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.
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.
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”
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 (haha)
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, 1931Dear Lester,I love you in my hartI love you in my chestAnd it will tell youWho I love best.Your friendHerman
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
A year ago I launched The Bridge, following advice of several writing friends. It’s been an adventure for me, providing fulfillment in my life. I’ve learned a lot about the blogging world, but I admit I’m still a novice and have a lot more to learn.
This year, The Bridge is receiving a facelift. Again, advice from various writing sources convinced me that it should be narrowed in scope. The book I’ve labored to write for the last three years is nearly complete. I’m polishing a proposal. I’ve pitched it to a couple literary agents and a few small publishers. Excerpts from my memoir have won awards in writing contests in both Kansas and Oklahoma, first place in non-fiction in the 2012 Kansas Writers Association contest, and first place in non-fiction at the 2013 Rose State Writing workshop contest in Oklahoma.
I believe my story might help someone. I’ve done my best to write and polish the prose. I’m confused at times. Blog-related advice runs the gamut from “You can’t sell a book without a blog” to “Don’t start a blog until you know what you’re doing.”
I’m not sure I’ll ever know what I’m doing, but I believe I’ve been nudged from beyond— from across The Bridge—to proceed. My purpose in this venture seems to run counter to all the workshop advice. My goal has never been one of personal enrichment, of financial gain. Publishers and editors need to assess the marketable aspects of a manuscript. All I want to do is help somebody who needs a friend, somebody who might be going through a particularly rough time, somebody who might be struggling with a life-or-death crisis today. In some ways I am terrified to stir up the past and serve it to strangers. But if I can help someone, I need to find the courage to step forward. That is one of life’s big adventures—meeting your fears and laughing through the terror.
Let me tell you a little bit about the bridge photo in the header of this blog. More than three decades ago, I stood with my husband in the basement morgue of the hospital where our daughter—our precious child—had been stillborn. We gazed at her tiny face, stroked her cold cheeks, fingered her tiny hands, and bid her farewell. We had not thought to bring a camera. That was the one and only time we saw our baby girl.
After her memorial service in a windy hilltop cemetery, we wound our way through the hills of our county, just driving, not saying much. We did have our cameras though. Every so often, something caught our attention and we stopped to take a picture. The scenes were bleak, lonely, cold, showing life buried by death, and dreams receding across a bridge. Together they expressed our unspeakable grief. The collage of photos became our picture of little Gabrielle, and the header of this blog was among them. It is a picture of my baby girl. Isn’t she amazing?
Since the day three decades ago when I stood on a lonely road taking a picture of a bridge, I’ve bidden farewell to Gabrielle’s little brother. I’ve been widowed. My grandmother passed on, as well as a few friends. Most recently, I’ve been orphaned. Each loss opened a fresh wound and shook my faith in the goodness of life. Each loss was different, leaving a new kind of hole in my heart. Sometimes I thought I could not bear the pain. To watch someone you love die is to watch the world stop turning.
And yet, I survived. I’m here to say there is life after loss. All of us who love somebody risk the pain of loss and we will all have to bid that final farewell to our dear ones someday. After the frenzy surrounding a loss comes to an end, one thing that remains is the certainty that your life has changed forever.
But there is still life after loss. And it can be a good life. After losing my first husband, I met another wonderful man. After losing two children, together my husband and I have raised four. Now we are enjoying the antics of a grandson, and our youngest daughter is expecting a baby girl very soon. Life can be good indeed.
I offer The Bridge, re-designed, to feature topics related to grief and healing, to memorial tributes for my loved ones now gone, and to cover writing topics. Other facets of my life belong in another place. For those who may be facing terminal illness right now, or the sudden, unexpected death of a loved one, my heart goes out to you. I hope entries in The Bridge may provide a small bit of comfort and help with your healing journey. At least you’ll know you’re not alone. You have a friend.
Better burn this immediately!
The Bridge 