Two Letters for One 3-cent Stamp

On March 30, 2014 By AnnIn Family, LesterLeave a comment

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.

Love to all

Lester

A Letter Home on March 19, 1942

On March 19, 2014 By AnnIn Family, LesterLeave a comment

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 24^th. 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.

I’ll try to write the first of the week.

Lester

Free time in Canada

On March 12, 2014March 16, 2014 By AnnIn Family, LesterLeave a comment

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.

Lester

A cake from home for his birthday

On February 21, 2014 By AnnIn Family, LesterLeave a comment

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

Letter to a younger brother

On February 13, 2014 By AnnIn Family, LesterLeave a comment

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.

Lester

Letter home from February 8, 1942

On February 9, 2014 By AnnIn Family, LesterLeave a comment

Lester and a young cousin with the farm dogs.

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 4^th of July. I should answer a letter from Frances today if I can.

Lester

Good old autograph book, part 2

On January 16, 2014 By AnnIn Family, LesterLeave a comment

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”

Dunlap Kansas,

April 11, 1935

Dear Lester:

When rocks and rills divide us,

And you no more I’ll see,

Remember it was Marie,

Who wrote these lines to thee.

Your Senior Friend

Marie White

For-get-me not.

Remember psychology.

Dunlap, Kansas

April 5, 1935

Dear Lester,

Earth to earth, dust to dust

Did you ever see a man you could trust?

Your Classmate

Alice Dohring

(I’ll not forget the stiff competition you

Have given me in scholarship.)

Good old autograph book, part 1

On January 14, 2014 By AnnIn Family, Lester1 Comment

During these weeks when there are no written communications home from Lester, it’s fun to share his autograph book, signed by many of his school friends and relatives during his high school years. Posts in the autograph book are dated from 1930 to 1935, in no particular order. The practice of having your friends post a cute message in your autograph book carried into the next generation, but seems to have become a relic of the past. It’s fun to read what Lester’s friends wrote to him.

Lester, about the age when he received his autograph book.

Americus Kansas

December 26, 1930

Dear Lester,

Remember me.

When this you see

Tho many a mile,

Apart we be.

Your Cousin

Norma

Dunlap Kansas

December 29, 1930

Dear Lester:

When rocks and hills divide us,

And you no more I see,

Just sit down by the table

And write a line to me.

Your cousin

Nelva May

Dunlap Kans.

Jan. 2, 1930

Dear Lester

Dry is a cracker.

Without some cheese.

So is a kiss.

Without a squeeze.

Your friend (ha ha)

Roy

Dunlap Kans.

Dear Lester

Round is the ring

That has no end.

So is my love

For you my friend,

Roy

Americus Kans.

Jan. 7, 1931

Dear Lester:

Fill the day with friendliness,

And little kindly deeds.

And you will have the brightest day;

That anybody needs.

Your friend,

Frances Edmiston

Dear Lester:

Lester now

Lester never

Lester now but not forever!

Erma

Dear Lester,

Remember me as a good writer

As I remember you as a good actor.

Your Friend,

Nelson Parru

Dunlap Kansas

January 2, 1931

Dear Lester

Some love one

Some love two

But the only one I love is you.

Ha Ha

Your friend

Claude Miller

Dear Lester

Choose not your friends from outward show

Feathers float but pearls lie low.

Mother

Americus, Ks

Feb. 3 1931

Dear Lester,

Remember me early

Remember me late,

Remember me at the garden gate.

Your friend,

Marjorie

Americus Kansas

Feb. 4, 1931

Dear Lester,

Remember me early:

Remember me late:

Remember me on your

Wedding date.

Your school friend

Wanda

Ha Ha

Dear Lester:

“Read and me I

This down not am

Up Forget while around.”

Your friend

Nelson Miller

Freshman 1931-32

Dear Lester

Geese on the milk pond

Ducks on the ocean

Lester can’t get married until

Frances takes a notion.

Your friend

Gene Daharsh

Dunlap Kansas.

January 19, 1931

Dear Lester:

Down by a pond is a rock.

And on it is written,

“I love you” not

Your Friend

Belle Ho: Ho:

Ha: Ha:

Dunlap Kan

Jan. 9, 1931

Dear Lester

Remember me in friendship

Remember me in love

Remember me when we meet

On that happy land above.

Your school friend

Hurschal

January 9, 1931

Dear Lester,

I love you in my hart

I love you in my chest

And it will tell you

Who I love best.

Your friend

Herman

Dunlap, Kansas

Feb 3, 1932

Dear Lester,

Down in the valley

Written on a rock is

“I love you”

Your friend

Rosalee Edington

Dear Lester

I hope you remember

The Geometry Book.

Your friend,

Taylor Blossom

Americus, Kans.

Feb 3, 1932

Dear Lester:

As sure as the vine grows around a stump

You are Frances’ darling sugar lump.

True isn’t it? Ha! Ha!

Your Friend

Elizabeth Weller

Dunlap Kans.

April 6, 1932

Dear Lester:

Remember me early,

Remember me late,

Remember me on your wedding day

And send me a slice of cake.

Your friend

Freda Pritchard

February 4, 1932

Dear Lester

I don’t like to study.

I don’t like to go to school.

But when I come to loving I am an educated fool.

Junior

Dunlap Kans

Feb. 3, 1932

Dear Lester:

When the Whip-poor-will is calling

Out over the lonely sea

And when of others we are thinking

Won’t you sometimes think of me.

Your schoolmate & friend

Lawrence Sexton

Dear Lester,

Three years have past and gone quickly

But they have been filled with many happy

Experiences. I hope that your remaining experiences

Will also be happy.

I have enjoyed knowing you and I wish you

Much happiness and success.

Sincerely,

Helen Frost

District 72

Feb. 9, 1932

Dear Lester:

A good thing to remember

And a better thing to do

Is to work with the construction gang,

And not with the wrecking crew.

May your school days reward you richly

and may your success be unbounded.

Best wishes for a high school

and college (?) career.

Your teacher,

Mrs. Frances Sheaffer

Dunlap, Kans.

Feb. 5, 1932

Dear Lester

I love you little

I love you big

I love you lake

A little pig.

Your School Friend,

Annie

D.R.H.S.

May 12, 1932

Dear Lester,

Your school days in D.R. H.S. are almost gone,

And I hope that commencement is only a beginning

Of the success that your excellent work and dependability

Prophesy for you.

Wishing you success and happiness always,

I am

Sincerely,

Norma E. Ryman

DunlaP Kan.

Feb. 4, 1932

Dear Lester,

I love you little

I love you big—

I love you like

A little pig.

Your School Friend,

Shirley

Dunlap, Kansas.

Feb 3, 1932

Dear Lester

Way down in the sticks

Now don’t you blink

I’m in a pretty fix

Now don’t you think?

Your friend

James Edington

Christmas Day in 1941

On December 25, 2013December 25, 2013 By AnnIn Family, LesterLeave a comment

Inside this card from Christmas 1941 is a message from John Downes, Rear Admiral USN, Commanding.

“It it my privilege and pleasure to extend Christmas greetings to the officers and men at the Naval Training Station and to their loved ones at home.

During the coming year we will be bound together even more closely, by the united efforts of all, to defend and preserve our American way of life.

It is my sincere wish that each of you may have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

The following page included a menu for the CHRISTMAS DAY DINNER at the US Naval Training Station.

Cream of Tomato Soup

Saltine Crackers

Roast Tom Turkey Oyster Dressing

Baked Spiced Ham

Candied Sweet Potatoes

Giblet Gravy Fresh Cranberry Sauce

Sweet Pickles Stuffed Celery Ripe Olives

Fruit Cake Hot Mince Meat Pie Fruit

Hot Rolls Butter Coffee

Candy Nuts

Cigarettes

The back page listed Christmas Church Services. Those on Christmas Eve, December 24th for the Main Station included Protestant services at 2300: Candlelight Choir and Carol Service followed by celebration of Holy Communion, at the Drill Hall, Building no. 4.

Catholic services were at 2400: Midnight Mass in the Auditorium of Building No. 3.

Services on Christmas Day, December 25th for the First Regiment included Protestant services at 1000: Christmas Service, Drill Hall, Building No. 4. Frank Lash Captain, USN, Senior Chaplain.

Catholic service also at 1000: Christmas Mass, Auditorium of Building No. 3. Additional Christmas Masses to be held at 0715 and 0915 in the Hospital Chapel.

Though no personal note from Lester exists, he evidently was able to celebrate Christmas at the training station with other Navy personnel. The note from the commander echoed the tension felt across the country as troops and sailors readied themselves for battle in World War II. No doubt many prayers were lifted that Christmas season for peace on earth and a quick end to the escalating conflict around the world.

Lester’s note from December 7. 1941

On December 7, 2013 By AnnIn Family, LesterLeave a comment

Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was attacked on December 7, 1941, catapulting the US into World War II. All over the country people learned the news with disbelief. They braced for decisive action, and worried more about their sons in military service.

Lester jotted a quick note of reassurance to his family on December 7 and air mailed it home on December 8, with two 3 cent stamps instead of the usual one. He knew they’d be worried, and for good reason. At the time he wrote, nobody knew what to expect in the coming days or weeks. But he wanted to let them know he understood how worried they would be and to tell them that he would be in touch when possible. He had been in the US Navy a total of six weeks.

When the letter arrived, his folks didn’t take the time to release the envelope seal. They dispensed with proprieties and ripped the end off to get his news as fast as they could.

There is no evidence that he was able to keep his planned Christmas leave. All leaves must have been cancelled.

Dec 7, 1941.

Sunday 3:30

Dear Folks:

Anything I am about to tell you may be changed by the time you receive this letter. First, my leave has not yet been cancelled but the chances are that all leaves will be cancelled. The boys who did not make trade school have received notice that they will leave for the coast this Friday. We may have to leave also then but have had no word to that effect. Ernest did not make trade school & must leave Friday so of course he will not get leave. The news of the war has been quite a shock to us here. There is a lot of activity here now. I might call you by telephone if I learn anything but don’t jump every time it rings. Will write more when I learn something. Try not to worry as I may yet get to go to trade school. Don’t write after Wednesday unless you hear from me again.

Lester

Evidently, this is the last letter sent home in 1941. The next envelope would not arrive until mid-January. Perhaps he was able to telephone with news once or twice, but there is no way to know. It was weeks before his regular letter-writing schedule returned to a pre-war pattern. The holiday season in 1941 surely held more anxiety than joy. His family must have agonized about their beloved son and brother and what would happen to him next.