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March and April 1936 – I will be glad when the election is over.

March and April 1936  – I  will be glad when the election is over.

Trudel continued to abstract her letters into brief notes so I have consolidated March and April 1936 into one post. [April is below the first movie trailer.]

3/20/26
A fortune teller told me that Papa was not feeling well and should watch his health much more. Right? Leonard is very busy making speeches for Governor Len Small for mayor of Chicago. I will be glad when the election is over.

Easter Sunday 4/12/26
Happy birthday to Erna. [Erna’s birthday was April 25th.]
Leonard with speeches, also on radio, and I with hats, are keeping both of us very busy. I Try to go with him when I can.

Last Friday Rose LaMarque and I saw “The Great Waltz.” Wonderful.

4/26/36
Although Leonard was not elected as a judge, he is still much better off than the other Republican candidate who spent $25,000 and lost too with only ½ as many votes as Leonard, who did not spend 1¢. I am glad it is all over but it was very interesting for me and I learned a lot.

Papa’s letter had been opened by the Germans, by the foreign exchange department.

I Have not moved to the Seneca Hotel with Mrs La Marque yet, but will tell you the advantages I will have:
1. The landlord will not misplace my mail
2. All phone calls and visitors will be told me as soon as I come home
3. Home right after work (in the building)
4. Not so much alone
5. For the same money much bigger room
6. Telephone in the room
7. Private bathroom
8. Much better neighborhood
9. 1st class hotel service
10. Restaurant and grocery store in building
11. Closer to the beach in summer
12. Radio
13. Sewing machine
Etc., etc.

Went to Klemm and Addie Eggner’s wedding last Sunday. Although Leonard was not in the mood for it since his 85 year old Father had died 3 days before in Sumter, he went with me anyhow. He could not go to the funeral since it was the next day and it would have taken 2 days to get there.

I saw best movie ever, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”: serious story; excellent performances.


I have been unable to find any information about the judicial elections in Chicago in 1936. It would appear that there must have been some kind of open primary or Trudel may have combined the primary with the general election in her mind, which would explain how LJG could lose to “his opponent” and his opponent could also lose.

 

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February 28, 1936 – Elections, Movies, and a Possible Move

February 28, 1936 – Elections, Movies, and a Possible Move

Trudel continued to translate her letters in an elliptical diary fashion, leaving us to wonder about the delicious (and mundane) details she omitted. But these were not uneventful times. Although there was time for movies, there were also worries about her family about what was happening in Europe as she mentions, cryptically, in the reference to “Mr. Warburg” and as her fiance Leonard mentioned in his letter to Trudel’s family earlier in the year.


LJG Campaigns

Leonard J. Grossman on the Stump.

Leonard’s petition to become a judge in order to be on the ballot he has to have a certain amount of signatures from people who want him. He is running on the Republican Party. Everybody has to declare if they are going to vote Republican or Democratic. That will also be for the general election in November.

LJG Candidate

Candidate Grossman


Received a very unkind letter from Mr. Warburg. I had asked for advice how to bring Doddo here.

Trudel, Erna and Lotte - 1932

Trudel, Erna and Lotte – 1932

Trudel at Rose's

Trudel at Rose La Marque’s

Rose La Marque

Rose La Marque

I may move to [share an apartment with] Mrs. LaMarque in the Seneca Hotel where I work evenings and weekends. She is that wonderful dressmaker and the lady who got me the job in her hotel. We are having dinner together every night now.


Saw Charlie Chaplin in a very funny movie that took 5 years to make, Modern Times.

Modern Times

Modern Times



The reference to an “unkind” letter from “Mr. Warburg” is unexplained. Trudel must have written to a member of the famous Warburg family, also of Frankfurt, in hope of getting some assistance for her sister Lotte (Doddo). This letter from Leonard to Trudel’s family hints at the problem. Lotte eventually made it to the United States in 1941.

See this review of the book The Warburgs for more information.


Charlie Chaplain hadn’t produced a movie in five years at the time Modern Times was released.


 
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Posted by on February 28, 1936 in diary, family, immigrant experience, Letters

 

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January 8, 1936 Happy New Year – A little belated.

January 8, 1936  Happy New Year – A little belated.

January 8, 1936

Happy New Year, a little belated.
I stayed home today because I have a very sore throat.

Sullys

Sully’s Hat Shop

I took care of “Sully’s” hat shop while she was in N.Y. Aunt Henny kept me company a few hours there every day until she went to Florida. Henny was as sweet and nice as when I first came to Chicago. She finally left by bus for Florida.

C-R Hats

C-R Hats

On the 24th, we had a nice party at C-R Millinery, which is named for its owners and was my main job. Every girl brought a 10¢ present, put on long strings, put it all in a big sack and each of us pulled a string and got a little gift package. Besides we each paid 25¢ for food: cold cuts, bread, salad, cucumbers, potato salad, coffee, cake and ice cream. The company donated a box of candies for each worker. One boy brought a radio, so we had music and danced a little. Mr. Roedelsheimer came for the 1st time since a severe operation and that added much to the fun of the party. Mr. Cohn always has a long, sad face.

Grand Terrace

The Grand Terrace

After the party, I stopped by Sully’s where everybody was drunk already. I went home, changed clothes and met Leonard at Bishops and received nice Xmas gifts.

New Year’s Eve and day we spent also with the Bishops. We went to a very different nightclub, called ‘Grand Terrace,’ the first time I was at a place like that where black and white people are together. I have to tell that the black people, including the wife of Joe Louis, behaved much better than the white folks. The orchestra, waiters and actors are black and very good, nice and clean.

I got a letter from Aunt Henny. Even in warm Florida she got a bad cold with back pain. Nothing special.


Trudel’s comments about the Grand Terrace, which was at 3955 South Parway and was reputedly one of Al Capone’s clubs, ring true. See the following notes from a website devoted to a woman named Audrey Vallette, a contemporary of Trudel’s whose path may have crossed with Trudel’s before Audrey’s tragic death.

Earl Hines Orchestra

Earl Hines Orchestra

“Swankiest of the Blackbelt night clubs, and one of the oldest. It is richly furnished and there is plenty of room for black, white, and intermediate shades. The floor show is elaborate and contains some of the most attractive colored chorines west of Harlem, as well as lively tap dancers and vaudeville teams. Music is furnished by Hines’ band, which is nothing if not “hot.” Saturday night is the big night at the Grand Terrace. Many of the patrons are white, this place being too expensive for the hordes of Negro nighthawks, but there are enough dusky damsels and high-brown gentlemen to give the place color.”

(Drury, John. Dining in Chicago, New York: The John Day Company, 1931, pp. 252-253.)

Gene Krupa

Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman at the Grand Terrace

“During 1936 at the Grand Terrace Ballroom, where Fletcher Henderson was appearing with his own band, Benny Goodman played in front of the band with Gene Krupa sitting in on drums. This is perhaps the first time that black and white jazz musicians played together before a paying audience.”

For more information about Audrey Vallette see the website The Unsolved Murder of Audrey Vallette.

 

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December, 1935 – Happy New Year

December, 1935 – Happy New Year

Although it was an exciting time, Trudel’s notes from December 1935 have only two dated entries. Remember to click on the images. Most will expand to a larger or more complete image or a YouTube.


LJG Trudel Wooster

Leonard and Trudel in Wooster

12/8/1935

Belated thanks for the very pretty napkin rings and birthday letters.

Our trip to Wooster [to visit with my sister’s fiance’] was my birthday present. It cost a lot of money and took Leonard away from his work. He has to finish a brief, have it printed, and it has to be in the state Supreme Court on Monday.

LJG DESK

LJG at his Desk



Thursday we had Thanksgiving turkey dinner at Bishops.

Ed and Gwen Bishop's Home

Ed and Gwen Bishop’s Home

12/22/1935

Saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a wonderful movie. We saw the live play a year ago.

Midsummer Night's Dream

Click on image for YouTube


Aunt Henny

Aunt Henny

Undated notes
Aunt Henny stayed with me for a few days before going to Florida.

I am still working on two jobs and like both very much.

Happy New Year
Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Love,
Trudelchen

 
 

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November 25, 1935 – A new job, a trip, and more movies.

November 25, 1935  – A new job, a trip, and more movies.

Trudel continues to translate in “diary style.”

Trudel's Workspace at Sully's

Trudel’s Workspace

Hats on Racks at Sully's

Sully’s

11/4

I started working for Sophie Sullivan in a little shop in the Seneca Hotel. Part time.

I saw the movie Broadway Melody of 1936 Very nice.

Sully

Sully

Poster Broadway Melody of 1936

Click for YouTube

Went to a Halloween Party as a witch in a dress made of a potato sack. I Made a big red tam for Leonard and red patches on his white jacket, with a red bandanna as tie and match box as holder.

I Spoke to Alex* on the phone 11/20, Thanks for Jewish paper and marzipan. Since I work on the two jobs I am very tired in the evening.

I saw an excellent move about South Africa Sanders of the River with Paul Robeson.

Robeson in Sanders of the River

Click image to hear Paul Robeson in Sanders of the River

More Robeson from Sanders of the River:
My Little Black Dove
Rallying the Tribes
The Canoe Song
The Complete Film


11/25
As you see, Leonard and I are on our way to Wooster Ohio to meet Alex.

Trudel and Alex

Trudel and Alex

Trudel & LJG in Wooster


Visiting in Wooster



*Alex was Trudel’s sister Erna’s fiance’ who was visiting America on business.


 
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Posted by on November 25, 1935 in diary, family, immigrant experience, Letters, Memoir

 

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