[home] [All Letters] [letters 1955] [surname index] [Wachdorf index]
By Edward Wachdorf
carbon of typed letter
people mentioned besides wife and son Larry:
son Harry
Peanut = Wilbur Schuch, Chicago neighbor & friend of sons
Frank = Peanut's brother
Warren Marshall & his brother = former client/gas station owner
Mae & Leona = sister Mae Wachdorf & brother Joe Wachdorf's daughter
Johnny & Jean = nephew of neighbor, John Foltz & wife Jean Cassello Foltz
Frank's wife = Loretta Harnois Vrzak, wife of neighbor Frank Vrzak & sister of his late brother Harry's widow
June 14th, 1955
Dear Ones;
Now that things have settled down to normalcy it's about time I also got back into the stride and got the sound waves humming. I know by now that Peanuts has you all up to date with news, substantiated by pictures that do tell a story. But I guess letter writing has become quite a problem, even for Peanuts as we have not heard from them if they arrived safe or not. The last card we got said they would arrive in Chicago the next day and we noticed it was mailed from home so that is how we know they arrived. Also Harry said they expected him at their house which is another inkling they arrived. Don't even know if they got through their territory ahead with, or missing, the storms on their way.
We just started to get settled after their departure when, lo and behold I got a phone call asking if E.J. was there. Upon answering I got the surprise of the times by hearing the voice of one Warren Marshall of Chgo. Hgths., who ran a service station and was one of my best customers. He was at the hotel in Long Beach and I told him to wait there and I would pick him up. He stayed at our place two nights and part of a day. Arrived Wed. noon and stayed until Saturday morning, leaving by bus for San Diego to stay with his brother. We still expect to see more of him but when we do not know, but later.
Now back to Peanuts and Frank. Larry took possession of them for the best part of the time, turning them over to us in the morning until four o'clock golf time. We would have to break up our trips so as to be back in time to get them to the golf course so they could play until it got dark, which they did and would mostly eat out for supper. But once in a while we could coax them to hold up eating to have a meal at home.
Then he decides they would go to Las Vegas Nevada and left Friday night about midnite, driving all night so as to arrive in Vegas Saturday morning to see the sights of Lake Meade and some dam I forgot the name. Then they went back to Vegas and their waterfall.
They said at one place you have to pass through an aisle of one armed bandits to get to the real amusements. Imagine being surrounded by temptations such as muscle developers clamoring for all denominations of coins as high as silver dollars? They were awed by the various games of cards, roulette, poker, black jack and dice. But they kept on reiterating about the places displaying Marilyn Monroes with restful looking bumps.
Said the prices were not staggering on food and it was of the best. Encouraging drinks, free, to have you spend freely with no obligations attached, take it or leave it. What a place to get drowned or get full of jolly spirits for the good of the order, yes order one or more as long as it lasts, the do-re-me of course.
Peanuts brought along boxes of slides which we enjoyed very much. He had them from all places and everybody. No doubt he knows his business because he has but few failures. Wait until we get there to see the ones he took out here and also the movies. Should be a nice treat for us and maybe you too, what? They were even taking pictures of the ping pong games with various participants, including me faking it with a paddle. Could have done better with a larger ball as that little one eluded me too often. He took some nice shots of the premises and garden which we thought was very picturesque and convincing for some of those doubting Thomases, seeing is believing.
While all this visiting was going on, the garden was sadly neglected so guess who is paying for it now? I never saw so many weeds and how prolific they can get in a few short weeks. If they don't get preferred attention they show their resentment by rearing their heads away up in the air, dern them. But the reward is great. Right now we are eating berries every day and still can't keep up with them, and peaches, we should have oodles of them. They are ripening nicely now, no sign of any figs or oranges this year. The avocado tree went Kapoot too.
We are looking forward to the next treat of visitors which will be my sister Mae and Leona who are coming out June 26th to July 10th, after which we should be planning to make a visit of our own back to the ones we are anxious to see again. We are thinking of staying a couple of weeks as Larry will be here alone again and Lord only know how things fare out thataway.
Of course he will have Johnny and Jean for company if he stays home which is doubtful. They are steady visitors here about three times a week. It's Larry's diversion for getting some amusement to help pass time away and keep him home from playing late golf every night without regular meals, also being untied to certain apron strings.
After we get back we will again be host to any and all comers, so come one come all to the Davy Crocket land, West and the wild frontier.
I must get going as this is the day to take Mom to the doctors office for a personal checkup without the nurse getting a sole chance of jabbing the needle into her sitting room. Hope he gives her the green light today so she can eat well again and also take a physic to keep her moving spryly again.
Frank's new wife just came home from the hospital. Had gall stones removed just in time as the bladder was burst at time of operation and turned out to more serious than thought of first. Doing fair now at home.
Mom is hollering, hurry up, so will keep out of trouble by hustling.
Love from all of us
MOM --DAD and little Larry
To go to next, click here: 1955 July 30