April 22, 1944 Patching Rubber Gloves, The Opera, The Car Incident and April 29

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"This is the first sunny Saturday we have had in a long time so I've been making the most.  I have all the bedding up on the roof to sun and have cleaned some skirts.

We got your letter yesterday and B pocketed the dollar promptly.  He says to tell you thanks a lot and he'll probably buy some sox with it.

The Dames went to one of the professor's houses this week for hospital work.  This time we patched rubber gloves with rubber cement and old gloves.  Then we saw some home movies.  Next week a famous archeologist is going to be our speaker.

School is about the same--maybe a little easier for me.  I have a new dress for school.  It is a shirtwaist (rosy red) with a grey dickey.  It's spun rayon and washable, I think.  The color is so nice with navy.  I'm going down town this afternoon to look for some dress material.  We have a week's vacation soon and I'm going to Caughlan's and do some sewing.  I gave 8.95 for the dress I bought and could have made it much cheaper.  It is made nice, though, with the seams pinked.

Last Saturday night we saw an opera which was beautiful.  We are going to stay at home tonight because the play doesn't sound so good.

Yesterday when I went to the Red Cross Club, Miss Blunt, the teacher had a huge bouquet of green house flowers.  She had had them in the room all day so she gave them to me.  They are so nice--carnations, snapdragons, jonquils and several kinds.

It's certainly taking long enough to get the car incident straightened out.  Take it out of Tabor's hide, Daddy, if you can't get it any other way.  He's always doing things like that.

I want to do some studying this afternoon so I'd better stop.  I hope you are both fine."

                                                           Lots of love,

                                                                      B & Bonnie

NOTES from Ann:  B and Bonnie attended performances at the Shubert Theater in New Haven almost every week throughout their years there.  The opera which Bonnie mentions here was Othello with Paul Robeson.  She often talked about this performance and about her respect for Robeson.   In addition to being the first African American in the 20th century to play this particular role, he was a political activist and unfortunate target of McCarthy.   Bonnie once commented about his talent and added, "This country treated him horribly."  http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/pgs/portraits/Paul_Robeson.php

The April 29, 1944 letter, incomplete, follows:

"There isn't much news to write.  I have a sore throat and have been in bed since Thursday afternoon, but I'm getting better.  We have vacation next week and I have lots of things planned to do.  We had asked the Caughlan family to come to dinner tomorrow but B had to call them and tell them not to come.

We had an interesting Dames meeting Wednesday.  Husbands were invited so B went along.  Our speaker is the most famous living archeologist.  He is a little Russian man and talked to us about Dura, a city that has been uncovered."

For information on Michael Ivanovich Rostovtzett:
http://www.yale.edu/classics/rostovtzeff.html