Two Letters from the Newmans

Here are two letters written to King - one from the young girl Elva and the other from her mother Jessie later in the year.  Stamp collecting was a big thing in the 1930s. President Roosevelt was a serious stamp collector.

 

Elva J. Newman, Feb 16, 1936

February 16, 1936

Dear Mr. King,

I was glad to hear from you.  Marjorie Haffman, who goes out to Mount Carmel, told me she got a letter from you.

It must be interesting to cross the ocean on a big ship.  Did it rock, and was it fun? I didn’t think it would take so long to cross the ocean.

At school we had to take trips, and I went to Egypt, Arabia, and India.  I thought of you as I pretended to fly in a private plane over China. I would like very much to go to China.

I would like very much to go to China.  I have read a lot about China.

In geography we have finished studying about Japan, and we are going to take up China.  It showed the Great Wall of China, and I read “Uncle Ben in China,” and he walked on it.  Did you ever see it?

At school there is a little girl, and she is very sweet.  She is like this>


She was real cute and so I learned to draw her.

I certainly will be glad when you come back to America.  I never thought you would have to put U.S.A. on the letters you sent hear.

Those stamps were sure pretty (I mean the colors) and we don’t have those colors of stamps.

I don’t know of anything I can write so I am going to close.

Yours very truly,
       Elva J. Newman

P.S. This writing is terrible, but I tried my best.

[Notes: Elva used the stationary from the Hotel Lassen. The Lassen was directly across the street from the Pan American Cafe.  Mount Carmel was a private Catholic girls school. She pictured on the right.]

Jessie Newman, July 9, 1936 - talk of Landon