Tag Archives: marriage

August 3, 1925 (to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis)

Jacksonville Beach, Fla.,
Aug. 3, 1925.

My Dear Mr. and Mrs. Lewis,

It is impossible to tell you how much I appreciate your attitude and consent to the marriage. I realize how difficult it is for you to be separated from Ina, and I want you to know that we are happy in knowing that you have given your blessing. We want you to feel that you are going to have another home with us and we want you to help us enjoy it.

August 3, 1925 (to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis)

August 3, 1925 (to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis)

We have not yet decided upon the date, but it will probably be after my work is completed for the summer. Ina will talk it over with you.

With kindest personal regards and looking forward to seeing you again this fall, I am,

With love,
Walter.

July 27, 1925 (Ina)

Monday Afternoon
July 27, 1925

My dearest Walter:

Yesterday was the first day since you left that I had missed writing you and it was unintentional that I did miss it. I thought we would get back from Hondo in time to write you, but, as we had charge of the Sunday evening church hour which lasted until about 9:30, then had quite a time getting our crowd together to come home, we did not arrive in Uvalde until 12:10. So it was no longer Sunday and I waited until later on in the day Monday to write. I love to write you every day when I can, because that is next to receiving a letter from you or being with you. You have been so good to write me even though you were awfully busy, and I surely do appreciate it too. Your Wednesday night letter came Saturday afternoon just as we were leaving town and, Sweetheart, (that’s the first time I ever called anyone that) it was such a nice, long interesting one. It made me feel so good to have it along with me.

July 27, 1925 (Ina)

July 27, 1925 (Ina)

We had such a good time in Hondo. The people in whose home we were guests were perfectly lovely to us. Claudelle and I were entertained in the house of the president of the Hondo Chapter. We had met her while in Kerrville. Everyone seemed to be doing something to show us all a good time, and they succeeded well. Claudelle and I agreed without any hesitancy that we had a much better time during the night and day that we spent in Hondo than we did the whole week in Kerrville. I didn’t have to make but three talks, one in the afternoon and two in the evening, but the otherwise pleasant time we had more than overbalanced that.

It was only three weeks ago yesterday afternoon that you left and it seems like just about that many months to me. I thought about you and wished for you lots and lots during the day even though we were busy.

Mama and Papa stopped by Mrs. Parman’s for a short visit yesterday afternoon. Mr. Parman had been very sick that morning but was feeling much better in the afternoon. They thought it might be acute indigestion. Mrs. Parman was terribly frightened and excited. They think he will soon be alright though.

Walter, the part of your letter that referred to Mama and Papa, our future happiness etc. was mighty sweet. I am sure they are not worried for fear you and I will not get along well together, that we will not be happy etc. because they know by now that we care for each other so much that everything will be fine. We are going to be wonderfully happy and contented, aren’t we? “You bet!” I am glad you will enjoy having them visit us and I am sure they will enjoy it too. However, you know how “often” they visit anyone. Maybe, though, we can get them to come occasionally.

I am sure you enjoyed being with Mr. and Mrs. Garrison. Yes, I remember that you mentioned in one of your letters to me last winter that you ate Christmas dinner with them. I am anxious to meet them. I appreciate what you said about her sister.

I want to assure you again that I am most hopelessly in love and never expect to get out.

I love you now, always and forevermore – lots and lots – then some more.

Yours always,
Ina.

July 21, 1925

Tuesday Nite
July 21, 1925.

Dearest Walter:

Claudelle and I have just returned from a hike to the top of the first hill toward town to see the sun set. However, it had already “sat” by the time we arrived. We viewed the landscape o’er and pronounced it very beautiful in spite of the absence of the solar illumination. Since it is Tuesday evening we could also see the fiery cross. We ran a race down the hill, but, thanks to the tight skirts, we were sufficiently hobbled to avoid being arrested for speeding.

