With these letters, it’s hard to keep them in order because Al writes so darn much. He just missed Elma and his family so much.
Kokomo IN
Feb. 15, 1931
Dear Elma,
Here I am back again after going to church and communion. This morning, feeling pretty good or you might say about as good as can be expected being out in the world all by yourself. You might say nomans land. I went to a show this afternoon, but I don’t think I will go to anymore I guess this year. There isn’t a darn thing to them anyway about like at Rockport, I gave them one donation too so I gave Kokomo a donation of 40 cents and I guess it will be the only 40 cents Kokomo will get from me.
I believe I would feel a hundred percent better now if I had not gone to the show for all that junk merely gives a person the blues or I guess I won’t go to any others. The other day, I mean, Friday PM I worked on a telephone in the colonial theater. It is 15 cents a show but ain’t worth it. You might say Hello from Al, the one I went to this PM is the Indiana it sounded better but I don’t think it is worth you might say a damn, so that’s that. No more shows for a while anyway til after Easter and God only knows where I will be by that time. I hope at home in Evansville. Oh boy wouldn’t that be real Elma what do you say about all that junk.
Well Elma you can tell all mine and your friends and also enemies if you have any, for I haven’t any, hello from Al. The old soul at Kokomo and tell Harold I would die if I held my breath til he wrote me a letter, but nevertheless I will forgive him this time for he has to go to school and has to get all his confounded lessons, like Harold thinks these confounded lessons. Tell Harold I am still at Kokomo and he should try and see if he can’t get here so fast as he can push his finger on the map, well I have to say something once in a while or you might think I am rich, which I aint so don’t worry.
Well Elma, I am feeling a whole lot better now I just had supper had potatoes, steak, eggs, corn, pumpkin pie, cake, bananas sliced, bread, butter, jelly, coffee, and water and I got my fill of it too. Well it is now six o’clock and in another hour Oscar will be there to see Marie that is if he was not there all day. Elma, I wish I was there tonight and could spend only a few minutes with you Elma. I would feel a whole lot better than I do this way so far away from you tonight, but I guess I will have to live over this too. Elma I want to write mom a German letter tonight so I will discontinue any hooks and scratches for tonight to you with lots of love and many kisses.
Al
My comments;
My grandpa was obviously very lonely and so he wrote almost every day. 2/15/31 was a Sunday so of course he went to church. He went to see a movie, although he claimed that it wasn’t that good.
The top ten movies released in 1931, in order of their popularity were
- M
- Frankenstein
- Dracula
- City Lights
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- The Public Enemy
- The Maltese Falcon
- Night Nurse
- The Easiest Way
- Little Caesar
There were plenty of good ones that year. Maltese Falcon was my favorite.
I do wonder what movie he saw that day. And he said it wasn’t worth it…hmm. He said that he wasn’t going to any movies until after Easter. My guess is that he wouldn’t go because of Lent.