A long disruption in the missiles from Michigan is explained. Lester is ill. He’ll be fine, but his concern for the health of his folks is a bit humorous here. Burn the letter so you don’t get my mumps! This is the first letter that arrived without a stamp. Postage evidently was free to servicemen for a while.
Saturday evening
Dear Folks
I guess it was a good thing that I didn’t get to come home because I am in sick bay again for awhile. Now don’t get scared because I’m not very bad. I have one of the nicest cases of mumps you ever saw! On both sides, too. No need to make two cases of it when one will do, is there? I came in Thursday evening. I wasn’t really sick then but I just had a feeling that it was going to be mumps so didn’t want to take any chances. I am feeling pretty good now though I still have some temperature & my jaws & neck are still swollen. I’m not allowed to get out of bed for several days yet. I don’t even sit up except to eat.
It was just three months ago tonight that I entered sick bay the other time.
Most of my bunch left here yesterday morning. The new ones got here last night. I never did write to Nelson Parrish. Do you know if he is still at Great Lakes? Wayne Howard is in the army in California. Dad, do you have a friend at Algona, Iowa? The name sounds familiar. I know a boy by the name of Hardgrove from there.
There is a possibility that you might contact the mumps from me thru a letter so I probably won’t write any more until that danger is past. Please explain to Josephine why I’m not writing to her. I’m getting along ok & have the very best of care so there is nothing to worry about.
Better burn this immediately!
Love
Lester
Obviously, nobody burned the letter. Not immediately. Not even after seven decades. Apparently the folks didn’t believe they’d contract mumps from reading Lester’s words.
On the same day he wrote the previous letter, Lester received a letter from his younger brother Wallace. He started a reply that very evening, but finished it a few days later.
In this April letter, he again mentioned his uniform, apparently in answer to a question from his brother. This may be a good time to share images of a couple of Lester’s uniforms.
Woolen uniform for cold weather. Note all the buttons.The back side.
They had been carefully stored since 1942, turned inside out and kept in a box. I imagine my grandmother had stored them in her attic. After she was gone, they came to my father (Wallace in this letter.) After he was gone, they came to me. They’ve been through a flood or two, a move or two, and remain remarkably intact.
In preparing them for a photo, I felt awed by the fact that nobody had worn this clothing for over seventy years. I tried to imagine the pain Lester’s mother and father (my grandparents), his sister and his brothers must have felt when his clothing was shipped home without Lester in them.
April 1, 1942
Dear Wallace
I received your letter today after I had written to the folks so I will answer yours now while I have some time to spare. You are welcome to all the clothes. No, I don’t usually buy Our Navy because it costs a quarter but there are usually a few copies around the dormitory. I got a Ford paper today which I will try to send to you. I would be glad to get a copy of the Booster.
Yes, I was vaccinated for small pox the same way as you were except they didn’t take time to stick me fifteen times, about four or five, I think. I got shot about a dozen times including Schick tests & none of them made my arm sore. I was quite fortunate because it made some of the boys quite sick.
Yes, we have a radio. It is a table model which sits on the shelf. It is on continuously from 0530 to 2130 (9:30 PM).
Yes, I have two stripes on my cuff now but I haven’t started to draw second class pay yet. I hope I will draw it this week. We should get paid the last of this week.
Tuesday evening—April 7th.
Sturdy cotton. Ideal for summer wear.
Well, I didn’t have any news to tell you & not much time to write either so will try to finish this today. We got paid yesterday afternoon & I drew my second class pay & also some back pay. Twenty-four bucks. I should get about sixteen each payday now & more if that new law is passed. I managed to save some of it all along since I don’t take so many liberties & don’t usually spend much when I do go out.
The back side.
I am sending you the Ford news & have numbered some of the pictures. Number one is the large tool & die plant which we pass every day on returning from school in the morning. Number two is where we attend classes. We are on the floor with the first row of windows. We enter at the door marked X. The busses bring us to the walk at the front of the picture. The white ridge just above. . . .
(The rest of this letter is missing. I have to wonder what else he told his younger brother.)
With a little time on his hands on a week-day morning in April, Lester scrawls a note home to the folks. Post mark on the envelope is 8 PM on April 1, 1942. Dearborn, Michigan.
Wednesday morning
Dear Folks,
What are you doing?
It’s the same routine for me. We had fire drill last night a little after nine. I had just gotten in my hammock & was very comfortable when the bugle blew. I put on my trousers, shoes & a coat & went to my station. All of us have a certain job to do in case of a fire. There wasn’t any fire but we went thru the actions just as though there was a fire.
Another of Mr. Ford’s ships has just pulled out this morning. There are only about three ships left.
Our barracks cleaning details have been changed. I have been washing doors but I am on the deck crew now. We steel-wool, wax & polish the decks.
We are going to put on a parade in Detroit next Monday. I don’t know if I will be in it or not but I suppose I will be. Monday is Army day and the Navy is putting on the parade for them.
Postal card from the U.S. Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, Ill. 1941
We are having special services for Easter on Sunday. I am supposed to get liberty but I don’t know yet what I will do. A friend has asked me to go home with him if we get a 72 hour liberty which we probably won’t. In fact, I have two invitations for the week-end. I don’t suppose I will get to take either of them.
Today is April Fool’s day. Did any of you get caught? I haven’t yet but the day is still young.
Time to go to school so must close. Will try to write more next time.
On March 30, 1942 Lester mailed home two letters in the same envelope, written a week apart. Both described details of his daily life at the US Navy Service School in Dearborn, Michigan as well as trips into town.
March 24 – 1942
Dear Folks
It is very quiet in the barracks this afternoon as most of the boys are in the shops. I didn’t go to school or shop today because I had Seaman guard last night & today. That is an outside watch where we “walk a post” for two hours at a time, take four hours off & go back on again for another two hours. We get four hours night watch & two hours day watch. During the time off in the day we are supposed to work in the barracks but I worked this morning removing varnish with sandpaper so I don’t intend to work this afternoon unless someone tells me to. The master-at-arms just came in & asked me to come in the office to write my letter so I could answer the telephone if it rings. I don’t like to miss out on school but it can’t be helped & it doesn’t come very often.
Before I forget it again, I want you to send me a check on the Dunlap bank & the premium amount & address of my United Life Insurance policy. It will be due before long.
This has been a lovely spring day, warm with a southwest breeze. Hope it stays this way for quite a while. Talking about Spring, I had rhubarb pie for dinner last Sunday. It was in a restaurant in Detroit. It sure was good. A friend & I went to the flower show in Convention Hall on Sunday. I wish all of you could have seen it. Flowers of every color, shape & variety. One small room was entirely filled with orchids. A large V was formed by growing flowers. Ponds & creeks had been constructed inside the building. Trees ten to fifteen feet tall were planted & growing. Quite a few entries were in colors of red, white & blue. Wallace would have enjoyed the exhibit of butterflies which I saw. The largest collection in the world. Thousands of them, ranging in size from about a quarter-inch to a ten-inch wing spread. Many of them were from South America. We spent about two hours at the show. Tickets were a dollar but we got in free. All of the places are very generous about admitting us free or at greatly reduced prices.
I see on the work sheet here on the desk that we are invited to the broadcast of “We the People” on Wednesday night. I think I have liberty then so will probably go to it. I had intended to stay home but that sort of opportunity doesn’t come any too often.
The watch I bought seems to keep perfect time & I think it is very good looking. I wouldn’t like to be without it now. The boys are starting to return from school so things will liven up now.
So much noise I can’t think so guess I will have to stop for this time.
Love to all,
Lester
Sunday morning, March 29
Dear Folks
I received your letter & was glad to hear from you. Did Wallace get the magazine I sent to him? It is quite popular with us.
It snowed Friday night but it is all melted now. The grass is greening up & the birds are singing. Spring must be here. There aren’t many birds here except sea gulls. They are larger than the sea gulls we see at home in the spring.
Another ship went out this morning. The tugs pull them out of the canal backwards, turn them around in the river & pull them on downstream. I don’t know how far the tugs take them.
I went to church this morning. Quite a number of the boys were there. We get liberty next Sunday which will be Easter. I don’t know yet if I will go out or stay on the station.
I’ll try to get a rock for you, mom. Glad you told me what you wanted. I sent a little vase to Aunt Clara for her collection. I got it at the flower show. I found some cute little glass ships too, but I was afraid they were too fragile to send thru the mail. If any of the rest of you have hobbies, let me know what they are. I haven’t seen any cactuses up here. There aren’t any corn fields & the only wheat field is the one that Mr. Fords trade school boys have planted.
