Viewing page 66 of 102

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

1

THE YEAR 1935
   _______

1935 was a year of sadness because of Willie's mother's declining health and the inevitable and imminent outcome. Willie spent as much time as she reasonably could with her mother in Louisville and my mother did what she could to help hold the fort in Erie during Willie's absences. Business was picking up rapidly and I was very busy on various projects, many of which took me out of town. And not only was I away frequently but also when I was in Erie, I was often swamped including a good deal of customer entertaining that kept me away from home. Prohibition had ended at the end of the previous year and with things wide open again, such entertainment was expanded beyond its Prohibition levels.

Willie visited Louisville in the spring as well as in September and was there when her mother died on September 20th. In Erie that summer, she began playing golf again with some of her cronies. Also we appear to have enjoyed the Peninsula as usual. However, Nana's impending death cast a shadow over us which could not be escaped and this went on until the ordeal was finally terminated on Summer's last day.

Once more I find myself without a whole lot of material on which to draw for this write-up. During the middle-30s I'd let my diary slip almost into complete oblivion. There is a one-day entry on September 1st which contains a little backtracking which helps, and coverage for the first three weeks of December. There are a few photographs, particularly a group of Bab and Rog taken by Dorothy MacLeod. And I find various notes here and there evidently intended for future writing ideas. Beyond this, there is my memory and I must confess that after almost forty years, this isn't too prolific. But my 1934 material looked pretty sparse too and yet I came up with a fairly good story. So I'll hope for the best this time. 

Forman H. Craton

Erie, Pa.,
April 24, 1974.