’t had a cold or any other sickness all winter (knock on wood!)

Erwin Laufer and Bill Knopf got home Monday. Bill is going to be married this Sat. Erwin was over last night and he is looking like a million dollars. He is the first one I have seen that came back “of sound mind and body”. I still haven’t gotten over the thrill of seeing him looking so well. I was so afraid he would be all nerves and a little ______ the way Erv (Zeke’s brother), Art, Bill Tomak, and the rest have come back. Erwin always was rather moody which made me even surer that the fighting would leave him somewhat demented but thank God he is perfectly normal. We sat up until two A.M. this morning talking – he did most of the talking, about all we did was to ask questions. He doesn’t drink the way the other fellows do either – or chase after anything that is wearing a dress. Those other fellows rather disgust me. I can overlook a certain amount but there is a limit to everything I think and they go beyond. Of course Erwin may be that way too but he didn’t appear to be in his manner of talking and acting. He is a buck sergeant, you know. He said he turned it down about five times as he didn’t want to have the responsibility of the men’s lives in his hands but he finally accepted it a while before he came home as you lose just about one rating in pay when you come back here. I couldn’t begin to tell you all of the interesting tales he had to relate. Well, I think I had better stop rambling and go to bed as it was late – or rather early – when I went to bed last night (or rather this morning) and it is fast approaching the midnight curfew. “The Three Caballeros” ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Caballeros ) is playing at the theater so I guess I’ll have to take the boys to see it this coming Sunday. They have been waiting for it to come to Bridgeport as they have seen advertisements for it in different magazines. The rain is pouring down outside and the wind is blowing a veritable gale. My doors keep rattling and I can feel the wind blowing across my feet, that is because the kids broke one of the windows on the sunporch today – how I hate rainy weather when I have to keep those wild Indians in the house. There is no school this week and so far we have had three days of rain – I am just about to the end of my rope. If it rains again tomorrow – as it is supposed to do- I think I will become a jabbering idiot! Do I see a sardonic smile on your face at that last remark? Well, good night for now and I’ll write again. Thanks again for the package.

Love,

Biss

This weekend I’ll be posting more of Dave’s World War II Army Adventure.

Next week I’ll post letter written in 1941. Lad will be coming home from Venezuela soon and lots of people are looking forward ti that event.

Judy Guion

Biss Writes to Ced – Question About Ced’s Deferment – March 31, 1944

Elizabeth, known as Biss to family and friends,  Grandpa’s only daughter, is married and living in Stratford, CT, a few miles from Trumbull. She and Zeke Zabel have two boys, Grandpa’s first two grandchildren.

            Elizabeth (Biss) Guion Zabel

Friday afternoon

2:07 P.M.

3/31/44

Dear Ced: —

I am going to do a mean thing to you and write a very short note, as it is well into the PM already and I have touched nothing at all in the house. Besides I have just finished writing five other letters and am beginning to get tired. I wrote Alfred, Aunt Dorothy, Uncle Burton, Peg and Viv. Viv was disappointed because she didn’t get to see you while you were home. I am writing mainly to find out how you made out with your deferment and whether or not this new law, of all under 26, will spoil your deferment for you – I hope you will be able to hold off until June and maybe you will be able to keep out altogether.

I got a letter from Aunt Dorothy this morning and she is up and around again – that is what started me on this writing spree. I had been meaning to write her ever since I found out she was laid up. I am beginning to feel like my old self again, thank goodness. Butch is supposed to be in bed with a cold but I think he is out more than in – I have told him to get back to bed so far about 100 times at least. Marty just came in from outside with wet feet and pants so he has to go to bed as soon as he is through  in the bathroom. They’re going to have their pictures taken tomorrow night in their sailor suits. I wish it would get nice and warm out – we have had a couple of warm days so far and it just makes one inpatient for more of them. Marty is calling so I guess I had better close here.

Love,

Biss

P.S. – My arm is so tired it is stiff and sore – that is my real reason for stopping.

Tomorrow, a quick note from Lad to Grandpa, Thursday, another letter from Grandpa and on Friday, another letter to Ced from Peg, a friend in Trumbull.

Judy Guion