07 May May 7, 1945

Letter
Mrs. G. Shonkwiler
to: Pvt George W. Shonkwiler
May 7, 1945
Monday, 3:15 P.M.
Noteworthy: Mom frets about her value, about being a heel and unessential
(moving).  Mom talks about life in Chicago and what she wants out of life.
Mom reveals that Dad enlisted.

How’s this for a long letter?  Can you top this?

Hello, honey,

Shall I tell you right away in the beginning of this letter that I love you, or
shall I keep you in suspence and wait until the end? (or both?) I s’pose you’ll
get so conceited you’ll be hard to live with when you get home if I do.  Oh
well, I’ll take a chance, anyway.

Ronnie’s sound asleep and I’m relaxing.  It’s pretty hard to do, as I still
have a lot of work to do, but then again, I guess it will keep until I get a
chance to rest a bit.  I’ve done nothing today, except yesterday’s dishes, plus
today’s meals and dishes.  Even that seems to keep me pretty busy.

I had two nice letters from my husband today, (dated April 27 and 28), plus
Stars and Stripes and Daily Mail.  I’m so glad you’re keeping up writing to us.
Sometimes, I think if it weren’t for your letters, I’d go completely haywire,
but reading of your homesickness and yearning

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to come home, seems to somehow help me through the days.  So, honey, keep up
the good work!  I also appreciate the money orders, as I know it must be hard
to get money to send.  The sad part, is of course, that I’d like so much to be
able to save it for you until your return.  Of course I don’t squander it, as
it all goes for food and bills, so guess it’s all I can do at that.  Maybe when
you hear of the two or three times that I do go out with girls from home, you’ll
think that that is unnecessary, But when it’s all added up over a period of a
year, it’s not much, as I stay home every night otherwise.  In fact, I’ve been
told I should go out more, but it’s not much fun going out alone, so until you
get here guess I’ll continue staying at home.

You mentioned Gladys having

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having saved a thousad dollars.  That is wonderful, isn’t it?  Certainly makes
me feel like a first class heel, having done nothing in that line.  I feel very
unessential!  After the war everyone will talk of their part in the war effort,
and what can I say?  "Just stayed home and kept the home fires burning." "Spent
the interval washing, cooking, cleaning, painting, mowing the lawn!" - Doesn’t
that sound dull?

I’ve had the radio on since 8:30 this morning, as they declared today "V.E.
Day."  They closed a lot of stores, taverns, etc., blew horns, whistles and
threw ticker tape out the windows in Times Square, New York.  As yet, however
it has not been made official by the president.  After last week’s rumors,

I doubt anything I hear on the radio.  If it is time, it’s wonderful.  When I
first heard the announcement today, I thought it was official,

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and I was sitting here crying.  Why, I don’t know, except as an emotional
outlet after the strain of the past months.  I s’pose when I do see you, I’ll
doubt my eyes, as it would seem too good to be true.  Your letter saying that
as you are an AU service, you may get home very soon, also gives me a ray of

hope.  Sounds like you’re really getting a break.  I also had worried about the
possibility of your enlisting delaying your return home, but I read an article
that those who volunteered through the draft board will not be kept longer on
that account, so all in all, perhaps we’ll be together sooner than we dared
hope for.  Also glad to hear you’re getting good food for a change.

As to your going to the circus on April 27 (Friday!) I can’t get over

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the coincidence that you and Ronnie and I were all at the circus the very same
evening.  Isn’t that strange?  Must have been mental telepathy.

You mentioned not having heard why I didn’t go to Glenn Ellyn?  I wrote and
also enclosed Chamberlin’s letter telling of his renting desk space to a
collection agency and therefore said he didn’t need any help because they were
handling his calls and office work in return for the space.  So you see there’s
not much I can do about learning anything about his business.  I can’t very
well demand to work for him, or can I?  He said this collection agency will
move out when you take possession, according to a signed agreement.

Did I tell you that Ama Lou Murphree (Ray’s youngest daughter) is working
part time at A.J.

