A Hurricane and A Lake

Tuesday, September 2

Dear John and Andrew,

Got more letters from you at the office here this morning--two from you, Andrew and a two pager from you, John. By this time we're settling down and I hate to do an about face, but they've been very nice to us. Ann's 'phone conversation telling her just where we stood seems to have worked and there has been mention of the subject they were going to tell us all about. Since Friday, the house has blossomed out with rungs, that is rugs, chairs, pictures and little odds and ends which we had hoped to acquire if the house was sold at the higher figure. But we got them anyway showing our prayers were answered and this was evidently meant to be.

I tried everywhere to find a New York Times on Sunday but Baltimore is the closest spot and we didn't get in nearer than Parkville. I'm going to work out a little deal with Mr. Beesemyer starting next week where he can get it for me here in town an he likes it himself and can bring it across the street from his apartment on Monday mornings. I even asked the paper man on our route out there but he said he couldn't order it. I have a copy of LOOK I'm mailing today to make up for it and we should be back on schedule next Monday.

Don't worry about the monthly payments to J. Norman Geipe. We'll take care of them and work it out with you. In fact, I'd better cell them because they're supposed to start sending the statements here to the office and we haven't received their typed copy the inventory yet. I believe the down payment of the $10 takes care of the first month.

This was a pretty nice and a pretty bad week-end, the bad part being only the weather. Saturday was OK and we spent a quiet day putting a few more thinqs in place and looking for others. It clouded up by nightfall and Sunday morning was rainy. I took Ann to 8 o'clock Mass which they start when they feel like it. Ann says it got under way about 8:20. I went to 10 and that began on time but didn't let out till 11:05 with a long sermon. The church, as I said before, is smaller than St. Mark's but nice. It wasn't crowded at the 10; maybe due to the rain and maybe not that many usually are there as I noticed a number of out of town cars. Not a soul visited on Sunday and we left the house for only one hour, to go to Parkville for a little ride and some magazines. A hurricane that turned inland hit us Monday morning about 5 o'clock. The wind was so strong it forced the water under the weather-stripped doors and windows. At 6 a.m. the electricity went off and we didn't have water or cooking till five after twelve. But later in the day I found out we were lucky and that parts of Baltimore didn't get service until yesterday evening. You should see the pictures in the paper of Catonsville and Ellicott City. In Ellicott City the water burst the fronts out of almost every store on Main Street and washed the contents down to the Doughnut Machine Corp. One picture shows 17 autos that were carried down and dumped in a mess of silt. Abe (whom we talked to by 'phone last night) said refrigerators and electric appliances as well as watches and all sorts of jewelry and junk were floating over the place. Catonsville was hit almost as hard and till this morning and maybe still has only bus service to Irvington. I called up Schatz first thing this morning and he says the loan has been approved that all they're waiting for is the settlement. So if the house is still there, it is apparently going through.

Our lone visitors for the entire week-end were Aunt Alice, Sam, Pud and Jeannie, who came by yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours. I forgot to say that the storm abated as quickly as it began and by noontime the sun was shining. Now the papers say there's a big one coming in from the northwest that is supposed to hit this evening sometime.

This morning was school for Arlene. I haven't located the other girls we heard were going to Towson Catholic from out our way but I can bring her in all right. She was supposed to have a half day for this first day but at 10:25 she called me and said they were through. I drove out and picked her up and she's downtown with her weekly allowance right now seeing The Greatest Show on Earth at popular prices.

I see that your Show of Shows is due back this Saturday night and all the others are slowly falling in--Hit Parade, Dinah Shore and Perry Como. We never listen to the radio hut Arlene has it on quite a bit and gets around 30 stations. What the stations are I don't know, but two in particular have the same program one hour apart. For instance, Sunday night she listened to, and called me in to verify it, the Frank Fontaine show at 8 p.m Daylight Time and at 9 p.m. Daylight time heard the same show over again. Both stations are strong and clear and one is from Pennsylvania.

