Amanuensis Monday - The Last Letter from Charles Joseph Deller

Digital image of Family Letter Envelope, July 1939, 
Personal collection of D. & M. Deller, Tulsa, OK, © 2011.

This letter was quite a find for us.  We were cleaning out and sorting through old family papers and pictures, when my husband saw his father's "box" of personal items.  It was once a cigar box, now full of little treasures from the past.  Inside the box was a small envelope, dated July 1939, from Charles Joseph Deller, to his son, Charles Franklin Deller.  At the time, we knew Charles Joseph had died in 1939, but had no other information; only a family story of an accidental drowning.

After a search at Fairview Cemetery in Coffeyville, Kansas, and a talk with the very helpful grounds manager, we narrowed down his death to July 1939, and the cemetery record confirmed that it was a drowning.  I then visited the Coffeyville Public Library and searched microfilm of the local paper, hoping to find an obituary or notice of death; instead I was thrilled to find a full article about the accidental drowning in the Coffeyville Daily Journal.  This article (along with the death certificate I obtained from the Oklahoma Health Department confirmed that he died July 15, 1939, only a few days after the letter was posted to his son.

Digital image of Family Letter,
Personal collection of D. & M. Deller, Tulsa, OK, © 2011.

Both pieces of paper were in the envelope, one part written on the back of a used envelope, and the second on a piece of card.  Both are undated.  They are transcribed exactly as written.

Soney - Inclosed you will find a ticket and $1.00  I want you to come through Tulsa so I can get your Scout things and other nessaties and I will take you on to Graneys from here take the afternoon Buss that gets in here at 12 30 P.M. and I will meet you at Bus Terminal.  From what you have told me about the trip to Yellowstone Park you don't have to much time to get ready. so will be looking for you
Love from
Dady.

Soney - Thanks for thinking of me. I hope you are enjoying your visit. I would like for you to come back in time to spend some time with me. I have a job on outside of the Cosden Bldg. and am doing it at night. so will have all day to be with you. I have a new boat trailer and outboard moter and I'm sure we can havea good time. I also want to get your Scout layout while I am working.
Let me hear from you soon. You should write to your Graney also.
Lots of Love from Dady.
[written on side of page] 711 S Cheyenne Tulsa

Happy Halloween!

Charles Franklin Deller & Carolyn Jones, c. 1952.
Personal Photo, owned by D. & M. Deller. Digital Copy, A. B. Deller, July 2010.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun! December 2, 1950

OK, this is late, obviously, but as someone else said, it looks like fun.  Randy, over at Genea-Musings, has challenged us.

Your mission, should you deign to accept it (come on, it's fun!), is to:
1) Go to the dMarie Time Capsule Website - http://dmarie.com/timecap/
2) Select a date in your family history that you want to know about. You might pick a birth date or wedding date of your parents or grandparents.
3) Enter the date into the search form, and select the news, songs, toys, books and other things that you want to feature.
4) Share the date, why you picked it, and the results of your Time Capsule study on your own blog, in a comment to this post, or in a comment or post on Facebook.

So off I go - I chose Charles Franklin Deller and Carolyn Jones Wedding day (I was just updating their profile in RootsMagic with media earlier today),  

December 2, 1950.  

Let's see what we find...

Top News Headlines this Week:

Nov 26 - China enters Korean conflict, sends troops across Yalu River
Nov 30 - US Pres Truman threatens China with atom bomb
Dec 2 - Vic Toweel knocks down Danny O'Sullivan 14 times in a title fight

Top Songs for 1950:

Harbor Lights by Sammy Kaye
If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake by Eileen Barton
I Can Dream, Can't I? by Andrews Sisters
The Tennessee Waltz by Patti Page
Mona Lisa by Nat King Cole
All My Love by Patti Page

U.S. President

Harry S. Truman

U.S. Vice-President

Alben W. Barkley

Academy Award Winners

Best Picture: All About Eve, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Best Actor:  Jose Ferrer in Cyrano De Bergerac

Best Actress: Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday

People born on December 2

1950 - Merrill Ashley, St Paul MN, ballerina (NYC Ballet)

On TV in 1950

The Ed Sullivan Show
The Burns & Allen Show

Top Books in 1950

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
Florence Nightingale by Cecil Woodham-Smith

1950 Prices:

Bread: $0.14/loaf
Milk: $0.82/gal
Eggs: $0.70/doz
Car: $1,750
Gas: $0.27/gal
House: $14,500
Stamp: $0.03/ea
Avg Income: $3,815/yr
Min Wage: $0.75/hr
DOW Avg: 235

They were right... this *was* fun!  And educational!

Wordless Wednesday

Nora Hussong Roark Asbell and Carolyn Jones Deller
at the University of Arkansas Graduation, June 3, 1950,
to watch Charles Franklin Deller receive his
Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration