A Bad Haircut

Thursday, September 11

Dear Andrew and John,

I sent for fifty of these back before we moved and, they've just come. They were very cheap, a dollar and something, and you could have had your name printed, also which I omitted. We plan to send them only to people who are far away, like Peg and Mitch and Jerry, and Len so you can send those I send you to any relatives you may think of because we've shown them to no one, not even the girls last Thursday. They're rather bulky so I'll get out a few more to you under separate mailing.

Had a long talk with Mrs. Bellis over the 'phone. It just flashed into my mind to give her a call as I remembered she and Ruth and Aunty Edith go out at least once a week and usually look for a new spot; so I thought it would be a good idea to surprise Mommie. She said probably next Tuesday would be the day. She also said we had no doubt heard about her daughter and I asked how they were coming along. He went into the Navy 4 days after they were married as scheduled and Mary won't see him for eight weeks while he is in boot training. Mary went right back to work at the Blue Cross and is living at hone. Our last Argus was forwarded to us and right beneath the huge write-up on Will Emerson and Virginia Reymann was a couple inches devoted to Bellis-King and I think they did it very nicely. They mentioned the double ring ceremony before Reverend somebody at Arlington (which could have been Maryland, Virginia or West Virginia) and said the bride was residing at the home of her parents until the groon came out of the Navy, not saying he was stuck for 3 years.

No settlement yet. We were sure we wouldn't have to wait this long but that's how it goes. Tomorrow is supposed to be the last day they have under the agreement to close the deal so it just shows the agreement doesn't mean a darn think unless you try to get out of it.

I just spent ten long minutes yelling at J. Norman Geipe. Got a registered letter here at the office the day before yesterday containing your inventory list coupled with their contract and insurance agreement and showing the storage is at Rolling Road and Edmondson Highway, Catonsville. They got me riled up by enclosing a bill for $15 for hauling for 1 1/2 hours at $10 per hour and 46¢ for insurance. Ann and I went over the thing carefully and she said she talked to two different people on two different days before we left home (I think she also talked to everyone in the city for our last 'phone bill was $26); one Geipe representative was a woman and one a man. She said they each stated the charge would be $4.50 each month and that she particularly asked them if there was anything else and they said only a $10 down payment. Furthermore the bill goes on to say that storage will be $6.00 a month and not $4.50. This person I spoke with could only say that all this should have been explained at the time of one of our calls and didn't know why it was not. I'm going to write them a nasty letter today; think I'll make it to J. Norman personally as he was in my class at St. Joe. I paid the thing and we'll straighten it out someday so don't worry but it just makes me madder and madder because all this wouldn't have had to be.

The same Argus had an obituary on Mr. Joyce, who died the first of September. Maybe the mother will come live with Jean now and take care of the kids, for when we left Jean was working and Glyn Bailey is away all week in New York while the poor kids were locked out and all over the place.

Your allotment came yesterday John, forwarded OK from Catonsville and Andrew, you got a nice bill for the $6 not paid on your income tax which we filed in March, plus interest of 19¢ or maybe it was 49¢, as I left it home in the desk. Do you want me to keep it here or do you want to pay it from Korea with a bunch of yen or whatever that stuff is. They must have made some adjustment or other, I because as I remember it, I believe I wrote you in February that you owed the Government $14 but why worry about it. Let them try and collect.

Ann won't talk to me this morning; I cut Michael's hair last night. I honestly don't believe I did as bad a job as I did on yours but there are spots.... So it's my plan to add the clippers to the Polaroid and offer it as a package unit.

The Girls said you were anxious to see the old house at 25 again when you returned and maybe the Seicke's would let you walk through. I think at your age I would have felt the same way but now my only thoughts would be to look for this hole or that crack and think of the condition of the roof and the cellar and watch more paint chip off on the sunny side. But with a little time and effort this fellow Seicke should be able to put it in fair shape again except for the darn basement.

I have school again tonight and had a talk with B. Herbert on Monday evening about giving it up. I have agreed to go through September but will probably stop then so if you can think of any text book I can try and corral, let me know.

Figuring from October 23, and sixteen days on the long water trip, if they hurry the rest through you still might make it by Thanksgiving.


END OF LETTER

Editor's Notes:
The family has recently moved from 25 Bloomsbury Avenue in Catonsville and are living in Long Green Valley.
The Argus is the old name for the Catonsville Times Newspaper.
Mrs. Bellis was the next door neighbor in Catonsville
B. Herbert Brown ran the business school that Charles taught at night.

