The Althing

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – Red Bank, New Jersey

Postmark Date – 27 May 1943

Letter Date – 26 May 1943

Text:

Hi sweetheart,

Got your letter today and was sure glad to get one after missing yesterday. And it was an awful nice letter, too, the kind I like to get. Just the right length. I suppose you will think it is funny for me to agree on the letters but I really like the letter I got today. Just keep it up and I will be satisfied. Then the only day I will miss will on Sunday, as they don’t pass out the mail then. I also got Avis’s letter, too, and was glad the little squirt wrote to me, but for God’s sake don’t tell her I called her that. Maybe then she won’t even write to me, and I just love to get mail, especially if it is from you. It is a sort of relaxation to lay down at night and read letters from home. It makes me feel good. I can lay back and close my eyes and dream that I am home beside you. Gosh, honey, that sure is a grand feeling. If I could only make the dream come real one of these times. But I don’t suppose I can until I get out of school. Maybe I better tell you more about my school and where I will go when I get done here. You see, if I pass this school here – that is, if I get thirteen words a minute – I will go to post school, which is a school for advanced training that lasts for three months. If I get through that all right I will get a sergeant’s or a staff sergeant’s rating and be sent to be attached to some air squadron. From there I don’t know where. If I don’t pass the school I will be sent out to some air squadron anyway, but won’t get the rating and will have a lot harder work. I only hope I make the post school as it will be a lot better and I can use the rating and the money. The rating I can use to make you feel more proud of me and the money because then maybe I can send some home to you. As far as my stripe goes I have got it but can’t wear it or use it while I am on this post, but when I get out of here I can put it on. The reason is this – I have been transferred out of the Signal Corps and am now in the Air Corps. When I get done here I will be sent back to the Air Corps. That is the reason I can’t wear my stripe. The Signal Corps can’t give an Air Corps man a rating. Don’t worry, I will let you know when I will use it because I would like to have that stripe on. It will make me feel a lot more important. So our baby is starting to write already. Try and get her to write me a letter all by herself. Do you think she can do that? Maybe not for a while, yet. I want to be home when she starts writing. I remember Thelma had the same idea about you trying to take Bonny away from her. Boy, is she nuts. Ain’t it? I don’t think you would try anything like that, would you? It would hurt poor old Thelma so much. Don’t worry about us making up what we lost. When I get home we are going to spend at least a year just to ourselves. I mean you, Bonny, and I. Do what we want to and when we want to. It is worth all of that after we are separated for this long. Don’t call yourself names, honey, about making me feel bad. I think I should call myself all the names I can think of, as I have wrote you nothing but all my worries, but I will try and cut that out. I know it don’t help you any. There isn’t much more for me to scribble about unless I tell you it is raining again. Which it is doing half of the time here anyway. I will close now as it is getting late and I want to write to Harold Button and take a shower yet tonight, so for tonight all my love and kisses to my one and only love and our baby, from Daddy

PS – Thanks for sending me shoes. It will save my feet a lot. Night, now, babies

Notes: A much meatier letter with a more adult tone. I am very curious about what was going on with Thelma [Shruck] Pick, who was Mom’s first cousin and as far as I know never had children of her own. One sentence Dad is calling her crazy and the very next he is sympathetic to whatever her situation was. Something I will have to look into further if I can.

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – Red Bank, New Jersey

Postmark Date – 26 May 1943

Letter Date – 25 May 1943

Text:

Dearest wife and baby,

How are you tonight, sweetheart, and little Bonny girl, too? I hope you are feeling well and are lonesome for me. Are you? If you are as bad as I am then you are pretty bad, but I don’t suppose you like to hear me talk about the same old thing in every letter so I will try and cut it out. No letter from you today but I’m figuring on a nice long one tomorrow. I will get one, won’t I? I hope so, anyway. Promise me one, won’t you honey? It started out to rain again this morning but cleared up around noon. The rest of the day was nice. Tonight it has turned cool – cool enough to have a fire in the stove. We had our first drill out in the woods this afternoon after school. For two hours we had to run drill. Run through woods and wade through water. When we got through they sent us right back the same way we came, so tonight I am kind of tired. Also scratched up somewhat from the bushes. One thing that was nice was there was some wild strawberries around. Boy, did they taste good. I suppose you will be having some up there pretty quick. Right now as I am writing to you a bunch of guys are around my bunk and we are talking about cars. Boy, is there ever a lot of lies going on, and I am telling my share of them. Before you start talking about cars nobody seems to have any but as soon as it starts everybody has the best and the newest ones. I bet I have had about fifty cars the way I’ve been talking. I have been keeping up my side. That present I sent you came back today. It had come back unwrapped so I have to tie it up again and send it again but you will get it within the next two or three days. It will be wrapped up better next time. Tonight I will have time to write to Alvin after I get this one wrote. I think it is about time as I got one from him last week. I think I had better close, honey, as if I don’t I won’t get one wrote to Alvin, so this is all for now. So until tomorrow all my love and kisses to you and baby girl from your daddy.

