A Letter from Carole

In the genealogy of things, the "Letters from Esther" were letters from my grandmother to her sister(s) and brother(s), my great aunt(s) and great uncle(s). Initially the letters were also to Esther's father, my great grandfather Alfred Efraimson. He passed away in 1970.

Esther Efraimson married Theodore Norman Holien, my grandfather. Together they parented (in this order) Wayne, Carole, Ida and Larry.

Ida and Carole married in the early 1950s (my mom - Ida - married 8/29/52). The following is a letter Carole wrote to her aunt(s) and uncle(s) after the birth of her fourth son, David (my cousin) in November 1958.

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Brooke Grove Rd.
Olney, Md.

Nov. 30, '58

Dear Jen & All,

We've been blessed with another dear little boy! Early, as you probably know, by 3 weeks, but seemingly fine, strong & healthy. He was probably early because Ricky is so heavy & still needs to be lifted from here to there, etc. He was 5 lbs. 7 oz to, which is not too light & was born at 5:04 a.m. 11/28. He looks like Bob, as they all do, with the possible exception of Brian.

I sure came to the hospital unprepared. The Dr. & I both felt it was probably false labor, but it turned out not to be (obviously!) so all I brought was my housecoat. And husbands just naturally lose their minds I think, when wives go into the hosp. since I still have no toothbrush, bobby pins, etc. that I've asked him to bring. We're all really glad he's arrived tho, since he is okay, since I should be feeling good for Christmas. The Dr. was just in for my checkup & says the baby is perfectly fine & so am I.

I better close for now. Just wanted to let you know about it.

Love,

Carole

Little House in the Dakotas

It all started around 1900. Alfred was a very young man, oldest in his family in Lake Norden, Hamlin, South Dakota. Twelve children had been born in 19 years to his parents, John and Liisa.

Liisa John

Alfred was born in 1880; John was born in 1882. In 1884 twins Anton and Andrew were born. In 1886 Hilda was born; in 1887 Emelia was born. Hilma was born in 1890, and in December of 1892 twins Carl and Arvid were born. In September of 1892 Arvid died. In 1894 Willie was born, and in 1896 Sophia was born. In 1899 Esther was born.

John and Lissa Palvalehto had come from Finland to make a new life here. When John filed for his homestead in South Dakota, the land office did not like his last name. So they asked him his father’s name. He said, “Efraim”. So they said, from now on, your last name will be Efraimson. At the same time his father was filing for land, so they asked Efraim what his father’s name was and he said, John. They changed dad Efraim’s last name to Johnson. The kids in John’s family who were adults became Efraimsons, and the kids still in the household became Johnsons. So John Efraimson’s younger brother was named Efraim Johnson!

Like their kinsmen, John and Liisa spoke Finnish. Their children learned English when they attended school. Farming the prairie was brutal, but many hands make light work. Nevertheless, cash was scarce. The house was full of able helpers, and Alfred heard there were jobs to be had in Minnesota, so he kissed his loved ones good bye and headed to Chisholm.

Alfred worked in the iron mines for many years. In 1902  a cute young lady arrived from Finland and began working at the boarding house where Alfred roomed, cooking and cleaning. Alfred fell in love, and the feeling was mutual. They were married 11/13/1904 and moved into a little sod house in Chisholm.

That is where their first baby, my grandmother, Eina (pronounced “Aye-na”) Esther was born on 10/16/1905. And Esther’s lifetime best friend (and sister) Jennie was born there 3/20/1907.

Emma was expecting again, and with each new child the sod house seemed smaller. Alfred also disliked mining and did not feel like he was getting ahead – he was barely holding his own financially. All groceries had to be purchased at the “Company Store” – the only available store in Chisholm, and the prices were so high that all one’s income went right back to the mining company. Alfred wanted out.

Alfred found a farm in North Dakota that was willing to hire him and house his growing family, so he sent for Emma. Emma, Esther and Jenny joined him in his forever home. I’ll never know how it happened that the farm owner loved Alfred and his family so extremely, but childless himself he one day left the farm to Alfred and Emma. In 1908 Emma gave birth to Eino (“Aye-no”) at the new farm at Armourdale, (Towner County) North Dakota. Emma was born in 1910, and Josaphine (Jo) in 1911. Hilda was born in 1913, and Arne in 1915. William (Bill) was born in 1916, and Viola (Vi) was born in 1918. Carl was born in 1921, when Esther was 15. Tragically, in the summer of 1921 Arne suffered a ruptured appendix. He spent months recuperating, much of the time in a hospital in Minnesota (with Esther by his bedside). He was released, but sadly the infection was still present and he died before he could be returned to the hospital.

Esther’s high school graduation photo.

Alfred and Emma mourned Arne's death, but with a busy household life had to go on. And God did not forget them; Emma’s womb was again blessed, and in 1922 Rudolph (Rudy) was born, and in 1925 his brother Rupert also came along.

The thing about this timeline that long confused me was this: My grandmother’s youngest brother was born the same year as my dad. True story. 

Here is a family photo of most of the siblings. Esther is in the light blue shirt; Jennie is to her right. Hilda is slightly behind Jennie. Bill is in the middle front with Rupert in the front right and Rudy in the front left. Jo is the dark shirt between Bill and Rudy. I don’t have the rest down in my mind, so I’ll try to come back and edit later.

.

So next time we will talk a little about Esther’s life. I’m building a story here leading to my own diary, at the request of my oldest.

A Close Call -- Esther Remembers

This narrative was written by my maternal grandmother, Esther, in 1997, when she was 91 and living in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

**************************************************************************************************************'

I was eleven years old, the oldest of eight of us children. It was the summer of 1917, the seeding was done, school was out, and Mom and Dad decided it was time for a vacation. We had an Oakland Touring Car, the first car for our family.

 An Oakland Touring Car

My dad's family lived in Lake Norden, South Dakota, about 300 miles away. The roads were really nothing more than wagon ruts, but there were some signs on rocks or fence posts telling whether to turn or go straight ahead. We made our way to Jamestown where we bought some food, including some purple grapes, and proceeded to Edgely, ND, where we found a hotel. After settling in, Mom and Dad took Jennie, Eino and Emma to go shopping.

Being the oldest, I stayed home to see to the youngest, William (7 or 8 months), Josie, Hilda and Arne. Josie got sick (grapes!!!) and I didn't get her to the bathroom in time. We were a purple mess by the time the folks got back!

We left at the crack of dawn, causing some commotion getting ready to roll, so the hotel people weren't too happy with us. We made the rest of the trip uneventfully, arriving in the afternoon. We had a nice visit with the relatives. I can't remember how long we stayed.

The trip home went well until we reached New Rockford on the second day. It began to rain.  We stopped to put up the side curtains. They had isinglass (sort of like plastic portholes), but they weren't easy to see through, especially as it was getting dark.

These windows may have looked something like this:

The kids were edgy and I'm sure Dad must have had nerves of steel. There was a fast train that went through Rockford, but the crossing had not stop lights, barriers, etc.

 If there was a train coming, we didn't hear the whistle. Just as we were about to cross the tracks, Dad hit the brakes! A train, coming from the East went "whoosh" in front of us. In another second or so we would have been exactly on the tracks.

I'm sure we had a guardian angel in the car because to this day I can't understand how Dad was able to bring the car to such a sudden stop. It was a long train and when it finally went by, silence reigned in the car. We were all struck dumb.

So now, as you think about the size of the Efraimson family (I have 37 direct descendants and some of you are not far behind, especially Emma), consider how close we came to not having an Alfred Efraimson family at all!

Emma Severina Savilahti - Think Back Thursday

Last month, when I went to our family reunion, I learned of some more family documents that I want to add to my information on the Efraimson family.

First, some family tree information:

Diana - me
IdaMae - my mom
Esther - my gram, mom's mom
Emma (and Alfred) - my great gram (and grandfather), mom's mom's mom
Maria (and Antii) - my great, great grandmother (and grandfather) - Emma's mom
Anna (and Matti) - my great, great, great grandmother (and grandfather) - Antii's mother

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In 1750, Kalle Happajarvi was born. Kalle is Finnish for Charles. We do not know the names of Kalle's parents or wife.

Kalle had a son, Antti Happajarvi, born March 28, 1773 at Virrot, Finland (when Kalle was 23). Antti married Regina, and together they had a son, Matti (born in 1804, when Antti was 31). Antti died in 1843 at the age of approximately 70, when his son was about 39.

Matti (born 1804) married Anna (born 3/6/1813), and they had a son in 1847. They named him Antti, after Matti's father, who had recently died (in 1843). Matti was about 43 when his son, Anttii, was born. Matti was born in Vaskivisi, Finland 10/26/1804 and died 11/2/1868 (about aged 64). Matti's wife, Anna (Antti's mom) died 9/9/1863, at the age of 50, as a result of the famine in Finland.

