February 4, 1969
Feb. 4, 1969
Tuesday – 9 P.M.
Dear Larry:
Well, here I am again with one of my boring letters to let you know we are all ok and hope you are the same.
I didn’t go to Bingo tonight as I had to study my driver’s manual to get my beginner’s license. I wasn’t going to write you anything about it and let it be a surprise to you when you got home, but I talked to Aunt Mary on the phone and she said that she wrote and told you that I am going to take driver’s training at Anderson High School. I finally decided to learn to drive after all these years.
February 2, 1969
Feb. 2, 1969
Sunday 8 P.M.
Dear Larry:
Well, here it is Groundhog Day and as far as here in Anderson, he didn’t see his shadow, because it was cloudy here all day.
I just got home from St. Ambrose Hall, the teenagers had their monthly dinner tonight, so I had to help serve. They had steak sandwiches, potato salad, baked beans, and a relish dish and ice cream bars for dessert.
Last night, I went to Bingo and got home around midnight, and when I got in the house, I found a surprise. Tresa, Karl, and Dad bought bookshelves, it has 6 shelves in it. 1 – 12 inch, 2 – 10 inch, 3 – 8 inch shelves, and 36 inches wide. It looks real nice, so now we have a place for our new Encyclopedias and other books and what nots and trophies.
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.
January 16, 1969
January 16, 1969
Thursday 10:30 A.M.
Dear Larry:
Well, here I am again with a few lines and hoping you are ok. As yet, we haven’t been getting any mail from you. What have you been doing? I can’t understand why you can’t write to us more often. Here is hoping again today that the mailman will bring a letter from you.
Dad worked at the club last night, and this morning, he decided that he didn’t want to go to work. He hasn’t been off for some time, so he called in and told them he was sick. He will probably end up sleeping most of the day.
January 14, 1969
January 14, 1969
Tuesday 10 A.M.
Dear Larry:
Well, here I am again with a few lines to let you know all is well here and hope you are the same. We haven’t heard from you in some time again, but I keep hoping for a letter soon.
It is still cold as ever in Anderson, with snow on the ground and the streets are still slick. The kids went back to school yesterday, but the buses are slow coming around to pick them up. It’s been slick and cold since the first of the year. The weatherman said today that it is supposed to get a little warmer. I sure hope so, then maybe it will melt some of the slick spots. When we go out now, we have to walk on needles and pins to keep from falling. Ha.
January 10, 1969
Friday, January 10, 1969
9 A.M.
Dear Larry:
Well, here it is Friday morning. The sun is shining, but it is a very cold day. The temperature is 1 above zero this morning. The kids where not in school yesterday and again today because the roads are covered with ice and it is really slick. We went to one of Karl’s games at North Side Wednesday and it took about 30 minutes to get there because the traffic was so slow. This is Dad’s week off and he said he was glad because he had a few days of rough driving. He said his truck broke down two times yesterday so he had to work overtime and didn’t get home till almost 7 last night. I had hot vegetable soup for supper and then after supper, he went to work at the club.
January 9, 1969
Dear Larry,
Here it is January 9, 1969. It is Thursday and everybody is out of school because of the slick roads. It rained last night and the rain froze. The roads are too slick for the buses to pick us up. When I go to school, I have to get up at 7:00. The bus picks us up at twenty till eight.
I am sending a clipping of the basketball ratings [not included]. Anderson is doing pretty good. This is the first time they are rated this season. They’re record is 6-2. They lost their first two games of the season to the 2nd and 5th ranked teams this week. Anderson beat teams like Indianapolis Tech, East Chicago Washington, rated 18th, Muncie South and Muncie Central in the holiday tourney, Lafayette-Jeff, and Ft. Wayne-South. Sports writers all over the state say they have the toughest schedule in the state.
Our basketball team had a game last night and we lost 25-8. I have to go for now.
Your Brother,
Karl
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 5, 1969
January 5, 1969
8:30 P.M. Sunday eve
Dear Larry:
Well, here I am again with a few lines to let you know all is ok here. About everyone in Anderson is sick with the flu, so we are keeping our fingers crossed here. As cold as it is here, it looks like the flu bug would freeze. The temperature here has been in the teens and almost zero the last few days.
We received a letter from you Thursday and, as you know, we were glad to hear from you. I haven’t been writing as much as I wanted to, but with the holidays over and the kids will be going back to school tomorrow, I will probably be back to normal (I hope).
