Elma and Al

This letter is obviously a little different.

The transcript:

Feb. 13, 1931

Station O.E.N. on the air

Operating on a frequency of 10 qts. 5 pts.

Dear Al,

I am having a tough time for kisses for two, for honey stuff don’t work with girls anyway baby.

Sunday Elma and Marie and all were wondering where you were and the tears were plentiful, but they have dried up, but still thinking of you. When I came in the house Sunday night they said I looked lonesome without you. Evansville is the same as usual, dead as a door nail. I worked three days this week. Tonight I am going to sit up at Mesers. I guess you know of the death of Mrs. Meser Thursday morning. I stayed in bed this morning til ten o’clock and am all set for this morning.

Boy that heimgemacht sure am good. Every time I take one I take another one for you, but don’t it taste good so don’t get drunk reading this Al, for it is not intoxicating. So this will be all of my literature for this time, but Elma says vinegar is sour, sugar is sweet Homebrew is good but Al has them all beat.

Signing off with one more quart

Yours truly

Oscar E. Nunning

P.S. Don’t forget to send Elma a bushel of kisses

My comments:

1. So who were Oscar and Marie? As I said before Marie was my grandma’s younger and only sister. In 1932 she would marry Oscar. I am not sure how they met, but Oscar was clearly “one of the family”. While they were dating, Oscar would come over to the Bassmier house every night at 7:00 pm.
2. Oscar’s family was also of German heritage–his grandparent’s were born in Germany. He referred to heimgemacht which directly translated from German means “homemade”. I’m sure that he used that word to refer to some kind of familiar food, but I’m not sure what that was. It is probably similar to my grandma making a yeasted coffee cake and calling it “kuchen”. At one point it was German, but present day Germans would not recognize it.
3. I asked my mother to share what she remembers about Oscar and Marie. She said that Marie was her godmother, but she doesn’t remember a lot. She did remember that Oscar belonged to St. Vincent de Paul Society and he was at church with a hat on. St. Vincent de Paul Society has the Top Hat Ball, but I’m not sure if this was the same thing.
4. My mom shared some pictures of Marie and guess what? My mom looks like Marie!! Go figure. See the pics below. I think that one of them might have been taken on her wedding day. I love these pics because they were taken at my grandma and grandpa’s house–where my mom lives now–and the trees are small.
5. Finally, he mentions Mrs. Meser’s death. The Mesers lived across from the backside of St. Joe Cemetary .

The transcript:

Kokomo, IN

Feb. 12, 1931

Dear Elma,

You don’t know how good I felt this morning when I came home from work and got in my room there was a letter from my best of all friends, my most dearest friend Elma. Really you don’t know how good that made me feel. I didn’t have time to read it before supper because I was a little late coming in tonight and supper was ready when I got in but I felt just so good without eating supper tonight when I seen that letter on my dresser.

            This morning when I got up or even before, while I was lying awake in bed I was thinking about you and thought for myself that I surely ought to get a letter from you today. Elma you don’t know how alive I felt all day until tonight. Elma I was talking to a fellow today he thinks he knows a whole lot once in a while, but I don’t doubt but what he finds out a whole lot of that stuff because he has a pull some way or another I don’t know, but the way he was talking I will most probably go to New Albany before long, if that is then I will be closer to home before long. The way he said it would be over time in March but I don’t know anything about it otherwise and am not going to worry the least, because if I would make some kind of other arrangement it would all be wrong anyway so don’t you worry about it or anything else either. 

            Here is some real news. Something that never has happened before. I bet you wouldn’t guess in a year. Just think I got a hair cut in Kokomo for the first time in my life. Oh my ain’t that something.

            Elma I think Oscar is over to see his sweet baby Marie tonight. He is just about getting there now, It is now five minutes til seven o’clock. Just about time for Oscar to arrive to see Marie and to make you feel blue and me bluest of all to think there they are all together and having a real time quilting and cutting up cracking jokes and all such things and just think your old Al in Kokomo sitting in his room with his pen propped up on the dresser with his stationary box on his lap and a piece of paper on top of this box and writing these very words you are reading now, a letter to the most beloved friend in the world, Elma. 