The 2nd Antti Happajarvi (born, remember, in 1847) lived from 1847-1938. Antti's dad, Matti, died when Antti was about 25. So sad! Antti Happajarvi (#2) married Maria Pirttimaki, and Antti and Maria had my great grandmother, Emma Severina Savilahti, on January 19, 1881. Emma was born in Virrat, Lansi-Soumen Laani, Finland. I find it interesting to look at things like the fact that Emma never got to meet her grandmother, Anna -- she died before Emma was born. I have no idea why Emma's name is Savilahti and not Happajarvi.

Emma was not the only child born to Antti and Maria. Other siblings were Alexsi (1878), Miina (1880), [Emma, 1881,] Ida (1882), Steve (Seeve, in Finnish) (1883), and Aina (1884). Almost a child a year for six years! Antti knew how to read and write, and he taught all his children to read and write as well. Maria only knew how to read, but could not write.

Emma's younger sister, Ida, died at the age of 20. She had been working at the neighbor's, and in the evening walked home. She took a path across a frozen lake. The river flowed into the lake, and there was an area that wasn't frozen, and in the dark, Ida missed the path and walked into the area of thin ice and was drowned. People heard her cries for help, but couldn't find her in the dark.

Aina, Emma's sister, never married. She worked at a factory in Turku for several years, and made periodic visits to Emma and her family in North Dakota.

Emma's brother, Alexsi, worked for the railroad in Finland for many years. Aleksi married Siiri. They had a girl, but she didn't live very long. Aleksi's folks lived with him for many years, until they died. Siiri's folks had a little farm on an island.

Emma had been born to a humble home. Money was tight. When Emma was nine, she had to leave home to earn her keep. Emma grew to adulthood in servitude, but did not lose hope. From America, her brother, Steve (who was working in the mines in Wyoming) sent money for Emma's passage to America. 

Because Emma had moved to America, her mom, Maria, taught herself how to write so that she could correspond with Emma (and I assume Steve, as well) once Emma had moved. Maria went blind, though, and was blind for 40 years before she died. She had cataracts, and there was no known cure at that time.

Emma traveled to America in 1901. She celebrated her 20th birthday on board the ship on the Atlantic Ocean. She went to where her brother, Steve, was living in Wyoming. Emma stayed there only briefly, finding the rocky, barren hills of Wyoming unbearable. She left the cold mountains, the coal mines of Wyoming, and traveled to Minnesota, state of pine trees like her homeland, and she found a place to earn her living, serving miners where they came for their food and lodging.

Alfred had traveled from his home in Hamilton, South Dakota, to the iron mines in Minnesota to work where he could earn money. Alfred won Emma's heart, and they were married 11/13/1904.

They made a sod home among the pine trees in Chisholm, Minnesota. Eleven months married and baby Esther was born to the couple. Eighteen months more, and brown eyed baby Jennie was in the arms of brown eyed mother, Emma. 

But Alfred's heart was longing for the treeless prairies of his childhood. The miners of Chisholm threw down their tools, demanding higher wages, and Alfred felt the time was right to find a place for his family in the Dakotas. He left Emma and the girls and went back to the plains. Though he was from South Dakota, North Dakota was no longer Indian Territory, and he followed some friends to these northern plains.

To the west of Rock Lake Alfred went, and found work on the farm of Frank and Clara Shanley. There he found a house for his wife and children, and he sent for them to come join him. Emma hurried to join her husband. She traveled to the treeless prairie, to the house on the hilltop where Alfred waited. She doubted she would ever be able to tolerate the barren Dakota prairies. She missed her pine trees.

Emma held her vows to Alfred sacred, though, so she stayed in the deserted prairies until she came to love them. And God blessed Alfred and Emma with more children: Baby Eino, strong boy to help his proud father; baby Emma, brown eyes and brown hair, like her mother; Ruth Josephine and Hilda; Arne Rudolph and baby William; and blue-eyed Viola.

Tragedy struck, when Arne's appendix ruptured. Rushed to a hospital in Minnesota, 16 year old Esther stayed with him, since mother had many others to care for at home. Seemingly recovered, home they traveled. But Arne played too rough and split his stitches, revealing infection still raging. To the hospital he was rushed, but he did not make it. In a coffin rested his six-year-old body.

They could not mourn forever, though, for they knew their God in heaven had called Arne home, and that he would be there waiting for them. And God again blessed Alfred and Emma, and they welcomed Carl, and Elmer Rudolf, and finally baby Rupert.

Alfred and Emma raised their children where the wind blows and the snow lies deep. They taught their children to do abhor all evil and to do what is right, and to love and fear the Father in heaven who gave His Son for us all.  

This clutch of children they raised through the Great War and the Depression, times of trial when life was bitter, clothing was meager, food scarce. With hope they trusted their heavenly Father, stood the trials, bore the burdens. Then He blessed them with good years, when the rains fell and the crops grew full measure.

The children grew to adulthood, one by one they left the home they had known. And they came back with their families to the home they still remembered, to the father and mother who had served them.

Emma's heart was joyful, and Alfred's proud heart content. The children they had nurtured were adults, and still returned to visit. They thought about their past, and made plans for their future. World War II was in its final year, the fields ripe and golden, and God showed it was his timing to call Emma home. After a bout with pneumonia from which she just could not recover, Emma closed her eyes and breathed her last.

Round her grave her children stood, remembering all the years of toil she gave them, serving on the prairie as faithful wife and mother.

And now her future generations remember her, my great grandmother I never got to meet. May I be as faithful to my Lord to my very end.

Letters from Esther -- #13

I am writing up a series of letters my grandmother, Esther, sent "home" to her siblings in North Dakota as she traipsed around the world working for the State Department as a working woman before it was chic. Letters were chosen over phone calls because long distance calls were expensive, and it was sometimes difficult to hear well at a distance.

This letter is the next letter I have from Esther by date, and the last letter I have in the series from Esther to Jennie and the rest of the family in North Dakota.

Envelope:
E. Holien
3842 Lake St., Geo. Dr.
Palm Harbor, Fl. 34684

To:
Jen and Rudy Efraimson
Perth, N. D. 58363

Oct. 5 '88

Dear Jennie and Rudy:

This is the first day since I got here that its cool enough in the morning to have the windows open. Theres a little breeze from the east and its cloudy. I imagine if the sun comes blasting through these kitchen windows though it will warm up real fast. But its supposed to be only in the low 80s for a high. So much for the weather.

Thank you for your letter, Jen. That is a really cute picture of AZA. I put it into my album. I too am back to quilting. I'm making a wallhanging about 36 by 40 inches. Its in that last book you sent me last year. At one point I was going to throw it into the garbage cause I had such a time getting it to look right but now I think its going to be O.K. after I let it rest a few days.

Dorothy, Florence and I had quite an experience last week. I picked them up and we went to Sunset Beach. Its been built up since that storm a couple of years ago and now has a nice wide sandy beach and very pepople (very many people?) on it. Not much parking place left though. Anyway the water was perfect -- 84 but not quite like bathwater and such a few little gentle ripples. we swam around for close to an hour and decided we should get into the shade for a while. We had lunch at that little Bistro and Florence and I decided to play a little scrabble. As Dorothy doesn't play she said she thought she'd go back into the water and we told her to go ahead and that we'd be in as soon as we finished our game. She was back in a few minutes with a bleeding ankle and was in terrific pain. I went over to the cafe to see if they knew of what might be in the water to cause such a thing and they said yes -- it was the sting ray season and gave me some ice to put on it.

Florence and I did go back in for a short swim but Dorothy was still in pain when we got back so I insisted that we stop at Palms of Pasadena Emergency room on the way back. They told her ice was the wrong thing and when I got back from parking the car she was sitting there with her foot in a pan of hot water. They took her blood pressure, gave her a tetnus shot and told her to soak it for 20 minutes four times a day and it should be alright in four days. Florence wasn't so sure because she got stung once and it took all summer to get over it.

Well of course I was quite worried cause it had been my idea but Dorothy called me the next morning and said the pain was gone and she had slept like a log. I've talked to her since and she said she keeps soaking it like they told her but that it hadn't hurt her at all since.

Oh, I got the tape of Eino's funeral from Hilda and enjoyed listening to it all except the organ. But it was good to have it and to feel almost like you were there.

Well, will call this it for now. Still haven't gotten used to this machine -- especially after using Carole's last summer.

Much love,

Esther

Letters from Esther #12

I am writing up a series of letters my grandmother, Esther, sent "home" to her siblings in North Dakota as she traipsed around the world working for the State Department as a working woman before it was chic. Letters were chosen over phone calls because long distance calls were expensive, and it was sometimes difficult to hear well at a distance.

This letter is the next letter I have from Esther by date.

E. Holien
17909 Pr. Philip Dr.
Olney, Md. 20832

To Jen & Rudy Efraimson
Perth, N. Dak. 58363

June 10, '87

Dear Jennie, Rudy and all:

I made our reservations for our trip the other day so now I can give you the exact time of our arrival. We'll be in Devils Lake on July 25th at 2:14 p.m. Hope that's o.k. with you and that you can meet us. The worst part though is that the only plane we can get for our return trip on Sat. Aug. 1st is at 5:25 a.m. Guess you're used to that though.

One of those cold fronts from Canada reached here during the night and it really feels quite chilly this morning after all the hot weather we've had. They say it may not even get to 80 today.

