Transcription
Dear Irene,- Your New Year should be starting with a happy feeling of accomplishment, because of all the thought and effort you put into your Christmases (plural) for the members of our big family, + for many others.
W
HAPPY NEW YEAR – 1974
“MY DEAR LITTLE CHILDREN” –
That’s the way Mother Gerrish started most of her Family Letters to her five adult daughters. If Mother Gerrish had not written a weekly letter to her “children” and if her children had not supported the Family Letter “institution” with a letter to their mother and a copy to each sister, who knows, maybe we would not be having our WPS Family Letter.
As you know, since 1950 I have been spending each New Year’s Eve at home. Again to night, I let Guy Lumbardo [sic] and his “old time favorites” sing me into the New Year. But I started the evening in a different way this year. In the past it has been the custom of our Congregational Church for the minister to hold “open house” on the afternoon of New Year’s Day. But because of the Ohio State football team playing their final game in the Rose Bowl that afternoon, Dr. Stem changed his “open house” to New Year’s Eve from 7 to 9. And that is where I was – and it was a very enjoyable social gathering. (I owe it to your Mother that I am going faithfully each week to her church instead of going infrequently to my church.)
Each year my last Family Letter of the Old Year or my first Family Letter of the New Year is my way of “ringing out the old and bringing in the new.” The New Year has just started, and let us hope it will be a more stable year. The Democrats are trying to get as much political advantage out of Watergate as they can, but the greatest menace to our country is “inflation.” Every time I buy a new car I have to have the original equipment tires taken off and Goodyear tires put on. I have just traded in my 1971 Chevelle Station Wagon on a 1974 Chevelle S.W. and when I took the new car into the Goodyear Service Store this morning I got to reminiscing with one of the “old timers” who had been with Goodyear for over 30 years. I recalled how, upon graduating from college, my beginning salary at Goodyear was $50. per month. He started at a much higher salary than that, but he said that some college graduates now started at $1,000. per month. I am sure he was way high, but it is an example of what inflation is doing to “senior citizens” who are having to live on fixed incomes. (Incidentally, it cost me over $100. to take off perfectly good Firestone tires and put on Goodyear Radial Steel Belted tires, but you know me, I could not sleep nights if I were not riding around on the tires of the Company founded by my Father.)
Now, Bill and Jeanne, Judy will be writing about their Christmas and Annie about her combination Christmas with all of us present (all but you, that is). But Annie will be too modest to give proper place to the “high light” of their Christmas, which was her poem for me, written in my favorite “Myrtilla” meter used by my favorite F.P.A. As she recited it to all of us, her voice inflections gave added meaning here and there, which you will miss in reading the enclosed copy, but you will appreciate how she built up the story of the poem entirely from what I had written in several Family Letters about my losing battle against the beavers.
We have had two wonderful Family Gatherings – one for Cousin Bob’s 70th birthday and the other for Aunt Irene’s 50th wedding anniversary – both worthy of a separate Family Letter. B&J, your cable to Cousin Bob was read to the assembled family (over 60 present) and was much appreciated. Now I am running out of space, so I’ll come to an abrupt close with: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Much love to all of you,Transcriber
Cindi RokeLanguage
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aTranscription
The Lament of the Boat House Beaver Gang
As Chips, the beaver, viewed his dam,
He remarked to his friend Sam,
“Our job is done –
Let’s have some fun
At last.”
When they returned they found that “he”
Had come again, removed each tree –
The twigs and logs
From beach and bogs
Were gone.
Their dam was gone without a trace,
And Chips and Sam found in its place
A fence to keep
Their great brush heap
Outside.
Chip looked at Sam with toothy grin.
He winked and said, “Well, let’s begin.
We’ll build anew,
Climb o’er, not through
That thing.”
They worked with all their might and main
But should have saved themselves the pain.
Like all the rest
That dam was “messed
Up good.”
And now they found the fence was wired
Complete with barbs. “That makes me tired,”
Said Sam to Chips,
And with such quips
They dove
Beneath the water, clear and blue;
They dug a tunnel – this is true –
Returned each tree.
Their victory
Was sweet.
Now Chips and Sam at last had won.
It had been tough, but also fun.
They watched him go –
Their worthy foe –
Till May.
AnneTranscriber
Cindi RokeLanguage
EnglishNotes
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