Snowed in on Maury Island -- 21 November 1946 -- "we have used up all our candles and all the coal we could find"

Murray was released from the Army in 1946, and they headed back to Puget Sound, hoping to find an affordable place to buy near the water, preferably on an island, and preferably near their best friends, the Goldschmids. In the meantime, they found a winter rental of a summer cabin on Maury Island. This proved good preparation for the house they did buy the next year. Winter power outages, often lengthy, were a feature of life on a dead-end road in South King County. By the time I was old enough to remember, they were better prepared for days of lantern light and fireplace cooking.

Dear P, O, & J,

We cannot come to visit you this weekend, and it would be inhuman of us to beg you come here until we get a new supply of coal and candles and handkerchiefs. Every day we hope someone will patch up the line and turn our electricity on again, but they haven’t since early on Monday. We have used up all our candles and all the coal we could find around neighboring houses, and our fireplace is a mess from the variety of things we have cooked in it. Murray and Kelpie (formerly Pac) mushed into Dockton on Tuesday (the road has been closed since the first day of the Great Snow) and brought back supplies but not enough to last through the winter. I stayed in a sniffling huddle by the fire.

Phyllis, who took care of you when you had the flu? Was Johanna sick too? Couldn't we have been of some help then?

 I am looking into the care and feeding of homing pigeons. If we had a pigeon station at Shelton and one at Rosehilla we wouldn't have to depend on the U.S. mail. Pigeons never get snowed in.

The outside world may be galloping to pot while we sit here throwing more logs on the fire and adjusting long army woolen undergarments for greater comfort. Across the bay one ship has moved out and another has come in, so eagle-eye Murray deduces that the shipping strike is at last settled.

We do not feel so much escapists this week as deserted. From the luxury of electric range, heaters, refrigerator and daily milk and paper delivery, this was a jarring change. Successful Spartans are not made so suddenly, I think.

Murray and Kelpie at Dockton with the Morgan household essentials -- dog, fireplace, typewriter and record player

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About buying one of the San Juans and establishing an ideal society, I am for it -- only we must be careful to choose one with water on it, many of them are dry. Your letter arrived on the day following the election when it seemed that there are so few people of good will they had best escape while they can and start the race over again. Actually, I do agree with and we have asked for membership cards in the I.C.C. (or P.A.C.). Perhaps it will all be better in 1952. If the Republicans unseat Bilbo, that will be some compensation. And the chance of a third party for liberals looks hopeful. The saddest surprise for us was the way this state went, discarding Mitchell and Coffee and DeLacy & Savage.

... 

Our families are coming for Thanksgiving but will go back to Tacoma Thursday night. Could you come on Friday and stay two nights? We have 2 hot water bottles for beds, and lots of long woolies.

Murray says we must get into our boots and be on our way to the store now if we are to mail this tonight. It takes two hours to walk to the store and back and we want to be back before dark.

All love,

R&M

from Murray -- If you bring a shotgun and a hunting license or a bow and arrow and no license we may be able to feed you duck. We have a million mallards in the front yard. Kelpie has already caught one hawk, very dead at moment of capture.

Milt Stewart to Murray and Rosa, November 6, 1946 -- "the Republicans have swamped the country"

Black Wednesday [November 6, 1946]

Milt Stewart was a classmate of Murray's at Columbia, where he was working on his masters degree at age 19. He was 24 at this letter's writing. Two years later, as research director for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, he did much of the writing for "To Secure These Rights," the Truman Administration report that set the government's civil rights agenda for the next twenty years, calling among other initiatives for the end to poll taxes and for anti-lynching legislation. Later yet he became the head of the Small Business Administration. Depending on your point of view, you could say he peaked early.

Dear Murray and Rosa:

It is 2:55 a.m. and the Republicans have swamped the country; they have the House and it looks as though they may get the Senate. By my tally they only need four more of the remaining eleven seats. I don't see how they can help but get it. Frankly, I am shocked. First, at the size of their gains. And second, at how much it disturbs me. Wothehell as a good, pessimistic, unaffiliated black revolutionary -- it doesn't make any difference in terms of my real political preferences. Still -- well, I think it raises our chance of being atomized, depressionized, fascistized, etc. Maybe they're not as much dumber than the Dems as it seems to me, but it sure looks to me like a sharp drop in our survival chances, which probably weren't much good anyway.

I think they'll run us into a quick recession, a brief boom, and then a large bust. IF the bloodyfucking leftwing weren't damned by: 1) the stalinist bone in the throat; 2) the coming smashes in national unions' internal affairs; and 3) the shit-headedness, self-destructiveness and stupidity of any leadership allegedly in the near future -- IF these weren't true, there'd be a chance that when the smash comes, a third party could sweep up the pieces -- in from 6 to 20 years. 

That's assuming that the Reps. don't now engineer an immediate war with the Sovietkies, or vice versa (boy how the Muscovites must be looking forward to dealing with Taft, McCosmic, Dewey, Bricker -- shelp me I feel sorry for them.).

If it weren't for the impending crises and the factors in paras 2 and 3 I would jubilate over the pressure on liblabs in both parties to look for new jobs in a third party. I've already heard of two being formed on the left: one under the aegis of Wallace-PAC and including the pro-Commie libs and undercover Stalinists; the other under the aegis of the less fragrant but more competent, less inspiring hegemony of the Socialist gang, the Liberal Party in NY, Reuther and the UAW, to co-ops, etc. Neither one will even consider the other for a long-distance speaking relationship.

Prosperity -- also peace and freedom -- are just around the corner. ...

This mood will pass, ya know. Well guarantee with approp. quantities of intoxbev.

I am sure you will hear clearly the bell-like tones of sincerity when I say that I would rather be no place in the world at the moment but with Leila and youall at Dockton. ...

the best of the best,

milt