The Kids Are Fine - The Roses Are Bursting

Monday, May 19 1952

Dear Andrew and John,

Ann has an unfinished letter to each of you home on the shelf she swears she will get off today. And over the weekend Arlene comes up with the fact she has written you four letters which she hasn't mailed. If they are still around, I am taking home postage this evening. I believe I can report all's well again, though Stephen took a bottle to bed with him last night and promptly threw it all up. We kept him up a little after that but he had no temperature and evidently it was just an upset stomach resulting, no doubt, from the way he buckets around the house. He's not as surefooted as Kathy and they like to spin in circles till they fall on their little faces. Mike still goes into trances every now and then - just thinking, he says. He is one you won't have to worry about forgetting you and Kathy still insists with violent shakes of her head that she remembers. The little slob takes to everyone and especially animals. Every dog we meet he has to hug and grunt over if it seems safe on our part, but regardless on his. The bigger the beast, the juicier he gets. Ann is getting more and more disgusted with cousin Pud, whom we haven't seen or heard from since the wedding and that was February. I try to get her to shrug it off and tell her the reason we saw so much of them was because it was a convenience and a half way point between Edgewood and Washington when Sam was on duty. But she's quite hurt by the silence. I talked to Mrs. MacDonald a little while on Friday when I took what's left of our ladder over for Claude to fix her roof. She just asked the latest word on you; seems well herself and continues to work a couple of days a week at that cleaners across from Westowne. Mary Bellis has it bad; a new fellow or rather of several months duration. Beyond the hand in hand stuff--sitting on his lap in the school field and necking on the side porch with no brickbats from the family. She graduates in June. The junk house of a gas station across the street is open for business once more. I don't recall telling you it shut down, but to repeat, if I did, the young fellow who was running it appeared to be doing well till one weekend right after Easter we saw the cops over there looking around and they kept coming back on foot and in a squad car. One of the Bellis' got the explanation that the kid had backed up a truck and cleaned the place out of all the supplies and equipment he had been renting or offered for sale. The dope who is running it now is living with a wife and a son back in the hole where Florence used to be. They have a large Buick which they service nightly at closing-up time. Last Thursday and Friday about 11 p.m. and again Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. they were repairing either a broken muffler or something with the exhaust, with atomic-like explosions that wouldn't let us get to sleep and night and woke everyone, even the Bellis', extra early on Saturday.

You remember Schlitz used to have the Playhouse of Stars for an hour each Friday. It has been cut to a half-hour show since February but still presents well known stars. Friday night they did something different and something which in my opinion they can keep on doing--a musical, called "Autumn in New York" with Skip Homier, Polly Bergen and Don Briggs. It was well written and acted, some new music, some old like "April In Paris" and I was surprised how S. Homier can sing. I had heard of Polly Bergen before but only as being in a movie with Martin and Lewis which I didn't see; and her acting and voice were excellent.

Each day for the past week has had some rain. While it was dripping Saturday morning I painted the furnace and some of the pipes just in case and sealed up the drain again. Later, as it cleared, got some more grass out of the way. The roses are bursting forth all over and the peonies have more golf ball sized buds than I've seen. This year I'm leaving them strictly alone for you remember last year or was it the one before I sprayed away all the ants that cover the blossoms and didn't know that the ants eat mites which weren't killed but which destroyed half the partly opened flowers. In the afternoon took care of kids while Mommie went first to the hairdressers and then to Dr. Sherrard's to have a filling replaced which I think was loosened by this iron she is taking. We got the groceries, ate and got the kids ready for bed (not that they went). With baths and messing around I didn't see the All Star Review from 8 to 9 which had the Ritz Brothers but I tuned in to hear them announce Martha Raye for next week. We did see Show of Shows and they've turned a bit economy minded using Judy Johnson, Bill Hayes and I forget who else as m.c. for three weeks. Marguerite Piazza was soloist with the Baltimore & Ohio Glee Club here in Baltimore last Wednesday.

After S of S we watched London Films present Leo Genn in "The Wooden Horse" which turned out to be that story of how a small group of English flyers escaped from a Nazi prison camp by tunneling underground. I liked it because they didn't continually dwell on that one topic but got them out in a hurry and then traced their escape across Germany into Denmark and finally Sweden. The trailer for next Saturday showed scenes from "The Small Back Room", with names I can't remember.

I actually did remember to bring yesterday's Times in this morning; and will try to get some more show propaganda off to you before the week is over.

END OF LETTER

Editor's Notes
Mrs. MacDonald is a neighbor.

Some of the Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.

Next Posting: May 28, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner

An English Movie, Family in South Baltimore, and Kathy's Boo Boo.