PS – I think I will time to write to your folks, too.

Notes: Needy Ralph to start with but he realizes it and stops. I can see him stopping to enjoy wild strawberries and I can see him BS’ing about cars with the guys. Pretty sure by this time he had only one car, a 1932 Chevrolet Confederate Coupe with a rumble seat I believe he purchased from his older brother Clarence. I think that was the car he drove Mom around in when they were courting.

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – Red Bank, New Jersey

Postmark Date – 25 May 1943

Letter Date – 23 May 1943

Text:

My dearest wife and baby,

Got your letter today and was awfully glad to get it, but I think you should write longer letters. I know I don’t write very long ones, but I will try and write a little longer ones after this and I want you to write me ones that are a lot sweeter. I miss your loving so much that I want you to make it up in your letters. Will you do that, honey? I know it is going to be a little hard loving me as much through your letters than it was when I was home. When I was home and if didn’t feel good or was mad about something then you could come and kiss me and then everything would be all right. Now when I get feeling that way your letters help me out. Sometimes they make me feel real good and other times I don’t know just how they make me feel. It makes me feel lonesome and blue and sort of put out, but the way I write I suppose you feel that way all the time. It’s just that I can’t think of anything to write. I know it is hard for you to write everyday, too, because I don’t suppose there is much going on up there, either, but if you just write me that you love me a whole lot in each letter I will be satisfied. Okay, sweetheart? There wasn’t much doing today. Just went to school and seen some movies on the war. I am up to ten words a minute now so I am getting along good. At least I think I am. The average for two weeks is between five and seven words so I am a little bit ahead. Tonight our barracks was on detail around the camp, just cleaning up. I was put on a truck and had to haul sand for the roads. It was the first time I ever was in one of these big trucks but I got around with it all right. When I was out after the sand it was the first time that I have been off the camp grounds. I would much rather stay in camp, though, and wait for your letters. I have not ever use my pass yet and I know I won’t because I don’t care to go out. There isn’t much to write about, dearest, tonight. I got my picture taken yesterday but can’t get them until after payday as my pocketbook won’t let me do it, but you will get them as soon as I can. I don’t suppose they will be much to look at seeing it is my ugly face, but then you can see what I look like in case you forgot. You haven’t, have you? I think I better close now as it is getting late and the lights are going out soon. All my love and kisses to my dearest wife and baby from Pappy

PS – Kisses to you and Bonny. God, how I miss you honey.

Notes:

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – Red Bank, New Jersey

Postmark Date – 22 May 1943

Letter Date – 21 May 1943

Text:

What’s the matter? No letter from you today. I am so used to getting one each day that when I miss one day it seems like a week that I miss. But I hope I get a nice long one tomorrow. I really miss them. All this ink you see on this paper, please excuse it. When I filled my pen it backfired and squirted all over the letter. I didn’t think it was bad enough to throw away so I will use it. You know I have been here about two weeks and it has rained at least half of the time. Again today and so far tonight it has rained hard. This darn weather is really hard on the soldier. At least half of them have colds, some of them so bad that they have went to the hospital. So far I have been lucky. There isn’t much to write about tonight. School is coming along good. Everything is swell except the weather. Sunday is coming up, so I can sleep and write my dearest wife and baby a nice long letter. I have got my clothes pretty well cleaned up so I won’t have to wash anything, and I also have to write Alvin a letter. Also I think it is time to write to your folks. I just found out that one of my pals from my old squadron in St. Pete is right in the same camp, and I have been here two weeks and didn’t know about it. He is supposed to come over and see me Sunday. We had a show here last night at our hall. I didn’t go but I will tell you what happened. You most likely have heard of the man who sang. His name was Lawrence Tibbett. They say he was really good. Maybe your mother has heard of him. I am afraid I will have to close now, as you probably can’t read what I have wrote, so I will close until tomorrow night. Night now, honey, from your soldier husband and daddy.

