December 11, 1943 A Note from B and A Compliment to His Professors, Tires and Cherry Pie

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"There isn't any news, but any kind of letter is better than none, I guess.  Your letter will probably come tomorrow.  We haven't had much mail this week except a letter from Mabel & Horace and some Christmas cards.  We also got a big package from Horace & Mabel.  It really is tempting but we aren't going to open it till Christmas.  Your package is on the way.  It was mailed Wednesday.  I'm still trying to get Buddy's package fixed.

The store gave us a bonus today.  It was a weeks pay.  My boss is begging me to stay through January 10 to help on some school pictures we have to take.  I haven't decided yet.

We had a Dames meeting Wednesday.  A woman talked to us about old New Haven.  She is very interesting.  Last year she talked to us.  We had cherry pie and coffee to eat.  Our next meeting will be our Christmas party and our husbands are invited.  I don't know whether I can get B to leave his work or not.  He has to teach one more week and then they will have a two weeks vacation at the grammar school.  They are having a faculty meeting and dinner (with wives invited) next Saturday at noon, but I don't think I can make it, because that will be a very busy day.

We got four, grade 3 tires.  B tried to have ours recapped and they were too rotten.  He used them just as long as he could.  The new tires are recaps, but pretty good tires.  The four cost $40., which was better than we expected.

I'll try to write more next time, but there just isn't any news.  Write soon."

                                          Lots & lots of love,

                                                           B & Bonnie

Cherry Pie (from the New Hood Cookbook, 1939)

Mix 4 cups washed and prepared fruit with 1 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca or 2 tablespoons flour.  Place in unbaked pastry shell, dot with butter and if desired a tablespoon or so of lemon juice or cream.  Add a sprinkling of any spice desired, as cinnamon, nutmeg or mace.  Cover with top crust, slash well to permit escape of steam and bake in hot over 15 minutes; then reduce heat to moderate and bake 30 minutes longer or until fruit is tender and crust brown.

NOTE from Ann:  From the source below,  "Rationing of gas and tires strongly depended on the distance to one's job. If one was fortunate enough to own an automobile and drive at the then specified speed of 35 mph, one might have a small amount of gas remaining at the end of the month to visit nearby relatives."  B often talked about the 35 mph speed limit which was in effect at the time they had to make the trip from New Haven to Jefferson Barracks (St. Louis) for the army physical.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1674.html 

From Woman's Day magazine, December, 1943: