March 17, 1941 - Neil Doughty

Minneapolis, Minn.

March 17, 1941

Dear Marie:

        Well, it sure was nice hearing from you once more, honey.  Seems like old times all right receiving your letters again.  We sure have written a flock of them, back and forth - pages and pages of letters - make a good sized bundle if they were all in one pile.

        So your having a little rain in California?  Understand a row-boat would have come in handy last week in the Los Angeles area.  I met a fellow, who just came back from out there and he said it had rained steady for a month.  He had a lot of pictures with him that he had taken of the "flood" and believe me it rains hard in California.

        Suppose you have heard about the storm we had here Saturday nite and Sunday.  The temperature dropped from 35 degrees above zero to 6 degrees below zero in six hours.  The wind came in from the North, Northwest - from up around Arthyde somewhere and at one time was at a speed of 85 miles an hour.  Talk about a terrible cold wind.  Sixty-four persons lost their lives in the blizzard, which covered the states of Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Wisconsin.  Twenty six dead in Minnesota.  Golly that wind was something, the house here shook and rattled as if it would fall apart and cold, oh honey!  Have sent this clipping along cause thought you might be interested.

        Well darling, I finally got rid of Lady Graham - my brother George, bought a thirty-nine Oldsmobile coupe and he and I made a deal; where by, he would trade in Lady Graham as down payment on the Oldsmobile.  So now I havn't any car and spring is almost here - golly Ill have to get busy!  Old Lady Graham and I sure got around but even the best of friends must part.  She was getting pretty old and shaky so thought it best that I get rid of her.  Sure had fun though with Old Lady Graham! - too bad!

        Golly honey, I felt real bad when I didnt receive those pictures.  If I have to wait that long before I get them, Ill need double strength glasses to see them with, cause Ill be so old and feeble.  I know how "speedy" you are when it comes to things like that.  your "prompt", you are - but then I guess I cant complain, cause I dont do so well myself.  Soon as it gets nice though I will make it a point to get a few "snap-shots".  I have a large picture of Baby Pattrica Hale, but it dos'nt belong to me, its Ma Doughty's, so Ill have to try and get a hold of another one to send you.  Wish you would really make an effort though to send me those pictures - please dear!

        I certainly sympathize with all your poor girl's out there.  I know how bad you feel when those soldiers and sailors try to make a date with you.  It certainly is a shame and of course you hate it.   yes! yes! I almost break down and cry when ever I think about it.  Especially when I remember that old slogan of your, "there is safety in numbers"  Poor Marie - it sure is sad! - what do you do, stay in nights? - oh, yeah!

        About those relations of mine out there - well they are all strangers to me and in fact I've never seen them and I couldnt ask favors like that of strangers - but I thought that after I had learned a few "tricks" about the radio game them I would offer some thing in the line of experience, might some thing come of it then.  One of the local fellows is making four hundred and fifty a month and that is not "hay".  Its pretty hard to "break" in to this line unless you know a thing or two.

        It sure is nice Marie, that your working in such a nice place.  Golly youll have to tell me more about the "yacht".  Do they own it or do they rent it like you rent a row boat at Lake Harriet  A trip on one of those "things" would be a treat all right, the "yacht" I mean.  The Mr. must be in the "dough".  Find out if they need a "good man" around "there" and if so, Ill be out on the next freight, side-door pullman so to speak.

        So you really liked the Valentine: Wee, golly, thats awfully nice.  Guess we'll have to call that my "masterpiece" and then forget it, cause I made up my mind that this Valentine was the last one.  It was kind of fun sending them to you, but I dont think anyone buy us appreciate them.  In fact there wasnt anyone else supposed to appreciate them but you and I.  In that case then they wern't made for "publication" and if I was you, I wouldn't show them around to anybody - especially the "boy friend."  You couldnt blame him for getting hot under the collar, over a thing like that and if he didn't he must be "easier going" guy than I would be.  Must be, I dont "get it" - and still, by this time I know you pretty well too, so I think you're up to your old tricks.  Need to be spanked, dont you?  yes you do!

        Is your mother and brother still in Waukegan?  How did it happen that the "folks" settled there?  If thats the case, suppose you have disposed of the property in Arthyde.  Remember Arthyde?

        Well golly honey, I havn't been around much since the last letter I sent you.  Guess there's not much doing that is "extra"  Every body sort of "holding tight" till spring, - wont be long now.

        Thats one time in the year when Minnesota's hard to beat, Spring and early summer.  Sure will be glad, when its nice once more.

        Seems like this "trip" I just dont have any "news" of "interest".  Dog gone Marie I guess Im "slippin" for sure.

        Golly though honey, did want to say "hello" and let you know Im thinking of you.

        Hope youll write real soon and let me know how things are "going" in San Diego California.

        Hope too, that it will be a week of sunshine and warm breezes, so you can take those pictures cause Im really anxious to see them.

        If you leave in June, will we see anything of you in Minnesota?  Sure hope so!

        Write soon wont you dear.  Will say Bye Bye for now cause I want to get this in the mail tonight.

        Miss you, too, kid - more that you miss me.

                                Yours as alway's

                                                love,

                                                        Neil

        What kind of a kiss, is one in the western style? - better than the one we use to know?

February 28, 1941 - Neil Doughty

Minneapolis, Minn.

February 28, 1941

Dear Marie,

        It really was swell,- receiving your letter and I surely was surprised to hear you were in California!  Im awfully glad too, that you had such a grand trip out there - that you like the country so well - and, that everybody's so nice, I know you'll have a good time.  The way you described the climate there, - golly honey I envy you - a person sure gets tired of these lone Minnesota winters, there longer every year it seems - so the next time you sit under a palm tree, think of me, wont you dear.

        Jim, Elanor and Baby Pattie were over a Sunday or two ago and they said to say hello! - boy will they be surprized to hear what your up too!  Jim sort of has the fevor, to move out of there too - California or somewhere, guess he is working pretty hard and not getting anywhere either, it is the same old story with all of us.

        Well honey, I am glad you liked the Valentine.  I feel sort of flattered by your compliments.  Didn't think it was very good myself - just wanted you to know, I was thinking of you.  It was nice of you to say you liked it.  your sweet!

        The radio schooling has "slowed" up a little - partly due to finances and partly due to the fact that I "plugged" away a little to hard at it for a while and it got a little "stale", it gets sort of tiresome at times and I was a little dissapointed too it seems.

        One of my long - lost relation by the name of Lee is in the radio game out there where you are - there is three brothers - Donald, Rowland, Robert and a sister Zera.  Donald is the Don Lee network connected with the Mutual Broadcasting System - with stations in Los Angeles, Hollywood, San Francisco, etc.  He has a daughter by the name of Pattrica who is in the movies.  Rowland Lee is a moving picture producer with M.G.M. or Universal - Ive forgotten. and Bob has the Packard agency in Los Angeles.  Their mother Marie Lee is related to my dad and her sister was here at our place on a visit a few years ago.  She has a home and studio at Carmel By The Sea, California, where ever that is.  They're all of the pretty well off I guess - I dont know them at all - never met the boys, and sure dont know me - and how!  There are other relations out there too - scads of them, Josephsons who are in real-estate in Los Angeles and Long Beach - Conterno's in Pasadena - he's quite a singer - or supposed to be - well this is enough about my dear long-lost relations.  Any way I know that Don Lee networks is going to "hear" from me one of "these days".

        Golly, honey, I sure hope you wont forget to send me some pictures of you - all you can spare.  Im really looking forward to seeing the "likeness" of you again - please don't forget, will you? - cause Ill be dissapointed if you do.  Remember the picture you sent me one Christmas? - yep, still got it - for keeps and you wanted it back - try and get it!  Gosh Ill be happy to have a picture of you and the more pictures I get the happier Ill be.

        Well, things are pretty slow here as usual. I havn't been around at all, so it really dont make any difference to me at all.  No work yet of any kind so the pocket book is pretty slim and you know how that it.

        Don Cable dropped in the other day, so I heard all about the trouble he's been having with Ines.  She sure took him to the "cleaners" all right.  About all he's got left is his shirt.  Funny how women can change too!