Lester Proehl is in the marines, isn’t he? No, you hadn’t told me that Roy had joined the navy.
I have quite a lot of studying to do & a watch to stand this afternoon & clothes to wash so will close.
Keeping busy at the training station. Photo postal card 1941.
March 19, 1942
Dear Folks
I received your letter today so will try to get a letter off by tomorrow morning. No there isn’t any special history connected with the handkerchief, just a little souvenir from Canada. Nearly all the stores were closed so we didn’t have much of a choice. I don’t know whether I will go on liberty this week or not.
I expect to be here about another month. We are supposed to leave here April 24th. My last weeks grades averaged 3.6 which a little above average. 4.0 is equal to 100.
I will try to write to Nelson Parrish soon. Not much chance of us seeing each other.
Glad to know that dad has got the crops started. Did you sow the lespedza out west of the garden? I didn’t realize that St. Patricks day was this week until I heard some of the boys talking about planting potatoes. Mr. Ford is starting to send his ships out this week & they say that Spring is here when he does that. A little tug boat is used to pull the ships out of the canal. Two of the largest ships are still here.
Is Merle going to Calif. too? I didn’t know that Roy was in the service. Did Ola have a job? Rymans probably won’t hear from Ernest very often cause the ships don’t go into port very often.
If Nelson is in a barracks close to the water then they certainly are expanding rapidly cause I never was close enough to see the water.
Skyline of Detroit, Michigan from Windsor, Ontario.
March 12, 1942
Dear Folks
Did you get the cards which I sent to you from Canada? I wrote them in a drugstore in Windsor & left them for the druggist to mail. Nearly everything costs more in Canada than it costs here but our money is worth more than theirs. If we spend a Canadian dime here we must give a penny also. If we change a dollar into their money we get one dollar & ten cents. I tried to find a few souvenirs for all of you but they didn’t have a very large variety from which to choose so will try to find something for the men some other time. Mom, I am sending you a handkerchief which I bought in Windsor, Canada, also one to Frances & to Josephine.
I received your letter at noon today & was glad to hear from you. How are the baby chicks? Hope you have good luck with them. If the weather continues as warm as it is now it will soon be time to plant garden. We saw garden seeds in the store windows in Windsor the other day. It rains quite a lot up here but is very nice at the present time.
A friend & I went into Detroit last night & went to a stage show put on by the navy. It lasted about an hour & a half & was good enough that they made recordings of some of the singing. It was better than most of the programs we have here. We hitch-hiked & it didn’t take very long. The people around here are very good about giving us rides. A lot of the Ford workers drive to & from work from Detroit. We can ride the buses & street cars free but it is faster to catch rides & it is about two miles to the bus or car lines. A liberty party of three hundred or so can leave the station & in twenty minutes none of them will be walking. There isn’t any danger for the drivers because a sailor wouldn’t dare rob or hurt them & we aren’t in danger because we always travel in pairs. Sunday night by the time we reached the station, eight sailors were in the car in which I was riding. The man who picked us up made a special trip just to bring us to the station. That’s the kind of people that live around here.
Greenfield village is closed to visitors this winter so we didn’t get to visit it. If Ford Museum is open I want to go visit it sometime.
I have just returned from getting another haircut. That is a regular occurrence every two weeks. Also I got my blanket back from the cleaners. I had it dry-cleaned because they are wool & are so big they are hard to handle in a bucket. However I think I shall try to wash it next time. Wish we had a washing machine. If it were allowed, we could all chip in & buy one but our navy regulations wouldn’t allow that. I have some washing to do yet this evening.
This morning after most of the boys had gone to school, a call came for a working party. All of us in this room that were left had to go. We unloaded part of a carload of canned goods & flour. I was glad I didn’t get on the working detail the other day when they had to unload 40 tons of sugar. That’s a lot of sugar. They have quite a number of hundred pound sacks of rice & beans. I took nine cases of spinach in for dinner. Each case weighed about forty pounds. I don’t know whether they used all of it or not. The cooks had pork shops on the stove & it kept them busy turning those chops. They were sure good. Paul it was too bad about your dinner pail. You might have gone hungry. Write again sometime.
February 21, 1942 was Lester’s twenty-fourth birthday. Amazingly enough, his mother baked a cake and sent it to help him celebrate. This was his first birthday a long way from home, and though none knew it at the time, it was to be his last birthday.
Lester with his sister Frances about 1920.
February 21-1942
Saturday evening
Dear Folks
I received your card & letter yesterday & the cake arrived today. It was in perfect condition and still fresh and very good. We haven’t eaten all of it yet. I didn’t set it out for everyone because there wouldn’t be enough to go around but some of the boys in my section helped me sample it.
I did intend to go on liberty this evening and tomorrow but we are quarantined on the station because of scarlet fever. Two men from this dormitory were taken ill this morning with it. If I should happen to get it, someone will let you know but I will be OK. You don’t need to come to see me because they wouldn’t let you in.
I had planned to go over into Canada and see what it looks like. If you look on the map you will see that Windsor, Canada is only a short distance from Detroit. We are allowed to cross the border without a passport.
I received a birthday card from Margaret & Hank but they didn’t write anything. I wish that since she used a three cent stamp on it, that she had written a few lines. I think I told you I got a Christmas card from Anne the other day. It has been at Great Lakes all this time.
Ambassador Bridge at Night between Detroit, Mich. and Windsor, Ont. Photo from postal card, 1942
Sunday morning
It is nine-thirty and I have just returned from church. The protestant services are held from eight-thirty until 9:30 and the Catholic services from then until ten-thirty. There seems to be about an equal number of the two denominations that go to church services. We don’t have a regular choir, usually about six or eight volunteers. It is such a nice bright day today that it will surely warm up. We don’t dress up to go to church, just wear our neckerchiefs with undress blues.
We took our second-class seaman test yesterday. It was so easy that all of us passed. We get that extra stripe on our sleeves now and should get our extra pay before too long.
I received two cards and a letter from Frances and Gloyd. Gloyd wrote the letter and said he thought Frances was taking the flu. How is she now?
There are four boys singing songs about ten feet away. Did I say singing? Well, at least they are trying. They can get plenty of volume.
This letter is progressing pretty slowly and I have several others I should answer so guess I better start on them.
Lester, on right, with his sister Frances and younger brother Wallace. About 1928.
Wallace, the addressee of this letter, was my dad. Years after 1942 he wrote this about his brother, Lester. “Although Lester was seven years older than me, we were friends and played together some. He was slight of build and was a friendly kind of person. One time when I was in grade school and it had rained a lot during the day, Lester brought a horse for me to ride home so that I wouldn’t have to walk in the mud.”
In this letter, Lester responds to one that Wallace had written him. A junior in high school, Wallace was fascinated by the technology of his time: radios and electricity. Lester encouraged this interest in his younger brother.
Ford Motor Company
Dearborn, Michigan
Friday the thirteenth February, 1942
Dear Wallace,
I will start to answer your letter this morning though I don’t have much time. I just finished washing my ditty bag so as to have it clean for inspection tomorrow. Saturday morning is always inspection in the navy. Friday is field day which means that we clean everything up extra well. We will do that tonight after chow when we get back from shop. We don’t go to school on Saturday so we usually have a little free time. Half of us are supposed to get liberty tomorrow but it isn’t my half. I am supposed to get liberty next Saturday. So far I haven’t been outside the gates up here yet.
Did you go on war time? We did of course but I don’t mind it. We still get eight hours sleep, sometimes. Last night the U.S.O. put on an entertainment for us. They had singing, dancing, acrobatics and a speaker, the kind that makes up his talk as he goes along. He was very good. Boys in the crowd gave him different topics on which to talk. Then he made them into a rhyme & sang about them. Here is part of the list they gave him: Hitler, Mussolini, McArthur, Japs, Capt. Kelly, Mr. Ford, Submarines, Pearl Harbor, Hedy Lamarr, Fox deluxe (a beer), U.S. Navy & others which I don’t remember right now. Try making those into a rhyme. We called him back for an encore & he made up rhymes about the ladies in the front. I bet they could have choked him.
I didn’t get this finished this morning so will continue this evening. Field day is over and I had a watch from 4 to 7 so I missed out on the work.
How are you getting along with your radio work? I believe it would be a good idea to learn all you can about it because if you have to enter the service, it would probably qualify you for a pretty good job. It won’t hurt anyway. Write again.
