Sunday, March 6, 2011

George's Letters: 1-4-1943








Jan 4, 1943


Darling George! Happy New Year!
   Well, it seems to me as though I owe you a letter. But you should know by this time just about how hard it is for me to get one written. I'm in a defense plant as you know all ready, Collins Radio Company to be exact. All we've done out here all evening is sit and talk and write letters. Boy, have we been busy! It is just one hour until we can all go home and get to bed. Oh, happy day! I'm in the shipping dept. and for some unknown reason we haven't had a thing to do tonight. I'm on the shift from 5 till one in the morning. It is swell to work those hours as we can keep our minds off those things that would generally bother us if we were home all evening. It keeps me from getting lonesome for you. Of course, I am any how, but I suppose I will just have to wait until this is all over before I can call you my own, then I suppose I'll have to fight a war all by myself to keep you all my own. I'll be so darned glad when I can kiss you again and be in your arms that I will probably faint or pass out on you when I am.
   I haven't been doing any thing of interest lately only working and sleeping. I don't get home from work until 1:30 A.M. and by the time I read the paper and get to bed it is two o'clock and then I go right to sleep and sleep through until any time between 9 and 12 noon. Then I'm up all afternoon and have to get all of my work done between the time I get up and three o'clock, so you see I really don't have very many spare minutes. I'm off from 1 A.M. Saturday till five o'clock Sunday afternoon and the only thing I accomplished this weekend was getting my washing and sewing done.
   Well, I'm home now and it is 1:40 A.M. and before I go to bed I am going to finish this letter so that it will get mailed tomorrow. At the same time I'm finishing up the bottom layer of a box of cherrie chocolates. Boy, are they good! Sure wish you were here to help me eat them.
   I spent a very dull and boring New Year's Eve, but I couldn't help it any. All of the kids that I ever went with are gone or else had dates so I went up to danceland as I usually do by myself and met a whole gang of girls and a bunch of kids from Collins. I just about bawled when midnight got here and there was nobody kissing me. Honestly sweetheart you will never know how I felt. To tell you the truth, I just don't care to go any where any more at all because I don't have any fun. I know I shouldn't talk or feel that way but it is the truth. I suppose you had a very wonderful evening. What did you do? Write and tell me about it. It is snowing and blizzarding and has been all day yesterday and is right now. Dad tried to teach mother to ice skate on the river the other day, but for some unknown reason she couldn't stand up. Boy, did I laugh at them. Dad got released from the doctor Saturday afternoon so tomorrow he goes to work all day, and the kids go back to school so I'll get to sleep without so many interruptions. (All I have to do now is hit Grandma in the head & keep her & the radio quiet and the neighbors out and the telephone from ringing then I can sleep in peace!) Ha! Ha!
   I went up and had my eyes tested and Dr.Stansbury told me I was missing out on half of my life so he sent me & a prescription over to Pigg's (could be Rigg's?) Optical Company and now I wear glasses all the time. They have pinkish colored rims and are tinted and non-breakable. They are very nice, only for the fact that they get awfully dirty.
   Well, my sweet little darling, I'm awfully tired and my hand aches and Mom just hollered at me to come to bed, so I guess I had better tell you how much I do miss you and how much I do love you and finish this for tonite. I miss you so much that I could just bawl at times because you aren't here. And you will never know how much I do love you until you get back here. I'll even be "persuaded", as you put it, to be a bad girl then, but not until then.
   Well, sweetheart, good-night for now, and good-luck to you on your journey and don't give up the ship, remember, I'll always be here waiting for you.


With all my love to the swellest guy on earth.
Lots of Love and Kisses,
Ethella


Excuse the pencil, my pen is out of ink and the factory doesn't have any.


P.S. When is your birthday and how old will you be? Don't forget to answer this as I want to know & it is very important that I find out!
E.M.




HISTORICAL NOTE: The reference to George's "journey" refers to the ship he was stationed on , the U.S.S. Token, being commissioned on Dec 31, 1942. From the Wikipedia page:


"USS Token (AM-126) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Token was laid down on 21 July 1941 at Chickasaw, Alabama, by the Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation; launched on 28 March 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Charles Hunt Ross; and commissioned on 31 December 1942, with Lt. Comdr. William H. Harrison, USNR, in command." 
Here is a link to the full Wiki page for the U.S.S. Token:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Token_(AM-126)

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