July 21, 1925

July 21, 1925

We are having such a fine breeze tonight. No matter how warm the days, we usually do have a cool breeze at night. I am so glad it is so pleasant in Jacksonville. It makes work a lot easier, doesn’t it? You are really fortunate to be escaping some of the days we are having here.

My fountain pen is out of order, and this one I am using is just about the “scratchiest” ever.

I will write you again tomorrow.

I love you so very very much.

Lots of love,
Ina.

Wednesday Nite
July 22, 1925.

My dearest Walter:

It is now ten o’clock and I am thinking of the pleasant reunion we were having a month ago tonight. It was our first date after the return of the prodigal from Kerrville. I shall never forget how terribly I missed you that week. If it had been two months I don’t believe I could have missed you more. I wish we could have another reunion tonight. We are before so many many months, aren’t we? And you are liable to have to be bothered with me for a long long time then. As for me, I am going to be a mighty happy girl then too.

Your letters of the 18th and 19th came today and they made me feel mighty good. They sounded almost like I was talking with you, and you know how well pleased I would be over that.

The case of Dr. Arms was very interesting. I am glad to know about it because we wouldn’t want our case to be so different from all others, would we? I feel sure that ours is going to be like theirs in the respect that he mentioned, because we are both determined never to fuss, aren’t we? We will not have to wait and make it one of our marriage resolutions because we have already made it.

Walter, I appreciate your telling me about your salary although it had never worried me in the least. You are certainly to be congratulated on the salary you are making and I want to tell you again that I am proud of you. I am sure we can be as happy as it is possible for any couple to be – much more so than very wealthy people who only have to express the slightest desire and the luxuries are theirs. They are deprived of the joy of dreaming of and planning for a cozy little home, then working toward it and finally having their dream come true. They can’t possibly get nearly as much genuine pleasure out of it as we can. The more dreams, thoughts, plans and work you have to put into anything, the more you get out of it. Oh, I can hardly wait for the time to come when I can be with you always and we can plan things together. Honey, we are going to be so happy!

I received an invitation today from a girl friend of mine who is going to be married on the fifth of August to a young man with whom she has been going during her two years in a Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth. He has been specializing in some kind of Sunday School work, organization or something.

She is in her thirties and is positively the most consecrated and religious girl I ever met (it is genuine too). I always feel so mean when I’m around her. They say she hesitated a year about consenting to marry him because she felt so unworthy of him. She said he is so good. When I heard it I wondered what sort of an angel he was that Jewel Tate was not worthy of him. She was the young lady I succeeded in the Tax Collector’s office (which certainly doesn’t add anything to her worthiness, however). Nevertheless, she is truly a fine girl and I am glad she is not going to be (or shall I say, remain?) an old maid.

I will write you again tomorrow.

I love you so very very very much.

Always your
Ina.

July 18, 1925 (Walter)

Jacksonville Florida.

My Dear Sweetheart,

Gee! but I would like to be with you now. The recollections of the two months at Uvalde are so vivid and of such importance and pleasure, that I feel I would give most anything to spend this evening with you. I always wish for you, Dear, but there is a special reason tonight. The week’s work is over and I naturally want to talk with you, but I wonder if there is anything that we have not discussed that should be talked over.

We met Dr. Arius at the park a few minutes ago and congratulated him on being elected State Health Officer by the Board of Health. He was not permanently given the place, but will no doubt get it as the Board are placing him in charge. When he had talked about this, he told of the family and his nine years of married life. Said they had never had a fuss and that both of them were determined that they were not going to have one.

July 18, 1925 (Walter)

July 18, 1925 (Walter)

This interested me and I asked how he accounted for it, just as though it was very unusual, and I do believe that it seldom happens that way. He said that it was due to a complete understanding before they married and of keeping such an understanding of one another. He says that if there is anything that a couple will not discuss nor understand of one another, that sooner or later things happen to cause friction. He was not married until he was in the thirties and when he found the girl to be his wife he couldn’t understand why she had not married before then. The feeling and general trend seemed to be so much like that of my own case, Dear, that I couldn’t help but tell you about it. From what he told me I can’t help but feel that my circumstances are very similar to what his had been. I can’t see any reason why we should not be equally as happy and congenial, and you don’t know how much I wish for the time to come so that I can have you with me always. I don’t know of anything on which we have not had an understanding and if you are happy I know that I’ll be happier.

There is only one thing that I know of which we have not discussed fully, but I believe that each of us understand. I wish that my income was sufficient so that I could support you in more style, but I believe that I can give you comforts and conveniences which will make favorable conditions for happiness, and I believe that you know about them and about what to expect of me. I haven’t heard anything lately regarding a promotion, but I am in hopes that my salary was increased on July 1st. Bishopp intimated it, but did not tell me for sure. I had not asked for it, and with him I don’t believe that asking was necessary at the present time. I rather expect that it will be effective for $2600 or possibly $2700*. It is a most peculiar thing that I mentioned my salary to you when I had known you only a short time, and that we exchanged experiences we had had with others. I have often thought of it and why we did this. It seemed as though we understood each other very early in our acquaintance and, Dear, I have loved you ever since then. There was a slight tremble in your voice when you told me, and I wanted to hug you so much and tell you that I loved you. That was the time you would not even let me hold your hand for a second when I told you goodnight. It was sweet of you, but it didn’t seem just right to me then. But you were right, and you don’t know how glad I am that everything came out all right. We are going to be happy and I am not going to have a fuss with you. I’ll call you “Mama” when we seem to be approaching such a point. We will be frank and open about everything and if there is anything you want to know which I have not told you I want you to feel free to ask me. If it hurts I’ll tell you just the same. I believe I have told you most everything, or at least everything I could think of and I had no mental reservation of any kind.

Our clinic closes Monday night, and we expect to be here until the latter part of the week. Then we will no doubt go down to the beach for the rest of the time while Dr. White is here. I want to make good use of him, for it is like having a University along to have him with me. I hope that it will be possible to get him down here in the future for a short while each year. He has been an old bachelor so long that he has set ways of doing things, but these ways are good ones at that. I hope that I will not be so much that way that it will annoy you, for I want to make you happy and if I can do this I’ll be a mighty happy human.

Remember that I love you, Honey, and that you mean everything to me. I want you and I am going to try and make you happy.

With all my love,
Your,
Walter.

* Equal to $33,000-$34,000 in 2011.

July 17, 1925 (Ina)

Friday Nite.

July 17, 1925.

My dearest Walter:

Claudelle and I have just been singing “Lonesome, That’s All” and other songs of that sentiment, and I felt it too. I feel like I would give most anything for a few hours with you this evening. I think of the pleasant evenings we have spent together and I feel that I can hardly wait for the time to come when we can spend ‘most all our evenings together. I am still so thankful tho that we had so many opportunities to be together while you were here and that we took advantage of them too. We didn’t let many of them slip, did we?

July 17, 1925 (Ina)

July 17, 1925 (Ina)

This afternoon Claudelle and I went shopping and came back by to visit with Avis for a short while. She is certainly perfectly devoted to Lucius. She said she thot before they married that she loved him as much as she possibly could, but that she didn’t really love him at all then compared with the way she loves him now. She thinks that if good, true love is the foundation, a young man and young woman love each other more and more all the time as they know and understand each other better. I am sure that our love is good and true, and if I love you more after we are married it will certainly be a whole lot of love because I already love you so much more than I ever thot I could anyone. Maybe tho, the more you love, the greater your capacity is for loving.

I hope I will get a letter tomorrow.

Always your
Ina.

I’ve been correcting minor spelling errors in the letters, and will resume doing so after this one, but wanted to give a feel for Ina’s peculiar (and fairly consistent) spelling of “thought” and “though.” I think these might have been common affectations in letter-writing at the time.