01 Dec December 1, 1944

Letter
from: Mrs. G. Shonkwiler
to: Pvt George W. Shonkwiler
Dec. 1, 1944
Friday 9:30 P.M.
Noteworthy: cigarette shortage, none to women?, butter shortage.

My Darling,

Rec’d a letter from you today, but it was dated Nov. 7th, which date precedes
the Nov. 11th, letter I rec’d a week ago.  If I don’t get a later letter soon,
I’ll just waste away, wondering where you are.

I certainly appreciate your writing in spite of all the handicaps.  Those
letters of yours mean more to me than you will ever know, and are the only
thing I live for now, days.

I sent you your flashlight months ago.  It must have been in August, as

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I sent it the first time you asked for it, shortly after you arrived in England.

I was able to buy four batteries the other day, and will look for bulbs
tomorrow, and will send them, plus some candles.

You ask for cigarettes, but they’re harder to get here than overseas the last
month or so.  People stand in lines a block long in front of cigar shops,
whenever they have any on sale.  They only put them on sale for an hour when
they do have them, and then you take what they have and only 1 package to a

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customer.  Everywhere you go you see signs "No cigarettes", or "No butter."

I’ll try to get a pack or two if possible, tho and send along with the candles,
etc.  They even suggested not selling them to women, anymore, so maybe I’ll be
out of luck.  A lot of girls have taken to smoking pipes all over the country.
Imagine?

I just got a phone call for Mr. Page to have him call the feneca shipyards.
It was his brother-in-law.  I wonder if this fellow knows Ray?

Elinor left this noon for Michigan, as the weather cleared up.  Ronnie keeps

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asking where Elior went?  I guess he can’t figure out her comings and goings,
anymore.

Elinor told me that if I’m ever in trouble to call her and she’d come out,
which was nice of her, I thought.  I told her I’d call her when Judy expected
her family.  She expects them Dec. 14th, by the way, just 2 days before my
birthday.  And who knows, maybe it will happen on the 16th.  She certainly is a
sorry-looking bow-wow, right now.  I sure wish you were here to take care of
her, as I won’t know what to do.

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I made a toy stuffed elephant today, which makes 2 cats and 1 elephant so far
for Patsy Ann with a red kitten appliqued on it to match the stuffed toy I’m
giving her.

Gladys called today and said she and Joyce will come in next week-end to go
shopping in the loop and will stay with me overnight.

She also said she got a letter from Dick dated Nov. 4th, and which told

her he’s with the 9th Army and in Holland.  He was chosen from many men for
special work, and he is quite

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thrilled about it.  He’s in an office, I think, and I’m wondering whether he’s
doing scouting.  I’ll let you know when I hear more, as Gladys didn’t say much
over the phone.

I received a Christmas present from Elsie in Beloit today, which I won’t open
until Christmas.  She also sent me a birthday gift.  It was a pair of black,
white, and red wool Angora house slippers. Very nice, altho two weeks early.
Elinor also gave me an xmas gift ahead of time, a pair of white sheepskin
house

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slippers.  The reason was that she was with me with me when I was about to buy
a pair, so she had to tell me that she had bought some for me, and when we got
home, she gave them to me.  Pretty nice, huh?

I hope that you will be getting your boxes for Christmas.

I haven’t done any xmas shopping as yet, and s’pose I’ll have to do a little,
anyway.

I’m at a loss as to what to do about curtains for the living room and dining
room, as they’re so worn

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I’m afraid if I wash them once more they’ll go to pieces completely.  Curtains
are so expensive and I can’t get new ones.  Guess I’ll go without this winter.
Maybe if I can find some inexpensive material I’ll make drapes, altho I hate
to part with any money, nowadays.

Guess I’ll have a pretty lonesome week-end, as I don’t know of anyone coming to
see me, unless it would be Marge and Murray.  Even the Hayes went to
Indianapolis this week-end to see Betty.

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It’s now 10:35, and as I’d like to read a story in the Colliers, I think I’ll
stop writing until tomorrow night.

Please write as often as possible, honey, as it seems I’m not getting them all,
and therefore if you write less, I’ll get very few indeed. and that would be
too hard to take.

Goodnight, honey, and take care of yourself as well as you can under the
circumstances.

As it will probably be close to Christmas

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when you get this, I wish you the happiest Christmas possible, and I’ll try to
be cheerful, too, so that Ronnie will have fun, anyway.

Lots of love, kisses, and the best of luck,
Darling.

Mom and Ronnie