PS – Write me a extra nice letter telling me how much you love me and how much you miss me. I am so doggone lonesome baby for you. It is all right if you just write me a whole letter telling me how much you love me. Love and kisses, Ralph

Notes: Apparently Lawrence Tibbett was quite the star, though I had never heard of him. He was in the first group of people to have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and also had a US postage stamp in his honour.

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – Red Bank, New Jersey

Postmark Date – 21 May 1943 [typo or mismatched envelope]

Letter Date – 22 May 1943

Text:

Hi girls,

How are my two babies tonight? I got your letter today and it was the only nice thing I did get today? I was just laying around all day, and when they wanted something done I seem to be the guy that did it. But tomorrow I am going back to school and I would rather do that than lay around. It is getting interesting as I get to know more of it. I am still on duty now and will be until a quarter after eleven. I have been on since five this morning so I have put in a long day, but believe it or not I am not the least bit tired. I bet I will be by the time I go off duty. All next week I am a fire warden and also air raid patrol. This is just in case that a fire breaks out or else they have an air raid alert. In that case we would be the last to leave the post and see that everybody else leaves. Does your folks still fight? I just can see Pappy sitting there in his chair smoking his pipe and being just as stubborn as he can be, and that can be pretty bad at times. I used to get a kick out of him when he was mad, but not your mother. She actually got me scared a few times, but she didn’t seem to bother you in the least. Maybe if I had your guts once in awhile I would get along better. I can still remember how you used to get mad at me, and how you would get way on the other side of the car seat from me and you wouldn’t say a word. Then how we used to go for sometimes ten miles without saying a word. Then how you would come over and put your arms around me and kiss me until I would get some sense in my head, and then we would be happy again. Just to remember those things made me so damn lonesome. Just to live some of those nights once again, I believe I would give at least ten years of my life to do that. I think I better quit talking about those things or else I will get so darn lonesome I will go AWOL. I also got the Argus and a nice letter from Alvin today. He told me you owed him a letter. Now if you haven’t wrote him by the time you get this you sit right down and write to him. Boy, was there a lot of news in the Spring Lake, and I see that my wife and baby girl got in quite a bit of news. You must get around even if it is walking. Boy, is it ever rotten weather around here lately. It rains at least half of the time. There isn’t much news to write about as it is awful quiet. We was supposed to have an air raid tonight but I guess it is just a false alarm. I hope so, as I can use the sleep. I will have to close now, honey, as I have to go to work, so I will sign off until tomorrow night with all my love and kisses to my dearest wife and baby from Pap. [wrote out Morse Code for Pap]

PS – The book is really swell. Thanks a lot.

Notes:

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – Red Bank, New Jersey

Postmark Date – 20 May 1943

Letter Date – 19 May 1943

Text:

Darling Phyllis and Bonny,

Got your daily letter at noon today so am going to answer right back now. There isn’t much to write about but will try and dig up a little news if I can. All I did today was get up to go to school and do a little drilling. Nothing much exciting. Just the same old routine, but I am beginning to like school a little better then I did in the first place. I didn’t tell you I didn’t like it. I didn’t at first, but now it is getting a little more interesting, learning all the different codes and what they mean. It is all pretty much secret so can’t tell you much about it. I can now receive ten words a minute so am getting along real good. I only hope I can keep it up. So old Art married at last. I never thought he would do it. He can’t be much older than 18, and I don’t suppose she is much older, but then we know how kids are, don’t we? If they get along as good as we do they will be alright. Of course Art won’t have to go to the army. He got turned down, as I suppose you know. Or did you tell me? I wish you wouldn’t keep on thinking that I wasn’t going to come back and marry you. It kind of hurts me. That is all past now, but I want to know that I loved you then and I love you now. I would come back from any place and marry you. I want you to know that, and don’t think that I could ever get to even like somebody else. You are the only one for me and always will be. There, does that straighten things up? I know you love me and I love you as much as you love me. Believe me, honey, won’t you please? I don’t even want you to think that I don’t. Say, by the way, why was that piece cut out of the Argus? For the piece from the Neshkoro news? Maybe it was something your mother wanted, huh? I am not going to school tomorrow, as I have a detail job around here. I am going to be barracks orderly. Just keep the barracks clean. I would much rather go to school. Say, sweetheart, I wonder if you would send me something else from there. I would like to have my shoes down here. I mean my Oxfords – the brown ones. It is nice to get out of these heavy shoes and put on something comfortable. Will you do that for me, please? I think I will have to close for tonight, honey. No more time, so night now, baby. More tomorrow. All my love and kisses from Pappy.

Notes: Another mundane letter, with one exception. Based upon my folk’s stories and the date of the marriage, the “Art” referred to here must be Art Schley, who went on to become Sheriff of Waushara County after the war. Schley’s most famous case was the investigation and arrest of notorious nut job Ed Gein, another resident of Waushara County. Schley is pictured below with Gein as he escorts him to the state mental hospital.

For those unfamiliar with Gein, he was the real life inspiration for the movies “Psycho,” “Texas Chainsaw Massacres,” and “Silence of the Lambs.” As I recall, and maybe others can provide more details, my Dad and Art Schley were friends. Dad had said he and a friend worked together at carnivals as labourers and shills, and I’m pretty sure it was Schley.

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – Red Bank, New Jersey

Postmark Date – 19 May 1943

Letter Date – 18 May 1943

Text:

My dearest wife and baby,

Hi, beautiful. How are you and Bonny tonight? I got the camera and the film. It won’t do me much good now, but I’m going to try and take a few pictures on the sly. I can keep it if I don’t put the film in and keep the camera hid. If I get caught with the film in it will be my neck, but I think I can manage to keep it out of the way. It came here without being busted or even the package broke. The package got an awful beating around the Army. The package I got yesterday was rewrapped at the post office. It was all okay except for the salted peanuts. They were spread around some but I ate every one I could find, along with a little help from the rest of the guys, and I loved it all the more knowing that you had packed it with your little hands. The gum sure came in handy, as we can’t get any from the canteen until the 1st. They even run out of stuff here once in awhile. I had my first ball game tonight. We beat the other team 14 to 13. I don’t suppose you care about that. I remember how you used to like to listen to the ball games on our car radio. Remember that, honey? I may play ball but I will still have time to write to my dearest wife and baby. I will have time to that always. My letters won’t be so long, baby, but I will try and get one wrote every day. I didn’t get a letter direct from you today but I got one that came through St. Pete from Alvin. But I wrote to him from up here so I am waiting for another one from him. Maybe I had better send him another one, as he might not have got the first and I don’t want your big brother to get mad at me. The way I write to you sometimes I don’t wonder that you get mad at me, but you forgive me, don’t you? Here I start with page number two and I don’t know what to write, but I will try and finish at least this side of the page. I haven’t got much time to finish this as I am helping the rest of the guys roll packs. The reason for this is that Thursday night we are having an air raid alert and everybody in camp will have to go out about ten miles from here and stay overnight. It is just a practice one but it will have to be like a real one, so if I don’t write you a letter that night don’t think I forgot you. I will write you one just as twice as long the next night. I think this will be all for tonight as I want to take a bath before I go to bed, so will close with all my love and kisses to my dearest wife and baby from their husband and daddy, Ralph

PS – Give the folks and Bonny my love, and lots of kisses to you right now.

Notes: So Ralph rolls the dice and smuggles a camera and film onto a wartime military base. I can’ recall the man every consciously breaking a law or rule in his life. He was scrupulously honest.

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – Red Bank, New Jersey

Postmark Date – 18 May 1943

Letter Date – 17 May 1943

Text:

My dearest wife and baby,

Hi, girls. How are you tonight? I am feeling fine and pretty full. I should be full because I ate a lot of that stuff you sent me. Boy, was I ever glad to get it. I knew I was going to get a package but I didn’t figure on that much. I am glad you sent me something like that ’cause then I know you love me a lot. I was not the only one who liked it, because there was a lot of guys around here that seem to like the candy as much as I did. One kid really went for the Cracker Jacks. I called him a big baby for eating them, then I turned around and ate most of them myself. Just to know that they came from you made them taste a lot better. I’m going to keep a lot of the candy for a while because I maybe can use it later. Besides, I want the candy to last for a long time. I also got the money that you sent me. I ain’t going to use it as I won’t have to. I’m going to write yours and Bonny’s name on it and keep it for a keepsake. I also want to thank your folks for the book. That is another thing I like to get, and it looks like a good book. I haven’t had time to read it yet, but I will start it tomorrow night. I got the Argus and a letter from you that was sent through St. Pete. Oh, by the way, when I get done with the book I will send it back to you and you can send me another one, all right? I am getting along good in school. Already I can receive seven words a minute. All you have to do is learn five words a minute in five weeks and I have seven words a minute and in a little over a week, so I guess I am getting along all right. I will have to close now if I want to mail this tonight, so until tomorrow night, Sweetheart, all my love and kisses to my dearest Phyllis and Bonny from Daddy.

