November 7, 1943 The Philadelphia Trip, The Call Home and Selling the House

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"I'm at work but we're having a lull so I thought I would use the time.  Tonight I'm going to a bridal shower for one of the girls in the studio.  She married the sailor from Arkansas that I have mentioned before.  He has been in all the important places since he is on a destroyer and has lots of ribbons.

Wednesday night I went to the Dames committee meeting.  We are planning our fall tea for the new members who are coming in and I'm chairman of the decoration committee.

It would be grand if we could all be together on Christmas Day.  We still don't know about the vacation.  Classes are scheduled for Thanksgiving day so there will probably just be a day or two for Christmas.  The Army and Navy insist on having classes straight through so since the instructors have to be here during Christmas they can't let other students off.

Philadelphia is a very interesting place.  We saved all our A coupons and drove down.  It is 175 miles from New Haven and it took us about 5-1/2 hours to drive.  We left about 12:30 Saturday noon and got home about 1:00 Monday morning.  We waited until Horace was picked up before we left.  He got a ride both ways with another officer who was going through Philadelphia to Newark, N.J. for the weekend.  We went to the Hotel, where we had reservations, when we first got there and Horace came about 9:00.  We sat and talked until almost 1:00 then got up Sunday morning and after breakfast we went out to see some sights.  We saw Independence Hall where the Declaration was signed.  It is quite a large building but only the first floor was open for visitors.  One room was where the Continental Congress met and the original chairs were still around the room.  The desk and chair where Washington sat as he presided was there and so was the pen and silver inkwell he used.  The walls were snow white and the furniture was dark wood with leather cushions.  Another room had a duplicate copy of the declaration and the state flags.  Then there was the Liberty Bell.  It is a huge bell and is three inches thick.  It is mounted on wheels so if anything should happen it could be rolled out of the building.

The home of Betsy Ross where the first flag was made was nice.  It was a small three story stone house and all furnished.  The kitchen was in the basement and I wish you could have seen the cooking utensils.  The beds were four posters with canopies over them.  It was all very lovely but would be a bit unhandy.  Then we saw Benjamin Franklin's tomb, which was a very ordinary grave with a concrete slab over it and his name chiseled in it.

Most of the rest of the time we spent waiting for our call to go through.  It was worth it, because you sounded so good.  I was so excited I didn't know what I was saying and the time went so fast I didn't even ask how Daddy was.  I know if we get to come home Christmas it will take a week to catch up on everything we want to talk about.

This is Saturday night and we are going to a play tonight.  I didn't get to finish this yesterday.  We went to the party last night.  My boss was going to be the only man there so he talked B into going.  It was just the studio gang and we had a grand time.  We had potato salad, cold cuts, rolls & butter, pickles, olives, coffee and cake.  There were eleven of us so we sat around the table.

I don't know what to say about you selling your house.  It would be wonderful if Daddy could get out of that store.  I'd like nothing more, but could you buy a place half as nice?  Your place is beautiful and I love everything about it, but if you could have a place you would like better, it would suit me.

I have to get some supper so I must stop.  Write soon."

                                                  Lots & lots of love,

                                                              B & Bonnie

NOTE from Ann:  Making long distance calls was not a common practice for B & Bonnie, particularly in 1943.

 From: The Federal Excise Tax on Telephone Service, Louis Alan Tally, 2005 
The tax rates on telephone service reached their all time high under provisions of the Revenue Act of 1943.  Rates were 15 percent on local telephone calls and 25 percent (on messages which cost more than 24 cents) on long distance calls. The Revenue Act of 1943 also provided for the increased excise tax rates to expire. In the case of the excise taxes on telephone service, the law provided that the increased rates would end six months after the “date of termination of hostilities in the present war.”