            Well we were to have school tonight, but we got word this evening that we wouldn’t have school tonight. I thought there is where I will have another chance to write a letter to you Elma and after I get through this letter I might read a little in my specification and then go to bed and sleep a little and dream a while and then get up and mail and kiss this letter goodbye which is Evansville bound after it leaves me to greet you with a hug and kiss from me.

            I wrote Oscar a letter last night. I guess he has got it by now I don’t know but he will let you read it tonight.

            Elma did you know that my dad was 75 years old yesterday Feb. 11 the day you wrote your first letter to me at Kokomo. Elma, it seems to me while I have to keep on writing, but the trouble is you don’t hear me say it and I can’t ask you anything I won’t say. I will close this letter with lots of love and many kisses.

Al

Goobye Elma and sleep good.

My comments

1. It is evident that my grandpa “had it pretty bad”. He was so infatuated with my grandma that he couldn’t wait to get her letter. Remember that he was 30, soon to be 31. He wasn’t a lovesick teenager, although at times he sounds like one.
2. Who were Oscar and Marie? Marie was my grandma’s younger sister. She was 5 years younger than my grandma, so she would have been 20 years old here. She would go on to marry Oscar Nunning a year after my grandparents in 1932. Oscar was born in 1906, so he was the same age as my grandma. Here he was 25. Apparently, Oscar visited Marie every evening at 7 pm, and my grandpa was jealous that he wasn’t there to join in the fun. He felt like he was missing out on everything.
3. He commented about my great grandpa Frank Weinzapfel’s birthday. He woul∂ live to be 90.

Technically Al wrote this letter the day before Elma wrote #4, but I think she wrote that one before she received this one. Does that make sense? Anyway, here is #5.

The transcript:

620 N. Union St.

Kokomo, Ind.

February 10, 1931

Dear Elma

Well Elma here I am back with a few words for I have nothing else to do but sit here in my room and pass my time away somehow, it seems like I have been here for a month or more already but if everything is like the fellows say I won’t be here very long, if I am lucky enough I might get out of Kokomo by the first of March but whether I don’t know all I know is that three fellows out of the gang are going to get transferred by the first of March but I don’t know where they go to, so don’t go to worrying about that I will be home the first day of March. O boy wouldn’t that be great, they also say that this job should be completed by the first of April or so and the use of the Dial is supposed to start the first day of June, so I guess we will have to trust luck and not make assignments and pray a whole lot so we might see each other real soon again, I feel like I couldn’t wait or like I had to see you tonight Elma, but it is too far to see you tonight. So I guess I will be going to bed tonight with a busting head and dream all night about being there to see you and how.

Elma I guess you can read my scribbling I don’t know, like you said whether you are any good on working crossword puzzles, but that is just the way I feel the way the scribbling, scratches and hooks look to you.

Elma tell me something, I haven’t heard you say anything since Sunday morning when I kissed you goodby at the buss station. I am doing all the talking all the time and don’t hear you at all, so if you can’t say anything please Elma write a few words for I feel like I fell off, off a cliff and nobody knows where I fell to, so I am looking for a few words even if it is no letter, just a few words will be enough to tell me that you are still alive down at Evansville.

Well Elma I am catching myself getting too darn homesick I will have to change my subject and try to think and write about something else Elma I don’t know whether you can make heads or tails out of my writing or not if not let me know and I will try and study my letters before I start writing. study it like a German and then preach ha, ha sent that hot.

Well Elma I am getting good at writing and making funny hooks on a piece of paper, I am going to tell you a little something about my room, it is very nice and clean. I have a large bed for two to sleep, but I have no bed partner and haven’t seen any bed partners either, I have a great big dresser in one corner and a wardrobe in another corner and at the foot of my bed is a door to the side into the bathroom, hot and cold water and a gray rug on the floor it looks pretty good, one door leading into the living room and one door to the front porch and one window in the front, it is nice and warm furnace heated and also have a drop light in the center of the ceiling, nice and white lace curtains on the window and door. Oh I guessI will have to draw you a sketch of my room for positive it won’t be anything extra, so here goes, ***** well here it is I guess you see the little grid on top of the W.R. that is where I put it haha laugh a wile.

Well Elma I guess I have spread whole lot of stuff tonight enough to make anybody sick so I guess I will have to close for this time and write you some other time and tell you some more when I feel more like writing again. I don’t mean that I ain’t feeling good, for I am feeling pretty good about as good as can be expected from anyone being away from home, I wrote mom a German letter tonight, Elma you go and see mom sometime I know it will make her feel better and let me know how she is getting along.

It is now about nine O’clock and I will close this letter and go to bed and dream a **** with Love and kisses from Al.

My comments:

1. My first thought was that my grandpa spoke very little in the 25 years that I knew him, so reading this four page letter was both eye-opening and bewildering. I asked my mother if he spoke a lot when she was growing up and she said, no, that he would come inside from cleaning the ditches, run cold water over his wrists and sit down at the table to eat–all without saying a word. I wish I had spoken to him more to learn more about him. I don’t feel like I knew him well at all.
2. It is clear from this letter that my grandpa loved or was smitten by my grandma. I am very thankful for his persistence, because without that I wouldn’t be here. When I read this letter my grandpa’s homesickness was palpable.
3. I have always been curious about the cultural influence of my great great grandparent’s German heritage. Both of my grandparent’s grandparents were born and grew up in Germany and clearly they still clung to that culture, frozen in 1850. I find it interesting that my grandfather refers to his handwriting and tells my grandma to “study it like a German”. Only he can interpret that for us, but my stab at it is that culturally Grandpa perceived Germans as being highly critical and scrutinizing.I guess I know where I got it from ; ) I also found it interesting that my grandpa wrote a German letter, which I can only assume is a letter in German. I had no idea that my grandpa knew German well enough to write it. He did have kind of an accent when he spoke English, but I never thought about where that came from.

Until next time…..

At first I thought, “geez Grandma, write him a letter already”, then I realized that she was waiting to receive his letter so that she had his address. Anyway, here is her first letter. I will comment more once you have a chance to read it.

The transcript:

Evansville, Ind.

Feb 11, 1931

Dear Al

I sure was glad when the mailman came this morning with those letters for I got them both at once, but almost began to think you forgot to write to me, your Dad got one yesterday already.

Al it sure was blue here since you left for me but of course it won’t do to show it, but my that empty feeling. We put up that quilt this week and are working at it now so that helps out during the day. I just took a little time off on the sly. Mom and Mrs. Weinzapfel are at it now.

I’m sure glad you got their safe, but I guess it was tiresome, only wish I could have been with you on the way. Hope there’ll be more pastime there than at Rockport.

Well Al I’ll have to quit and go after Harold, might run over to your mother’s a minute. (their both well).

Be careful with yourself and I’ll try to have more time the next time

Goodbye Al with love and kisses. X

Elma (forgot this at home. I’m at school now)

(and sure have the Blues)

Hello from all the rest

My commentary:

A couple of things…

1. Why were my great grandmothers, Sophie Bassemier (Feldhaus) and Elizabeth Weinzapfel (Soellner) together making a quilt? They weren’t related yet and Weinzapfel’s lived “in town”. My mom thinks they may have been working on the wedding ring quilt, which now 90 years old and resides at my Aunt Delores’ house (she is the oldest). Also, my grandma was 25 years old at this point and she was quilting with her mother and future mother-in-law. Times definitely were different.
2. My grandma said she was “at school”. I figured out that she was picking Harold up from school, the public school one mile up the road. She must have driven, but my mother told me that she NEVER HAD A DRIVER’S LICENSE. Yep that’s right Grandma, I told everyone.