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Smith’s office as a stenographer.  Her husband is a captain, and in England, at
present.  The Murphrees are going to move to Tennessee to their farm there for
the summer, as they closed up their poultry business the first of the year.
This Ama Lou sounds about as scatterbrained as anyone I know, but guess she’s
a college graduate and was a teacher at the time, boy, her conversation drives
me bugs, as she talks so fast and giggles so much.  She is very attractive,
however.  I was introduced to a woman (by Mrs. Page) who also works at Smith’s
She said my name was familiar and asked if we had an account there?  I thought
perhaps she knew you, but she didn’t, as she hadn’t worked there at the time
you were there.

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Today is a cold, dreary, dark and rainy day.  Has been raining continually all
night and all day.  Certainly is poor weather for May.  I haven’t even had a
chance to plant my garden yet, and that is bad.  Mrs. Page quit her job at
Palmer House Bookshop last Friday, so she’s home now and wants to help with the
garden this year.  She plans on looking for a job in Roseland in about a month,
however.  She didn’t like the idea of spending 50 cents per day for
transportation downtown, and of course it takes time morning and night, too.
She applied for a vacancy at Jostes Bookstore, but it was already filled.

Martha called me this morning to tell me to put my radio on to hear about
Germany’s surrender, but of course I already had.  She told me they’d decided
on a 5 room

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defense home to be built near 101st St. on South Park.  She said it probably
won’t be finished until [the] latter part of July, but that the new owners of
their present home have to let them stay for 90 days, so hoped it would work
out O.K.  This weather is not exactly good building weather.  They didn’t buy
thru Murray as I had thought.  Guess he just helped them locate the contractor,
etc and as far as I know will not benefit by it one way or the other.

I asked Murray a couple weeks ago if he’d sold anything and he said no.  I then
asked if he was getting paid for being at Smith’s on Wednesday.  He said no,
that he was just doing it to get the feel of sitting

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behind a desk again.  I doubt if he were serious, as I can’t see him doing

anything except for monetary reasons.  Maybe I’m wrong.  Of course it may be
he’s looking for a spot to land when the war is over, and wants to have an
"in" somewhere.  You know, I s’pose, that Art Smith is in the insurance
business for himself, now.  I think his office is somewhere around 79th St.
(I may be wrong).  By the way - perhaps you can take over A.J. Smith’s when
he dies, now that Art is out.  Of course there is still Martha, I s’pose,
and it’s more than probable that Art would return at his father’s death anyway.

Sometimes I wish you hadn’t taken that option on the Glenn Ellyn place, as I
doubt if I’ll

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like it there.  I guess I still have a soft spot for the West.  It seems when
you live in or near Chicago you spend half your life commuting here and there,
and things move too fast.  It seems one never has time to enjoy just being
alive.  Everything is rush, rush, rush and[,] as you say[,] I need to
get away from that and you, too.  I think we’re both "bundles of nerves" and
we’ll always be just that unless we go somewhere where the tempo is a wee,
bit slower and we can enjoy ourselves as well as just think of money.  After
all one has only one life and it might as well be a happy one, as not.

For example, Eleanor and Jack in Rkfd.  She has never said anything to me, but
I have heard

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thru her mother that she has a very lonely life, as her husband spends very
little time at home and takes her practically nowhere, because he’s so busy
every day and night with business associates, clubs, Chamber of Commerce
meetings, etc.  He even neglects coming home for dinner most of the time.  It
may be worthwhile for him being in business, and evidently enjoys it, but it
sure is a h--- of a life for her.  At least I know I wouldn’t be content, and
expect more than just housework and waiting on my children out of being married.
I want the companionship of my husband, too.  Does that sound unreasonable?

By the above however, I don’t mean I don’t want you having your own office,
but just that

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you won’t become indispensable to that business and can have time off to enjoy
your home and family.  I guess staying home alone this past year has taught me
that it is far from an ideal life and hope that this year will be the last.

As for the bawling out I gave you about dining with the WAC, I wrote that I
wasn’t serious, and as for threatening you that’s the farthest thing from my
mind, as I have very little chance to step [out], with my household duties and
also Ronnie, plus the fact that I don’t even have the inclination, as long as
I have a husband of whom I am pretty fond.  So darling let’s forget it and
just keep dreaming of that day of your return which can’t be too far off, now.
I love you and that should keep me going until then, I’m sure.

Bye, honey,
Mom and Ronnie