To: Mr. A.D. Keese From: Lois 1940’s
Dear Aunt and Uncle;
Glad to get your card. I will write just as soon as I get time. I really like my job. I really get a kick out of it. I went home this last week in. Saw all of the family but Lee and they are all well.
I will close. Write to me soon.
Love,
Lois
Have you heard from Grandma?
This is one of those sneaky little postcards that has a half legible stamped date. I can see it was sent on September 8, but I don’t know the year! It’s smudged out and lost to time. But, we know it has to be past 1907, since it has the divided back.
The publisher, MWM, appears to have been active in the 30’s and 40’s. I was able to find this same postcard in a few places, but no date. Finally, I found one for sale on ebay with a date of 1947. I think this one likely dates slightly before that, but it’s safe to say Lois wrote to her Aunt and Uncle in the 1940’s.
Even casual students of history know that the 40’s were a time of sweeping change. World War II took up half the decade, and in the United States, the war years saw a great gush of women in the workplace as they stepped in to fill jobs left by men.
For the first (and last) time, we created a country that allowed women to work. Childcare was subsidized by the government, women were not only allowed to work, but encouraged to work. Many found fulfillment in wartime jobs, only to be shuttled back to the suburbs when men came home from the war.
And what of A.D. Keese and his niece, Lois? Without a first name I was not confident that I’d find A.D. and his niece. Yet, magically, the family popped up under my first search! It took some time to make sure I had the *right* A.D. and even now, of course I’m never 100% confident. But, I feel pretty good about these ones.
A.D. Keese was born Arthur David Keese on December 29 or 1883. In the census of 1930 he was listed as a farmer, and by his draft registration in 1942, he was living in Florence, Texas. On December 19 of 1915 he married Myrtle Farmer. Arthur died in 1976, and Myrtle passed four years later, in 1980. They are buried together.
Myrtle is integral to the story, however, because Myrtle is the blood aunt of Lois. Lois Donham Carr was a Christmas Eve baby, born December 24, 1924. Unfortunately, the record on Lois is a bit thin. I know that she married and had children, but as for what job she was doing when she sent the postcard, I’m not sure. Perhaps some sort of secretarial work? What is clear is that she had a sweet connection with her extended family and took the time to — not only write, but type — a card to them in her early 20’s.
As for Grandma, Lenora Farmer (Lois had Lenora’s middle name, by the way), she lived until the age of 81, and died in 1955.
What a wonderful opportunity to tell their story. I can see why this postcard has survived through many hands.
Hipstory 