1982 Letter from HH & Jean to Family - May 23

Excellent job keeping up the weekly letters to family in 1982, Mom and Dad! We appreciate your writing the letters so regularly and keeping them for us to re-read 30 years later.   Transcription follows.

1982 HHU/JBU letter to family - May 23

Sunday, May 23, 1982

Dear Family:

A BIG day today for we can now say that all of our children have graduated from High School.  The ceremonies were held on the football field and had a few anxious moments as several drops of rain did fall at the start, tho it did turn out well.  The girls had gone overboard in sending out announcements on the graduation and we had an invasion of people this afternoon – well over a hundred and it was after 7 P.M. before things quieted down.  The Goodings were down ... Bob has had some health problems and has been off work for seven weeks.  Jim's employer is moving from Eaton to Cincinnati.  We hope that they can come back again in four weeks to see the rest of the family.

Yesterday was yard and house work (naturally).  M.V. has a big flower bed int he shape of U I B L E and as sure that it will look great in June.  We didn't have the stamina to write "Welcome Home Everyone" etc. etc. in flowers.  One of the gifts that M.V. got today was a rose bush.  We are glad that she enjoys working with flowers.

Also yesterday, M.Y. had a call from Korea and now her folks are coming this next Thursday for several (?) days from Korea, so we will have to play their visit by ear.

Friday night we went to the play at Wilmington College "The Man Who Came to Dinner," which was excellent and we all had a lot of laughs.  Thursday night M.Y. was in a style show at the High School to model clothes that the students had made during the year – their teacher is Cynthia Bean Saylor, who was in Serena's class.  She modeled a camisole blouse, lined jacket, and her prom dress which you will have to see a picture of to appreciate the work that went into it (56 pattern pieces).

Glad to talk to you three girls on the phone this past week.  Serena's WATTS line has been busy too for she has made a number of calls to various members of the family.  Glad that John and X got to see the Hortons while in Florida.  Anxious to hear how law school goes as he starts classes tomorrow (Monday nite).  So many people asked about all of you and if you were able to come for graduation.  Hopefully you will get to see some of them when you all are home.  I also would appreciate it if you would go through some boxes of things that have been here and sort things out.  Mie Young is beginning to store things too so we will have 8 people's collections.

Beryl Ruth Shoemaker and Eileen Cline helped serve this afternoon.  I had asked Jean Ames to help and get someone else but she hadn't.  I mentioned it to Opal [Nusbaum] but she thought Jean would rather not have her help – she may have been miffed that I hadn't asked her first.  Opal has had so much sickness in her family and David is getting married so felt she might prefer not to help.

Bill Kincaid was the valedictorian and spoke as well as another boy who was the salutatorian and the new minister at Mt. Olive gave the main (but short) address.

[love, etc.]


Thanks for the lovely book on Machu Picchu – our first one.  It is an outstanding place. [written by HH in the side margin to who ever gave them the Machu Picchu book.]