December 30, 1944 Cluck Cluck, The Cop, The Pipe, The Lesson from the Fire, Chapter One and The Ration Stamps

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"It seems that we're still having Christmas and being busy as ever.  We got a Christmas card today and had a package from Granny Gibson this week.  She sent B some hankies and me a crocheted vanity set.

I went to a little hen party Wednesday evening.  We just sat around and talked.

The weather has been simply awful.  It has snowed and rained and everything is glazed over.  The walks are all sanded.  B went out the other day without his rubbers and the slush was terrible that day.  There was a policeman on the corner and when B started across the street he looked at him and said, "Where in the h--- are your rubbers?"  We've laughed about it ever since because B didn't know the cop at all.

Image courtesy of Yale News Digest, Dec. 13, 1944

B bought a pipe with the dollar you sent him the day after Xmas.  I still have my five.

Tonight we're going to visit the Coggers.  They are the people who were here Xmas day.  They are certainly nice--a little older than we are but have been married the same length of time that we have.  He has a bad knee and is 4F.

We took out an insurance policy (fire, smoke, water damage) this week on our furniture and personal property.

Yesterday we finished the first chapter of B's dissertation.  It will be submitted to one of the professors for criticism and will probably have to be revised in a lot of places.

Tomorrow afternoon we are going to an "At Home" at one of the Dames.  It will probably be a lovely party for she is the one that had the nice Christmas party.

I hope Grandma is feeling better.  When will you get your teeth? Are your gums healed?

We didn't lose any sugar stamps but we did lose a few canned goods stamps.  We are always so careful with them but I guess we were too saving this time.

Write us a letter soon."

                                     Lots of love,

                                              B & Bonnie

NOTE from Ann:   Rationing required plenty of planning ahead in order to have what a household needed and in order to use the stamps during the specified time limit.   If you have 5 minutes, watch the following video--recently created to look authentic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60qOtTaz6VQ