Yesterday Carole's club that she belongs to had a big day for the women golfers so we played and afterwards they had a big luncheon and gave out the awards. We didn't win anything though. Our putts especially were lousy.

Can't think of any earth-shattering news from here. Everyone is fine. Wayne's were over on Friday evening and all of Carole's boys and Ida's were over on Sunday for a Crab feast. Carole got a bushel of crabs and cooked them herself -- I made some cole-slaw and dip for vegetables; and our next-door neighbor brought over some cake. They attended too. Of course we didn't finish all the crabs so I spent Monday morning cleaning the left overs. Got a pound oleo container full so we can have some crabs cakes or salad at some future time.

Here are a few pictures from the last batch I took -- Kathy really is big already although the baby isn't due until September. Carole and Jessie are sitting in our Flintstones rock garden the boys fixed up a few years ago. And aren't the azalea's pretty. Those are in the front yard. The ones in the back are getting nice too but aren't nearly as big yet.

We're looking forward to seeing you-all.

Much love,

Esther

Letters from Esther, #11

I am writing up a series of letters my grandmother, Esther, sent "home" to her siblings in North Dakota as she traipsed around the world working for the State Department as a working woman before it was chic. Letters were chosen over phone calls because long distance calls were expensive, and it was sometimes difficult to hear well at a distance.

This letter is the next letter I have from Esther by date. It is actually a postcard, addressed to Jennie Efraimson, Perth, N. Dak R.F.D.1. (Rural Fire District 1) - 4 cent Project Mercury stamp!

Dear Jennie & All: Thought I'd drop you a card & let you know John is back in the hospital in DeSmet. He don't want to eat on account of his stomach. We just came from Desmet. He was taken there yesterday. So dont know how long he'll be there. His room no is 105. We are here in Lake Preston & having our clothes washed. Thanks for the newsey letter I rec'd few days ago. Rec'd a nice long letter yesterday. From your sister Esther. Love Esther

The postcard photo is of Vampire Peak, Cedar Pass, Bad Lands Nat'l Monument, South Dakota: "This outstanding peak in the bad lands is seen from the foot of Cedar Pass, where the park service headquarters are located."

In conjunction with this postcard, there is a partial undated piece cut from the local newspaper speaking about Esther's visit to South Dakota. This must be about a different visit, though, because on this visit apparently Jennie was WITH Esther. How funny is this?! Can you imagine an area so small that events like this made the newspaper? Here is the full content that I have:


Lake Norden
(continued from page 3)

Mrs. Marian Hanson entertained Mrs. Esther Holien of Silver Spring, Md. and Jennie Efraimson of Rock Lake, N. D., Ernest Lindstrom and Mrs. Pearl Kangas at dinner Monday at Antonens Cafe. All were guests at coffee of Mrs. Pearl Kangas in the afternoon. Mrs. Holien returned home recently from Leapoldville, in the Congo, where she spent the past year and a half as an employee of the Agency for International Development. Mrs. Holien entered the government service in 1942 at Washington, D. C. and has been in the foreign service since 1958, serving in Vietnam, Korea, Southern Rhodesia, Nyasaland (Now known as Malawi) and in the Congo. During the tense period in November, 1963, when members of the American Embassy staff were held hostage at Stanleyville, and their subsequent rescue, the murder of Dr. Carlson. Mrs. Holien was at Leapoldville, helping...

Letters from Esther - #10

I am writing up a series of letters my grandmother, Esther, sent "home" to her siblings in North Dakota as she traipsed around the world working for the State Department as a working woman before it was chic. Letters were chosen over phone calls because long distance calls were expensive, and it was sometimes difficult to hear well at a distance.

This letter is the next letter I have from Esther by date.

Airmail Envelope postmarked Dec 6 1961 Army & Air Force Postal Service - 7 cents stamp

E. Holien, USOM/A
APO 301
San Francisco, Calif.

To:

Miss Jennie Efraimson

Perth, North Dakota

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dec. 5, 1961

Dear Jennie and all:

I have been waiting for my stupid check book to get here so I could send off a few checks but it looks like Christmas will be come and gone before they ever get here so will have to use some bills instead. For instance, in the package I sent you there is very little for Dad and I wanted you to buy some cigars to go with it. Will you? With the rest get something for yourself and Rudy and if there's anything left over, candy or something for the gang that will surely gather at your house.

How is everything? Fine here. I've been going to town on Christmas cards finally and the reason I really got started was that Ida has somewhere unearthed and sent to me my last year's Christmas card list with all the missing addresses. They are all fine, except Lois and Diana

Letters from Esther - #9

I am writing up a series of letters my grandmother, Esther, sent "home" to her siblings in North Dakota as she traipsed around the world working for the State Department as a working woman before it was chic. Letters were chosen over phone calls because long distance calls were expensive, and it was sometimes difficult to hear well at a distance.

This letter is the next letter I have from Esther by date.

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Air Mail Envelope postmarked Sep 6 1961 - U.S. Army Postal Service A.P.O. - 7 cents stamp

E. Holien
TC-AV
USOM K - APO 301
San Francisco, Calif.

To:

Miss Jennie Efraimson

Perth, North Dakota

                              U.S.A.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Sept. 5, 1961

Dear Jennie, Dad & Rudy & all:

Since this is a trip report, I'm going to put a few carbons in so I won't have to repeat myself so many times, and add the personal notes at the end.

I took Friday off on annual leave in order to take advantage of the Labor Day week-end trip to Sorak San (san is mountain) on the East Coast of Korea. But it rained that day -- came down in buckets really -- and our plane from the south did not get in at all. They were about to cancel the whole trip but asked us how many would go if we left Saturday about noon instead so since several of us had no other plans, we said o.k.

So we left on the 12:30 plane Saturday and it takes only an hour to get to the East Coast but then we had a three hour bus ride up to Sorak hotel. First we saw a Buhdist temple, then took a ride on a boat with a dragon-head at the prow. These were just a short distance from the air port and then we really got underway. I have had some rough trips in my time -- like the time we went up to Sterling King's cabin in West Virginia and had to hunt for stones and logs to repair some of the bridges in order to get across - but never have I seen anything like this trip. The road was very rough all the way and the bus spat and sputtered like it would never make it up each new hill and we crossed dozens of little rivers with no bridges. At one point the water was so deep that it came up into the bus, and the floor of the bus was about two feet off the ground. There was a fellow on a bicycle crossing at the same time and we could only see the top of his bicycle -- he wasn't riding it though.

Well, I thought it was absolutely fantastic until the next day when we went on a hike and had to cross some streams on foot and then I realized that they had no worry about sinking into mud. The bottom of all these streams are stones of various sizes.

But that wasn't the worst of it -- it had rained hard there too the day before and parts of the road were very slippery and at one point the rear end slipped off the road into a little gully (sort of a drainage ditch) and they had quite a tie getting it out. On the way back it was a little drier and the streams were not quite so deep, and we had gotten used to it anyway, but we did break a rear axle. They had an extra one along and changed it very quickly -- less than half an hour. [WHAT!!! Can you imagine?] There was a mechanic along, in addition to the driver.

We got to the hotel about 7:30 and it was quite nice. No electricity -- just kerosene lanterns and candles -- but the beds were good and they did have running hot and cold water. We had steak for dinner and all retired early.

The next morning after breakfast we started off on a hike to see some places of interest but I got tired after the first 15 minutes and decided I'd rather go back and read, so did. The others went on and got back about 12. They also went on another hike in the afternoon but Ruth and I stayed home, had a nap and played scrabble. After dinner that night we walked down to the village and bought a few soveniers and went we got back, played some HEARTS. [stet] Yes, I finally had to succumb to hearts as we couldn't find enough Bridge players. That day was sort of foggy all through but Monday morning, when we had to leave at 8 dawned just lovely. I took more pictures then.

So we coughed and rattled our way back to Kwang Nun (the airport town), had time to kill so had some coffee and got on the plane about 1:00 p.m.

One of the most interesting sights on this trip was the fish drying. We went through all sorts of little towns along the edge of the ocean and everywhere you saw these fish hanging on lines -- like clothes lines. They looked like about five or six strand barbed wire fences -- I draw you a picture here:

XXXXX etc.

They were attached to the lines with wooden pins or sticks. As you can imagine, the smell was terrific.

The hotel where we stayed seemed to have about the only telephone in town and they would get calls for many people and just holler down the road and I guess the message got passed on because in a little while somebody would come running up and go to the phone. Instead of "hello" they say "Yo bo shay oh!" There was a movie outfit up there making a movie and one of the people who got calls was the star actress. She was quite pretty. Also saw the male star and he looked rather fierce.

I was disappointed that there was no place to swim and I guess it would have been too cool anyway. We wore slacks and sweaters. But it was 93 when we got back to Seoul and rained again in the evening. Ruth had to get her hair done so I fixed us a Chinese dish for supper and baked an apple pie; we watched a couple of TV shows and I played records and read till about 11. Ruth and a few of the others got a little stomach upset but other than having a little longer of the usual morning sneezing, I was o.k. Ruth still feels a bit under the weather but I feel fine today. There were about 10 Americans and 4 Koreans on this trip.