It took a little longer getting in this morning and the roads were tough going. The two temporary bridges they had built around the bridges that were knocked out by that big storm in June were washed out yesterday along with another bridge on the alternate route a half mile down the road so we had to come in by way of Glen Arm and the Joppa Road and found the Joppa Road cut off which necessitated more detouring; but there's many ways and a mile or two doesn't seem much when you're not in traffic. Mrs. Burton always wanted a lake on her place and this morning she has one which you can see from our windows looking out across and beyond the fence Mike was sitting on in one of the pictures we sent. It's about 160 feet in diameter but not very deep. The wonderful feeling is going down the basement and finding not a drop of water but I still worry about the house on Bloomsbury,

I hope they don't try to kill you off with pneumonia as a result of your messy set up and let's hope the cold weather isn't upon you too quickly after all the water subsides. If it takes all that time in transit, will they start moving you out in October instead of November. They do have to get you out by Dec. 6th, don't they, if nothing happens?

END OF LETTER

Editor's Notes:
Mr. Beesemyer also works for the Burtons.
Ann's Aunt Alice's children are Puddy and Jeannie

Next Posting: September 4, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner

Registration and A Mighty Wind

Monday, June 16, 1952

Dear Andrew and John

You are no doubt up to your ears in water and bugs and, we are sweltering in 95° plus. I came away this morning again without the movie sections but immediately called Ann and had her save what I had torn out last night. I particularly want you to get the Times this week because it lists all the summer stock groups and then inside their full schedule of plays for the summer.

Last Tuesday I took off to register Arlene. It wasn't a real holiday, I'm sorry to say, as I had to drop by the office from 10:00 to 10:45 and be here while a fellow from the government was going over some payrolls; then, though I had given everyone including the Dr. and Mrs. a week's notice of my plan to be away for the day, Mr. H expected me to be back at the office after lunch. Mr. H started to give ma a lot of stuff; I got angry and walked out and it was on that not-too-happy parting that I spent the rest of the day stewing inwardly. It was hot, but breezy day, and after we left Towson Catholic we went across country to visit Aunt Alice and Jeannie. We arrived there five minutes before a tornado hit. You should have seen the mess. The papers traced it across Pikesville, Reisterstown, Towson, Joppa and Edgewood and it took them almost twelve hours to restore 'phone and electric service. On the way back we had to detour numerous times because of road blocks. All along the road back, as we came through Towson again, you could see where trees about two and three feet in diameter had been twisted off, not blown over. They registered winds of 84 miles an hour. We got home (having left everything open) to find that not a drop of rain had fallen, nor gust of wind. It was all over down the country in about half an hour and Arlene went out to gather hailstones almost as big as golf bails. Luckily, or could have been unluckily, the car was under trees. We had planned and wanted to go from Aunt Alice's down the river to take Kathy and Stevie in for their first swim but because of my mood and the lateness we called that off and, were home by five thirty.

Arlene was tickled pink with your gradation remembrance and it went into clothes she had been admiring; I think several blouses, white loafers and a baseball type hat in addition to some dungarees.

