In a previous post, Letters From Home: Mae McKenzie I wrote about my great grandmother Mae Arla (King) McKenzie and the letters she wrote to her daughter Cora.
As in everything, timing and context are important when analyzing the lives of our ancestors. To catch up on the life of Mae and her family thus far, take a moment to read my previous blog post.
I have also included a timeline of the events in Mae's life, in the left sidebar or at the bottom of the screen if you are using a mobile device.
The letter I am going to share today was written on March 29th, 1942, and was written from Mae to her daughter Cora. The letter is written 8 1/2 months after the last letter I shared, which was written on July 10th, 1941.
In those eight months, some changes have happened in the family. It is hard to tell for sure, but I don't believe that Orlie is living in the household with his family. He may still be staying at the VA hospital in Bedford Township, Calhoun County, Michigan or he may be living somewhere else.
Mae and Orlie's son, my grandfather, Alexander Orlando McKenzie is no longer working at the C.C.C. camps, instead, he has joined the U.S. Navy. Alexander enlisted on December 18th, 1941 and at the time of this letter is serving aboard the U.S.S. Merrimack.
Atlanta, Michigan
March 29, 1942
Dear Daughter
Will drop you a line. Reach here ok. But those people weren’t Johnnie and you know one has to wait 5 days to get married after they get their license.
In this part of her letter, Mae is talking to Cora about someone named Johnnie and the waiting period to get married after getting a marriage license.
Based on only the information from this letter it is hard to determine who Johnnie is and what his relationship to either Cora or Mae may be. I guess that is the problem with only reading one side of the conversation.
Could Johnnie be a family friend, or is Johnnie Cora's boyfriend getting ready to go off to war? Could Cora be considering a marriage to Johnnie? It sure seems to me that Cora may have been asking for some motherly advice in the letter she had written and that Mae was now responding to.
All are fine and Alice stayed for supper then went home. Say Cora why couldn’t you come home Thursday night with John Weber as he probably will come home then. I hope you feel better. I was anxious to get Alice away as you know how she up set (?) me.
This section bothered me a little bit at first. Mae is talking about her oldest daughter Alice. Then when I thought about it a little more I realized that although we love our children, there will always be times that we don't see eye to eye. That does not mean that we love them any less.
Well I hope it is a nice day tomorrow as I want to wash. This is awful scribbling but I thought I should drop you a letter tonight to let you know about those cars. It is quarter to nine and I am going right to bed. Clayton has gone to bed and Donna is looking at magazines. The other boys are playing out doors yet.
In this part of the letter, Mae sat down at 8:45 PM, just before going to bed herself, to update her daughter on a simple day to day activities. She talks about doing the wash if the weather is nice. She refers to her youngest son, Clayton who is just over 2 years old, saying that he has gone to bed. She also refers to her daughter, Donna, who is a few weeks shy of 14 years old and is looking at magazines. This seems like a pretty typical teenage activity. I wonder which magazines she might have been reading?
Mae also refers to her other children, her four boys, Garnet, Neil, Vernon, and Herbert, who are playing outside.
I can easily picture this scenario. The baby is in bed, her teenage daughter is preoccupied with magazines and her rambunctious boys are outside playing. I'm sure with six children at home, she did not have many free and quiet moments to herself. As a mother of two, I can relate.
Well as you know all the news I will close and hope you are feeling much better. Will close and if you get to lonesome I will send Donna down a day or two this week.
Love from Mother and All
Mae closes her letter with concern for her daughter, both for her health and the possibility of her being lonely. She says that if Cora is feeling lonesome, she will send her sister Donna to come and visit for a couple of days.
So, like every mother, she worries about her children, no matter how old they are or whether they are living at home or away.
Although this letter is only one page and fairly simple in nature, we learn more about Mae and her love for her family and children.
It is the simple things in life that give us an insight into the day to day lives of our ancestors. These moments are just as important as the significant events that we read about in the official documents that our ancestors left behind.
Very true that we genealogists often have only one side of a conversation! Fascinating, all the same.
I have an ‘off the wall’ suggestion – that Johnnie may be short for ‘Johnnie on the spot’. The couple may have dithered about getting a marriage license, then learned there was a waiting period? It does seem Mae started to write “& found” ? but changed her mind. If it’s possible to search for licenses around this date the couple might be identified.
Thank you for the feedback. I’ll give you a little bit of a hint… A few more letters in, we learn a little bit more about Johnnie, but not his full name… I do see what you mean by the “& found”. I didn’t catch that at first. Interesting insight.
These letters are fantastic. Gives you more of a feeling that you really know them and what it was like for anyone during that time. Thanks for sharing.
I agree. I have had so much fun reading and analyzing them.
So great that you have these letters…and in amazingly good shape! I find that letters and journals of my ancestors provide wonderful, private insights into their personalities. Particularly important for ancestors I never met and know only through their writing.
I enjoyed the insights in the day to day life and the sense of a quiet evening with children asleep or quietly occupied.
I agree Anne. It is the little things that really “fill in the blanks” of our ancestor’s lives. Thank you for reading.
I love how you share the letters and then your questions that each one triggered. I can visualize this as a future book. Have you thought about that?
Thank you! I hadn’t thought about a book, but I like the idea.