Well so much for that.

Belated birthday Greetings to Rudy.

Happy Birthday to Dad & I might as well say Eino & Martha too (isn't Martha's in Sept. also?)

Our letters from Larry are being returned so don't know whats happened. Maybe he's been moved. Hope to hear soon.

All my mornings are taken up with Korean classes--then lunch so I'm pretty busy in the afternoons. Just had to take time off to tell you about this trip, tho.

Love to you all,

Esther

Letters from Esther - #8

I am writing up a series of letters my grandmother, Esther, sent "home" to her siblings in North Dakota as she traipsed around the world working for the State Department as a working woman before it was chic. Letters were chosen over phone calls because long distance calls were expensive, and it was sometimes difficult to hear well at a distance.

This letter is the next letter I have from Esther by date.

No envelope. Hand written letter dated Sunday, Aug. 6, 1961

Dear Jennie & all:

I've just finished writing to my offspring & if I don't get writer's cramp will try & get a few lines off to you too.

Got here safe & sound tho we did have to turn back when we were about 1/2 way between Tokyo & Seoul. One engine caught on fire but they got it out right away. That was the only plane that wasn't a jet. Then we had a 4 hour wait & took a jet & got here at 6 instead of noon. My friend Ruth ws pretty upset cause they didn't know what happened to us.

I think I'm going to like it here perhaps even better than Saigon. The country-side is lovely - mountains all around, rivers, lush looking rice fields, trees & flowers. There must be a great improvement since Rupert was here as I have not smelled an unpleasant odor yet. The city is much like all oriental cities with slums & nice modern looking buildings side by side.

I have an apartment (2-room with Kitchen & bath) on the second floor of a building that looks like the reenbelt row houses - not bad at all, & nicely finished. Good bed too.

The PX and commissary are huge & like state-side super markets. They seem to have everything. The water doesn't need to be boiled & there are several army-run radio stations with American music & the latest news, including sports, on the hour. We are not restricted to the military compound where we live either but can go about freely in the city, etc. Its warm just now but no worse than Washington -- I do intend to get an air-conditioner first chance as Ruth's place is more comfortable with one.

Oh, Hawaii was just swell. I swam every day & took 2 very interesting tours. Its like the U.S. but ropical & with many orientals. I think you better plan on meeting me there 2 years from now.

Well I won't over-do it this time but more later. Hope you are all well. Give my love to everyone & tell them to write --

Love Esther

address:
USOM/K
APO 301
San Francisco, Calif.

Letters from Esther - #7

I am writing up a series of letters my grandmother, Esther, sent "home" to her siblings in North Dakota as she traipsed around the world working for the State Department as a working woman before it was chic. Letters were chosen over phone calls because long distance calls were expensive, and it was sometimes difficult to hear well at a distance.

This letter is the next letter I have from Esther by date.

Envelope:

Esther Holien
USOM Box 32
Navy 150, c/o FPO
San Francisco, Calif.

Mar 20 9:30 AM

PAR AVION  VIA AIR MAIL  CORREO AEREO

Miss Jennie Efraimson
Perth
North Dakota
U.S.A.

 Saigon, March 19, 1959

Dear Jennie and All:

I just had a new ribbon put into my typewriter -- sort of hurts your eyes, doesn't it? And I'd better not make any mistakes cause they would be impossible to erase.

Well, the main purpose of this letter is to wish you a happy birthday. Of course it will get there late but at least I didn't forget it completely. How are you all? Is it getting spring-like yet?

Did I tell you I got a letter from Aunt Aina? Well, I did a couple of weeks or month ago and yesterday I got one from Uncle Alex -- both are quite excited about our visit. I had told them on my Christmas cards that I would stop there [Finland] on the way home in July 1960 and that you and perhaps Dad too, would also come.

I was going to tell you what he said, but will just enclose the letter instead. [It is no longer together with this letter.] I must answer both of them one of these days. I wonder how Rupert is making out on his plans -- to go to Finland this summer.

I write so many letters to my children that I can't remember whether I've told you some of the things that I've been doing. One of the highlights of the latter part of February was that I acted as a reporter for the Far East Mission Director's Conference that was held here. There were about a hundred people attending and three other girls and I took practically verbatim notes of everything that was said. I was a little afraid I might not be able to do it any more as its been some time since I took any dictation of any kind and especially that fast, but I did alright. I took some of it home at nights and borrowed a portable typewriter from a friend on mine and worked till one o'clock a couple of nights. Anyway I got a nice letter of thanks from the Mission Director. I'll quote it for you: Dear Mrs. Holien: As a conferee at the recent Director's Conference I was able to observe the efficient service you rendered as a conference reporter. I have been informed that you transcribed your notes accurately and expeditiously at the cost of considerable overtime hours. Your efficiency during conference hours, as well as the time you expended in typing for individual conferees, contributed to the overall satisfactory manner in which I think the conference was conducted. Please accept my thanks and appreciation. Sincerely, signed Arthur Z. Gardiner, Cirector." Pretty nice, eh?

Another recent endeavor of mine that I'm getting a big kick out of is learning to play the accordian. It belongs to the same girl whose piano I have on loan. A fellow here borrowed it but decided he wasn't getting anywhere with it so asked if I wanted it and of course I did. So for the past week I've been making quite a racket in my spare time. There's a book of instructions and I can now play a couple of easy pieces in C quite well.

Also I now have English classes every night in the week except Sat. and Sun. Have three new Korean pupils, for which I will get paid at 300 piastres an hour -- that's a little over $4. They are working for a Japanese electrical firm here and their employer is going to pay for their lessons.

And then I still have my little Vietnamese friends. The Koreans speak much better English and seem to understand it better than the Vietnamese. One of the Vietnamese has been absent for about six weeks and I was getting real worried cause none of the others had seen him either and didn't know where he lived. He finally showed up at noon today and has been quite sick. It was just amazing how much he had forgotten in that little while -- English seemed very difficult for him and he used to be one of the best ones. He's coming back to class on Friday but has no job just now and if he can't find one soon, said he was going to another city.

Well, with all this activity, plus the choir and regular work and parties and scrabble games, etc. the time really does go by like a whizz. Its hard to imagine that in two weeks I will have been here 9 months already. I still like Saigon very much and if I don't suddenly develop a terrific yen to be back nearer to my family, might even come back for another tour.

I guess I'd better close for now -- got some work I really must tend to. Write soon -- and I do hope you had a nice birthday.

Love,

Esther

Letters from Esther - #6

I am writing up a series of letters my grandmother, Esther, sent "home" to her siblings in North Dakota as she traipsed around the world working for the State Department as a working woman before it was chic. Letters were chosen over phone calls because long distance calls were expensive, and it was sometimes difficult to hear well at a distance.

This letter is the next letter I have from Esther by date.

Envelope:

Air Mail

Miss Jennie Efraimson
Perth, North Dakota
U.S.A.

Saigon, Feb. 19, 1959

 Dear Jennie and all:

Thank you for your letter and the Brown Photo Co. address. I hope you can catch the mink and have a fur piece made of it -- even if its just a dress collar. [Jennie and all must have been having trouble with a mink on the farm causing trouble.]

The same day as I got your letter I also got one from Aunt Aina. I'll enclose it. I had written her a Christmas card and told her that I might stop there in 1960 on my way back home [Finland] and that you might join me in Europe too. Sounds like she has started waiting already, eh? I do hope we can do it. [I will type the contents of Aunt Aina's letter below.]

I guess you heard about the cyclone they had in Queensland. I'm waiting to get the news ticker to find out what towns it hit because I missed that on the radio. I hope it wasn't Ingham. I must write to Carl and Ellen too -- Its been ages since I did.

Guess what? I'm going to play the Stars Bangled Banner at the American Community Picnic for the sporano who will sing it, using a little portable foot-peddal organ. [Star Spangled Banner? Soprano? Pedal?] She sings in our choir and our organist is going to be out of town. Of course I hadn't even planned on going but I guess I will have to now. They say they celebrate Washington's birthday as they would normally celebrate the 4th of July because its cooler now. The lady who will sing it is is Mrs. Hung, a Chinese-American. Her husband works in USIS. She does have a very nice voice but we have another soprano whose voice I like even better -- a Mrs. Lemon who is the wife of a missionary. She is singing the solo part in a number we are doing on Easter and it sounds just beautiful. I still haven't been able to find a good alto to help me out. How about coming out here? You would not like the weather, I'm afraid, although I love it. The coolest part of the day -- 6:30 in the morning -- they give the temperature on the radio and its been climbing up a notch every day or two lately. This morning it was 80. But it really doesn't seem that warm. I have no idea what it gets to by noon -- must be pretty high though -- but at night it cools off again.

I went on another week-end trip to NhaTrang. Had a lovely time. Now my friend Romy and I are talking about taking a trip to Manila sometime before she leaves in August. I don't know for sure if I want to though as I do want to go to Australia and take most of my annual leave for the year for that trip, stopping in Singapore, Bangkok, etc. en route.

