I try to salvage every letter and diary from family as you never know what family history may be in them.  So, when the topic of letters and diaries came up, I went to a container of letters that I had, looked for old paper, and pulled out a few until I found one of interest.  The letter I chose was written January 2, 1942, less than one month after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

The Author and Recipient

The letter was between two teenage girls.  Nola Marie Ashby (pictured above) wrote the letter to my aunt Inez Linda Pellett (Yes, I was named after her).  Nola was the daughter of Inez’s grandmother Sarah Ellen Ashby’s youngest brother Lester “Pete” Ashby.  However, Nola was only a year and a half older than Inez.  And, Pete was actually younger than Inez’s mother Dessie May (Thomas) Pellett, who was his niece.

Inez and Nola knew each other mostly through letters as Inez lived in Fort Scott, Bourbon, Kansas and Nola lived Compton, Los Angeles, California.

The Letter

Much of the four-page letter was what you would expect between two teenage girls in 1942.  Nola asked questions about school, 4-H, and the weather.  She told about being excited to finally have a bedroom to herself now that her older sister was married.  And, like almost every letter of that era that I have read, multiple reminders to write back.

War News

What was a bit different than most letters between girl cousins is that Nola wrote about the effects of the war on her life.  She wrote: “What did you do on New Year’s Eve?  I went to the midnight show.  They didn’t want people on the pike.”  I assume by pike she meant turnpike or a major road.  This is consistent with newspaper reports where they encouraged people to celebrate in small groups in people’s homes.

Nola continued, “The Japs sure are getting close to us.  We are right on the coast, surrounded by munition and airplane factories.  I am getting the hot seat.  I think I’ll come back there where it’s safe.  Ha ha.  I have been in bed during every air raid signal we’ve had so far.  Or if I’m not in bed, I get there darn quick(sic).”

However, she observed that “[a]t first the war changed all our lives(sic) and they would hardly let us on the street, but now everything is going on pretty much as usual.”

So, within a month, the rules had already relaxed.  However, the rules, air raid practices, and blackout practices would continue throughout the war.

Snow

The other very interesting thing that Nola mentioned in her letter was that it had snowed in Los Angeles on New Year’s Day for the first time in many years.  Compton was a bit south and it didn’t seem that they had gotten snow.  However, some areas of the city had.  From my own cousins that live about half-way between San Francisco and Los Angeles, I know what excitement snow brings in Southern California.

So, remember to write! Your letter might someday tell history as it is happening.

Featured Image: Nola Ashby

Prompt: Letters and Diaries

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