It's in the Mail

We kept the post office busy in those four years ! Anytime we were not together, a letter was written most every day. For this one page, I clipped post marks and stamps from real letters from Douglas while he was in boot camp and other spots. On the back of one envelope, he had printed the caption "Postmaster make like Elvis go man go". We were a young married couple during Elvis' early popularity. I have never run across the letters I wrote to him, but still have the ones I received from him. The other page shows photos of his dog tags and honorable discharge medal and certificate. "The Anchor" was an album similar to high school annuals with pictures and stories of Company 154 - the group of young men at San Diego Naval Training that spring of 1958. The "Nightcappers" emblem was the logo for Douglas group of Naval Airmen. His Mother and Dad had a decal on a window pane in their front door and Douglas mounted the felt patch on a plaque which hangs in a collage of mementos in my entry hall.

U.S. Navy Man

When Douglas came home from Navy boot camp that spring of 1958, his beautiful black hair in that duck tail style, was just barely growing out from the military cut all those young men get ! I was a little in shock, but, I would imagine it didn't make him real happy as his hair was always his crowning glory. It even shows in the picture of him as a child ! AND, look at that little guy in his Navy costume. He grew up to proudly wear the real thing for 4 years.

1957 High School Prom

A memory was jogged today when reading a forwarded email from Aunt Joan. That great "after-prom" dance that my then future in-laws chaperoned, also, had other future relatives in attendance. G'pa P.M.'s adopted sister, Evelyn, was married to a musician, Karl, who was a Des Moines high school music instructor and also had his own band. They performed different functions, and they were our dance band that night. Karl's sister, Wanda, was the singer and there you have it - a swinging band for a bunch of swinging teenagers !

It Was 1954 And --

When Douglas turned 16, he bought the family's 1954 Ford from his parents as they went and bought a new car. It seemed to be a family tradition for Paul and Ruth's automobiles to stay in the family through the years. These pictures are not of the original car - there didn't seem to be one anywhere. The robin's egg blue with white top Ford was a beautiful car. Some of the other pictures on these pages were taken on a few of our dates, one at Ledges State Park on a picnic with another couple, and who caught us kissing in the car and at a high school Christmas Formal Dance ? The Junior-Senior Prom in 1957 was held at the Boone Country Club if I recall. Then, at midnight, we continued to dance and party at Ogden City Hall. My dates parents, chaperoned this after midnight festivity, so, I danced with two Johnson men that night !! That young one really had my heart !! And then, there is that "pin-up" photo of me ! My sis and I were always taking these kinds of shots of each other !!