Well, gotta get back to work. Thanks again and hope to hear from you soon.

Avec amour, [French for "with love"]

Esther
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Letter from Aunt Aina that Esther included in the envelope to Jennie:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Turku 1 ofa - 59

Rakas Esther,
Sydamelhnan lu-los Riojeestan, joka fali Jo 2 cridlra sitten. O - lin nun lornen Saa's dess ani Sinulta kiojeca!  Eei ole vain tullut fein ortcllua.

Olan Soslla Glilula Soaren luon a, ja koska hanen vankin Iutloreusa on lullenut Soula ssa on glantia, Kiofortlaa nan nyt muutom an rikn: [ sorry if I butchered the Finnish -- here she translated into English:]

Aleksi has also got your letter and he was very glad about it. You are welcomed to Finland. We shall wait for you "in the port". How are you? Well we hope Aunt Aina asks you to write often. It's very cold outside and we are longing for spring -- and for you. If you wrote here to Saari you could write in English, too. Address:
Mrs. Hilkka Saari
Puolananpuisto 1. B
Turku, Finland

Sincerely yours:
Aina-tadin, osoite:

Turku
Ketarantie 5. Asunto 2
Olan nimittain muutla
nut, asuntoa.

Sama.

Letters from Esther - #5

I am writing up a series of letters my grandmother, Esther, sent "home" to her siblings in North Dakota as she traipsed around the world working for the State Department as a working woman before it was chic. Letters were chosen over phone calls because long distance calls were expensive, and it was sometimes difficult to hear well at a distance.

This letter is the next letter I have from Esther by date.

Envelope:

Air Mail

Miss Jennie Efraimson
Perth, North Dakota
U.S.A.

July 19, 1958

Dear Jennie and all:

It was so nice to get your letter. I'm glad it rained and that things really began to grow. [The farm in North Dakota was growing wheat when I visited in 1970.] I thought I had written about Bill and Jerry. I thought she was very nice. She knew all about the situation with Helen but had not met Bill until after she had started divorce proceedings. [I know that Bill, her brother, divorced and remarried, so that must be what she is talking about here. Helen left Bill, then Bill and Jerry married.]  I don't know whether Jerry is divorced or a widow -- but I'm sure I told you she had five children by her first marriate -- all of them practically grown up except for the little boys -- and that one of her daughters is going to have a baby in Sept. in Rhode Island and she plans to go. She is 39 but looks younger -- is quite slim but says she has gained 20 lbs. since she met Bill.

A few months ago, Helen and her new husband had had a falling out and he left and she had called Bill and Jerry and told them she was going to get a divorce again, but they told her not to be too hasty and soon they were back together again. Jerry said she had talked to Helen for about three hours, trying to calm her down. Seems that their trouble is that Helen's new husband doesn't hold down a job for any length of time and consequently doesn't have much of an income and at the same time resents the fact that they have to live in Bill's house, etc. They say though that he is very nice to the kids and they all like him and hae a good time together. It might be that now that Bill is married again it will all work out for the best. Does that give you the low-down? I did tell you that I stiooed at Gekeb;s 00 as we were leaving Portland to go to Seattle, but that Helen wasn't home. I did get to see their house though and although it is very nice, the house Bill and Jerry are renting is much more elegant. They leased the house for 18 months and plan to have a house of their own built by that time -- unless the owners of this house decide to sell, in which case they would like to buy it.

I didn't mean that this country was like the Red River Valley in any other way except that it is low and flat -- there's no comparison as far as farms and buildings, etc. go. Everything looks sort of slummy -- houses are close to the roads and are quite open, very dingy looking, many with thatched roofs. You see people working in the fields, almost as many women as men, and on the roads, chopping larger pieces of stone or concrete or something in to smaller ones, squatting in this funny position I already drew you a picture of. You see quite a lot of water buffalo and oxen drawing carts and everywhere there are people on bicycles or driving these "seecos" or walking. It's not as croded with people though as Hong Kong seemed to be. Although the buildings in Saigon are larger than out in the country, many of them too look to be in need of repair -- the roofs especially are dirty looking. All have fences around them either of concrete, painted a yellowish beige, the same color as most of the houses, or some sort of iron fences. Few places have grass in the yards, most look like hard-packed dirt or concrete. The building we work in is a three-story (same yellow beige on the outside) and partitioned on the inside like most government offices in Washington, except that the ceilings are very high and there are those big fans up there that go around all the time -- except when power goes off, which has happened a couple of times. The telephone system is very poor -- it takes many tries to get results.

The rice paddies are just like you see in pictures -- little patches, like gardens, with a mud wall around them and filled with water and rice growing in various stages -- some a real pale green when they are young plants and the older ones darker and then some that looks sort of ripening.

Did I tell you about the rubber plantation I saw -- that was really something. The trees are large, evenly spaced and the guide showed us how each morning the men go out and cut a tiny slice off around the tree and then the juice runs into a little cup and then they later come and collect it. It is a white gummy looking substance.

Another thing you see quite a bit of is fields of sugar cane and you see people cutting it and hauling it around. We also saw one small private sugar mill but it wasn't in operation just then but they showed us how they put the sugar cane into a big bowl and have oxen turn it around and the juice runs into something and then they cook it somehow and cool it, etc. The sugar you buy on the local market is brownish and very coarse and takes forever to dissolve. Of course we get ours at the PX and it's American.

The PX is really a wonderful place -- just like a super market really -- and everyone tells everyone if there happens to be a shipment of something that has been scarce. I hae been there a couple of times and have also been to see three movies since I've been here. Also I have read about four books. I haven't been able to start on my painting yet though cause so far I've been unable to find any turpentine to clean my brushes with. I understand though that I can get some through the office, but in another building.

Well, I'm sure you;re tired of reading by this time. Write again soon.

With love,

Esther

I went to the Community church and it was just like the Community Church we went to in Greenbelt. I think I'll try the Episcopalian services which they are having in the same building at 6 o'clock in the evening tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To see more letters from Esther, click the "Think Back Thursday" button above. It will sort out all my family history blog entries. 

Letters from Esther - Letter 4

I am writing up a series of letters my grandmother, Esther, sent "home" to her siblings in North Dakota as she traipsed around the world working for the State Department as a working woman before it was chic. Letters were chosen over phone calls because long distance calls were expensive, and it was sometimes difficult to hear well at a distance.

This letter is the next letter I have from Esther by date.

USOM Vietnam
Progress Support Div. Box 32
Navy 150, c/o F.P.O.
San Francisco, Calif.

July 14, 1958

Dear Folks:

I'm going to take you at your word and write to everyone at once with carbon papers.Of course this way some of you will get a repeat cause I have written in longhand to some. Anyway, the reason I want to write en mass just now is to send you some pictures that I took. I think they're pretty good. I'm anxious to see some of those taken in the church in Ironwood with all of us. The two in the picture with me on the edge of Saigon River are a Belgian fellow and a Vietnamese movie star. She was acting as a guide on a tour I took on the first day I got here and the Belgian happened to be on the tour too.

Then there is the picture of Bill and his wife, Jerry, in front of their house -- which in case you didn't get a description of it before is just beautiful. Its a rambler type but hs a full basement with a fireplace and even a juke box. There's a huge living room and dining room, with a dinette that is as large as many dining rooms are at the end of the kitchen; three bedrooms and an immense bathroom with two wash bowls. There's a fireplace in the living room and also one outside on the patio. The yard is large and lovely too,, with all kinds of plants. Jerry is very nice 00 she has five children by a previous marriage but only one (a 2-1/2 yr. old boy) lives with them. I didn't get to see him cause they had just moved in the day before I got there and he was with a baby sitter. Saw his picture though and he is rel cute. One of Jerry's daughters is married and lives in Rhode Island and is going to have a bab.y in September and she is going out to be with her. Darcy works at Bill's shop and Jonny occasionally too.  Judy and Dawn and Jane would make a good trio -- they're all built alike.

My trip was very nice. I got a thrill out of stopping in Anchorage, Alaska and seeing it daylight at 2 in the morning. Tokyo smells foul, but Hong Kong was beautiful. By the way, Saigon does not smell. When I got there was no one at the airport to meet me and very few who could understand English but I finally decided the only thing to do was to go to a hotel, which I did. And then the next day I went on this sight-seeing tour and during that time the people from the office had gone to meet me and realized that I had come in the day before since there was no Air France flight on the 5th. They found the hotel where I was registered and left me a note and finally caught up with me Sunday and brought me to the little temporary apartment they had arranged for me. They even had a maid, Hai, and had gotten some groceries. I think I will like Saigon very much. Its not too hot, I still have to see all the bugs, etc. that are supposed to abound. Of course the worst difficulty is not being able to talk the language but I am starting classes in Vietnamese tomorrow and French classes in August. I do hope Loraine, the girl from Washington I told you about, is coming cause it would be nice to have someone to do things with.

