Click here to read story from beginning.
Story so far: Grandma Cecile had reached her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslovakia, after a trip across the continental USA and the Atlantic Ocean. As she traveled, she was writing letters home and others at home were writing to her.
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Not only the letters between Grandma and others, Grandma also included in her collection a letter from her oldest daughter, Agnes, to her youngest daughter, Betty.
Sr. Agnes was in the convent in Beaverton, Oregon, where she was in the process of becoming a nun. She would take her final vows later that summer. The letter reveals some of what life was like in the convent at that time.
Agnes and Betty were Grandma Cecile's only two living daughters. She had three daughters who died in infancy and one who died as a two year-old. Apparently Agnes and Betty were quite close even at this age. They remained close for their whole lives.
Here is Sr. Agnes' four page letter, written on one sheet of paper, folded to create a front page, two inside pages and a back page:
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| front page of letter |
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| inside - page 2 & 3 |
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| back page |
Here is what her letter said:
J.M.J.
St. Mary's of the Valley
Beaverton, Oregon
June 21, 1936
My dear little sister,
I received your letter last week and did not have a chance to answer sooner. I was surely glad to hear all about Gus' wedding and am anxiously waiting to meet my new sister-in-law. Mamma said they were intending to build a new house on the other farm. Have they started yet? And won't you be proud when you can go and stay overnite[sic] with Gus in his new home? After the wedding you must write and tell me [page2] all the details concerning it, for I'm quite sure that Gus will be too busy.
I received a card from mamma last week. It was the first time that I heard from her and it was written while she was sailing on the high sea. I hope that you are writing to her often as she certainly will be looking forward to letters from home.
So you are chief-cook and bottle washer, aren't you? Just as long as you don't use liniment for vanilla, and salt for sugar, and so forth, I guess you will keep them all alive. Are all of the boys at home now or are some at the sawmill? I imagine you [page 3] spend some time in the cherry tree behind the house, playing "birdie" and eating cherries, don't you?
Are there many strawberries and what all have you in the garden? Do you still keep your little corner of flowers?
Betty, you know I came here with the intention of staying and I hope and pray that it will be so. I am looking forward to August 15th and do you know that after that I can come home once every year? (counting this year - probably late in August or Sept.) I surely know by this time what I'm doing and I also know that it is hard for both of us to be away from each [page4] other. I do remember you every day and pray, pray very hard for my dear little "sis" so that she will be a good, happy and healthy little sister and that some day "maybe" you will be here with me. How do you like the rosary that I sent home for you? I was rather disappointed that you did not come along. Are you still wearing the relic of the Little Flower which Sr. M. Mercedes gave you? Don't Stella and Ruth come and stay with you now and then? Won't you write to me at least every two (2) weeks while mamma is gone and tell me all about everything?? I'm so glad always to hear just what you are doing and how you are. Well Betty, I must write to mamma and Marie yet, too, so must make my ending short - trusting that you will be a real good little girl and never forget to pray for your sister who never forgets you.
With love,
Sister M. Liliosa
Why is the letter signed "Sister M. Liliosa" instead of Sr. Agnes? Mary Liliosa was the name she took when she entered the convent. It was many years later when the nuns made the ruling that they could return to their family names that Sr Liliosa went back to Sr Agnes. Since that is the name I became the most familiar with, that's the one I am using here.
The affection for her little sister really comes through in this letter. The first thing on her mind, however, is excitement for her brother Gus' upcoming wedding on June 30. He was the first of the family to wed. Sr Agnes' final vows would qualify as an equal lifetime commitment, so in a sense, she was second among her siblings to "take the plunge" when she took her vows on August 15.
Apparently Sr Agnes had not yet met Ann (Krantz) who was to be Gus' bride. When Sr Agnes mentions coming home it becomes apparent that she has not been allowed to visit home for quite some time. I'm not sure how long Gus and Ann courted before the marriage, but Sr. Agnes had not been home enough to meet her. Ann was from Jordan, not far from the Stayton-Sublimity area.
A couple of other references Sr Agnes makes - "All of the boys" means her brothers, John, Tony, Gus and FB. The sawmill most likely was the mill owned by her brother-in-law, Bill Lulay, married to her half-sister, Marie. "...know what I'm doing" referred to her decision to permanently join the convent that summer after having been there for several years. It almost sounds like she may not have been entirely sure. It was a big decision. She did, however, hope that her little sister would some day join her as a nun. That wish would not develop. Betty would marry and have a family of her own.
It is also interesting to note how much things have changed in less than 100 years. If Grandma were traveling today, she'd have a cell phone or laptop and could instantly communicate with everyone back at home. Sr Agnes would probably be texting her little sister several times a day. None of this waiting, worrying and wondering what was happening.
To complete the picture of this communication, here are views of the front and back of the envelope the letter was mailed in:
The front of the envelope shows the address, written in Sr Agnes' neat cursive handwriting. The envelope was opened on the side, leaving the ragged edge. The dark "shadow" on the right side is smoke damage from the house fire. The shadow effect traces the outline of envelopes and papers piled above it inside the bag of souvenirs, inside the trunk in the old farmhouse.
The upside down writing on the right side says, "Beaverton" "Stayton" and "Oregon". Probably a "scribbler" practicing his/her handwriting after the letter made it to its destination. It was not meant to be part of the address.
The back of the envelope shows a bit of humor on someone's part. My guess would be between her brothers and Betty, or possibly between the brothers. It simply says, "Bah, you are the flies in mine soup". That is followed by someone's retort, "Oh, yeah". One can only wonder at what was going on. What does it mean? It would be hard to translate, easiest to say - it was a tease.
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| back of the envelope |
For a closer view of the letter and/or the envelope, simply click on any of the images and scroll through them all.
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Story to be continued......
To read Post "49 - Letter From Weisers to Grandpa - 24 June 1936", Click here