PS – Give Bonny a big kiss for me, will you?

Letter or Postcard – Letter

Sender – Ralph Peterson

Recipient – Phyllis Peterson

Postmark Place – Red Bank, New Jersey

Postmark Date – 17 May 1943

Letter Date – 16 May 1943

Text:

Good morning sweetheart,

How are you two girls this morning? I only hope that it is a little warmer there than it is here. It is colder than the devil here now, but my bunk is near the stove and we have a nice hot fire in it, and I am writing this letter right beside it. I’m going to try and write you a little longer letter today than I have been lately. I have nothing to do today as far as I know. The letter Clarence sent me he was telling me about the letter that you wrote to him. He said that if you wrote him six pages you must write me at least twenty. I have not wrote to him yet, but when I do I’m going to tell him that he gets longer ones than I do. But he is one hell of a swell guy and I want you to keep writing to him. He was saying that his girl was coming down to see him. I guess her school is out now and she can come down there. I would like to have you come and see me, but I am moved around so damn much that I don’t know where I will be the next week. But instead of you coming to see me I will come home and see you. I only hope it will be quicker than I think it is. I don’t know when I can come home, but I hope it is real soon ’cause I am getting so darn lonesome for you that it is getting so bad that I can hardly sleep. I think that will prove that I love you a lot more than I may sometimes sound like. If I talk or write like that once in awhile it’s just that I love you so doggone much and I miss you so much that I can’t seem to write straight. But when I see you again we can straighten all these matters out. But when I see you I suppose I will get tongue-tied and won’t be able to say nothing, just like I used to be when I was going with you. Remember how I was when that was? Or don’t you? All these brown marks on this letter that you see are made from some candy that a guy give me. I shouldn’t eat it while I am writing but I am hungry, as I didn’t eat any chow this morning. But dinner isn’t so far off, and I think that will consist of chicken and all the trimmings. Doesn’t that sound good? What would sound a lot better would be coming home from a show about midnight to your folks place, then go in the house and have hot biscuits and liver sausage. If we could just live one of those nights once again. Or else stopping at the Moose Inn for some of Ray’s good fish. Every time I talk or think about those things I get all the more lonesome for you. I know you missed those dances but I will learn to dance, or anything you want, after I come home. I want you to be the one to teach me those things. There is no dances within twenty miles of here so you won’t have to worry about me going to any of them. They have shows here every night, but for the service men only. They are only $0.15 and that is where I go when I do go out, but that is few and far between. I am going to go tonight as there is a pretty good show on – “The Human Comedy” with Mickey Rooney. At least they say it is good. Maybe I should tell you a little bit about school right now. I know the whole alphabet in code. Tomorrow I start on the numbers. After all that is done I will start to take messages. If I can receive twelve letters or words in a minute I am supposed to be pretty good. They give us eight weeks to do it in and I think I can do it, as I have been to school only a week and I can receive five words now. I am pretty sure I can do it and with you on my side I am sure of it. I bought something for you down at the Post Exchange. It isn’t much, but it will be something to remember me by. I can’t get my picture taken here right now, but if it is possible I will do it as quick as I can. I also got another piece of jewelry lined up to buy, but they haven’t got actually what I want. I won’t tell you what it is but I think it is pretty nice. You will have to wait until you get it. There isn’t much more that I can think of to write, and I still have to write one to big brother yet today. I wrote to Alvin, but as yet I haven’t heard from him. But it is quite aways  from him to me. I am afraid that I can’t think of any more to write, so we’ll have to close by now, sweetheart. All my love and kisses from Pappy

PS – I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.

Notes: Just one letter after seeming to take a more adult tone Dad reverts to the old ways, acting kind of whiney that Clarence gets longer letters than he does. Those late night liver sausage sandwiches must have left a big impression on Dad as often as he mentions them. There is a Moose Inn in Wautoma today, but I can’t verify it is the one Dad refers to. I did some searching and was unable to locate more information on it or its owner “Ray.” Maybe one of my Wisconsin cousins can help me out.