THROUGH THE YEARS 1944-2007

ELLIS' 1944 SKARPS

CHRISTMAS CARD FRIENDSHIP

Pearl Skarp and I met in Medford. Oregon when our husbands were stationed at Camp White in 1943 during World War II. Pea rl had
traveled there from Virginia, MN to be with her husband Bob and I had taken a train from Champaign, Illinois and arrived in Medford on New Year's Eve 1943 to be with Dale.

I had left home with only $100 and paid $66 for my train ticket. On that train trip, with such a small amount of money in my pocket, I was fortunate that a group of young Sailors (just finishing boot camp) got on the train in Minneapolis. During the war, at every train stop USO served sandwiches, fruit, desserts and drinks. The young Sailors would hop off the train, pick up food and they always brought back some for me. On that 4 day and 3 night trip, I only ate in the Diner a couple of times.

There were many Army and Navy wives, going West to be with their husbands. Many had babies and small children. It was much more tiring for them as we did not have Pullman and sat up the whole time. It seemed a very long journey, but we were all young and anxious to be with our loved ones.

Once I arrived in Medford Dale met me and we were fortunate to be able to stay on the Army Base for 3 nights. We checked the newspapers for rooms to rent. Finding one we felt we could afford, we took a cab and
when we arrived at the house another couple arrived at the same time, so we ran to the door....and got the room. It was $30 a month. There was no heat in the room and Oregon is very chilly and damp during winter months,
so many times we slept in sweaters....Dale could eat at the Army base and
during the week I ate at the Rolling Pin Doughnut Shop. We both ate there on weekends and a full Sunday meal was 55 cents.

I got a job in the Camp White laundry. I worked there about a month, then
got on at Montgomery Ward in the paint department. In April the 96th Division was being transferred to San Luis Obispo, California. Pearl and I decided we needed to get to San Luis Obispo early, before the Division
arrived so we could get housing and a job. I was fortunate and since I had been with Montgomery Ward in Medford, was hired and was lucky to be put in the Catalog Order Department.

The Division had orders to be shipped to the Pacific about the middle of June 1944. They were saving all seats on trains for the soldiers so they could make one last furlough home before shipping out.

That is when Pearl and I decided to take a Greyhound back home. It was great we had met and didn't have to travel alone. We would be traveling together as far as St. Louis, MO. We would arrive home a couple of days before our husbands arrived. We boarded the Greyhound with suitcases filled to the brim with what few clothes we had, and any items we wanted
to bring back home with us. This was on a Monday morning. That night we stayed in Los Angeles......our last good night's sleep for many days.
On Tuesday morning we waved goodbye to LA and were on our way.

In 1944 the buses were quite nice, but there was no bathroom or air conditioning. Pearl was 5 months pregnant. It seemed a long way between rest stops.....more so for her I'm sure. We had bus stops for meals and rest stops about every two hours. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday went by. We stopped at the Painted Desert and some historical sights along the route. We were getting very tired and during the day the smell of diesel from the exhaust was beginning to get to us. I
remember we stopped in Kansas City, MO. It was a bit longer stop than
most and we got out and sat on the curb in the hot sun. By then we were
so weary. Saturday about noon we arrived at the Greyhound Bus Station
in St. Louis.

We were very tired from the long trip across the country. Pearl's feet were so swollen she had to kick off her shoes and go barefoot in the bus station... We were sorry to have to part and say goodbye to one another. Pearl was headed for Virginia, MN and my bus was to Champaign, IL. I remember arriving in Champaign about noon on Saturday.....and I know it was several hours later that Pearl arrived in Virginia, MN. Our husbands
arrived home a few days later and we had about 10 days then they boarded the train to go back to San Luis Obispo and in a few days were shipped to
the South Pacific.

Pearl had Judy four months after arriving home. I went back to work at
the University of Illinois. In early 1946 our husbands arrived home from
the War. We were so fortunate they both survived the Pacific battles and returned to us.

Dale and I had 3 sons, 8 grandsons, one granddaughter, and 3 living great grand children. One grandson passed away when he was 1 1/2. Bob and Pearl had the one daughter, 3 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.

The amazing part of this story.......Pearl and I have not seen one another
since that day in 1944 when we hugged one another and parted in the St. Louis Greyhound Bus Station. We have never missed one Christmas without sending each other a Christmas Card with a note and sometimes pictures. We call it our Wonderful Christmas Card Friendship.

Here it is the year 2008 and we are no longer the young wives heading West to see our Soldier husbands....We are both in our eighties. Bob and Dale have passed away. They were wonderful husbands and Fathers. Christmas 2007 was 63 years of keeping in touch with Christmas Cards. We are looking forward to our 64th Christmas card in 2008.

2007

A LITTLE GIRL AND A CANDY BAR

THE BABY RUTH CANDY BAR EPISODE

One bright, sunny afternoon when
I was about eight or nine years
old, Dad was going to take a load
of wheat to the grain elevator
and it was quite a
distance to ride in a wagon pulled
by two horses.   He thought
I would keep him company on that
long trip. I was delighted he asked
me to go so I could spend a little
time with him all by myself. No
doubt I jabbered like a magpie all
the way there.

