Category: Grandparents

Letter to his Grandparents, Alfred and Grace Carver

                                                   August 6, 1944
Grandpa and Grandma Carver,
  I have been saying to myself all week that I would write to you today. And then when I got a letter from you today I certainly did want to write to you. I remembered that August 6 is Grandpa’s birthday after Grandma mentioned it but like other things I don’t suppose it would have come to mind otherwise. So I want to wish Grandpa a happy birthday and good year to follow. May God bless you.

I was very glad to hear about the school house work. Here’s the way I look at it. If you get the place as clean as you can with what you have, I don’t think there is anything you should need to worry about. You can’t help what the trustee doesn’t furnish you so just don’t even think about that and let him worry about it. If school starts before he decides to do anything he’ll just have to wait till it can be done conveniently. There’s no use worrying about something you can’t help.

I have been working hard lately but I am not worrying about working too hard. There is no use in their trying to work us any harder than we are able to stand and therefore I just do as well as I can as one job follows the other. I, like Ben, will be glad when this war is over.

I am mostly just doing the regular work with the company but once in a while I do some work with the little radios. I spent 3 or 4 days last week and the week before learning a little more and reviewing what I did know about them. I am supposed to use one out on a problem tomorrow morning if nothing happens between now and then.

You mentioned about using vaseline on your feet and I have never thought about it but it would be worth a trial. If you want to put in a little bottle when mother sends me something go ahead. I certainly am using my feet enough but they are getting so that they can take it better than they used to. We walk several miles at least every day and here lately we have been having two ten mile hikes every week.

I understand you have been getting a few little rains lately and hope that the dry spell won’t be too severe from now on. We still get rain every once in a while but they don’t come quite as often as they did.

As long as I can have my Sundays off so that I can rest up I can get along very well. Today I went to church this morning and outside of that I have just taken it easy. I have read a letter, written a couple of letters and slept a good bit. 

Well I’ve about run out of news so I’ll close till next time. I hope you get along OK in your undertakings. Let’s trust in the Lord till we can all be together again. With love,
        Your Grandson,
          Donald

Letter to his Grandparents, Alfred and Grace Carver

                                              Sunday July 16, 1944
Hello Folks,
  I won’t promise you a very long letter tonight but I at least want to let you hear from me. It’s not too far from bed time and I’ll have to get up early in the morning so I’ll have to hurry a little with this.

I have spent most of my time today resting up from a hard week last week and sort of preparing for next week. It may sound funny to you but most of my time has been spent reading Sunday School papers which Mother had sent  to me. I also went to chapel this morning.

I never can let a week go by without wondering how things are coming back there. I suppose you saw my folks at some point or other today. How do you like the new preacher by this time. I believe someone told me that they had dinner with you last Sunday. I suppose you had a chance to get a little acquainted with them and I hope you like them.

How’s the school house coming by this time? It seems like the summer is going awfully fast to me and I’m sure it’s going a good bit faster for you. It seems that with my folks all so busy in the factory that they won’t be able to give you much help this summer but we hope they won’t have any experience this winter such as the moving around they had to do last. If they are in Orestes it should be possible tor some of them (at least Jim) to help out some on the school house.

I wonder how the weather is back there now. I wish you could be getting some of the rain that you need so badly. We have been getting a good bit of rain but it sort of gives things a sultry effect and makes it seem hotter than ever. Right now I am writing without a shirt on and the sweat is standing in great drops all over my back.

Well I hope you are coming along as well as can be expected. Let us keep looking to God for help and strength.
           Your loving grandson,
             Donald

Letter to his Grandparents, Alfred and Grace Carver

                                           Sunday June 18th, 1944

Dear Grandparents,
  Well how are you coming in the school house work by this time? I hope the trustee has started letting you have supplies, etc. so that you can get some of the work done before bang-up school time. I’ll bet the lawns won’t again look like they did the first week of my furlough.

Speaking of furloughs, I understand that Duane Cook is at home. I wonder if you have got to talk to him yet. Ben’s furlough was just a little before mine and his is a little after and I turn out missing everyone. But even at that it was sure good to be at home.

I haven’t heard from Daddy yet since he started his new job. It will be something different from what he has done in a few years but I hope he can get along alright with it. 

Going to communications school brought me quite a lucky break for this week. There have been so many new men come into the company since we were out on the range that the company had to go out again yesterday for them to fire. But those of us going to school got to stay back in camp so that we could go this week. You really appreciate barracks and the conveniences of camp when you know the other fellows are sleeping out in tents.

I wonder if the church had a preacher this morning. Since most of the fellows were out on the range, services were held out there instead of here so I didn’t get to attend any service today.

I sure hope it isn’t as hot back there as it is here. You just bake out in the sun and even when you aren’t stirring at all the sweat just runs off you. I hope mid-summer doesn’t get any hotter than it is now.

I got my teeth fixed up this week and my ear has stopped giving me trouble so I am in pretty good shape now.

Monday and Tuesday of this week we went out several miles from camp and had a little tactical problem. We took our radios with us and got a little practical experience in using them. Of course, it wasn’t like combat but it gave us some idea of how really useful they could be under combat conditions.

Have you heard anything from Ben lately? I believe Mother said that she had read one of his letters but she didn’t make any mention of what he had been doing. 

Well I hope you are as well as usual and are coming along alright with your work.
         Your grandson
          Donald

                     Sunday 18th 
Hello Family,
I am writing with about an inch of pencil so you’ll excuse the writing, I hope.

