A List of Love and War
Today is the wedding anniversary of Harry and Bess Truman. Each year, Harry wrote Bess a letter on June 28. Over the course of their 60-year courtship, Harry devotedly wrote his wife more than 1,300 letters.
Pictured here is the first page of Harry’s 1957 anniversary letter to Bess. In it, Harry frankly lists the top news from each year including:
- 1920 One happy year.
- 1921 Going very well.
- 1922 Daughter 4 mo. old.
- 1925 Out of a job.
- 1926 Still out of a job.
- 1927 Presiding Judge - eating again.
- 1937 Good time in Washington.
- 1938 Very happy time Margie 14.
- 1945 V.P + President. War End
- 1948 A terrible campaign. Happy day.
- 1957 Well here we are again…
Counting down to the 1940 Census
no. 22
Construction of a flow channel between Ballona Creek and Venice Lagoon in Los Angeles, 1938.
40 Days til the 1940 Census
no. 18
Ever wonder where the rain goes? Ever seen a billboard for furs? Now you have and now you know! Construction of storm drains as part of the Los Jardines Subproject of the Los Angeles River flood control project. These workers were paid with Emergency Relief Administration funds. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made a point of saying so in their quarterly report. This photo was taken May 28, 1937.
40 days to the 1940 Census
no. 13
“Lana Turner Performing in Orson Welles Show,” July 5, 1944. Photo taken by the Signal Corps assigned to the Los Angeles Port of Embarkation.
40 days to the 1940 Census
no. 10
The 1930s were filled with changes. New technologies reached even the quietest corners of America. A new mill comes to the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. “Which leads us to the modern flour mill - An improvement over the old method shown in the foreground,” 1938.
Photo from the files of the Navajo Area Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (RG 75), at the National Archives in Riverside.
40 on Forties
no. 2
A piece of art drawn by a student named Robert at the Theodore Roosevelt School. It was included in the Annual Narrative Report of related to the school’s 1935-36 school year.
Held in the Central Classified Files of the Fort Apache Theodore Roosevelt School, Bureau of Indian Affairs.
40 on Forties
no. 1
“Women of San Manuel Resn. displaying basket work. L to R Isabella Pinno, Mrs. Ray Manuel, Jesusa Manuel”
From the Central Classified Files of the Mission Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. c. 1935.
