March 21, 1964 The First Day of Spring, 16 for Dinner, Regular Union Drivers and The Power Plant

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"It is early for a change, but we woke up early this morning.  B was out shoveling sidewalks before I even got up.  This is the first day of spring but it looks more like winter & it is real cold.

Easter vacation started yesterday after classes so lots of people are leaving town for awhile.  B has a meeting in Chicago but we decided to stay at home & save our money.  Bob has a science paper to write & I have Ann's suit to make besides so it will be a busy week.

We are having 16 people for dinner tonight but I have the house about ready & some of the food fixed. Still I'll keep busy all day, I know.

We have a new telephone number--went into effect last Sunday but I forgot to tell you last week.  It is 452-3219 and the area code is 309.  7000 numbers were changed in Normal so you can imagine the complaining that has gone on.  This company never has been very efficient but they are growing fast like the town.

We are planning open house for the church in April so we went to a planning meeting for that Monday night.

I worked on the house all week.  I cleaned & waxed the kitchen, basement & bathrooms and it almost got me down.  The basement is such a lot of floor & some of the mastic still works out.  It is done now & shouldn't have to be done again for a long, long time.

I also went to a meeting of Education Wives.  The program was about new psychology & was interesting but only 1/3 of the women ever come.  It seems like such a waste of time to keep pushing groups like that but there isn't anything we can do about it.

Ann's room went on a trip to a power plant in Hennepin, Illinois yesterday & had a good time.  The company gave them lunch & they were back home by the time school is regularly out.  It was a bad weather day but they didn't have any trouble.  They go in buses & the drivers are regular union drivers.

I guess I'd better get busy.  I can hear Ann cooking her breakfast & B is home from the barber shop."

                  Lots of love,

                      Bonnie

NOTE:  The image of the lamps at the top is from a feature article on residential lighting in the Ladies Home Journal, March, 1964.  It struck me how similar the lamps look to what we might find today in Target!  The power company on the Illinois River at Hennepin was fascinating, and we were all excited to get a small pin of Reddy Kilowatt--a popular comic character and company mascot.  I didn't save mine, but there are plenty still around.