Boy I struck a lucky break. The company went out on the range yesterday and will be out there most of the week. Any of the ones who came in since we were out before have to fire but everyone had to go. The rest of the company will pull details and do regular training the remainder of the time. But here’s where I was lucky. Those of us who are going to radio school stayed back here in camp so that we could go to school next week. You really appreciate the barracks and the conveniences of camp when you realize how most of the fellows are living. Back here we get today off but those out there will work this morning and get only half a day free; that also makes me feel glad to be back here. The one disadvantage of not being with the most men is that church services will be held out there this afternoon instead on here and I’ll not get to attend.

Our mail will be sent out there so we may not get mail all week but I can mail my letters from over at the service club and they’ll go out from there.

I wonder how Daddy is coming with his Remy1In 1944, the General Motors Delco-Remy Division in Anderson, Indiana, was a massive wartime manufacturer employing roughly 20,000 people. The plants produced crucial electrical components for military equipment, including starters for trucks, aircraft generators, and aluminum castings for P-38 Lightning engines job by now. I haven’t heard anything except that he got the job so I’m anxious to hear a little about the job staff. I’m surprised that he found someone so close to home to ride with. In fact, I didn’t know that “Coffee” drove. As I remember it he left his car at the state road and went on the bus.

With everyone working I’ll bet you’ll find yourselves just going around in circles with the garden, bees, and other work. I just hope that you can get along alright. But I don’t know how I can help out much unless I could give suggestions.

I’m glad to hear that a little better arrangements have been made about the janitor job this year. I hope that they can get along enough better that it won’t be such a drag to them2his Carver Grandparents as it was before.

The variety of my work doesn’t change a whole lot so I don’t have very much news to tell you. As usual I’ll not finish this till evening and maybe I’ll think of a little more before then.

Sun. Evening,
Well I have really got a few things done today. It’s a whole lot like studying. If you can go off and hide you can get something done but with a lot of people around you can’t accomplish anything. In the absence of the company here’s what I have got done: slept a whole lot later than usual, written four letters including this one, went to a pretty good show this afternoon, and done quite a bit of reading in the Sunday School papers and Science digest.

You don’t mind seeing evening come when you feel that the day hasn’t been a total loss.

I wonder if you could get something from the drug store and send me for my athletes foot. It is hard to keep it under control in this hot weather when your feet sweat so. Maybe Mr. Bailey would have some suggestion that would help me out. Don’t send too large an amount. Thanks.
         Well so long with love
            Donald

Letter to his Grandparents, Alfred and Grace Carver

                                                      Sunday June 4
Hello Grandparents,
   Well I have been back here a week now and it seems like a good while ago since I was home. It all seems like a very pleasant dream to me now.
   I suppose that Mother let you know that I got back here in good shape and on time. I got back around 6 o’clock in the evening and had time to get my things straightened up so that I could get a good night's rest to start off the week with. 
   It was hot before I left but it seems that Summer must have come in earnest during the two weeks I was away. I don’t know what the temperature has been but it has been hotter this week I believe than at any time I can remember at home. You just sweat all day as much as you would if you were working in a hay-mow on a very hot day. We have started taking salt tablets already to keep from getting over heated.
   It rained some this evening so it has cooled down enough that we’ll at least be able to sleep tonight.
   We did about the usual kind of work last week. I sure noticed that I had softened up a lot during my furlough. I am beginning to get back into shape and into the routine of things by this time.
   I went to the chapel this morning and wonder if the church at home had a preacher today.
   How are things coming at the school house now? The front lawn sure looked several hundred percent better before I left. I hope Aunt Mary is coming along all right by now. I suppose everything else is coming along about as usual.
          Your grandson,
            Donald

Letter to his Grandparents, Alfred and Grace Carver

                                                    March 22, 1944
Dear Grandparents,
   This is my second letter tonight and I haven’t too much time before lights out so I may not get this finished tonight. I suppose that the folks have let you know where I am. Since I have not heard any news for awhile I don’t know whether they have moved back across the tracks yet but by this time I imagine they have.
   I wonder what kind of weather you are having now. We are having weather a lot like in Georgia but it has been sort of damp and cool for the last few days.
   If you didn’t know the difference one would think that this was just another part of Georgia. South Carolina has sand, hills and even pine trees that are identical to Georgia’s. The only difference is that the sand and clay isn’t quite so red as it was down there. 
   If what I have done so far is any example, I am going to be working pretty hard but it may not be too bad. At least we have a lot better barracks than we did and the food is a good bit better that it was in Ft. Benning. Our chow here is not only prepared in a more appetizing manner but there is more of it.

Thurs
   Well last night didn’t last long enough just as I expected. I just finished reading your letter and since I didn’t find any questions that you wanted answered I can just ramble on about anything that comes into my head.
   I wonder what kind of weather you are having back there. It seems that we might be getting the tail end of a cold spell of some kind. If it keeps this up I’ll be hunting up my heavy underwear before long.
   I caught some cold over the change of climate but it is coming loose today so I don’t think it will last too much longer.  Even though the army isn’t too enjoyable it has done me some good. I never could throw off a cold any ways near that quickly before.
   I hope everything is coming along alright with you. Is the school house job still running along as well as usual? The last news I heard from it was that the penny supper (or whatever it was) was a big success. I wonder if the little play which Dady said they were practicing (when I last heard from him) has come off yet.
   Well I’ll sign off now and write you again one of these days. Write me whenever you can.
                   Love
                    Donald