        This letter is different that the last letter I sent you and Im glad of that.  I didn't like that last one - any.  It was awfully hard to write and still I wanted to explain, if I could, some of that "stuff".  Anyway Im sorry - about a lot of things, I know that much at least - Im sorry.

        I hope Ive made you understand that Im glad you wrote and hope youll write again real soon and tell me what you are doing for excitement and all about California.

        There's not much news here to write about so my letters are not going to be very interesting - so thought Id warn you in advance - Ill do the best I can.  I never was much good at letter writing anyway.

        Have a good time and I know you will - and say "hello" to "your friend" for me.

        Be carefull of those sailors and wear your rubbers when it rains.  Remember the time we got caught in the rain storm at the park in Harriet - we stood under a tree and were soaked - but golly, it was fun!

        If you happen to see Lana Turner when you go to Holly wood, why you can sigh right out loud for me!

 - and if you happen to drop down to Las Vegas Nevada, why drop me a line and let me know.

        All fooling a side though, do write soon darling, and send the pictures too.  Please!

        Bye, Bye, for now then, Sweet, take good care of your self.

Yours, love,

                         Neil

you mentioned, "the things you wanted were out of your reach", what is it you want - tell me!

Bet you dont know, darling.

February 5, 1941 - Neil Doughty

Minneapolis, Minn
Feb. 5 1941

        Dear Marie:

       Thank's a lot for the letter, honey, was glad to know your well again and that "things" are looking better.  Sorry though, that my last letter was "disappointing" and will try this time to do better.

        No - I wasn't surprized to hear you were leaving for California, you see I was "told" that last fall, that you expected to go, and was surprized when you didn't - but - not sorry, naturally I was glad you didn't.  You see, I know the young mans nice, he's been awfully good too you and the two of you get along swell and you've had lots of fun, there's been a ring on your finger and thats the way it should be, but - Honestly, Marie do you really want to go? I wonder, now look, you've said you "havn't made up your mind", yes, three or four times you've mentioned it, that way, well the way I look at it, if I was you, and I loved the guy, Id go and if I didn't I wouldnt go for any reason.  Ive read in between the lines, of your letters, and I know there is doubt, - about something!  Well - I wish I could see you, yes, Id help you decide, first Id give you a damn good spanking, one that would hurt! and as soon as it stopped hurting, you'd get another. Dont tell me your going to California, just for a trip, not when he is expecting you to stay.  What if you dont stay?  Supposing you dont like it, then what?

        This is making me mad I know, but we might as well get it over with hadn't we?  You see honey, you dont really know what you want, now honestly, do you?  Take "places" for instance, we'll go right down the line.  First there was Arthyde then Minneapolis, St. Paul, Arthyde again, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Wilmette, Arthyde, Evanston, Arthyde, Minneapolis and now Waukeagan.  Looks like a time table for the Burlington railroad, dont it?  Well - you haven't liked any of them have you?  The trouble is Marie, darling your so terribly dissatisfied every where and untill you know what you really want, you wont be really happy anywhere!  Look at the jobs you've had, holy smokes, honey! - there is a list as long as your arm.  Can't you see, dear, that there's something terribly wrong with it all!, it shouldn't be this way.  It seems to me, Id want to be sure that going to California, would make me contented, willing to stay put and that it would be for "keeps", and if I wasn't sure - well, I don't know!  You could be, - happy anywhere, if you were just sattisfied with things.

       Well anyway we'll leave that for a moment and start in with me.  Yes, I remember the poems all right, they wern't hard to write, because I mean't what I said.  I could still write them under the same conditions, you see that hasn't changed much, the "place" hasn't changed much either, or the moon.  If you were here I could take you out "there" and prove to you that "that" hasn't changed.  Nope, not the lake, not the moon or the walks - there still here, but your not.  That what started things off "wrong", you're not being here.  No "things" havn't changed, we were the "ones" that changed.  That first summer you were gone, I was lost, - lost and lonely, but I managed all right there wasn't anybody that could take your place and I was satisfied.  I didn't mind waiting cause I knew you'd be "home" and then it would be all right again, but you didn't come "home" did you, you were having too swell a time.  It was to "dead" here and "too small a town".

