I went to my original Blogger blog to copy entries with some of my mom's letters only to find out my old blog, the one I transferred from AOL Journals, has been deleted. It isn't there. I panicked, then went to Google for help. There's a site called "wayback machine" that brought it back for me, so I can copy the important entries and put them here. I will be predating them as I find them, so these will at least be here while I'm using this blog. They will be showing up one at a time.
Here's the content of a letter to my mom from her sister, my Aunt Ruby, written in December, 1938. It tore my heart out the first time I read it. This was before antibiotics, and you can read between the lines and see that she thought her baby (about age 2, I think) was dying. For the most part, I used her (mis-)spelling. See if you feel what I felt, reading this. By the way, my cousin Gerald lived into his 80's, dying a couple years ago. Before he was born, Aunt Ruby had lost an infant daughter to pneumonia, which probably is the reason for a lot of her concern here.
Rippey, Ia.
Tuesday nite
Dear sister Lola:
I was sure glad to get your letter today, Lola. You don't know how much good it done me. It's so dreadful lonesome so far from everyone I know and my dear baby so sick. He has pnuemonia. We have had the doctor twice. He is coming back.
Well now it's Wednesday morning. That's as far as I got when Gerald took suddenly worse. We worked with him till 10:30 then called the doctor back again. He has had convulsions and was out of his head, talked so crazy. He had pluercy and Lola he is still awful sick. The Dr. is coming back again today. Can you every realize how awful it's been. We never got stritened up even and in a neighborhood and don't know a soul. Even had to get a strange doctor. He's from Rippey & he sure seems nice. He has been so good every time he cam but what I want is my baby to get well. The Dr. says he is doing alrite but that it takes time. I wish I was close to some one I knew. Mrs. Hank has been up the last two nites & stayed with us but she has 2 little kids and can't stay away. Poor little Gerald is so sick I haven't wrote Mom yet. We are a mile from the mail box and I can't get away u no. But I thought maybe L (her husband, Lloyd) could go at noon and mail them.
Lola, Lloyd wanted me to tell you to be sure and not mention him not being well when you rite post cards because our mail is rite with theirs and they bring it when they get theirs so don't mention it ever on a card. I think he is improving but we can't think of anything now only our baby.
If little Gerald gets well that's all the Xmas L & I ask for. It is costing a heap but what's money. If you can't have your Lovin little babies so our Xmas won't be what it might. but just so Gerald gets well. I sure did wish for Dr Gunn. It just made me sick to call a strange Dr. but we couldn't wait to get one so far.
I'll be so glad to see you kids come up.
I will stop and send this to the box by Mrs Hunt. The Dr. came again while ago & Gerald is an awful sick boy yet. The Dr will be back again. I'll let u know when I can but u write and come.
Your blue sis
Ruby
She sounded terribly frightened but she can't be blamed. My sister was 6 when she developed pneumonia. That would have been 1937. I can remember the moved her into my parent's bedroom and put her in an oxygen tent. I would have been 2 1/2.
ReplyDeleteI thank God for modern medicine. They sure had it rough back then.
DeleteSo glad Gerald made it. God’s plan...
ReplyDeleteAlways makes it easier to read these sorts of things when you know there is a happy ending.
ReplyDeleteAwwwww.... poor Rudy! She was worried sick, as it sounds like she should have been. I'm glad Gerald recovered! How weird that your old blog was gone. I'm glad you could recover it, for the important posts as you said. ~Andrea xoxo
ReplyDeleteI had three or four blogs, and most of them just sat there. During the last changes Blogger made, I got notice that they were shutting blogs down that weren't being used. I didn't worry much about a couple of the other blogs, but that one was important to me.
DeleteEven all these years later, her fear is heartwrenching. I hope your mother was able to go to her.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure she did not. They were all so poor... the Depression was soon to end, but it was still sticking around. I'm not sure my parents would have even had a car at the time.
DeleteShe sounds so stressed and scared. Even with modern medicine, every time my girls were sick, I was a nervous wreck. Glad Gerald is still around!
ReplyDeleteI need to change the wording there; he died a couple of years ago, I think he was about 85. When I originally did this entry in my other blog, he was alive.
DeleteYou can just feel her fear. We sometimes forget how fortunate we are to live in such as modern age medically.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great letter, well worth posting. It conveys so much anguish and emotion. I'm so glad that Gerald survived - especially because of the heartbreaking loss of a previous infant daughter.
ReplyDeleteI really miss the days of handwritten letters. They are a treasure. My mom and her sisters used to write each other very often - but unfortunately most of their letters are gone.