Letter or Postcard – Letter
Sender – Ralph Peterson
Recipient – Phyllis Peterson
Postmark Place – St. Petersburg, Florida
Postmark Date – 2 May 1943
Letter Date – 30 April 1943
Text:
My dearest wife and baby,
Got your nice long letter today and I am answering right back. How are both of my girls tonight? I suppose you know by now that you have some competition, or hasn’t anybody told you yet? I have to admit there is another girl that I am beginning to love a lot. I think you know that I mean this girl is name Bonny Louise. Just to hear you talk about her in your letters has made it seem that I have already seen her. Did I have you worried a little bit? I bet I did. Don’t ever worry about me loving anybody else. There is only two girls in this world that I love from the bottom of my heart. You know who I mean now, don’t you? And don’t think that your letter writing is silly and that it makes me mad. I just love to get your letters. You right such damn sweet and nice ones it’s about the only thing that I really can say I enjoy a lot down here, so keep on sending those kind of letters. Well I got paid today, the whole sum of $17.75. Do you think I can live on that much? I know I can, as I will make myself do it. I suppose you will be getting your check soon. I bet you can use it, too. So Don and Marian want you to come up there and stay. Well I want you to stay right where you are. Take your pick between us two and I think that I will win, won’t I? I don’t care if you go up there for a day or so, but don’t go up there for any longer than that. I am glad that you and Bonny are getting along fine. So the little dickens is getting cuter everyday. She must be getting to look more like you all the time. I bet when she grows up she will be the exact picture of you. I’m also glad that your folks like her a lot, as it will make it easier for you to get along with them. I know how your Pappy likes kids and I bet he is just twice as bad with Bonny girl. Does he jig for her yet, or hasn’t she took notice of anything like that? But I bet he will be doing it as quick as she is old enough to notice him. I only wish I was home to see your pop come in from a day’s work from Chapman’s with his face all dirty and so damn tired that all he would do is plunk his rear down in a chair and stay there until supper was called. I remember that happened lots of times. I only wish I could see it again real soon. By the way, I am going to get my picture took tomorrow downtown and have it sent to you. That is, if I can take a good enough picture to have made. Maybe if you would show it to Bonny she would smile at my picture. Try it and see if she will, then let me know how she takes it. I only hope she don’t laugh at it. This is about all I can think of now, so I guess I will close with all my love and kisses to my sweetest wife and baby, from Daddy
PS – I could tell you a good joke, but your mother might see the letter. Dad
Notes: Dad keeps playing with fire when it comes to his sense of humour. He also seems to keep lobbying for a bit more of his pay. For the record, Bonny looked much more like Dad than Mom. Her hair, her eye colour, her look. In later years you could pick out areas where she resembled Mom, like around her mouth, but those resemblances were few and far between. By all accounts my Mom’s Dad was apt to do a little jig for the kids, made more quaint by his small stature.