February 15, 1941 (Saturday)

HENRY PENS A VALENTINE LETTER TO EDNA

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Chilly, cloudy day.

Morse + Frances went

to Lowell this A.M. - came

back for dinner.

Morse, Frances + I

went to see Jen

then went to hospital

to see Henry.

I received a valentine

letter from Henry which

upset me emotionally.

Morse, Frances + I

went to Hospital this P.M.

Henry quite upset

emotionally otherwise

feeling OK.

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Henry was a farmer and a teacher and a county road commissioner. Henry was also an author and a poet. He penned many stories and poems and wrote a history of the area surrounding Bowne Center, published in 1957, entitled The Mission of a People Within the Valley of the Little Thornapple. I have a worn and tattered reproduction. But my dad has an original copy.

The concluding paragraphs of his book illustrate his sentimentality and sensibilities. His words struck a chord with me from an early age. I high school, I selected the final paragraph from his book to publish as my senior quote in the yearbook. Those words still resonate with me today as I endeavor to refashion and record events and happenings of the past.

Edna was "upset emotionally" by Henry's Valentine letter to her. I think he was better at expressing his feelings through the written word than he was at speaking them out loud. He and Edna are both a bit worried about the outcome of his health. I imagine Henry penned a letter to Edna on this Valentine's Day that was both sensible and sentimental.

February 14, 1941 (Friday)

EDNA CATCHES UP ON HER WORK

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I didn't go to Hospital

to-day, necessary to

stay at home and

catch up with my work.

Baked + cleaned and

ironed.

Morse + Frances came

to-night to stay over

week end.

I rec'd a Valentine

from Mary Elizabeth.

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Edna, like many women in the 1940s, prescribed to a routine week of work. The general rule of thumb was:

Wash on Monday

Iron on Tuesday

Mend on Wednesday

Shop on Thursday

Clean on Friday

Bake on Saturday

Rest on Sunday

Day-of-the-week tea towels featuring chores have been popular since the 1940s. They remain a collectors item yet today. You can find vintage chore tea towels on sites like E-bay and Etsy.

Many vintage towels are embroidered (probably done on a Wednesday).

According to her journal, Edna did wash on Monday. Her hospital visits to Henry have kept her from her other daily household duties. It's Valentine's Day and despite having purchased a card and candy the day before for Henry, she stays home to catch up on her work.

I get stressed when I am behind on household things and I have many luxuries that make those tasks much easier in 2021 than it was for Edna in 1941.

Edna has been visiting the hospital almost daily since January. First to look in on her sister-in-law Jen, now for her husband. A day at home catching up on work (even if it was necessary) may have been a welcome respite.

February 13, 1941 (Thursday)

EDNA BUYS A VALENTINE FOR HENRY

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Raining this P.M.

Red and Helen came

this P.M. — We all then

went to Hospital to see

Henry. Red drove the

Chrysler. Henry feeling

pretty good.

After 4:30 Red, Helen +

I drove downtown and

did a little shopping.

Purchased few cards etc.

I purchased box of candy

and valentine for Henry

also paper + envelopes.

Came home had

oysters for supper.

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Edna and Henry both enjoyed baseball. It was a passion they passed onto their children and grandchildren. My Uncle Hank was a Cubs fan. I have fond memories of talking about the Detroit Tigers with my aunts Alice and Helen. My dad was a star baseball player in high school and often took our family to see the Tigers play in Detroit. My grandpa (Bob) often went with us to games. In fact, he tried pizza for the very first time on trip to Tiger Stadium with us in the 1980s.

Edna and Henry also ventured to Detroit on several occasions to see the Tigers play. But most of the time, they listened to games on the radio. My dad tells how his grandmother (Edna) would listen to games on the radio while the men were working on the farm, recording the events so she could give them a play-by-play at the end of their work day. It wasn't until 1948 that the Tigers played their first night game in Detroit.

One of my all-time favorite pictures of my great grandmother is of her in uniform. She and her sister-in-law Jen decided to have a little good fun and put on their husband's baseball duds.

I searched the internet for 1940s Valentine's Day cards until I found one that I thought Edna may have selected for Henry.