        I use to go with Jim and El once in a while, when they went out, most of the time there was, just the three of us, once in a while a friend of "Els", it was just a "date" thats all, the kind you used to have when you went "out"  Don and I got together once i a while too.  Don hadn't been married so very long then and Ines was "the only girl" and so we never had anyone with us, but we did get drunk pretty often.  After I got the car it seemed to get worse there was always, "week ends" in some joint with Don and after a while Ines started going with us.  She didn't like the idea of always being alone and one night I met a friend of hers and Dons and she went with us.  It got so that it was a regular thing, the four of us going out.  She lived right across the hall from the Cable's in the next apartment and she and Ines practically lived together.  I think probably she is the girl you were refering too.

        Well, her name was Eva Stueve and she was a awfully nice "kid"  Eva was just a "kid" too, nineteen years old, and kind of small.  She had her troubles too, had a "crush" on a fellow and I think he was married, and she was in the "blues" most of the time.  Anyway there was some reason why she tried to "drown" her sorrows.  She sure, use to get drunk, and the rest of is didn't do bad either.  Eva Stueve was all right, she really was in love with this other fellow, she gave me to understand the fist night we were out, that if I expected to get "paid" for taking her out, I could go to hell!  After that Eva and I got along all right.  She was a square shooter and I give her credit for that.  As for their being anything between Eva and I, well, there just wasn't thats all.  We had a lot of fun together and thats as far as it went.  I haven't seen her now for about a year or so.

        The trouble there, was, that the girls got in a scrap (Ines and Ellenor) and they couldn't say enough mean things about each other and I dont know which one was the worst.  Anyway, they both put the "heat" on Eva behind her back.  Ines who was her best friend and Ellenor who didn't even know her.  Well all I can say about this, is, that one of those girls wan an "unmarried mother" in one affair, and a "common law wife" in another.  The other girl wasnt any better than a ordinary "street walker".  I dont think they had anything to say about anyone else, being "careless".

        "People who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones".

        I happen to know the "information" you received about me, was from one of these people.  I think it came to a question of "proof", you would find her story unreliable and untruthful.  So much for that, I hope that explains Eva Stueve's "position" as far as Im concerned.

        Well, after this "battle" the ladies had, Don and I went out alone. I admit I got to drinking pretty heavy.  There was a time, when I could put away a quart of whisky straight, without blinking an eye.  I got in with a "bunch" down at Freebergs and was hanging around there most of the time!  Dont know if you knew that or not.

        A fellow by the name of Norman Childs worked at Freebergs and Norm and his girl, Lucielle and I went out a lot.  They werent bad scouts at all, the only thing that was bad was that they drank a little, "heavy"  Don and Ines came down once in a while and so did Jim and Ellanor.  Sometimes we would all go together somewhere, but most of the time one or the other of Cables or Hales were mad, you know how that is.  Well, we had a merry time of it anyway.

        I smashed up the car a couple of times, wrapped it around a telephone pole once, spent all the money I made and felt like hell most of the time.  It went on like that every week end and sometimes during the week.

        Well it wasn't long before Lucielle introduced me to a girlfriend of her's.  Dorthy G. was her name, real dark, nice looking but sort of "hard boiled".  After we had been out together a couple of times, I found out she was married and had a baby girl.  Her husband was "working" for the state by "request" for ninety days.  A guy cant be a "chump" all his lifeI guess and I "blew up", don't know what really did happen, but I sure as hell was mad.  I though she was trying to pull a "fast one" but it didn't turn out that way.

        It was through her that I finally got back on my "feet" again.  Yes, Dorothy gave me more hell that I ever had before in my life and I guess that's what I needed.  Why she ever bothered is more than I can figure out.  Of all the friends I had at that time, Dorothy was the only one that seemed to give a damn, and she got the least from me of any of them.  Well any way that the way it turned out, and I guess I got the best of that but I wasn't happy about it.

        Well, I promised to tell you, truthfully what happened and as far as I can see thats it.

        There was Eva Stueve who didn't mean anything to me or I to her.  There was Dorothy who gave me a lift when I needed it, but asked no favors.  Mixed up in it all was too much booze, that was the bad part of it all!

        Why it was that way I dont know, discouraged I guess, dissapointed too, when things didn't work out right, I just didnt care.


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