My parents lived in the world before email, and they and their friends were prolific correspondents. I've become fascinated with the picture these letters provide of twentieth-century life among a group of friends.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Umnak Island, 1 September 1944
Sunday, September 19, 2010
19 September 1939, Paris -- "It will take longer now"
Rosa with the bagged up boat, May 1939 |
"The morning papers are full of the news of the Russian invasion of Poland. We heard of that for the first time from the French official at the Italian border. None of us can figure it out and we’ve decided to study surrealism rather than international politics. At least surrealism isn’t supposed to make much sense."
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
1937 -- Working on the Washie
Murray left UW immediately after his
last exam, not waiting to pick up his diploma. He had achieved that Depression-era rarity, a paying job in his field, right out of college. He moved into a hotel
in Hoquiam and went to work for the Grays
Harbor Washingtonian, known to most as the
Washie. He and another UW journalism graduate, Pete Antoncich, comprised
most of the news staff and each routinely churned out a dozen stories a day. Rosa was home in Tacoma after her freshman year at UW, picking up work as a family helper and hospital aide .
June 16, 1937
One of the troubles with this job is that with all the writing I have to do, I never get a chance to write.
Monday was one of those days, for me. It was marked by an after-convention let-down in me and in the town as far as news and news-writing went. I just couldn’t seem to find anything of any interest whatsoever. Pete was also working on the beat and he seemed to get everyplace that there was any news just a few minutes ahead of me. I was pretty disgusted.
I came up with 13 stories, all of them quite unimportant except for an interview with the city engineer on some paving projects. None of them rated the front page.
Yesterday, however I went out for features. I found out quite a bit of stuff about how the city library is run, palled around with the assistant librarian for a while and finally got her to give me the annual librarian’s report. It was the first time that it had been made public. It was a pretty good story. My stuff made the front page three times, and I had just about everything that was written locally. Besides that, I turned in several stories that are being held over because the paper was too tight yesterday. So I’m happy again.
My hours are somewhat like those I kept on the Daily, but now that the convention is over there isn’t nearly as much work to doing this as there was to putting out the paper at school.
I get up around 12, eat brunch at the Women’s Exchange, and then loaf (theoretically) till a little after three when I start out on my beat. (Actually, I’ve been going to work around 1 so as not to take any chances of missing anything because of my inexperience, but today’s the day I’m starting to wait before beginning work).
Hoquiam in the '30s -- credit: HistoryLink.org |
I report at the office around six o’clock and check over the Aberdeen World for stories I missed and for rewrite material. Then I eat dinner.
After dinner I start writing my stuff and anything new that comes over the phone. This takes just about all evening. I’m pretty well mopped up with my work by 11:30. Then I wait till a little after twelve, check at the police station for late news and head down here to the hotel.
Before going to bed, I check through my notebook to see what tips I have for the next day, and I type them out onto a sheet of notebook paper (the little pocket book, not the big one). Since it’s pretty late to use even a silent typewriter in a hotel, I usually hit the hay then and read for a little while before going to sleep.
Yesterday, Pete, who is the sports editor, made up the sport page for the first time down here. George, the city editor, has been doing that. If Pete is to continue making up the sports as I believe he is, it means that I will do almost all over the local news work instead of sharing some of the work with him. It won’t make any difference on the number of hours that I spend at the office however, but will just mean that I will have to type a little faster to get done in time.
From work to play is always an easy jump, but if the weather keeps up as it is, I don’t know when I’m ever going to get the chance to play. You see, it has been raining. And how! And all the time! And wet rain! So I haven’t played any tennis, or done nothing, notsoever, nohow.
Well, sweet, I just don’t feel up to doing any more on this right now, and it will be after delivery and pickup time if I wait till I get another chance, so I’ll call this one off.
Be a good kid, sweet, and keep right on loving me and my dog. How is our little Beeg Mike getting along? I’ll write later (probably Friday) and let you know where I’ll be able to get home this weekend or not.
All my love,
Forever,
Murray
June 18, 1937
Dearest Rosa,
I’m so glad that Big Mike is devilish enough to take my place satisfactorily – but I’ll bet that he hasn’t got my imagination. However, that idea about chewing on your bare feet does have possibilities.
...
Yesterday was one of my best days as far as getting stories went. There was nothing even remotely important from a financial or political angle, but I picked up 20 stories during the day, an all time high for me. Furthermore, I remembered to get a long story on the local boy scouts leaving for the national jamboree and it scored a clean beat on The World. Little things like that make you feel good, and especially good when the scouts are due to leave from Aberdeen, the World’s home bulwark, and when the scout office which I phoned for my information is less than a block from the World office.
In about twenty minutes, I have to leave for the Emerson Hotel to cover the chamber of commerce luncheon. That is the sort of stuff that gripes me. I’d never join a luncheon club if I could help it, and now I have to attend them and furthermore, do what no one else bothers to do: listen to the speeches. Last time it was manganese; this time the Lord only knows what! At the Kiwanis club luncheon it was tuberculosis.
I don’t know if I told you last week-end about buying a new trench coat, but it’s sure a lucky thing for me that I did. There hasn’t been a dry day down here this week, although it’s finally showing signs of clearing up some today. I’ve wandered around well-swathed in water-proof all week. So far, I haven’t even gotten in the Ford since arriving Monday. I’m darned if I intend to use my own gas for covering the beat, and so far I haven’t had time (or the weather) to take the trip down to the ocean or anything. Besides, the weatherman seems to have been bringing the ocean to Hoquiam. ...
Monday, June 21, 2010
Murray sees the Boys in the Boat--Olympic Games, Berlin, August 15, 1936
Dearest Rosa,
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Hyde Park, 1936 -- "the safety valve of London"
Murray Morgan photo |
By the time that you get this letter, hon, there won’t be much more than a month before I’ll be home and it will be well over a month since I’ve gone. So keep counting the days with me. …