A Trip, A Trial, A "Good bye!"

Thinking much of my friend, Scott Somerville, this week. In 2002 we bought a Honda upon his advice. Yesterday we said good bye to the Honda.

Purchased in 2002, it mostly took hubby to and from work for 14 years and 188500 miles.

In February the heat wasn't working properly. Engine also running hot. Hubby took it to the mechanic and the thermostat was replaced. Early March the engine still running hot; the A/C and heat not working properly. Mechanic said sometimes you just get a bad thermostat, and replaced thermostat again, and changed the coolant to all synthetic. $$$$

We were planning a trip and hubby wanted to take Honda. Mechanic said first check the coolant to make sure it was topped off, and when the car was hot, check the radiator cap to make sure it was working properly, letting off steam as needed. ::sigh:: He didn't.

About three hours into a seven hour trip, the car was pegging red on the heat index, and as we pulled off to a gas station the smoke began pouring into the car and leaving a trail. No fire, just smoking engine. Radiator had overheated; fluids on hot engine smoking.

A good Samaritan, Jeff, (an angel in disguise) was right beside where we parked and came to give aid and advice. We cooled the engine down, and the radiator cap was removed. It had disintegrated, and parts had to be fished out of the top of the radiator. The radiator was topped off with water, which Jeff provided, and we decided to limp on back roads the next 20 miles to the Honda dealership in Roanoke.

At the dealership the service section was already closed for the night. A new radiator cap was purchased ($$$$), and we decided to get a hotel room ($$$$) and come back in the morning to get the car checked out.

We were at the garage at 8:03 the next morning, only to find five people already ahead of us. So, after an hour's wait our car was surveyed. It was found that the radiator was cracked. A radiator (refurbished?) was found to be available in Roanoke, and we were given a loaner with a three-hour estimate for repair ($$$$).

We left, went to Wal-Mart, the mall, Chick-Filet, Starbucks ($$$$), and returned to the dealership to wait. And wait. And wait. When the work was finished, we paid for the repairs and continued on our way to Charlotte.

After a shortened visit with my husband's dad and brother and family, we got back onto the road. Three hours into the trip the car started to overheat. Again. We had left home on a 78 degree day to drive to Charlotte, NC, and were now heading home to 55 degree weather for which we had not packed, only to realize that running the heat was overheating the car. The heat was turned off (and I was COLD!). The car cooled off. And heated up. And cooled off. And heated up.

Until it was no longer cooling off. We began pulling off the road for 15 minutes ever 30-45 minutes of driving. Then every 20. Then every 10. Then we were no longer safely leaving the highway, but were on the shoulder with the hood open and the flashers on. Then driving; repeat.

Then on 66 we were pulled over, and a highway safety truck came to park behind us till we could safely restart our journey. Then we drove, and had to stop again. Then the battery died. Another highway safety truck came and helped us, getting us jump started.

And we drove again. And had to stop again. Finally determined to call our tow coverage to get towed the rest of the way. The service said it would be an hour, and they'd have the tow company text us. The tow company said it would be closer to two hours. We cancelled.

Hubby went to the now cool radiator, opened the lid, added more water, closed the hood, and we started again.  We limped the rest of the way home, carefully, but thankfully safely. Called our mechanic, and that night we dropped off the Honda for him to examine.

Next day, verdict: might be head gasket. If we replaced the head gasket, might find there was more needing to be done. $$$$

With older cars, one is constantly watching to determine if one has reached the tipping point where it is costing too much to maintain the old car, if safety is being compromised -- if it is time to buy a new car.

It's been a pleasant many years with no car payment (our other vehicle is a 2003). We just made the last payment on the braces. We were entering a season where we had an extra $100-something/month to not spend on braces, and instead we are now entering a new season of spending $250-something/month on a car payment. But we've said good bye to the Honda, greeted a new Toyota, and entered this new season grateful that our car-trouble-trip was not worse.

Sorry I didn't post my Menu Monday -- we were busy breaking down that day. I never did plan a menu this week -- we're limping through on quick trips to the store combined with food in the freezer. Here is a photo of the new car:

We can no longer say the Honda and the Toyota, cause we now have two Toyotas. We can't manage "The car" and "the van", because I've been calling the van "the car" for years. I think we're going to call the van "Sandy" and the car "Silver Streak" based on their color.

So that's my tale of a not so typical "Think Back Thursday" - saying good bye to a car that served faithfully for 14 years (although we had hoped it would serve for 300,000 miles!).