I have another movie for you; not as interesting as the last but English. I was mowing lawns Friday and we didn't come in till late so didn't turn TV on till Picure Playhouse; the feature, "Easy Honour" with Patrick Knowles and Margaret Lockwood. The story: P. Knowles (the spelling doesn't look right) whose name was Jones was managing an art gallery or museum which sells the junk to wealthy patrons. His employer, a fellow named Markham, is away when the picture opens but Markham's secretary, who is nameless, is being touched for 500 pounds by her fiancee who has just escaped from Jail. She doesn't have the cash so he tells her to get it. Next scene, enter Mrs. Markham, a busty blonde 20 years younger than her husband who has come to the galleries for the purpose of arranging the next week-end, starting that evening, she and P. Knowles are going to spend together. Now into the same art store walks Sir Henry Somebody who turns out to be P. Knowles father, a wealthy so and so who hasn't seen his son for years and who wants to bay half interest in the enterprise. Markham returns just then from his trip and is shocked to see Sir Henry and the camera goes deep into his eyes for a flash back to Africa when he was young and working for this Sir Henry, wanted to break away from a five year contract and Sir Henry wouldn't let him so he did anyway and swore revenge. Then in comes Margaret Lockwood, a childhood sweetheart of P. Knowles who has also been away and before he has sold one picture they are madly in love. However, he tells her of his indiscretions and that he has made this date for the coming week-end and Margaret Lockwood replies that it would be nice for him to tidy up his affairs before they become engaged officially. Back to Markham's office, Markham changes the combination of his safe as it is apparently his custom on occasion and gives a copy to his secretary to give to Patrick or Jones. He goes back to the safe and sees her, in a mirror, open the envelope and jot down the numbers, then seal it. He says nothing to her and after hours she opens the safe and gets out 500 pounds for her boy friend. Markham's wife, the blonde, who has made the weekend plans drops in for some cash and receives an alibi 'phone call to enable her to get away. Sir Henry comes in and Markham turns down his offer of going into partnership but is invited by Sir Henry to Sir Henry's estate for the week-end, where Markham tells his wife to meet him on Sunday after she has stayed with her sick friend. As it was arranged, Markham's wife goes to the hotel in the country to register ahead of Patrick (Jones) and as he is on his way to her he is picked up for speeding. They don't catch him till he has arrived at the hotel and the proprietor greets him in the name of Frazier under which they are registered as husband and wife and that is what the policeman puts down with Sir Henry's address. Fade out to Sunday and Sir Henry's estate. Markham's secretary has taken the money to her lover to find him cuddled up with another babe. She tries to put the cash back but Markham has again changed the combination so she decides to confess and brings the money to Markham at Sir Henry's estate. Markham tells her to keep the cash as he has it in mind to blackball Patrick (Jones) and get back at Sir Henry as Jones is the only one who was supposed to have the safe information other than himself. He tells Sir Henry that Patrick has apparently stolen 500 lb. and intends to press charges with the police. While Markham is alone in the room a policeman calls and says he wants to gather additional information on "Mr. Frazier" and is told there is no one there by that name. The others come in and so does Patrick and the cop greets him with the Frasier title. Patrick owns up but then Markham's wife comes in and the cop greets her as "Mrs. Frazier" and everyone is crying on someone's shoulder as Margaret Lockwood was also a guest of Sir Henrys and had come in for the finale to learn who Patrick had been tidying up with. Markham's wife says she sees nothing to get so worked up about as they were only together from 11:30 to 11:45 the previous night and afterwards Patrick had broken off with her as Margaret Lockwood had requested or suggested. Last scene is a speeding car caught by a cop and as he is writing out the tickets Patrick and Margaret stick their heads out and Patrick says he wants the policeman to meet his wife "Mrs. Jones". The cop says, "Oh, another one, eh?" and slowly tears the ticket, not wishing to go through all that again. We stuck it out to the bitter end.

The TV set has been working swell but the horizontal and vertical wouldn't line up and hold so I called for service Friday morning. Noontime, Ann reported the man had been there about 11:45, fixed the trouble with a turn of the screw driver and as he walked out and slammed the door the picture went back to being cock-eyed. They couldn't catch the fellow so I had to call him again and he returned that afternoon.

Saturday was a hot one and we stayed at home. NBC put "The Bicycle Thief" on from 9 to 10 p.m. with English sub-titles and we found it very good. We watched Jay Grayson back again with "Date To Dance" and then to bed. The Gunther movie we didn't see was "MY Son, My Son" with Madeline Carroll. Sunday was a scorcher and again we stayed around till about seven thirty when I took them for an hour's drive and missed Bob Hope on the Comedy Hour. I see where he and Bing are going to be on all night this Saturday to 1:30 Sunday to collect cash for the U. S. Olympic team to be sent a broad or rather abroad. For Bing's first TV appearance, I think the benefit's crazy.

I'm glad the camera's working OK, Andrew and will try to get the bulbs off to you and John tomorrow. How about the small batteries, that is the medium size ones; can you get them all right?

END OF LETTER

Editor's Note:
Dr. and Mrs. Burton are Charles' employers. Mr. Hahn worked in the same office.
Alice and Jeannie are Ann's Aunt and cousin. They live east of Baltimore.

Next Posting: June 23, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner