January 25, 1969
January 25, 1969
Dear Larry:
Well, here I am again and I don’t know if I should even be writing to you as I don’t even know if you are getting my mail or not. I just cannot believe that we haven’t heard from you in so long. The last letter you wrote to us was dated the 29th of December. I don’t want you to think that I am giving you the devil, because I am only a concerned parent, and I sure would be a heck of a parent if I didn’t care. I know that you probably get tired of writing everyday, but heavens, I think that at least we could hear from you more often than we do. I have a lot of people ask about you and I don’t know what to tell them since we don’t get mail. I can’t even get Dad to write. He said that he doesn’t hear from you, so why should he write. I just can’t be that way. I feel like I want to write to you whether you write or not. Like I said, I would be a heck of a mother if I didn’t care, and I will keep on writing to you and just hope that we get a letter soon. Everyday I keep hoping. I know that you probably think that I am giving you the devil, but I don’t want you to think that because all I ever look forward to is to see you get home and away from Vietnam.
January 19, 1969
Sunday, January 19, 2969
7:30 P.M.
Dear Larry:
Well, here it is, Sunday evening and we just got through with supper. We had steak which dad just bought at Matthews. Dad said, “Boy, if Larry was here, he sure would like to have one of those steaks.” I fixed the steaks so Dad made me sit down and Tresa and Carol are doing the dishes, so I thought I would write you a few lines.
Karol and Apolonia Rudolf’s Gravestone – 1960s
This photo was taken at Maplewood Cemetery in Anderson, IN. It shows Joanna, Carol and Larry in the back and Tresa and Karl in the front. They are standing behind the grave of their father Charlie’s parents and their grandparents, Karol and Apolonia Rudolf. We can only assume this photo was taken before 1963, which is when Apolonia passed away, because the date is not filled in yet. Most of them never met Karol as he passed away in 1948 when Larry, the second oldest, was only one year old.
January 1, 1969 – New Years Day
January 1, 1969
Wednesday 1 P.M.
New Years Day
Dear Larry,
Well, here it is a new year and is it ever cold outside. The windows are frosted from top to bottom. The temperature was below zero this morning and right now it is 11 degrees above zero, so it is not warming up much. This morning we went to the 10 o’clock mass and we about froze our fannies off. HA. It’s windy out and it makes it feel that much colder.
Well, in a way, I am glad that the holidays are over. Now things will be going back to normal. I can’t believe that in a couple of days you will be in the service a year already. Did the time go by quick for you? In a few months your time will be up in Vietnam and I am looking forward to that day.
December 30, 1968
Larry,
Hi, what’s happenin’? What did you do on Christmas? We all went to Charlene and Uncle Jack’s house. It was boring there. Believe me. I left about 5:30. Me, Carol Porter and a bunch of kids went bowling at Cooper’s that night and then went to this party. These two guys were giving it. Both of them were 1967 grads from Anderson High. I thought that party was going to be a drag, but it turned out great. With Pabst, a party can’t be bad. We had fun. Did I ever tell you what I got on my report card? I got one “A”, two “B’s” and one “C” and one and my first “D”. Isn’t that great? Still probably be a “F” the next time. Ask me if I care! Well I better go now. I’m tired and its about 12:00 A.M. now. I have to wake up early and do something with my hair. Write once in a lifetime to me, please…
Love ya,
Carol
December 24-26, 1968
Christmas Eve ’68
Hi, how are you? This is going to be a short letter because my paper supply is limited as my time is. What did you do on Christmas? What are you gonna do on New Years? Do you think you’ll get drunk as anything?
Mother has been busy today. She baked a ham and 3 pumpkin pies. Last night, she made some cranberry salad. Aunt Mary, Uncle Deda and Uncle Ray were just over here. Aunt Mary got me a pretty blue nightgown. Uncle Deda got me a pair of underpants and Uncle Ray got me a real neat yellow dress with a scarf to match. It is really cool. Barbara got me a pretty cool pair of earrings and a bracelet to match. Carol Porter bought me a charm for my charm bracelet. Vicki Lanone got me some scented perfume and Kathy bought me 3 pairs of really cool earrings. Uncle Tommy got me a real neat pair of cameo earrings. So far, we have just opened presents that our aunts and uncles got for us, but will open the rest from mother and Dad on Christmas morning.
Christmas without you isn’t so merry!
December 15, 1968
Larry,
Hi man, what’s happenin’? What did you do on your birthday? You should’ve seen all the stuff we had to eat on your birthday. We had turkey, dressing, dumplings and white cake. It was really groovy. Has anyone written you about M.H. [Madison Heights] getting zulched by Crispus Attucks? They beat us by about 20 points.
What are you doing on Christmas? Do you think you’ll get drunk? Did you get drunk on your birthday? How did you spend that day? Like usual, huh? Well, have a very merry Christmas.
Love ya,
Carol
Thanksgiving 2011
Over the long weekend, we made it to Indiana and celebrate Thanksgiving with the Rudolf side of the family. We managed to photograph some of the holiday to try and share the memories that we created. Enjoy!
The Indianapolis Colts shrine.
A “tin” man sculpture hanging in Carol’s backyard.
Amelia’s pre-cooked dumplings.
The Thanksgiving turkey that Randy Fite, Carol’s husband, grilled.
Our Thanksgiving feast featuring turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken and dumplings, corn bread and several different pies.
A sample plateful of food. You can expect that there were seconds.
Carol planted this tree in her backyard the year that Larry passed. It’s now 11 years old and thriving with Christmas lights.
Uncle Tommy and Aunt Mary, Amelia’s brother and sister.
Cory and Amelia. You can’t really tell who is the younger one.
Amelia and us, Cory and Jeff.
Jeff and Amelia (Grandma Rudolf).
A picture of Amelia when she was younger. Isn’t she beautiful?
December 10, 1968 (Joanna)
12/10/68
Dear Larry,
Hi! How’s everything goin’? I hope you’re getting along alright.
By the way, Happy Birthday.
I guess that’s a hell of a place to be celebrating your 21st birthday. Ah well, you can make up for it when you get home.
I was just thinking that in less than a month it will be one year since you’ve been in the service. It’s gone by pretty fast it seems. You’ll be out of Nam pretty soon, too — so just be careful for about six more months and you can come home on leave and go swimming in our pool, ok?
