Grandma's Christmas Letters: 1952

My paternal grandmother wrote a Christmas letter annually which she then copied and sent to friends and family.  She also kept a copy for herself. Re-reading them as a family historian gives me a new insight into her daily life. Below is a transcription of one of her letters; I've tried to keep her actual words, punctuation and grammar intact.

1952

Dear          ,

Christmas 1952

The weather is clear and cold and here is another Christmas Greeting going out to you. We have had no snow as yet, and all of us are hoping that the winter of 1951 will not be repeated. … Glenn and I spent Thanksgiving in Miller with friends. There was considerable snow at Brookings and south, so we chose to pass up all invitations away and remain where the snow didn't blow. Bob and Ardis have a baby girl now, Julie Marie, and with Joel Robert, 3-also John Francis 2, so we hesitated to ask them to make the trip to Miller. Bob is still in the construction business, but only part-time as he is teaching at the college and getting his master's. Ardis is fine in spite of all the work. They have college boys rooming with them, and have made lots of improvements on their place. Lawn and double garage to mention a few. They both worked hard last summer, planting garden, harvesting and freezing or canning the produce. Glenn worked for Bob this summer. Bob now has the Quonset Agency in that area.

Glenn is in his second year of college, and has a pretty heavy schedule. He is drum major in the college band & other musical activities. He and I had a nice vacation this summer. We drove to California, making stops at Rapid City; Denver; Riverside and Covina to visit friends. Altho we saw a lot of beautiful scenery in the 4000 mile trip with no car trouble at all, we enjoyed mostly seeing our friends. When I was up two miles in the air in the Rocky Mountain passes I thought that I would never get my head out of the clouds again, but the atmosphere did not seem to affect my driver very much. Our friends seemed glad to see us, maybe because they realize that this trip would not often be repeated. … We enjoyed some visitors this summer also. Mr. and Mrs. Ray Schweers from Milwaukee paid a visit. We hope we made a good impression as this is their first trip to South Dakota.… Pheasant hunting was only fair. We had birds to eat several times, but none to freeze or can. The hunting was better around Brookings, so the boys hunted around there. Relatives from Minnesota brought the family and we all got together at Bob's place this fall. It was nice to see the folks and see how the children grow.… My nephew, Paul Allen is in the Air Guard in Louisiana. He is soon to get his discharge. Roger, his brother is attending Morning Side College. The whole family enjoyed a vacation on the Minnesota Lakes this summer.…

They showed us a good time at the State Nurse's Convention at Pierre, that is the social side of it. The business end of it was a big headache. The student nurse's chorus (nurses from several different training schools) was an addition that seem to be appreciated by most.… A speech Institute at Mitchell, a conference at the Crippled Children's Hospital School at Sioux Falls and a School Health Institute at Aberdeen were other interesting meetings attended this year.… Miller is still growing, many of our friends are building new homes. We have a park site and skating rink on the Northwest part of town. We are looking forward to that being a beauty spot in the near future. My interests are here but I divide my time and spend some of it in Brookings. With this message many kind thoughts go out to you and the hope that you will have much happiness in the coming year……

AND A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

Myrle and Glenn

Christmas Letters

Photos are in the author's personal collection.