Letter, Irene Conole to her parents

[page 1]
16 April 1953
“Thursday”
Dear Mom and Dad,
Am doing fine and have two more
weeks to go. Have gained a pound too. Dr.
Suitor is pleased with how my teeth fit
over one another. He doesn’t know if he
can save the last tooth that I knocked
loose and if it bothers me they are going
to give me more penicilin. He doesn’t want
to pull the tooth for it’s helping the
fracture to heal. Boy that is one dentist
I like.
Received a letter from Aunt Anna
and one from Henry. I have little Mike’s
picture on the dresser and everyone who
comes in to see me asks whose baby it
is and I proudly state, “he’s my nephew.”
When Aunt Anna comes down it
won’t bother me at all. In fact no one
will. It was just how Rosie thinks and
also her girlfriends and I don’t especially
care for her type of friends. If they should
ever come down here again, God forbid,
they won’t faze me the least now.
I knew Sheilah had another boy and
she named him Jospeh Jr. She wrote me
when she was in the hospital and also
when she got home and put the two
letters in the same envelope. Sheilah’s
sister is expecting another baby in July

[page 2]
2. and they all hope it’s a boy.
Janet bought me a pair of slippers.
She has gotten too attached to me. I’m
going to bring her home with me some
weekend.
There is a girl who went through boot
camp with me that is getting a new car.
Her parents are buying it and she is
going to pay them back. She is from
Iona N.Y. and she wants me to go with
her when she goes home to help her to
drive.
The fellow, Jim Pullman, has a car now
and goes home twice a month. He’s the
one we tried to find who lived near
the Todd factory. His wife is living
down here now. So when I take my
leave I can ride home with him but
I’ll probably have to come back by train.
The fellows I work with and some
of the fellows I’ve met that come into the
Club have been up to visit me. They all
kid me and say that they don’t believe
I fell out of my bunk. They watch me
when I drink my milkshakes and forever
ask me if I have my clippers with me.
When I’m in the hospital the clippers are
pinned on me all the time. In case I get
sick to my stomach I was showed how
to cut the wires for if I didn’t clip them
they say I would strangle. Pleasant thought

[page 3]
3. isn’t it?
Dr. Suitor has gone home on two
weeks leave so Dr. Hook is examining
my teeth now. The Dr. said that when
he comes back he will take the wires
out. This week has gone by fast and
I hope the next two do too.
There were two nurses here the other
day in foreign looking uniforms. I
found out they were Danish nurses.
I’m glad I’m here now for I am getting
a good rest. I’ve always wonder why
an accident like that had to happened
to me. But I found out I was on my
way to a nervous breakdown and that
was due to the club. There are so many
clicks up there are I refuse to be in any
and I told them I was an independent little
snot. I found out from my boss, when he
came to see me, that they have cleaned
up the trouble there that I have been
complaining about. Boy am I glad!
Last night I went up to the club and
I met some fellows from Rochester. So we
all had a great conversation about the
schools we attended and the jobs we had.
There was one who worked in Bausch
& Lomb when I did but a couple of floors
above me and we never saw one another.
He even saw the Balco Review. Boy this
base if full of fellows from Rochester.
Did Henry show you the note I put in

[page 4]
4. his letter for you? It was what Aunt
Anna said.
Well I guess I’ll close now and go
and set this girl’s hair in the other
room. I’ve been setting more peoples
hair since I’ve been here. I should set
up business here.
Before I forget. About the first week
in May I’m going to send a money
order for $65. Fifteen of it is for my
insurance. I’ve heard that I can
carry the ten thousand dollar insurance,
that the Navy issues us, over into
civilian life when I get out. I hope so.
One of the Marines on the gate was
going home a couple of days ago and
ran into the back of a parked truck.
I believe it was one that hauls cars. His
whole car practically went underneath
it that and he hit it with such force
that his seat went back like a bed and
the steering wheel was lying beside him
on the right. It’s a good thing he died
instantly for they didn’t notice the
accident for a half hour. The fellow just
came back from Korea and was here
for a month.
I wrote a book didn’t I? Well
I’ll say bye for now.
Love and Kisses
Irene
P.S. Give my love to James