With little editing, this is from Alice traveling South with her dad and sister Mary, in August, 1971. She was our middle daughter, then 11. We could spot her letters a mile away – a round open script, usually on neon notepaper.
Hi, Y’all!
Really, it’s silly to write so soon. But you told me to! A rain has been following us, and I guess it makes Dad a little nervous. Grandma’s car has been acting good, and we haven’t had to stop for it.
I haven’t ever seen Dad act so tired. We drove till 2, without stopping except for gas. Then he was so tired that he pulled off behind an Esso station, and we all tried to get in a position to sleep. I didn’t, but Dad snored.
We drove along today with that dumb rain following us all day. We stopped at Howard Johnson for breakfast, and a place real near here for lunch. Both were excellent. Right now we’re out at a motel that’s called Bulldog Inn. Is that weiered (sic) or is that weiered?
They have 2 double beds and a color-TV, a telephone, and a pool. Nice? Nice!
How are y’all? We’re all OK. I didn’t get sick or anything!
Well, I have to go. Daddy’s sleeping right now, and we have to BE QUIET!
The weather forecast was just on. We’re supposed to have light thunder showers. Tomorrow 30 percent rain.
Bye and love, Alice
Aug. 13, Friday, Alice visits her paternal grandmother and cousins in Florida while we were packing to move from South Jersey to Peachtree City, Georgia in 1971:
Oh, I’ve been having so much fun. I got your letter today and I’m glad you wrote me. But you said to take a lot of pictures, and I left my camera at Marathon [Fla.].
See, the office had it, and they told us to pick it up on the way out, and we forgot. We were almost home, and then we remembered. So we’ll have to send for it. It had 7 pictures on it, and Scottie exposed the film before we left, and so that ruined the first 5 pictures. Well, that’s me, forgetting everything!
We had a cookout yesterday at Aunt Gloria’s and a sort of birthday celebration for Uncle Lyn [Linn, Dave’s brother]. Aunt Gloria made a chocolate cake with a real smile button in the middle, with eyes that go back and forth.
Did I tell you, I won 4 dollars on a nickel slot machine and spent only 60 cents! Pretty good!
I just made a card for Uncle Lyn, “Happy birthday to you, Roses are Red and Blue, well this card is early, but it wishes luck to you.”
Well, love to all, Alice
Aug. 12, 1971, from Mary to me:
Dear Mom,
Stone Mountain is really great, isn’t it? I wish we’d had the time to climb it. Uncle Owen wan;ted to take us to Grand (sic) Park Zoo. We were a pretty big group – Uncle Owen, Aunt Gloria, (cousins) Eric, Amy, Janet, Stevie, Franky, Alice & me. We all picnicked on one side of the mountain. I went wading in a pool nearby and stepped in a spring hole and got completely wet (my watch included, but I think it’s all right).
We followed the stream down and saw the old Springer House built in 1894. I also saw the covered bridge and the water wheel next to it.
We all rode over to Grand Park Zoo. The animals look so healthy there, more so than in Philadelphia. Half the place was closed – being Wednesday – the Monkey House was closed, and the reptile house was closed due to repairs….
I went up to the mountains with Aunt Gloria and her family, and stopped at (cousin) Robby’s house, and Eric and his wife Franky’s new house. She works at a dairy, so we had 4th of July ice cream shaped and decorated like a flag….
Amacola (sic) Falls is really great, but I wish there was some place to swim. I hiked around a lot. Janet and I hiked up a semi-trail (it only went ? way up) next to the falls. It was a scramble towards the end, but fun.
I know I grabbed poison ivy once to keep from falling, but nothing has come of it. Then the next day Uncle Owen, Eric, Janet and I hiked down an old logging road for a couple of miles. We found a primitive boy scout camp way in the woods. (I don’t see how cars could get to it).
Then we found a mini water wheel in a stream. We got it running again – it was really clever, probably the boy scouts made them (there was another one farther on). Then we found a half-made dam in one part of the stream we were following, so we stayed there for an hour, damming it up, trying to make it deep enough for swimming, it was about 3 feet deep when we started.
Hope everything’s going smoothly at home….
Love, Mary
P.S. The house looks so different with the wallboard up. It looks like a house now! I’m watching some little tadpoles grow up in a puddle in the back yard.
P.P.S. Stop using my red, yellow, green & blue stationery!