Given the frequency of his previous letters, it is hard to believe that none arrived home from early December until now. Surely there are a few missing in the collection. Perhaps he called home a time or two. Since his last letter, Lester has been accepted in the US Navy Service school at Ford Motor Company and moved to Dearborn. He spent some time in the hospital, so must have been quite ill for a while. He writes again:
Postmark: Dearborn, Mich. Feb 9 11:30 AM, 1942 US postage 3c
Sunday, Feb. 8, ‘42
Dear Folks:
I have just returned from church so will try to get a letter off to you before chow. We have church at 8:30 here & it isn’t compulsory as it was at Great Lakes. Today was my first time up here as I was in the hospital the other two Sundays. It is getting colder & the wind is quite sharp but the sun is shining so it isn’t too cold. We have had some snow but it has been above freezing most of the time so there isn’t much snow on the ground. We have had pretty nice weather so far. Hope it continues. We didn’t get liberty this weekend as we were supposed to because someone has measles or scarlet fever. That means I won’t get liberty for two more weeks as only half of us get liberty each week. Guess they must want to help us save our money. About one more month & I should be getting my $36 per month instead of $21. Yesterday was inspection day but that is about all we did except hear a lecture on firearms & march around the station for an hour. We have a little more time here than at Great Lakes but not too much at that. I went to the show last night “All Through the Night”. It was a propanganda film showing the Nazis work in the U.S. Our shows aren’t all like that. We have the same shows here as at home. I haven’t been out on liberty yet & we do the same thing every day so there isn’t much to tell you. I wrote to Myron this morning. Maybe he will get it by the 4th of July. I should answer a letter from Frances today if I can.
Lester (upper right) with his sister Frances, little brother Wallace, and their grandmother.
Dunlap Kansas
Feb. 19, 1934
Dear Lester,
I thought and thought,
And thought in vain,
And thought at last
I would sign my name.
Your friend
Leland V.
“Junior 32-34”
Council Grove Ks.
Feb. 7, 1934
Dear Lester,
As I’m a freshmen green as grass.
Forgive all mistakes and the past
And let our friendship always last.
Don’t forget the old rugged cross.
Your friend
Irmarene Walter
Dunlap, Kansas.
Jan. 18, 1934
Dear Lester,
You have friends,
Perhaps lovers—
To give them room
I’ll write on the cover.
When the golden sun is sinking
And the path no more you trod
May your name be written
On the autograph of God.
Your friend,
Winifred Weaver
May 15—34
Dear Lester
Tomorrow’s wishes never come.
Today’s wishes may be only one.
But let me wish you success in the
Many days that are to follow in the
Coming years.
Your Friend
Violet Turner
Senior 1934
Dear Lester,
You can fall from a tree
You can fall from above
But for heaven’s sakes
Don’t fall in love.
Your friend
Sistie
Dunlap, Kansas
January 8, 1934
Dear Lester,
On this page so pure & white,
To your request these lines I write,
That you may read, some future day,
Perhaps when I am far away—ha! ha!
Your friend
Beulah Blossom
Juniors of 1934
F-o-r-G-e-t-M-e-N-o-t.
Forget Dunlap Kans me
Feb. 1, 1934
Dear Lester
Down by the river on a rock
Is wrote forget-me-not.
Your schoolmate
Melvin W.
(Soph) not
Dunlap Kans.
April 4, 1934
Friend Lester,
Down in the meadow
There is a rock,
On it is written
Forget-me-not.
I have enjoyed our classes and friendship
During the days at D.R. H.S.
I wish you plenty of success through life.
A friend,
Nina Combs
Dunlap, Kans. May 13-1935
Dear Lester:
First in your album
Last in your heart,
First to be remembered
But last to be forgot.
Your friend,
Juanita Stewart
Soph. 1934-35
Dear Lester,
If you could look into my heart
And see the love that’s there,
Then turn it into money
You would be a millionaire.
Your brother,
Wallace H.
Dear Lester
When you get married
And live across the river
I’ll kill my dogs
And send you the liver.
Melvin Whitaker and Morris Cole
Seniors 1935-36
Dunlap Ks.
April 3, 1935
Dear Lester:
When the golden sun is sinking,
And your mind is free from care,
When of others you are thinking,
Won’t you sometimes think of me?
Margaret Linn
Sr. 1935
Friend Lester:–
I am your friend always.
Sincerely
Chas. Tomlinson
Dunlap Kans.
May 14, 1935
Dear Lester
Up on a hill
There is a rock
Carved on this rock
Are three little words
Forget me not.
Your friend
George Hylton
Freshman 34-35
Dear Lester
Some love one
Some love two
But the only one I love is you.
Your friend
Chester Miller
Dunlap Kans.
May 18, 1935
Lester,
I wish you much success and happiness in your future life,
And I also wish you a cute little wife and cute kids.
I have not been in any of your classes but have heard you
Are a good student.
When you are building your chimney of life count me as a brick.
For-get-me-not A friend
Arline Wirsig
Dunlap, Kansas
April 3, 1935
Remember the good old D.R.H.S.
Dear Lester,
I will write on pink
Because I can’t think
How to tell you
To be blue.
Remember the senior play.
Remember the day Prof was gone.
Down by the river there is a rock
And on it is written for-get-me-not.
I write in green because it is my color.
Your friend
Oscar Young
Freshman 34-35
Dunlap, Kans
April 3, 1935
Dear Lester
I thought and thought in vain
Finally I thought I sign my name.
Your friend,
Archie Hylton
Don’t forget when Prof’s father-in-law
Died and you acted as Prof.
Dunlap, Kans
April 4, 1935
Dear Lester,
When the golden sun is sinking,
And this path no more you trod,
May your name in gold be written
In the autograph of God.
I am wishing you much success in your future life.
May it be filled with happiness.
Remember the Senior play “Hobglblin House,”
The student council & the many other things
That have taken place at D.R. H.S.
A friend who happens to be a senior,
Elaine Drummond
(Better known as Stubby.)
Dunlap, Kansas,
April 3, 1935
Dear Lester,
I wish you health, I wish you joy. I wish you first a baby boy and
When his hair begins to curl, I wish you then a baby girl.
Remember our school days in D.R. H.S. and my sophomore year
When you sat behind me. Wishing you much success in all your undertakings,
Nellie Evelyn
Dunlap, Ks.
April 4, 1935
Dear Lester—
You took me by surprise as I guess the
Only thing I really have to say is that I wish you
Success all through life in whatever you undertake
To do.
Remember the constitution and Sociology
Classes we have gone through.
Oh! Yes. Don’t forget all our spats we
Have had. Though they were few & far between.
Your friend
Dorothy Ryman
“Senior 34-35”
Dunlap, Ka
April 4, 1935
Dear Lester,
Leaves may wither
Flowers may die
Some may forget you
But never will I.
Your friend
Sylvia Pater
F-o-r-get-me-not. Of a Freshman
Dear Lester,
Up in the barn and over the rafters
Maxcine Blanton’s the girl you’re after.
Soph (34-35)
SCB April 4, 1935
Dunlap Kansas
D.R.H.S.
April 11, 1935
Dear Lester
Remember the good days
In D.R.H.S. and the
Spanish class. HA! HA!
You’re friend
Pete Cessmon
Dunlap, Kansas
April 4, 1935
Dear Lester:
I’ve looked these pages
Over & over to see what others
Wrote before. At last I chose
This little spot to leave
A small for-get-me-not.
A Senior Friend
Alberta (Bert)
Senior 1934-35
Wishing you the best of luck &
happiness thru out the rest of your life.
Dunlap, Kans.
May 14_35
Dear Lester,
Remember me
And don’t forget
You have a friend
In Kansas yet.
Your friend
Francis Edwards
For-get-me-not! Freshman 34-35
Lindsay, Calif.
July 7, 1935
Dear Lester:
I am having a swell trip and glad
You are still around this country.
This Kansas weather isn’t the same as Sunny
Calif so you will hafto come out and
Find out for yourself. And for the
Girls they rase them nice and they are
Pretty too so you won’t get lonesome.
Ha ha. Well I don’t want to write a letter
So will sign off. Hears how:
Your Friend.
Wayne H.
Dunlap Kans.
May 14, 1935
Dear Lester:
Well as I can’t think of anything to write,
just remember our D.R.H.S. days to-gether.
Your friend
Bill Cornelius
“Junior-34-35”
“Yours till the ocean wears rubber pants to keep its bottom dry.”
Dunlap, Kansas
April 4, 1935
Dearest Lester:
I can wiggle my hips,
And I can shake my knees,
I’m a free born citizen,
And I can do as I please.
Your true pal,
“Lefty”
Better burn this immediately!
The Bridge 