While the men at the grain elevator
unloaded the wagon....they scooped
off the load as they had no
automatic equipment back then...Dad
and I went into the elevator office
and got a drink of water. While in
there I spotted a candy bar machine.
Dad probably took his last nickel
and dropped it in the machine.
I chose a BABY RUTH and in those
days candy bars were huge. Sure
got a lot for a nickel.

I remember as we crawled back up on
the seat of the wagon to head home,
I unwrapped that delicate morsel.
How exciting to have a whole candy
bar for myself. I remember taking
one huge bite and as I chewed up
the nuts and swallowed, I looked
down at the candy bar in my hand
and there were huge, white worms
crawling out of those peanuts.
What a horrible sight and I threw
the candy bar over the side of
the wagon.   Talk about upset..
not only that I had eaten the
worms, but that I had to throw
the rest of that delicacy away.
I think my jabbering stopped and
I was quiet the rest of the way
home.

In those days, with no air
conditioning, it was hot in the
office where the candy machine
was located and so few people
had extra nickels to use for
candy, that bar had probably
been in the machine a long time.
Anyway, long enough to get wormy
and ruin a little girl's after-
noon.

For years, I would look at the
Baby Ruth candy bars and have no
desire for one....I always imagined
worms crawling out of the peanuts. As
time went on I decided to buy
one and sure enough, it wasn't
wormy, and it tasted great. They
are much smaller now, but once in
awhile, I buy one just for "old
times sake".....

THE HOUSE SOUTH OF HOMER

The house shown above was where I was born and lived for the first 10 years of my life. It was built in 1890 and a show place in the country near
Homer, IL. It was a 10 room house with a basement, bathroom, built in China cabinets, beautiful woodwork and stairway. There was a stained glass insert at the top of the living room window. On Wednesday night, August 11, 1933, lightning in all it's fury, struck the house and burned it to the ground.

My parents and 18 month old Sister were inside (my six year old
Sister and I were away visiting an Aunt). My Mother was awakened
by the sound of voices yelling "your house is on fire, your house is on fire, wakeup everyone". She heard them and, in her nightgown, ran outside and could see large patches of the roof burning. Back inside she got my Father awake (he pulled on his overalls) they grabbed the baby
and ran outside. By that time, neighbors had called the fire department
and two men who had arrived ran inside and dragged out the baby bed, a small chest of drawers, Mother's Hope Chest, a rocker and a library table.
By then they could see the stairs burning, and could hear mirrors and windows popping and cracking, then the roof fell in and the house was totally destroyed.

The next morning, my Parents called my Aunt to bring us home. It
was such trauma for all of us. We could still see the smoldering ruins
and knew all our belongings were gone. My parents had such a small amount of insurance. We had great friends and neighbors and they brought money for clothes, and things we needed right away, then in a few days gave a shower with kitchen utensils, bedding, towels, and things we could use since we had to live in our garage for 6 weeks.

After the smoldering ruins cooled, we were allowed to go into the basement and as we dug through the ruins, found a doll's head, twisted knives and forks, some broken china. I remember seeing my parents cry for the very first time. It was heart rendering for a child of 10.

The man and woman who ran through the yard yelling "your house is on fire" were just driving down the road, when they saw a flash of lightning strike the house and then saw flames as it began to burn. They
saved my Parents and little Sister. Mother and Dad were told by a Doctor that the lightning had stunned them and they would have burned with the house without the man and woman, just mentioned. They said they were returning to their home from the Chicago World's Fair but did not give their names. To this day we do not know who the two people were, or where they were from. Mother always said, they were "Two Strangers in The Night.... Angels in Disguise".

The Summer of 1933 had been very hot and dry. The grass was burned brown and the garden had dried up. While we lived in the garage for the six weeks, it was terribly hot and my Mother cooked on a little oil burning stove. Someone brought us cots to sleep on and with the bedding, towels, etc. given to us we, were able to survive until a house became available.

The following is a poem I have written about "THE HOUSE SOUTH OF HOMER".

It was a lovely farm home on a knoll South of town
A show place in the country, fields all around
I was born there in 1922 on a cold November day
My folks were happy, I've heard them say

As time went on, two Sister's arrived
Making us a Family of five
The farm house was big, with plenty of room
We were happy there until the lightning boom.

Early one morning, August 9, 1933 to be exact
Things changed for this family of five, in fact
The house burned to the ground in a few seconds flat
And left us with no belongings, not even a hat.

Strangers awakened Mother and Dad from their sleep
To let them know, they no longer could keep
Staying in that house that was all a flame
With nothing but the storm and lightning to blame.

A few items saved, but most possessions were lost
Just a few things out the doors were tossed
Days later in the basement area, we found
Bent forks, doll heads...memories abound.

My life was changed from that moment on
The lovely house with stained glass window was gone
Some memories from my carefree days
Were lost because of that terrible blaze.

On the night of August 9, 1933
Quite a change seemed to come over me
I was no longer a little kid all protected and warm
But a more grown up gal, who would have to leave that farm.

From that day on, we moved many times
To different type houses, some not so fine
I grew up that day in 1933
When the House South of Homer burned
And life changed for me.

...by Mary M. Ellis

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