26 May May 26, 1945

Letter
from: Mrs. G. Shonkwiler
to: Pvt George W. Shonkwiler
May 26, 1945
Sat, midnite

F.S.
You might return the paper doll as I’d like to keep a scrapbook on Ronnie’s
first art accomplishments.  The card is the one he gave me Mother’s Day with
a small plant.  Please return it, too, as it’s precious to me.

Darling,

This is the third letter today counting the 2 v-mails I wrote this A.M.  Gosh,
honey, it must be love, or am I crazy?  It has to be one or the other!

Got a v-mail this morning dated May 15th, but as your last letter was dated
May 11th, I s’pose I have some letters coming between these dates.  At least
I hope you’re writing oftener than that.

Since writing you this morning Mr. Dixon came over and spaded a plot in our
backyard for a small garden.  It took him about ten minutes to turn the soil,
but it took me a couple hrs or more to break up the pieces and fix it up ready
to plant.  I’m going to stop at Griess the florist tomorrow to buy seed and
hope to get it all planted tomorrow.  As it is, I’m two weeks later getting it
planted than last year, and I was late then.  The victory gardeners

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who did plant early this year are sorry, because their gardens have been covered
with water and practically everything rotted.  All Michigan fruit crops are
spoiled because of rain, too.  S’pose fruit will be so high I can’t afford to
can this year and I had planned to do a lot of it.  I still haven’t found that
pressure cooker upstairs.  Do you have any idea just where you put it?  It
would be a big help in canning.

I also dug around our peonias and rose bushes, evergreens, etc. in the backyard
today.  With this blessed cold of mine, thought the sun (yes - we had sunshine
today -  believe it or not!) might do me some good.  Every week-end I clean the
house thoroughly and not a soul appears to see it, but today when I did very
little cleaning (except vacuum and dust, of course) Marge called around 7:00
and said she and Murray would be over in a few minutes.  Bobby’s mother and dad
were going out

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tonight, so he had supper with us and is spending the night here.  Between he
and Ronnie, none of us could hear ourselves think until they were tucked in bed.
Ronnie in his crib and on the porch and Bobby in the bedroom.

You once asked me why Ronnie and I slept on the porch.  Well, for one thing,
it’s less crowded in the bedroom with the crib on the porch.  And when we have
overnight company they always sleep in the bedroom and it disturbs his sleep.
I find too that when he’s farther away from the radio and noise of our talking
etc., he goes to sleep at once when he goes to bed, both in the afternoon and
evening.  The reason I sleep on the porch is to be in the same room as Ronnie,
so I can keep him covered and also because I don’t feel quite as lonesome in my
single bed and a single bed is easier to make up in the morning.  Of course
this

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porch sleeping is strictly for warm weather as when winter comes we’ll move
into the bedroom again.  There’s more chance for ventilation on the porch, too,
or there will be when I get the screens up.  Altho at present (and for the past
two months) I haven’t been able to open any windows as our friends next door

have a two-ton pile of manure in their backyard to be used for her Dahlia
Garden. -- Lovely odor.  Especially when the wind comes from the South.  Why
they’ve had it there so long is beyond me and this rain also seems to make it
"perfumier" than ever.  Yet, she bawled h--- out of Mr. Landers for burning
weeds in the empty lot because of the smell.  I prefer burned weeds any day to
manure, or  what do you think?  She is the limit!  You and she would really
get into it, I’m

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afraid if you were home!  She tells me she and her husband are praying
every night for your safe return to me.  Perhaps she doesn’t realize that it
might be even "noisier" around here if you were home.

Marge sewed on a dress while here tonight and Murray "relaxed" (full length)
on the davenport while here tonite.  You see Marge has to let out seams on all
her clothes now she’s gained weight.  They brought a quart of ice cream along,
so about 11:00 we had sandwiches, cake, coffee and ice cream.  Marge also gave
me 20 meat points and do I need them?  I was all out of points and I had no
butter at all and more points will not become valid until June 1st.  Now I can
at least get a 1/2 lb. of butter.

Murray and Marge stopped at Martha and Jim’s new house on the way over and

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they said the walls were up, as far as the first floor, so far.  I doubt
whether they’ll be able to move in by July, as planned, as I imagine this rainy
weather doesn’t help to speed building.  It must be exciting to build and move
into your new home.  I wonder if I’ll ever have that thrill.  Even moving into
a different house and buying different furniture would be a thrill for me, as
I’d always imagined that as one of the exciting things about getting married,
and as it was I missed the boat as far as that was concerned.  Oh well, maybe
that day is yet to come, who knows?  The biggest thrill of all would be to have
my husband with me and the sooner the better for all of us.  When that happens,
the rest will come of itself.  Until that day, we’ll just have to hang on and
wish real hard.

Good night, honey and lots and lots of Love,
Mom and ronnie

P.S. the enclosed paper doll is Ronnie’s first accomplishment
in Sunday School, don’t you like the coloring?