July 15 - page 2

I didn't get this finished for this morning's mail after all. Since then I have decided against the Vietnamese lessons -- everyone says its a waste of time. Anyway, the job is pretty terrific to catch on so I think I'll just relax in the evenings for a while. Tonight I plan to go to see a movie -- The Ladykillers -- with Alex Guiness. There's a gal in the same apartment building with me from Aurora,,, Ill. by the name of Ann Streit, who doesn't seem to be dated up to the hilt and she and I are going together. We also went to see a play put on the teenagers of the American community last week. It was pretty lousy.

This seems to be quite a large city -- very flat -- something like Washington with a lot of circles and squares and streets going every-which way. The streets are also very wide for the Orient and there are lots of trees. The buildings though look to be in need of repair. They seem to be quite old and all the little shops have iron-fence fronts that fold up during the day and are pulled shut at nights.

The buildings all have very high ceilings, about 12 feet and every room has at least one big fan up in the ceiling. They're very effective. You can regulate the speed. Neither the office nor my apartment is air-conditioned but so far I haven't minded. They say though that May and June are much hotter than it is now and that from October to March its very nice.

All the people still look alike to me, I suppose because they seem to dress all alike. The women wear long black or white pants with a long-sleeved, high mandarin neck and long tight sleeved garb over it. They are split up the sides to the waist.  That is the well-dressed costume. For work my maid wears a short jacket with short sleeves over the black pants. The jacket is usually white for work -- the dress up ones are any color and sometimes flowered. In the office the girls dress in the native costume  but the men wear American type clothes. Also on the street you see many American men in shorts, but never women. The little kids -- some have only pants, short or long, and some have only shirts, short of long; and I've seen a few with nothing on -- especially out in the country.

The coolies have a very odd way of squatting on the sidewalk, both men and women (I'll draw a picture on the end) and they all wear those crazy looking hats.

Well, enough for now. I hope to hear from you all soon.

With love,

Esther

Letters from Esther - Letter 3

I am writing up a series of letters my grandmother, Esther, sent "home" to her siblings in North Dakota as she traipsed around the world working for the State Department as a working woman before it was chic. This letter is the next letter I have from Esther by date.

Saigon
July 5, 1958

Dear Jennie and all:

I guess, since you heard of no plane crashes, you know that I arrived safely. There was no one to meet me at the airport & scarcely anyone who spoke English so I took a cab to the hotel I knew the Melody's had stayed at. They have moved now but don't seem to have a phone & the Embassy is closed for a long week-end so I'm batting around on my own as a tourist & having a fine time.

Where Tokyo &  Hong Kong were set in mountains, Saigon is as flat as a prairie or like the Red River Valley. Its about as warm as it was in Wakefield last Saturday.

July 8
I don't remember what happened at that point but something interrupted. I guess I went on the last half of my tour of Saigon & surroundings. Saw lots of things. A rubber plantation, a buhdist monastery, the "America road" being built here, well just so much its impossible to list it all. The people on the tour were interesting too.

The office had things fouled up so that the word received here was that I was arriving the 5th. So when the Melody's went to meet me & there was no Air France flight that day, they immediately checked at the Majestic & found I was registered but didn't catch up with me till Sunday. They had rented a temporary apt. for me & hired a temporary maid & even got some groceries. The apt. is not too nice but will suffice temporarily. My trunk & Hi-fi were here ahead of me. I hope to get the Hi-fi converted to 50 cycles today. ["Hi-fi" short for "high fidelity" and referred to a record player. 50 cycles must refer to electrical conversion.]

Its the rainy season & every once in a while lets loose with a bang but in a few minutes the sun is out again. I keep waking up terribly early. They say its the time change but I think its the noise. There are no windows in the houses, just the street & trucks, cart & motor scooters start passing shortly after 3 a.m.  This morning slept till 5:00!

People at the office seem real nice. Lots of them live in this building. The USM bus comes by & picks us up at 7:45. We work from 8 to 12:30 and 2:30 to 6:0.

Mail to the States goes out at 9:00 this morning so thats why I decided to get up & write since I couldn't sleep any more. I got 2 letters from Lucille & one from Sandy & Robbie yesterday.

Well, so long for now.

Love,

Esther

Letters from Esther, Letter 2

I am writing up a series of letters my grandmother, Esther, sent "home" to her siblings in North Dakota as she traipsed around the world working for the State Department as a working woman before it was chic. This letter is the next letter I have from Esther by date.

57 M Ridge Road
Greenbelt, Maryland
March 13, 1958

Dear Jennie and all:

It was so nice to hear your voices on Saturday night. I don't know why it was such a surprise to hear Lois was married -- but you know how it is, you keep thinking of them as such little kids when you don't see them very often. I called Ida Mae the next day to see if she knew about it, but she didn't -- somehow their correspondence has lapsed recently, she said. [It could have been because she had two young kids and was about just starting her pregnancy carrying me.... just sayin'...]

I feel like I have earned a little rest from my work here as I just completed a new Form-57. The last one I had made up was way back in 1946 when I went from the War Relief Board to State, so you can imagine how out-of-date that was. I needed a new one now in connection with the job in Saigon. It looks as though I may go in about a month -- at least one of the things that was slowing it up was the fact that the office in State to which we were transferred was not willing to let me go until they got a replacement. Yesterday the Chief of that office called to talk to my boss, who was out, so he told me is the problem and when he was finished with that, he said he was aware that I was planning to go overseas, and asked if I had something lined up and I told him, yes, but that the job might be filled if I didn't get a release from State soon. So he said he would be glad to do anything he could to help and agreed to write a memo to their Personnel saying that they would have to have a replacement for my job within a month because I was leaving on the 14th of April. So I don't know what will happen now, but when I told the people over here, they said, "that's all we need."

I haven't had a physical or shots or anything like that as yet. Yesterday though I decided perhaps I should get an eye examination so I went for one and you'll never believe it but the dime-store glasses I'm wearing are just about what I need -- exactly right for the left eye and not quite strong enough for the right. And I don't need any for any other purpose than reading. Anyway I decided to get bifocals so that I don't have to keep taking my glasses off so much, but the top part will be plain glass. The doctor said my eyes were in excellent shape and doubted that I would ever need any except for reading. [She was, at this time 52 years old.]

Carole just called. Robbie is completely O.K., running and as active as ever but the doctor had told him to stay home from school for a few more days.

Its snowing here again, has been for a couple of hours now and is sticking to roofs and car tops but not the street. I heard it was probably going to snow Friday and Saturday so did a quick wash this morning and hung it out -- it'll be quite a mess by night. [So I checked it out -- she was writing this on a Thursday, typing it, so she got up that morning, did laundry, hung it out to dry before she left for work, and was typing this letter at work, probably on her lunch hour.]

I have been doing a little sewing off and on, in preparation for my trip -- its all summer clothes out there.

I have also practically finished my spring housecleaning -- including new [wall]paper in the bedroom, painting woodwork all around, including the kitchen cabinets inside and out, re-upholstering a couple of chairs, etc. Larry plans to stay on in the apartment and perhaps get someone to share it if he finds somebody he thinks he would get along with o.k.

I painted another picture this past week-end and it turned out very nice -- its a sort of a copy of one by Paul Cezzane, a French artist, from a photograph that appeared in the last Ladies Home Journal -- I think it was called The Marne.

I am trying to brush up on my French since that is the official language in Saigon but I think I should take some real classes cause what I really need is to be able to understand it when someone else speaks it. Its not a bit hard to read but it sounds so different -- not at all like Finnish which is spelled like it is pronounced. [That's an opinion I find it hard to share, as I speak French but am struggling to learn Finnish...]

Wasn't that a surprise to hear about Helen. Have you heard anything more? [I have no idea who Helen is...] Well, I hope it all works out for the best and I hope the kids don't suffer by it. [Now I need to do some research on Ancestry.com I guess to find a Helen...]

I feel very guilty sitting here typing this when there is so much to be done, so will wind up for now.

I may be seeing you in April -- but will let you know when I know for sure.

Love,

Esther

[Mailed in an envelope marked:

E. Holien - 305-M

International Cooperation Administration

Washington 25, DC

(with "Official Business" scratched out.)

Addressed to: 

Miss Jennie Efraimson

Perth, North Dakota

It was mailed with a 3 cent Liberty stamp.

I wonder if that would still get to someone nowadays, if I mailed it to my relative who still lives on that farm, "D. Odegaard, Perth, North Dakota". Ya think? My son in law confirms that there are still places where that is all the information one needs to put on an envelope for it to get to the intended person. Not where I live, that's for sure!]

Letters From Esther - 1

I have come into a packet of letters from my grandmother, Esther, to her sister (my great-aunt) Jennie (and other family members). I will post them here weekly, and link them to her "Letter to My Family", to reflect where they were written on the timeline.

This first letter was written shortly after Esther's return to Greenbelt, MD, after visiting Perth, ND for her mother's death and funeral.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
October 26, 1945

Dear Rupert and all,

Thank you so much for your letter that we received last night. It was most welcome, needless to say. Yes, I certainly hope he has (Rudy) had both the cable and letter by this time. [Rudy was in the military at this time - World War II, and they are hoping he received the note to let him know his mother died.] After I got back here I heard that the best way to get in touch with anybody in the Service is to notify the Red Cross and they do everything, even to getting transportation for them and all. That it is much quicker than cabling them direct. Too bad we didn't know about it at the time.

Yes, I understand exactly what you mean. [We don't have Rupert's letter, so we don't know what she was responding to except to try to extrapolate.] Things do seem kind of meaningless now, but we must remember that Dad and the rest of the family are also concerned and interested in what the others do and even if Mother doesn't know right at the moment what we are doing, she will someday. So we must keep on living like she would want us to.

I agree with you on the superiority of the Sunday programs. [Lutheran Church? Television? Radio?] I too rather dislike going out on a Sunday afternoon just for that reason. I will have to this coming Sunday though. First church here at Greenbelt, (the choir is singing), then Finnish church at 3:00 and after that the National Lutheran Chorus is giving a concert down town here so I should go to that too. That is quite a session, isn't it? Have to leave the house about twelve and it will be at least eight before I get back.

The kids don't have school today, teacher's meeting, so Carole, Ida Mae and Larry are going to Georgetown to have their teeth checked out and will stop here at the office on their way back. Wayne was going too but is taking someone else's place at the gas station. He wanted to get himself a leather jacket. [I think her point is that Wayne is working extra hours to earn money to buy the jacket.]

I was surprised to hear Vi and Gene went on to Ohio as I received a card from them from New York Mills and she thought then that they were going to b back home by Sunday. It will be nice for them tho, for him to see his folks and Vi will meet them. That is quite a long trip too, isn't it? Ohio doesn't seem very far from Washington. [DC]

How is your weather?Ours has been superb ever since I got back until the last couple of days when we had rain. Today the sun is out again and its quite warm.

What did you think of the President's speech? [That would be FDR. Makes me want to Google FDR speech for 10/1945.] I wonder if that will go through with all the opposition it has. [Social Security? Military draft?] It probably won't affect you anyway, Rupert, as you will be past 21 then. Wayne thinks its a good idea and is all excited about going already even though he won't be going till he is 19 if it does go through. [Now I need to ask Wayne if he ever did serve in the military...]

Well, I guess I better cut this out and get to work. I have been very busy since I got back until today. This is a Board meeting day, but they decided not to have one this week. We just got through transcribing the mess we took last Friday [the shorthand from that day's Board meeting]. We wrote steady for three and a half hours and had about forty pages of transcription. I hope I never get anything as bad as that again. I usually like to do something that is a little difficult as I think things that are easy are too humdrum and monotonous but that was just a little too much. If it hadn't been that the two of us took it together we never would have made any sense out of the whole thing.

Write again soon.

With much love,

Esther

Esther Holien - "A Letter to my Family", Part 3 (final)

Here is the last installment of my grandmother Esther Holien's story of her life. She lived fifteen more years after she wrote this, and I'm sure she could have added many more chapters. She wrote this 8/1988 and passed away in 2003 at the age of 98.

[Read "A Letter to my Family" Part 1 or Part 2]

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My next post was Seoul, Korea. The only snag in that trip was that one of the motors on the plane (it had two) caught fire about half way between Tokyo and Seoul.

We had to turn back for repairs because Seoul didn't have facilities to take care of it. Ruth Holmes met me at the airport, and even though we were hours late, had some of the girls over that evening to welcome me. In Seoul, we all had apartments on the Military Base and could use the PX, so life was really easy.

I was doing the same type of work as in Saigon so that was easy too. That was where I met Barbara Burns and Dorothe Cummings, who are still good friends of mine and live quite close to me in Florida.

While in Seoul, we took trips up to Pan Mun Jong, the border area where talks between the North and South Koreans take place. We went by boat to a beach area south of Inchon called Mali-po for weekends, and did a lot of mountain climbing right around Seoul. There were delightful native eating places where we often went to eat Pul-ko-ki. I have the recipe for it and many of you have eaten it.

One of the most memorable trips from Seoul was as far as Singapore one Christmas time. Four of us went by train from Bangkok to Kuala Lampur. We ordered breakfast on the train -- eggs, toast and coffee. The eggs were swimming in a platter of grease that was so rancid you could only get it half-way to your mouth before you realized you could not possibly eat it. We did have a few oranges that we had brought along, and that was about all we ate on that two-day trip!

I have movies from the hotel there of the Cambodian Royal Ballet practicing, and of the arrival and departure of Prince Siahnuk and his entourage who stayed at the same hotel.

We spent several days on Penang, a beautiful little island. We had planned to go swimming there, but just before we got there a lady had been bitten by a water snake and died.... Needles to say, we didn't go!

We went to Midnight Mass in Singapore; visited the Raffles Hotel one day and had Singapore Slings there. On the way back, Barbara and I stopped in Saigon and had two Christmas dinners. In Hong Kong, we met up with some other friends from Seoul and had a lovely day at the beach at Buzzard's Bay.

Business in our section of USOM/Seoul was very slow and my job was abolished, so I took a direct transfer to Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in Africa. En route from Seoul to Salisbury, I stopped in Beirut, Lebanon, to see a friend of mine who had gone there a few months before. I stayed in the Phoenix Hotel, which in later years was the scene of many battles, riots, etc. But while I was there it was beautiful. Pony had some friends who took us out to a night club one night, and I went on a tour with one of the fellows the next day. We went down to Baalbeck and that place, too, has been the scene of much fighting since then.

I had sold my red Fairlane before I left Korea so I bought a small used English Ford (with a driver's seat on the right side) to get around the country there. We weren't in Salisbury before the whole office moved up to Blantyre, Malawi. I drove up and was followed by two USOM drivers. The road was rough and my battery fell out. They strapped it in with a strap from a suitcase.

Banda, who was President (or Ruler) at that time, is still in power there. There were a lot of Indians in Blantyre, while most of the people I met in Rhodesia were English or natives.

I won't bother with office work -- it went well and I did all sorts of things -- working for the Controller, the Executive Officer, etc.  Kitty Hayes arrived at the Mission about the same time I did, and I took some trips with her. One of the main trips was to Victoria Falls, of which I also have movies.

I went on a trip to Mozambique over Easter weekend and got a terrible case of diarrhea. I had to go looking for a doctor in a land where everyone spoke Portuguese.

I had to use sign language but managed. I had already spent one stint in the hospital with a similar case in Saigon, so it's easy for me to get it again if I eat food that doesn't agree with me. They said the Saigon ailment was amoebic dysentery.

Another trip from Blantyre was by ship from Beira, Mozambique to Port Elizabeth, South Africa with Bligh DeBresey. We stopped at Durban and from Port Elizabeth, went by bus to Capetown.

My next post, and also my last, was Leopoldville, in what used to be known as the Belgian Congo. It is now Kinshasha, Zaire. I was assigned to the Office of the Mission Chief, and shared an office with Christina Lepworth. What a character -- the wildest dresser you ever saw -- and so worried that I would infringe on her rights! Since there was so little work to do, I took a correspondence course in Personnel Management from the Department of Agriculture, so that I had something to look busy with.

In Leopoldville I bought my first VW -- a little green bug which I shipped home after I retired and used for many years. One morning when I went down to the parking area, almost all of the cars had at least two or more wheels missing -- two of mine were gone.

Romy Gross came to Leopoldville while I was there, and we resumed our off and on friendship. She was so moody that it was very hard to get along with her. She was always looking for a man, but didn't find one to suit her.

Also in Leopoldville, we met Anna Marie Tietgen, who years later called me in Washington asking me to come and pick her up somewhere in Chevy Chase, as she didn't have any place to go and had left New York because she was afraid to live there any longer.

Carole and I went to pick her up and she had a fit because we both happened to be wearing polka dot dresses. She thought polka dots should be outlawed because she thought that a woman who was wearing a polka dot dress was involved in the killing of Robert Kennedy.

I was living in an apartment in White Oak [MD] at the time, close to Carole's, and she had gone back to work at IBM, so I would go over every day and stay with the kids for awhile. Anna Marie kept talking about writing a story and Carole let her use her typewriter to do it. I doubt if she ever wrote a line, but it didn't take us long to realize there was something terribly wrong with her.

For one thing, she went through what liquor I happened to have in nothing flat and asked me to buy some more. I didn't. She would come to Carole's with me sometimes and walk around the pond over and over, never looking up, as though she were in a trance. 

I was trying to think of a way to get her back to her friends in New York but at that time Carole had mentioned our problem to a friend, and he came over to talk to her one day. When I got home, she was gone, and I've never heard from her since, so I don't know where she is now. She did have some relatives in Holland, so she may have made her way back there.

In the Congo, she bought every freakish type of wood carving that she could find, and was planning to open up a shop in New York.

Well, back to the Congo. While we were there it was a very scary time. The natives were attacking whites everywhere. They murdered nuns and we heard they ate parts of them.

They captured the US Legation in Stanleyville and kept three of the officers as hostages several weeks before they were rescued in a daring rade by the Marines. Plane loads of people were brought to Leopoldville after the rescue. We all had to have a small bag ready in case of evacuation. A popular song at the time was Bert Lahr's "They're Rioting in Africa".

I played a lot of bridge in Leopoldville with people of many nationalities. We took turns having the group over for a light supper and then cards. There was a nice little lake not far from town where we would go on Sunday picnics and for a swim.

In all of the other posts, I had a maid to help with the shopping, cleaning, etc. In the Congo I had a man servant, and one day the stores had shelves full of a new product - something like Comet (the cleanse), so I bought a can. When I came home for lunch the next day, the servant was rubbing the furniture with it. He loved to iron -- he had the ironing board out on the patio and I had never seen an iron move that slowly! I didn't keep him too long. I did have a man servant in Salisbury too -- the dishrag was always black! Either he cleaned his shoes or scrubbed the floor with it, so he didn't last long either.

On memorable trip in the Congo was down to Matadi at the mouth of the Congo River. Christina and I and Romy went in my new VW. We ran into several road blocks where we were searched.

At one point the guards wanted us to take one of their women with us to Leopoldville but we told them that I was the American Ambassador's wife and that we had strict orders not to take anyone with us. I don't think Ambassador Godley ever heard that.

I came home on vacation that summer, and Carole, her boys and I went on a trip to North Dakota. We had a grand time and were on our way back in Pennsylvania when we ran into car trouble. We stopped for gas and could not get the car started.

We finally had to have it towed to Beaver Falls. Since we were so close to home, we splurged on a big dinner, etc. the night before, so we were getting low on funds. We had to wire for money from Maryland before they would fix the car.

The funds weren't going to get there till the next day so we had to get a Hotel room. The room we had didn't have air-conditioning and it was really hot. Even after the car was fixed (supposedly), it didn't work very well till we stopped at a little station off the highway. True to form, we made up a song about it -- At a station, on the Turnpike, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!

That was in 1965 -- the year I was going to turn 60. That fall, a notice came out from Washington saying anyone over 55 with a certain number of years service could retire with some advantages, so I applied for it. I left the post at the end of the year and stopped in Finland again to visit with Rupert who was there at the time.

I can't remember just which trip home it was that I stopped in Morocco at Rabat to visit Barbara and Dorothe. It could have been when I left Blantyre. Barbara had a car and we went on a trip down to Fez and some other places of interest. I also stopped in Spain on that trip.

I think this is getting much too long, but there's a lot left. I rented an apartment in White Oak, Md., and for the first year I didn't do much of anything except play around with Carole's boys. The problem with the apartment was that I have an organ that I loved to play and other musical instruments, and we couldn't really enjoy them because the neighbors below would bang on our floor every time it got above a whisper.

Anyway, realizing that I had no Social Security and only needed a few quarters (about 4 years) to qualify, I took a Kelly Girl exam and was immediately called to take all sort of secretarial jobs.

I kept that up for some time, but decided that I would rather live in Florida. I went down to St. Petersburg to visit my friend, Florence Richards, who had just bought a house in Gulfport. I couldn't find what I wanted in Gulfport, so took one nearby in St. Petersburg. I continued on with the Kelly Girls for some time, and then went to work as Secretary to the Priest of a Greek Orthodox Church near there.

I lived in Florida for about 7 or 8 years until 1976. Carole and Bob had been separated for a year now. Bob's brother [Ed] and his wife, who had been living in one of their [Bob and Carole's] two houses, were divorcing, so that house became available. I, in the meantime, had been robbed three times in Florida because the area I lived in was becoming sort of slum-like, and I thought I should move. We decided to pool our resources and clean up the house in Olney. That was a summer of great work.

Eddie and his family had lived there for twelve years and had not taken good care of it. There were termites in the floors and doors in the kitchen and utility room, and the roof leaked and had to be replaced, the picture window in the living room was covered with plywood because it had a big hole in it.

Most of the ceilings had to be replastered and the carpeting smelled so bad we had to tear that up and get it out before we even started working.

We did get it in shape, and even built a sauna in the back yard. And it's beautiful -- especially in the summer. But I kept going back to Florida almost every winter for a month or two, so finally Carole decided we need a house down there too. She bought one three years ago, and I spend about as much time down there as in Maryland.

About the time we moved to Olney, we got interested in golf, and now it is our favorite pastime. Ida and I have belonged to the Needwood Women's league since then. Carole has been in charge of tournaments for IBM for several years and plays in many of them. 

Some of my other activities since really retiring have been making braided rugs, painting pictures, making Cabbage Patch type dolls and clothing for them (some of which I sold) and also Barbie Doll clothes.

And my present favorite pastime is quilting. I've made several quilts for children and grandchildren and babies as they come along.

Last year I went out regularly with my next door (in Maryland) neighbor, Roy German, to help him get started in golf, and this year I'm doing it again with his wife, Ruth. He now plays better than I do and it won't be long before she does too. Goes to show you I'm a better teacher than doer, eh.

After reading the foregoing, the thought occurred to me that this has been a pretty rosy story all round. I'm very good at forgetting the bad parts, but there have been a few.

Health-wise, I'm blessed, except for a few minor things. Once when Carole and I were planning to leave for Florida for a vacation, I climbed into the attic to bring down my suitcase. On the way down I tripped and fell from about the middle of the ladder and crushed a vertebrae. The doctor told he girls that I would probably never walk again. He was wrong. The second day in the hospital I was helping my roommate get to the bathroom.

Then I had to have a cataract operation a few years later. And a couple years after that I had a detached retina. While I was recovering from that operation, the resident doctor at the hospital decided my blood pressure was too high (for surgery) and put me on such a strong dose of something to correct it that when I reported back to my regular doctor because I felt run down, he was surprised that I had driven in, much less was walking around. My blood pressure was much too low. Anyway, as a result of that I do have to take a blood pressure pill a day.

Oh, yes, in 1982, I was in a car accident. My car was totalled, but I wasn't. I did have to have about 50 stitches on the side of my head and left arm -- they were glass cuts. It was a very dark evening and raining -- I was coming home from the Needwood Golf Course and making a left turn onto Muncaster Mill Road. Everyone had their car lights on, except the one who hit me. He was coming up the hill in his all black truck, and was upon me before I saw him at all. Carole came home some time after I did, saw the car at the corner, and was sure I couldn't have survived.

The police said that he could have been going a hundred miles an hour and it would still have been my fault that I got hit -- so I paid the $30 fine and bought a new car.

One of the most horrible accidents in our family was when we were living in Cando and I was working at the Court House. We had an old Maytag washer on which the wringer didn't work unless someone held a little gadget on it. Ida Mae had been holding it for awhile, and since it was getting late and past her bedtime, I asked Carole to come and hold it. She came, but while holding it with her left hand started fiddling around below the open part under the washer. She wanted to see if the bottom of the machine was hot, so first stuck her foot (with a shoe on) to see. When she couldn't tell that way, she stuck her hand under, and her forefinger got caught in the cogs.

I turned off the machine; our neighbor downstairs heard our screams, and came running up. He was able to reverse the cogs and got her loose, and I wrapped her hand in a towel and carried her to the doctor a couple blocks from our place. Her finger was crushed and full of grease. He cleaned it up as best he could and bandaged it. There was no chance of its healing, however, so it had to be amputated a few days afterward. She was nine at the time and has learned to cope very well without that finger.

When she signed up for typing class, her teacher said there was no way she could do it, but of course, if you know Carole, you know there is no such word in the dictionary as "can't" as far as she is concerned.

So there you have my story. I've made it as brief as I could and am now wondering why did I write it all. It has been an interesting life for me, and I have enjoyed it and am still enjoying it every day. The years do seem to fly past very fast now, and I guess that is what prompted me to start this journal.

I wish I could tell you that I have accomplished some great deed for the benefit of mankind, or amassed a fortune to pass on to all of you, or that I have served on this or that charity committee, etc., but I can't. First it was mostly work, and now it's mostly play -- the frosting on the cake of life!

I am very proud of my children and grandchildren, and they way they turned out. All of them are busy, happy, responsible people, and I hope I can claim some credit for instilling in them some of their values, characteristics, ideas, etc. that were passed on to me by my parents.

Many great changes have taken place in my lifetime and although it's fun to look back on the "good old days" as many people my age say, it's not too bad right now either. Of course there are problems, but there always have been -- they're just different. Wars and rumors of wars have always been with us, as have been the poor, the greedy, the bigots, the uncaring and selfish, etc. Now it's drugs, air and water pollution, traffic congestion, a huge government budget deficit and more. I'm sorry we could not have left the world in better shape for the youths coming along.

With best wishes to all of you and much love from Esther (alias Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma, Sister, Aunt, etc.)

 

For the Geography buffs, here's where I've been:

• Canada
• Japan
• Vietnam
• Laos
• Cambodia
• Thailand
• China (Hong Kong)
• Malaya
• Korea
• India
• Lebanon
• Kenya
• Zimbabwe (S. Rhodesia)
• Zambia (N. Rhodesia)
• Malawi
• Zaire (Congo)
• Mozambique
• South Africa
• Morocco
• Spain
• France
• England
• Denmark
• Sweden
• Finland
• Hawaii (pre-statehood)
• Alaska
• Turkey