Next Posting: September 15, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner

A Tour of "The Inn" and Cousin Claire

Tuesday, July 29, 1952

Dear Andrew and John,

Sorry I couldn't get something off to you yesterday but with working for Doctor and cleaning things up in order to get over school the time disappeared. I guess I'd better tell you first about our tour of the house. When Mrs. B. told me Friday she would call on Sunday I thought she was going to put it off again; and more so on Sunday as it clouded up about midmorning and rained a little. But on the dot of twelve she 'phoned and only I talked with her and she agreed to meet us out there at 2:30. We left home at one so as not to take any chances and by the time we passed through town the sun was out and the weather as beautiful. Taking it easy I timed it out to the house in 1 hr. and 3 minutes. We were early so I also measured the distance to the church and school and it's a little more than the stone's throw I may have led you to believe. Its about the same distance as to St. Mark's but on the same Long Green Pike and sits back a hundred or so feet from the road. We went back to the house and parked out front till they arrived at 2:35. If time permits, I'll sketch a floor plan and put in one of your envelopes but this is the way it lines up. The porch is concrete or stone and is at street level. So is the entrance to the front door. Now the house is not on a grand a glorious scale for which we are happy; I mean by that the Inn, as it was called, was over 50 years old when Doctor bought it. But he has put in all hard wood floors and insulated it. The front room is maybe twenty two or three feet by about eighteen. If you come in the front door and walk straight ahead there are two large French doors with frosted glass. Opened, they make the front look larger and lead into the dining room. This is a strange sized room. It is about twenty some feet wide but only ten feet long or rather vice versa. It has a large buffet built in (probably part of the old Inn bar) with plenty of storage space. The main thing this room has to offer is the alcove on the south. There are two windows and it would make a perfect dining place for a small family but we intend to use the kitchen....which is nice and large. Mommie has her windows over the sink and built in cabinets. There is a Hotpoint electric stove with the automatic cooking features and on the opposite wall from the built in stuff, there is an arrangement for the washer which I will try to picture. It is about three times as deep as an ordinary sink and has separate hot and cold faucets and in our opinion is also very handy for washing dirty little ones. The back door goes one step down, I think, onto a cement patio--small---and then three more steps to the back yard which is wonderful. From one look, I'm a bit confused on the general makeup but I remember lattice work and an archway of wood and plenty of play space for the kids. There is a cement walk and a gate around the side and another walk straight ahead from the kitchen door which leads to the garage through another gate. The yard is fenced and then tree type hedges to a height of maybe ten feet have been allowed to grow over the fencing and three tremendous trees (oak I believe) provide shade and breezes. It is entirely grass covered even though the former occupants had 5 kids. The cellar, here we go again, has no inside the house entrance. There are steel doors on a concrete foundation and go down to a beautiful heating system. But the basement is only about as big as our kitchen at 25. In one corner is the three or four hundred gallon tank for the well water which is filtered and softened. The furnace is a good national Radiator special with a summer-winter oil hook-up. There is just oil for heating and electricity--no gas. To move on with the tour, there are doors out of the front room and midst room to a hall with plenty of closet space under the stairs and a small room which the former occupants used for a telephone booth complete with door. The stairs to the second floor lead to the bathroom on the right--built in tub with shower out of the wall, built in cabinet "for all of Ann's lotions and perfumes" and no plunger standing in the corner. There are two bedrooms on this second floor which was formerly the dance hall part of the Inn. They are not overly large as it would seem but more than enough room. Up again to the third floor, there is one large room, not all the way across both houses, but almost so. There is one nice little alcove with a built in book shelf. In the one closet there is a door which leads to the unfinished or storage part where they keep storm windows and other junk. Sunday was a warm day and walking from the third floor room to this uncompleted section was a noticeable change of about 20 degrees in temperature. So I hope you're back in time to help fix the place up for Christmas; better yet, I hope you're there for Thanksgiving dinner. Mrs. Burton called me this morning and said she's going out to the country today and will look around to see if she has a couple of old chairs and a couch which can be fixed up and donated. I think Ann 's pretty happy about it just as long as there is not too much interference from you know who. And I'm willing to go along just so they are satisfied. They have started to paint the downstairs again and are making everything white. I'm trying somehow to put across that we think everything is nice and much more than adequate but for you not to expect the smoothness of 20th Century design. Anyway, here's hoping things work out and we get rid of our present place. We received a nice letter from Schatz hoping the same before he gives up trying on August 24.

Now back to other news. Early Saturday morning Cousin Anna called and I answered, She was crying and said they had taken Cousin Claire to Bon Secours Friday night with pneumonia. I offered the car and she said she would be ready about 10:30. Stevie went to his morning nap and Arlene watched Mike and Kathy so Ann could go along. We found Cousin Claire in a private room with the window wide open and just a hospital gown on with her feet out. She said they had gone over her and didn't know what it was, but not pneumonia. While we were there she had a terrible coughing spell which continues, she says until chunks of something are expelled. We stayed till twelve and left Cousin Anna for the day. I called on Sunday, Monday and again an hour ago. Yesterday Cousin Ann was crying and said it was no better; that they had taken X-rays and tests and found nothing wrong but the coughing was making her so weak. They said it might be some kind of allergy from dogs or sheep. This morning Cousin Ann said she was somewhat better and they had her constantly inhaling the fumes of some electric device and would know more this afternoon. I offered to pick her up and bring her home this evening if nothing happens and will let you know the score in another day or so.