Monday, May 5, 1952

Dear Andrew and John,

We received three or four letters from you two last week. They are breaking more records air mailing--for instance, two of Andrew's were postmarked April 27 and received on May 2--in just five days. I'm glad you brought up the rubber stamp you use on the letters. That's just one of many things I've meant to ask about. We've saved everyone of your letters and for some reason the majority of them seem to come on a Monday or Thursday because it seems that is when I'm most found reading them as I pick up something to eat about 10 p.m. coming home from school. I make mental notes of particulars I want to ask you about and then promptly forget them as I write these letters from the office. So, if I've overlooked any questions maybe you'd better ask again or I'll start to take notes as I read.

It is not summerish yet but we had beautiful weather over the weekend. We didn't go anywhere Saturday. After an 8 a.m. hair cut I started on the jungle in the back yard. I cut half with the mower and used the golf-club-type cutter on most of the remainder till the blisters got too big; then I weeded the roses and cut the front hedge and ended up bailing the cellar. That crazy cellar is something. After the first five days of the deluge I told you about, everyone was complaining about water in the basement - but not us, dry as could be. Then, in a space of about five hours on the sixth day, we have six inches. I don't know if I told you but I've found out after all these years what it is. It's the water table as they call it and the old wells. That's why flash flood and hard rain doesn't bother us until the ground gets saturated near the surface and then it'll force its way through steel. With daylight savings now in effect, it's bright till almost nine o'clock. For some reason I wasn't so tired Saturday and sat through Show of Shows and the Gunther's movie. Show of Shows was good as ever, especially Imogene's imitation of Ima Sumac, if that's the way you say it. The English movie was Flesh and Blood with Richard Todd. Not bad, but what we call typical English - they went through three plots in the first fifteen minutes. It begins with Richard Todd as a young genius scientist in an attic. His doctor comes and tells him he has only months to live. A few minutes later a gal rushes in and begs him to marry her because he has her pregnant. We follow the, girl home and find she is the young sister of the doctor, who is well off. Late that night they receive word Richard Todd has died: she faints. Next scene is nurse running to tell doctor it's a little girl and the doctor's sister dies in this childbirth. Eighteen years pass, the doctor has brought the girl up and she's fooling around with a young fellow who is studying medicine with the doctor, as his apprentice, and who was a kid in knee pants - the son of the woman who ran the boarding house where Richard Todd died. So this eighteen year old gal, if you're following me, is Richard Todd's daughter. Well, she comes home from a dance one night after the doctor has gone to bed and this apprentice is compounding some medicines in the study. She tells him she is going to marry a captain which angers the fellow and he tells her he will expose the letters she has written him. She fixes him a drink with half a bottle of his poison and that ends him. Two years pass and she has been acquitted but has a baby which we haven't figured out yet but presumably the apprentice's, and is still living with her uncle, the doctor. The mother of the apprentice is now the doctor's housekeeper or apparently has been for some years prior to his death. Each time she meets the girl in the hall all she does is stare at her. So, one nice windy night the girl walks out the front door and over a cliff leaving the baby who, in the next scene, turns out to be Richard Todd, again a medical student and would-he genius and this is where the picture really begins as all the above has taken place in approximately fifteen to twenty minutes.

This letter is a sloppy mess, as usual, but I try to get in finished during lunchtime.

Sunday, after church, breakfasts and naps, it was 1:30 and Ann suggested going to see Virginia and the new baby in South Baltimore. So, we found 1802 Light St. OK and Charlie opened the door for us. I can't say I don't like him but Ann's comment was that he and Frank would make a good pair. All he did was criticize Virginia and say she "gabs all the time and gets nothing done" which is a lie as the place was spotless and so were the kids. Virginia was so glad to see us. The baby had just been baptized at noontime and they said Dave and Lid, the godparents, had left only a few moments before. Other news -- George is continuing with P & G but now has a bar of his own on the side. And, in Virginia's words, the big scandal is that Bill and Eleanor are separating. She is getting the divorce to marry someone else. The funny thing, Virg says, neither blames the other; Bill says she's wonderful and she says Bill has been swell. We stayed over an hour and a half. Bonnie is getting along fine. She and Stevie would love each other, then slug either other by turns; but they all got on fine for the most part. They bought a new Ford a few weeks ago. As Charlie put it, their other two cars, besides the six trucks, were a '29 Ford and a '34 Chevie which the smoke hounds used to sleep in and, still quoting him, as they were all covered with sores he was afraid the babies might pick up something so they got a new car they could lock. I don't mean to pan him so much but Virginia seems too good for the guy. While we were down in that section I drove on to Fort McHenry but we didn't get out of the car and then out as far as Sherwood Gardens to ride around once through the mob. The morning papers say 40,000 visited there yesterday afternoon alone. Then we headed home for supper.

The little ones watched film funnies as Ann started the cooking and she then let Mike and Kathy go out back where she could see them while I was putting things on the table. Resurrecting things, Kathy must have started up the side steps over Bellis' and someone must have been in the porch swing. Mike was down in the yard and he says Kathy fell backwards. We didn't know this at the time. It seemed only about half a minute from the time they went out when Kathy, without tears, told Ann "I fell, Wommie". Ann asked if she hurt herself and she said he did not but came in the back door. I started to help her off with her coat and what a mess. She had hit the back center of her head and I'm not sure yet what broke but it must have been a small artery because it was spurting. Her dress and undershirt were so soaked with blood you could wring them out and still it came. Ann went all to pieces but I got her to hold a cloth to the wound and ran for the car where I had a tin of special antiseptic clotting powder. By the time I got back Mrs. Bellis was in and helping. I also got gauze and tape and wrapped the head and we kept her awake for an hour or so to watch her. She was calm throughout but the bump that finally came up was as large as a golf ball. And that's how it stands this morning. There is a large scab and I have advised Ann not to wash or pull the hair till I'm sure it has set good and won't open again.

Every time the word Korea pops up in conversation or on TV Mike automatically comes out with "that's where Jody and Drew-Drew are" and Kathy with a big head nod and her closest word to yes says she still remembers you. With Stevie you will have no trouble at all. He loves everything, animal, vegetable or mineral, without hesitation. When I ran to the drugstore for the gauze last evening I saw the Scannells waiting for a cab and did my good deed for the day by offering our services after I patched up Kathy. There were five of them and they don't know when Anne will be out of the hospital.

We voted this morning for the primaries. First time they've used voting machines and they've moved our precinct to the Catonsville Elementary school. Took only half a minute to vote and five minutes to explain to both women I wasn't you, John, as the one kept getting her pages stuck with your name.

More later.

END OF LETTER

Editor's notes:

Charles teaches night school at the Baltimore Institute.
Virginia is Charles' cousin and Charlie is her husband.
George, Dave and Bill are brothers of Virginia.
Jody and Drew-Drew are Mikes affectionate names for John and Andrew.
Ann Scannell is a neighbor and is in the hospital for an amputated arm.
The Bellis' live next door.

Next Posting: May 12, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner

Rain, Dinner at Pierre's, and Singing In The Rain

Monday, April 28 1952

Dear Andrew and John,

You will no doubt be soon experiencing what we are now going through--rain. It's setting all sorts of records. Started last Wednesday noontime and hasn't let up; going strong right now, Monday afternoon. In these past five days more than 7 inches of rain has fallen which is really something for our location. The radio announced this morning that locally the road is closed through Ellicott City, 301 is impassable on the Old Annapolis Road, the bridge at Landsdowne on the Hammonds Ferry Road is out and one of the bridges is closed on Hanover Street. We have not been inconvenienced by leaks (up to the time I left this morning) but some are having a tough time.

Well, we did it, out to dinner together and alone for the first time since May 1949. But it didn't go off on the day as I planned. When I got home last Tuesday I learned that Arlene's spring bingo was on Wednesday night and she had to be with the eighth grade in some musical number. Friday I had to work at the doctor's from noontime till 5:30. I had the car and got home pretty tired, wet and disgusted. I said to Ann, "How about tonight." You know her. We whisked the kids into their pj's, got Cassie to stay with Arlene and were on our way by 6:45. We found a parking spot right in front of Pierre's. There was no waiting--only two tables taken--and you could see Ann was pleased when Pierre bustled up and asked about the babies and told Ann she didn't look a bit different in the 3 years since she had been in. In fact, he was so attentive, we were getting restless to order. We started off with a Martini and ordered crab imperial with french fries, a big chef's salad which they mix in front of you, my first cup of coffee in about four years and finished with biscuit tortoni ice cream. It was so darn good I couldn't even groan. From there we went down to the Century where Singin' In The Rain is on its 4th week; that seemed perfect, too. We were in the house by eleven and I gave Arlene the remaining 25¢ for baby sitting.

We received several letters from each of you last week and Ann says she sent you the letter from Sam French, John. I am sure they read it, as I looked over the manuscript again and you can tell each page has been fingered. I'm glad we included return postage so we can submit it to someone else now, if you have someone in mind. I wanted to make a copy of the letter for your file but Ann was a little too quick for me. I was also interested in your descriptions of living-working-sleeping accommodations, the illustrations and particularly the long walk to the latrine. Under present conditions this would be entirely out of the question for Mommy. Last week she learned from the doctor and from daily experience and stair climbing that she is the one in over a hundred on whom the taking of iron has a reverse effect. She would be talking to me or sitting at the table and disappear upstairs so fast it was unbelievable. She is down to one tablet a day now, still feels better and is less winded.

Saturday morning at 8 o'clock we left for Towson Catholic High School for Arlene to take the entrance examinations just in case. We found when we got there that it would take till 12:30 so Ann and I took the little ones over to see Mrs. Musselman and Family in Overlea, where Ann lived the few months before coming to Catonsville. The kids were rather boisterous so we didn't stay long but came back to the school and waited over an hour for Arlene, which made it about 12:20. Returning home about 1:15, feeding, cleaning and once again feeding the brood made Saturday a rather dull day. We settled down around eight to watch the All Star Review presenting Bob Hope from San Francisco. It was quite good and a bit unusual as I believe it was from Treasure Island and done out in the open on a makeshift stage. His main guests were Fred MacMurray, the Bell Sisters and a young girl star I can't seem to remember. Hope you run into the Show of Shows where Sid Cesare does a take-off on Marlon Brando. I haven't seen M.B. but Ann says it's identical.

They had a double feature on TV yesterday afternoon on WMAR which is unusual. I didn't see all of it but the first was Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland in "The Crystal Ball" and the second, "Murder on the Campus" with Charles Starrett and Shirley Grey. I thought Starrett was a cowboy but this fellow was tall and black wavy-haired. Last night Martin and Lewis were on for the last time till next fall, going to Europe. Perhaps you've read of it, also, but the FCC has approved the new high frequency TV set-up. It won't take the present stations off the air but will give the country about 2,000 new stations which won't overlap. Altogether there will be 70 channels on the new TV sets instead of the present 14 and to use present sets a converter will be needed together with another special antenna. Baltimore has been given three new stations and a fourth to be used as an educational outlet. They claim some of the new stationers, I mean stations will be in operation by September. I can't see that it means too much at present, though. The Wall Street Journal reports they have a new TV camera which they will use in the conventions this summer which can be carried by one man with a battery pack strapped on his back; also, that a new multi purpose tube series has been perfected which permits the production and sale of a 17" TV set for around $89. Bet they don't let this one get out.

I don't have my color prints yet though I took them in a week before Easter. Next time I'll try Pavelle.

Saturday I looked out the window where I had left the lawn mower after cutting the grass the Saturday before. The grass grew approximately four or five inches in one week almost hiding the wheels. About a week and a half ago the Bellis' planted a row of 12 or 14 poplar trees along the driveway; each is about ten foot high. The gas station is still open across the street with little business. The tenants move back and forth in and out and up and down, always with a batch of uncared for kids. Ann and Mrs. B. won't look out front any more for fear of a view of a little one leaning out a window or standing in the middle of the street. About once a month you see a big black Buick over there and a young fellow trying unsuccessfully (by the looks of him) to collect rents. One thing you'll find new on your return and I haven't mentioned is that you now (and for the past month) pay ten cents for a local 'phone call. Next thing they're putting in is a limiting arrangement to cut you off after three minutes, like New York. From the booklet I'm putting in one envelope I see you can save time coming back by catching a Northwest Airlines plane from Seoul or Pusan for some $700 or so.

I have to go over school now; first, want to call Father Hughes. I received a card from him to work on the Catholic Charities drive this year and they're having a meeting tonight but I can't attend.

END OF LETTER

Editor's notes:

Samuel French is a publishing house. John has been trying to get something published.
The Bellis' were next door neighbors.
Father Hughes is the parish priest at St. Mark's of Catonsville.

Some of the Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.

Next posting: May 5, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner

A Shootout, A Wedding, The Show of Shows, And Dinner Out

Tuesday, Feb. 26th

Dear John and Andrew,

I was-all befuddled last week. Seems to me I put the word "'Monday" above the date while I actually wrote the letter on Wednesday, the 20th; also I recall telling you about TV movie previews of Frederic March in Detective Story and you know I meant Death of A Salesman.
Ann told me noontime we have a letter from you, Andrew, which is the first mail of any sort we received since my bragging last Wednesday. I thought maybe there was a mixup or a new postman for there was in the box Saturday a letter for Dorothy Folker and another for Monroe Tucker. Ann had a letter to you half completed, a page or three; I saw the envelope on the refrigerator last night when I returned from school and she said the kids had ground the contents-to-be into pulp.

