May 25, 1935
My Sweet Sweets:
I am real fancy tonight. I am sitting at a nice desk in the Hotel Sherman while Leonard went to the barber shop to make him look his best. We are going to Gray’s later and we want to look real nice. Actually he always does.
I never thought I would keep a diary here but I think my letters are even more detailed than a diary.
Well, last Saturday we spent most of the night in the office. We even ate breakfast downtown before going home. Sunday I slept all day and we did not meet until 8:00 p.m. for supper.
Monday dinner at Mrs. Saunders. I finished the pullover from the ripped sweater and started a hat for myself.
H. Horwitz Co,
On Tuesday we met downtown for breakfast. I took a beautiful silver vase Leonard bought for Mrs. Gray to have it engraved at Horwitz’s, the company Aunt Henny worked for at the fair. Dinner at Mrs. Saunders. Finished my hat, made 2 flowers and 1 bud similar to what I made at my test in the trade school. Wednesday I had to wait for 1 hour until the engraving was finished.
Wednesday: Dinner at Mrs. Saunders again. Change clothes: brown shoes, beige hose, beige new skirt, new crocheted sweater with hat to match, brown pocketbook, long beige kid gloves and navy blue coat. At 9:00 pm we went to Gray’s. I think I really looked very nice and never knew brown and beige would look that good on me.
We had some real nice warm days, but naturally that Wednesday when the birthday party was planned to be on the roof garden it was colder and raining. The party was anyhow very nice. I followed Papa’s good advice and had only 1 beer, 1 cocktail and a cup of black coffee.
I saw Len only when he brought me a plate with bread and cold cuts. He was sitting as far from me as possible with a few ladies and I far away with a few nice men, all kinds of professions including a newspaper reporter. It was very interesting and nice. We took 2 ladies home on our way. Leonard was trying to apologize for not being with me all evening but I assured him that for us 2 to be together we do not have to go to such a party. We went there to meet other people.
Double Decker
Please excuse my bad writing and making everything as short as possible. I am anxious to have this finished by the time Leonard comes back.
Enclosed I am sending you a petal of a rose I swiped and pinned on my bosom. It smells so wonderful, I want you to have a little part of it.
More explanation about Gray’s penthouse will follow with my next letter. It is too hard to do now. One of the nice things at Gray’s party is the fact we did not go home so very late. We left there already shortly after midnight. As a result I was not any more tired on Thursday than I am usually.
(Leonard has no car. He mostly takes taxis. He drove some years ago but had an accident and will not drive any more. I do not know what really happened, since I noticed he does not want to talk about it.)
Palmengarten
Thursday: Ate again with Mrs. Saunders. We did want to go to a movie but the 4 films showing in our neighborhood we did not want to see – either one of us had seen it already or it did not sound good. So we saved our money and went to bed at 10:30 pm after doing some very neglected
Yesterday, Shabbos, I was again at Samuels and did not get home until 1:00 am. I often have that trouble going home from there.
Going I had a beautiful ride on the upper deck of a double decker bus, along the parks and the lake. The “Palmengarten” is very beautiful but no comparison with these parks for miles and miles. The Chicagoans do not really appreciate that beauty.
Sherman Hotel
Today I slept late, visited with Mrs. Saunders for 2 hours, then sitting in the sun on my bed I altered a dress and a hat, took off cape collar from my coat (it is too warm now), went downtown and picked up Leonard. Now after a good dinner I am sitting here in the lobby of the Sherman House, as I mentioned before. In the meantime only a toothache joined me.
I am glad Leonard left his fountain pen with me, otherwise I would have had to stop writing a long time ago. But that is it now. I am getting writer’s cramp, because I am trying to write real fast.
So now more next week.
A million greetings and kisses
Your Nudelsupp
[Noodle soup – A nickname for Trudel.]
At the end of this page of her translations, Trudel wrote:
Comment: Now that I have translated the letters of my first year in Chicago I will pick out only the highlights. You all know that I eat and sleep every day. It is really not important when or where. From here on it goes “diary style,” only different or interesting occurrences.
In the 1960s, many years later, Trudel would herself work at H. Horwitz Co. at 36 S. State Street in Chicago’s Loop.