Alfred and Bessie Morris

The 1861 English Census shows that in Warwickshire, the Parish of Aston, in Erdington's District 28, at 124 Upper Saltley, Timothy Morris (age 41, born 1819) and Ann Slater Morris (age 37, born 1823) Morris were raising their family: William A. (age 12), Timothy (age 9), Henry (age 6), and Charles (age 4).

The dad, Timothy's occupation is recorded as Philosophical Instrumentmaker. Seriously? What in the world? Timothy Senior was my grandmother (Dora Morris Hall)'s great grandfather. I think that makes it great, great, great grandfather for me. 

[I found Stratford on Avon in Warwickshire! That's where Shakespeare was born!]

The 2nd son, Timothy Morris, was my great grandfather's father, or grandma Dora's grandfather, and he was an "electrical operator" (an electrician). This Timothy (born 1852) married Annie Elizabeth Lane (born 1854). The 1881 England Census shows that Timothy And Annie settled in Worcestershire, in the Civil Parish or Township of Kings Norton District 24. Their address was 7 Belgrase Street. Alfred (grandma Dora's father), age 2, was their first born. Their 2nd, Walter P., was 8 months. Worcestershire is one shire west of Warwickshire where they both were born.

Meanwhile, another couple, John and Maria Mitchell, were raising a family in Cornwall (far to the South). One of their children would eventually be Alfred's wife.

This is where the family tree goes way back. Not only do we know that John Mitchell was born in Cornwall and lived from 1844-1902, we also know his father, John Mitchell lived 1797-1886 and his mother, Matilda Stephens Mitchell lived from 1806-1905. The 1851 Census says the senior John Mitchell was a "Cordwainer". I was sure I was stumped, but I Googled it and learned:

"A cordwainer (/ˈkɔːrdˌweɪnər/) is a shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather. The cordwainer's trade can be contrasted with the cobbler's trade, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes." (Wikipedia)
 

John Junior (1844-1902), a carpenter, and Maria (1846-1923) had Jessie Keturah L Mitchell (1868-1950), Ada Elvina Mitchell (1871-1888), Amelia A. Mitchell (1874-1951), Charles Thomas Mitchell (1878 - ?), Percy J. Mitchell (1880-1927), Bessie Helena Augusta Mitchell, my great grandmother (1881-?), Lilly G. (1885- ? ), Beatrice M. (1887), Ada (1891 - ) and Millie ( ? - ? ). They lived at 41 Old Town, Croydon, in Surry, England in 1871.

Ancestry.com told me about

The Great Blizzard of 1891

During the Great Blizzard of 1891, Bessie Helena Augusta Mitchell experienced incredible amounts of snow, which crippled travel for almost a week. Bessie was ten when this blizzard occurred.

Bessie Mitchell 

was a servant in 1901 when the census was taken in England. She was living at 39 Gas Works, Devon, Plymouth (as in where the Pilgrims left from!). 

Bessie Helena Augusta Mitchell married Alfred Morris on June 8, 1903, in Hereford, Herefordshire, when she was 21 years old. Alfred Morris enlisted in the military in 1897 when he was 19 years old and learned the trade of an electrician.

Alfred and Bessie's first daughter Vera May was born on May 29, 1904, in Plymouth, Devon. Their second daughter, my grandmother Dora Elaine was born on January 1, 1906 in Templemore, County Tipperaray, Ireland. I have Gram's birth certificats. It's in bad shape. "I have this 1st day of January 1906 registered the Birth of Dora Elaine, a female child..."

They were in Ireland because Alfred was stationed at the British Military Base there. Gram always told me it was a Royal Air Force base, but the RAF didn't begin until 1917. Gram was born in 1906 - Wilbur and Orville Wright had their first successful flight in 1903! Not enough time to establish an RAF base. Can't figure out what base she was born on at this point - was probably a Royal Army Base

Two years later Alfred and Bessie were back in UK, in Upton on Severn in Worcestershire, when their next daughter, Phyllis was born November 10, 1907. Their first son, Alfred, Jr., was born in Worcestershire in 1909. They moved from Upton on Severn to Kempsey 4/2/1911 (still Worcestershire). Son, Percy James, was born May 16th, 1911 at their new location. At this time Alfred had been in the Army 13 years, and Bessie's sister Beatrice was living with them as a servant.

Alfred was still serving in the military in 1912 at the age of 37. This was apparently when he retired and transitioned to the Army Reserve. He committed to serve for six years. Think about your world history now -- any global events you can think of that occurred between 1912 and 1918? Any Great Wars?



The UK often offered land grants in Canada to its veterans. In 1914 Alfred and Bessie relocated from the UK to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Sound familiar? This is the same city my other great grandparents relocated to from the UK.

Who knew that Ontario touches four of the five great lakes? I didn't! Can you see Hamilton? It is right across the US/Canada border at Niagara Falls! I had no idea it was so close!

He served in World War I, which ran from 1914 to 1918. He received a letter of commendation (posthumously) and a medal, which I have in my metal box of family historical artifacts. No children were born to the family during this time (what a shock, right?).

Ancestry.com loses Albert and Bessie after that. Ancestry says they had five children; Grandma Dora said there were 11 or 12 (she couldn't remember). She gave me names, but not always dates. Clearly I will have to find my notes and enter more information into Ancestry and see if it can then provide more information.

There are not many photos of the Morris family. Gram said they left the farm on holiday one summer. It was so remote that at that time it was customary to leave your property unlocked when you left so that if any traveler arrived in need of shelter he could find a roof for the night. When they returned from holiday they found the house burned down, photos lost. They never knew whether someone had been sheltering and was careless with fire, or if the house had been struck by lightning.

Photos that survive were probably in the hands of relatives at the time of the fire. I will post ones I have in a future post. If you enjoyed, I'd love to receive a comment!   

A Little House in Hull, England

On February 6, 1881 a little boy was born in Hull, England and his parents named him Herbert. My great grandfather, Herbert, was born in 1881 in Hull, England, but I don't know for sure if the family I have found is for sure my great grandfather, but it is the only Herbert Hall I have found that was born in Hull in 1881. I don't know my great grandfather's birth date, only his birth year. If I can trust what I am piecing together from Census searches, his father was named William L. and his mother’s name was Elizabeth. He was the firstborn child, and he had a sister named Edith, who was born three years after he was.

The address of their residence was 13 Hanover Square, and the father worked on a barge. Information on Herbert’s obituary indicates he had one brother and two sisters. I have no way to tell if those were surviving siblings, or if that was all the siblings there ever were. While I cannot find record of birth or know with certainty this information is the correct match, this appears to be my great-grandfather’s birth and parents. I can find no other Herbert Hall living in Hull, England at that time, so I am claiming these to be my relatives.

Also supporting my theory, at least circumstantially is the census information that reveals the Jickells family living across the street at #12 Hanover Square. My great-grandmother was always known as “Carrie”, and even named her daughter “Carrie”. The census does not list a Carrie Jickells at 12 Hanover Square, but there is a daughter listed in the Jickells family with the same birth year named Clara E. Jickells, and it is easy enough for me to believe that she took Carrie as a permanent nickname. The information I have pieced together from 1901 on I know is accurate.

Carrie was a year older than Herbert. When they grew up, they got married. Herbert served in the military for Great Britain. At the time of the 1901 Census, Herbert, aged 19 and Carrie, aged 20 were married. Their first son, Herbert Hall, Jr., was born March 3, 1904. Their daughter Carrie was born in 1907, and Robert William was born in 1908.  England had a tradition, at that time, of giving land grants in Canada to their veterans, and when Herbert, a bricklayer, returned to civilian life he traveled to Hamilton, Ontario Canada to set up the homestead and find work.

The 1911 England census shows Herbert, Sr. is still a resident of England, but he was physically in Canada. If I search long enough I think I will find him on a 1911 Census for Canada as well. The rest of the family relocated in 1912, as documented by the 1921 Census for Hamilton City, Ontario, Canada.

The Great War  began in 1914, and Herbert, Sr. went back into active duty serving for England. I have a stack of amazing, embroidered postcards sent from Herbert, Sr. to his son Herbert, Jr. while he was away serving during the war. No other written record can be found.

Herb Sr.

 

The Hall family was living, in 1921, at 245 Balmoral Avenue, Hamilton, City, Ontario, Canada. Herbert and Carrie raised their three children in Canada: Herbert, Jr., Carrie and Robert. When Herbert, Jr. got married in 1924, jobs were scarce for bricklayers, and Herb and Dora decided to move to the United States where there were available jobs in Washington, DC. Herb, Sr. and Carrie decided to make the same transition, so they all moved to Greenbelt, Maryland. Herb, St. and Carrie still had Carrie and Robert at home with them.

Front row is Herb Jr. and his brother Bob. Behind Herb, Jr. is his mother Carrie, and I believe Carrie's mother, whose name I am unsure of. 

Top left is Herbie; in front of Herbie is June. Eddie is the baby in the center front.
 
Dora with Eddie on her lap; Bob in the center, little Herb on the right.

Carrie (the daughter) reached adulthood and married Ray Tomlinson. The two were married shortly after Herb and Dora. They also settled in Greenbelt. The two couples both had children, and the cousins grew up very close friends. Carrie and Ray's children, June and John were especially good friends with Herb and Dora's oldest two boys, Herb and Bob. Herb and Dora's youngest son was born a bit later, and the gap in their ages made it such that Eddie didn't usually hang out with the other four kids.

Herb, Sr. and Carrie were still living in Greenbelt when World War 2 started. Their son, Robert, went and fought in the war. Their son, Herbert Jr., was too old to enlist.

Robert, in uniform, with his mom Carrie:

 Robert never recovered from fighting in the war. When he returned to civilian life, he was an alcoholic, and did not live long. I don't know more about this. No one talked about him and my dad did not tell me much more than this. 

When Herbert, Jr.'s son Herbert William (my dad) was old enough to enlist, he was working in a machine shop on the waterfront in DC. His job was too important to the war effort, so they would not let him enlist. His enlistment started, instead, in April of 1945 to 1947, and he re-enlisted 1947-1949.

Herb (my dad)'s brother Bob also enlisted, in the Navy. When they enlisted, their brother Eddie was still a schoolboy. When Herbert got out of the Army Air Corp, he bought a new car (below). In the photo below, left to right: My grandma Dora, my great grandma Carrie, my uncle Eddie, my dad Herbert, my uncle Bob, I'm guessing my great grandfather's sister Edith, then my great grandfather Herbert Sr.

Herbert Hall, Sr. was my great grandfather and his wife Carrie, my great grandmother. Herbert Hall, Jr. was my grandfather, my father’s father. 

 My great grandfather passed away in 1965. I was only six or seven, but I remember him well. He will appear more as I tell the story of my own life in later installments of Family Stories.

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.

The Pledge of Allegiance - Red Skelton

Will You Remember? (Our Veterans)

John Wayne's Tells the Origin of "Taps"

Master Penman Jake Weidmann

Remember when I reviewed Cursive Logic last month?

Well, today I stumbled across this video about a Master Penman -- awesome! The video doesn't say so, but I believe he was home schooled -- his mom pulls out his old handwriting books from his school days. And besides, nowadays who would have time to develop a skill like that other than a home schooler?

Master Penman Jake Weidmann | HUMANCAN THIS MASTER PENMAN SAVE HIS ARTFORM? Here's the fascinating story of Jake Weidmann, the youngest master penmen in the entire world...
Posted by UPROXX on Tuesday, August 4, 2015

-04:47

Master Penman Jake Weidmann | HUMAN

Posted by UPROXX

13,452,265 Views

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!

Think Back Thursday - A WW II Thank You Letter

I have come to the end of my series of letters from my maternal grandmother Esther to her siblings. I have some other letters from Esther that I will post later. Today's post will be of interest to those related to my paternal grandmother, Dora Elaine Morris Hall.

During World War II, she received this hand-written letter from Do Bouman that I wanted to share with you.

The first thing I noticed was that the letter was clearly written by a pen that you dip into an ink bottle. How cool is that?

 Here is the content of page 1:

DO BOUMAN

'S HERTOGENSBOSCH, 1/4 '45
KONINGSWED 78

Dear Mrs Hall,

It is my pleasure to write to you and hope my lettre finds you in the best of health.

I suppose you are wondering already who this letter is from, therefore I shall tell you before I go any further. I am a Dutch girl and I am eighteen years of age. My name is Do - pronounced Doe - . As I am not at school, it has been my pleasure to give my services to social work, which entails mostly of helping the poor people of my town.

Now I will tell you the reason for my writiiiing you. This morning while helping in a room of a large building which was demolished by fire owing to enemy action, I found your address attached to a nice warm pyjama suit which was very kindly sent by you and was to be given to one of the eight children of the family who was very badly in want of it. Therefore my dear Mrs. Hall you may rest assured that your kind and lovely gift has gone to a person whom I am sure you would have liked it to be given to. Actually it was a little girl seven years of age and when it was given to her she wanted to put it on immediately. She was so excited she danced around the room with joy. "Oh what a nice sleep I will have tonight. I will not hear the bombs."

the parents of this particular family do not understand English and thought that your address which was on the little ticket was the measurements of the suit, so when I go to see this family again they will be very happy to know that I have written and thanked you for the splended gift which I am certain they would like to have done themselves had they been able to write in English.

I find great pleasure in helping such people and especially in writing this humble lettre of thanks which I hope you understand. I could carry on for a long time telling you about my work and conditions here, but that would I'm afraid take up too much of your time, for your kindness the the children and myself will offer our prayers for in return.

God bless you in health and happiness.

Yours sincerely

Do Bouman

Koningsweg 78.
'S Hertogenbosch
The Netherlands

Sorry page 2 is sideways...

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

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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.
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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