The Letterhead Stationery Said it All

To earn some extra cash in January of 1931, Grandma went back to work for The Reuben H. Donnelley Corporation in Nevada, Iowa.  By this time, Grandma and Grandpa had been married for just over a year, and Grandpa still had dreams of making farming their livelihood.  The cash to fund his dream was not coming easy, so Grandma did the only thing she knew could earn some money--type.

Making seven cents a page and typing 65 pages a day, grandma contributed what she could so they could buy cows, pigs, and chickens to raise.  Meanwhile, Grandpa tended to the livestock chores and gardening while working at the Skelly Oil Company in Marshalltown.

Grandma would get a ride home or take the bus on Saturdays and Grandpa would drive her back to Nevada on Sunday nights.  The bus ticket cost Grandma $1.10, and she agonized over the fact that the round trip ticket would not cover two trips from Nevada to Marshalltown, but was only good for a Nevada-to-Marshalltown-and-back-to-Nevada trip.

The letters from Grandpa showed his exhaustion and frustration.  They were not the relaxed, poetic works of heart he had written to Grandma from California.  They were short, sloppy, and contained numerous spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.

"Recieved you letter yestidy.  I was ver much astonish.  Howsomever you mad 1 mistak.  I worka from middy Sat. to sun by Sun.  I will brung the whash in Sat. Mourn.  Well this will be all fer awhile."

During the week, Grandma and a couple other girls working at Donnelley's stayed with a widow lady in Nevada--a Mrs. McCullom.  Apparently Mrs. McCullom was a lonely woman and loved the company of the young girls...

"...she wants to play cards or something every night.  Monday night when we came home from supper she had popped corn and had apples; Tuesday, gum, apples and candy kisses; tonight apples and popcorn.  Something every evening.  She serves real good breakfasts.  Have just been eating an apple at noon but tomorrow will have to get something else or will be appled to death."

Some Observations

While the intensity of the letters has cooled off somewhat since Grandpa returned from California, the feelings of love and devotion are ever present.  Grandpa's yearning for home and to be loved and trusted by Grandma have been replaced by his feelings of inadequacy and day-to-day living issues.

I continue to gain new insights into my grandparents' past as well as knowledge about history during the late 20's.

Observations:

• Grandpa apparently was sick a lot with one ailment or another--colds, cold sores, boils to name a few.
• Grandma has always been competitive on every level--not just weight issues but typing speeds and physical strength as well.
• Grandpa made brooms (he mentions it in two different letters).
• Grandma's obsession over her hair was ongoing from at least age 19 and probably earlier and continued into her 90's.  
• Grandpa loved fishing and tinkering with cars.  He mentions test driving a Graham-Paige.
• Grandma only made $15 a week some weeks at her typing job for Reuben Donnelley and apparently hated the work.

Corn Belt Oil Company and Reuben Donnelley Corp

Only 32 miles separated my grandma and grandpa when they exchanged letters in early 1929.  Grandma had taken a job with a marketing company in Nevada, IA and Grandpa was back at the service station.

From the letters and my mom's knowledge of her parents' courting history, Grandma would get a ride from Nevada to Marshalltown (usually by hitchhiking) most Saturdays and Grandpa would take her back on Sunday evenings.

Grandma roomed with two other girls--one of which was her cousin Velma.  Grandma and Velma would go "to the show" some evenings--a great way to relax after a day of typing.

"Keep well my 'Sugar Hearted Dumpling' until you see your Cherry Hearted Papa."