I filled in for Mrs. Brown again last week and didn't see much of home. There were only two classes on Tuesday and one on Friday but the staying around breaks up the night. Ann was disgusted with me because he pays according to classes and not nights and I agree it was not worth it, but I was helping Mrs. B. and not B. H.

Saturday night we saw three movies. To fill in time, ABC put on two shows - 8 to 9 and 9 to 10. The first was a mystery with unknown stars and 1935 vehicles and the second was James Dunn in another mystery titled, believe it or not, "The Luck of the Irish". The redeeming feature of both was that there was not a pause for station break or advertising in the full hour each ran. Then came the Gunther Playhouse which you may have seen: "Twin Beds" with George Brent, Joan Bennett, Misha Auer, Glenda Farrell, Una Merkel and Ernest Truex. We liked it. The rest of the week had been taken up with the convention, of which I saw a little bit on Wednesday. Last night, the summer Westinghouse Studio One was pretty good with "The Last Thing I Do" but the acting is way off from the pros.

A number of news dispatches have been issued on the violent rains you have been having. Another thing, I must have missed the Service Sun when they acknowledged your letter, Andrew. I don't know where they've been hiding it since I sent you that one clipping.

I'll drop you another note tomorrow or Thursday with at least the news about seeing Cousin Claire tonight.

END OF LETTER

Editor's Notes:
Charles works for Dr. and Mrs. Burton who have promised him the use of a larger house near their farms northeast of Baltimore. At one time the house was an Inn.
Charles also teaches nights for the Baltimore Institute - a business school.

Next Posting: August 1, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner

A Heat Wave And A Stroke

Friday, June 27

Dear Andrew and John,

I'm glad your weather has been holding off and hope it continues to do so as you receive this but as I write this we're blistering in a heat wave that has killed four here in Baltimore in two days and in the same two days prostrated 232. All you hear morning till evening is the wail of sirens going after another pick up. Ann exaggerates a little when she says the entire city got off at noontime yesterday but all I know is that we did not. Also had to go to school last night and stood it till a quarter to nine when I told them to go home. It was an official 100° at 4:30 yesterday afternoon but the thermometer here at the office said 103°. That you can stand, but when it doesn't go below 86° during the night, you can't even breathe with our famed humidity much less sleep. Like today, right now at noontime, the gal says it's 95° and a relative humidity of 62%, which is terrible. They say out Denver way it's enjoyable with a 90° temperature and a humidity of about 15% or 20%. Just got a call from B. Herbert asking me to fill in for Mrs. B. tonight but I declined.

A little more on those pictures I sent, if you want to call them that. After I had mailed them I took the negatives out of the bag and found a white slip which said "roll received in damaged condition". So maybe it wasn't the two years but light leaks or something which spoiled them. I do know it looked all right to me when I left it down there.

Ann, of course, had to wash and iron in yesterday's heat and almost got a touch of it. She was hanging up clothes and started to get dizzy with cramps but made it in to lie on Michael's bed and took it a little easier for the rest of the day. She also had visitors from supper time till when I got home consisting of Kay and Ken with Dianne and Annie Clapsaddle and Vickie, who are staying at Harundale for the week.

On the house situation, nothing has changed toward prospects of Doctor's place being available anytime soon but Schatz's daughter called Ann to say she thought they were going to have definite word on a settlement within the next week. Last night one of the agent's dropped by to ask Ann if he could bring someone to look at the place on Monday. We also think that Cimlnos want both Bellis' and our place since after looking at Bellis' he brought Schatz down and no doubt questioned him about home. We learned, too that Ciminos own the land where Cladding's - the old blacksmith shop - is.

I stopped right here to call Ann as I do every noontime and she had some news to report--that Mickey's father, Monroe Tucker, had died at 11:30. I believe I mentioned a month or so ago that he was right bad off with heart trouble; it's all over now--a blood clot. Ann and Mrs. Bellis went over to see if they could do anything. I'm sure the heat helped things along.

I should have mentioned, just to make sure to receive them, that one Monday I finally got some flash bulbs off, one carton with 5 and another with just 2. Hope they arrive OK.


END OF LETTER

Editor's Notes:
Charles teaches business courses at night at the Baltimore Institute. B. Herbert Brown is the owner.
Charles works for Dr. Burton who has promised him the use of a larger house near his farms.
The Bellis' live next door at 23 Bloomsbury.
The family is selling the house in Catonsville.

Next Posting: June 30, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner