November 18 and 25, 1945. Stanley writes two letters to Dad on Guam from home in Albany, NY. He is writing the letter of the 18th at about 2PM on a Sunday afternoon. He reports that “there is not much news from the home front…” and “everything seems to be going okay…” Little Terry is at their cousin’s house for the afternoon leaving the house “nice and peaceful.” As if to underline the point he writes, “Anne is sleeping and also is pop.”
In news from home, Stanley reports that pop cut down the apple tree in the backyard. As Stanley relates the reason, “Each year so far we had plenty of flowers for when it came to time for the apples there were none. Either the wind blew them all off or the frost killed the flowers. …mom got mad at the tree and told pop to cut it down. We now at present have more fire wood.”
He also reports on news of regional interest that he read in the newspaper. “…the Commodore Vanderbilt fast stream lined pullman train going from Chicago to New York figured in a wreck with a freight train injuring somewhat 22 people. It happened about two or three days ago. The accident happened in Indiana.”
Period photo of the Commodore Vanderbilt, one of the first streamlined steam powered train engines on the New York Central Railroad.
Looking forward to Christmas, Stanley tells Dad, “Seeing how uncertain things are for you…mom thought it best not to send you any Christmas packages. I know you will understand it. Instead mom and Anne are offering a Mass for you at Christmas. I know you will appreciate that more than the package. If you do need anything write and we will send the stuff to you immediately.”
On the following Sunday (the 25th) Stanley writes another letter. The weather is getting colder in Albany and he reports “our first small snowfall” that “coated the ground only in spots and then it all disappeared quite rapidly.” Buffalo, NY had 14 inches of snow and Stanley writes that “some of the trains which came in from Buffalo had snow on the top of them.”
He also updates Dad on the Mass that was to be said for him in lieu of a Christmas package. It looks like they were able to get more than one Mass said. “One is being said this month, one for Christmas, one on New Year’s and two later on. …Total of Masses to be said for you is 5.”
In other news from Albany:
- “Joe Miller came home. …He was in the Navy only 28 months and he is out already.”
- “Billy Lubinski is on furlough. …Ed and Billy went hunting on the Falkowski farm.”
- “Steve Miszkiewicz was in church this morning again.”
Of course, no letter from home would be complete without a Terry story. Here’s the one from the 25th. “Terry misbehaved very badly in church this morning. She started to talk in church saying I don’t want to go to church somewhat loud and repeating it a few times. Then she said she wanted to go to the car and take a nap. She started to squirm like a worm. So Anne gave her a pencil and a pad so she would keep quiet. Silence did not last long. She started to drop her pencil. Then she would squat down to pick it up. That went on for about eight times. Then she got under the seat… Eddie just grabbed her by the hat and pulled her back up. If he had not pulled her up from under the seat she probably would have been walking under the seats…and they would have had a hard time trying to find her in church. Boy what a kid.”
Before closing that he has “just about covered everything on the home front,” Stanley writes that he is “enclosing an item about the first B-29 making the non-stop flight from Guam to Washington, D.C.” from the Albany Times Union.
Clipping from the Albany Times-Union reporting on the record setting flight of a B-29 from Guam to Washington, D.C. Click on the clipping above to read an enlarged image in a new window.