Where to, next? . . . 1938

     After my great aunt Carolyn "Auntie" passed away in 2011, I inherited several old letters from her collection.  She and her friends and family were prolific in their written correspondence, especially before long distance telephone calls were commonplace. I am pretty sure that Auntie never threw away any piece of mail that was addressed to her, so this is quite a large collection of letters.  Included is the correspondence between her and her mother (my great-grandmother Nelle) during her years at DePauw University.  She attended DePauw from 1935-1939, while my grandmother Beth attended Guilford (IN) High School during these same four years.  I, coincidentally, attended DePauw from 1995-1999, so these DePauw letters are of special interest to me.  Another item of interest is the budding relationship between my granddad and grandmother (Roger and Beth), which began around 1938.  Their relationship is talked about frequently in the letters from my great-grandmother to my great aunt.  A third item of interest is the everyday details of living in the small village of Guilford, Indiana, where my great-grandfather J.C. Elliott was a country doctor to all surrounding areas.  He had an office in their house, but made many house calls to farms around the area to deliver babies and treat his patients.
     Since acquiring these letters, I have read several and started to scan and transcribe them.  Great-grandmother Nelle had beautiful handwriting, so it is easy to read through her letters.  She always provides the weather of the day, happenings around Guilford and Dearborn County, and inquiries about Carolyn's time at college.  Since I am working on transcribing these letters for my own family archive, I thought it would be fun to share them on my blog.  Anyone who is interested in country life, Dearborn County/Indiana history, DePauw University, college life in the 30's or even pop-culture of the 1930's might find these letters interesting. Posting them to the blog may also give me incentive to work on this project regularly.  Stay tuned for the first installment of letters between Nelle and Carolyn Elliott, dated September 1938!
     The following are pictures of my family members and their village of Guilford, which might help give you an image of the times:

Carolyn Elliott McManaman (my great aunt)

Katherine Elizabeth "Beth" Elliott Taylor (my grandmother)

Nelle Buchanan Elliott (my great-grandmother)

Dr. John C. Elliott (my great-grandfather)

The Elliotts' house in Guilford, IN, 

which also served as J.C. Elliott's medical office

Guilford Methodist Church

    

A view of Guilford, Dearborn County, Indiana from the hillside