For a little news of last week, I came home late Thursday to hear THIS story: Three teen-agers from the high school stole a new car from Model Motors and started up Bloomsbury. The cops met them at the corner and one of the kids pulled a gun. When the shooting died down, two lay wounded and the third escaped by running through to the elementary school and mixing with the home bound students. If you wanted to see the car, it was in front of Model riddled with holes. Now that's the way I heard it via Mommie, Arlene, etc. The next morning a small item in the paper said three boys had picked up a car in Arbutus and, with State Police chasing them, came up Bloomsbury and were cornered when they tried to drive between Sheppard's cab place and Model. Two boys immediately surrendered and the other got away as mentioned before but no shooting. Model Motors, by the way, is now Rowley Motors and is moving up to Peter's Garage at Melvin, which has been empty for sometime.

Mike and Stevie got haircuts last Friday and Mr. Cimino gave Ann Tom's address for relaying to you.' He has your new APO 301 and is with the 5th Infantry.

The wedding has come and gone successfully, we hope, and we, who were worrying how long we were going to have to sit and wait for Puddy, were late. We left home about 1:40 and got tied up in traffic going through town. We didn't get to the church till about two minutes after three and Aunt Alice had already been taken up the aisle. I felt like a dope but they had evidently only waited a minute or two. There were about two hundred people and after the ceremony we went to the American Legion at Edgewood for the reception--about five miles away. There was a funny one: we were one of the first in the car and coming around the church as they pulled away--Uncle Lawrence driving. We, and I guess everybody else, thought we'd do a little horn tooting. But, telling me about it later, Sammy said Uncle Lawrence, who gets perturbed if Sam goes over 35, made it to Edgewood at a steady 85. Ten seconds and they were out of sight. The reception was nice and quiet; they had plenty of ham and other sandwiches, cokes, potato chips and beer; and some punch, with and without, which I passed up. Steven or rather Stephen came into his own and was everywhere. I pulled him out of the bingo supplies in the check room before it was a shambled, he washed his hands in the wrong bowl in the men's room, Arlene rescued him and Michael from the ladies lounge and Ann was there to protect him when he slugged another kid a head taller than he.

We left about a quarter to six and Ann said it was a success so that satisfied me. Oh, yes, about shows in New York, Pud had asked me right after Christmas to send her a section of N. Y. Times and she said they thought they'd spend a few days up there. She tried all the musicals without success for this, the end of February. So we got home about seven and had settled down by the time a good Jimmy Durante show came on. His guest was Gloria Swanson and a ten minute section had her narating while they put on a series of her old films back to 1923. And Show of Shows was one of the best; I didn't fall asleep once.

Ann Clapsaddle's sister Kay called from Harundale to say she had a pair of shoes if Ann wanted them. We went to get them on Sunday afternoon and stayed for an hour. Coming back we had a two minute drive past the holdings of your old friend, J. Fred, the owner of Glen Burnie.
This brings us to today; Ann and I were scheduled to go out this evening. The banks were open last Saturday because of Washington's birthday Friday and I deposited the bond, John, and your m.o., Andrew, and got the funds for dinner and a show. But Virginia informs us tonight is dancing for her and nobody can stay-with Arlene; also, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and I promised Mr. Kistner to do his income tax tomorrow night; finally, tomorrow is also the beginning of Lent and Ann has resolved to forgo liquid refreshment and all sweets. I was talking to Ann as usual lunchtime and she was bluish because the house was a mess and the kids were whooping it up. So, here's what I'm going to do. She won't start dinner till I get home because I told her I was going to wait for Abe who had a meeting supposed to last till 5:30. He just called me, not feeling well, and wants to go at five. I'll get home and pile the lot of them in the car and we'll all go over to the Varsity for dinner, which should be no more than if Ann and I went to the M.H. or Pierr's and a show, especially if we stick to hamburger. If I get the chance, I'll drop you another line tomorrow with the outcome.

We all enjoyed the bit about the Red Cross cigarette girl and, Andrew, are Kool still hard to get? Let us know. If they pipe in records or canned music over there, you can't have missed the Bell Sisters. I tore an item on them out of Pathfinder and am putting it in one of the envelopes.

END OF LETTER

Editor's notes:
Pud - Puddy: Ann's cousin who is just married.
Sammy: Puddy's husband.
Aunt Alice: Ann's Aunt and Puddy's mother.
Uncle Lawrence: Puddy's father.
Ann Clapsaddle: High School friend of Ann.
Mr. Kistner: High School Friend of Charles.
Abe (Scop): Charles' childhood friend.

Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.

Next posting: February 28, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner