The Wycoff Letters #8: To Mrs. Russell (Lucy) Wycoff From Atha G. Houze

Atha G. Houze wrote the Wycoffs on February 3, 1974 in response to a letter from Lucy. In this letter she discusses health problems starting with what seems to be a Type 2 Diabetes problem and the necessity to lose weight. Exciting stuff so far.

Atha's health improves and she moves on to the weather. Lots of snow snow in Urbana, Illinois in 1974 and a late January wind storm with 71 MPH gusts that did some damage in surrounding areas.

Including several windows shattered in the business section of Champaign, Illinois. But... the groundhog didn't see his shadow so... yeah, Atha wasn't buying into that superstition.

Atha then goes on to answer Lucy's question of "Do you have a cat?" with an affirmative. A tom named Dolly. Gender-bending in Urbana in the 1970s! There's your coveted excitement. They apparently thought that Dolly was a girl or something like that. Either way he served as an excellent house dog.

Yes, I understand that nobody needs a narration of the mundane but maybe somebody looking for genealogical or time period information will be keyworded into the realm of 1970s interstate communication.

Lavern and Fred, unknown to me at this point, were suffering from shingles and leukemia though she doesn't specify who had which. She does go on to mention hereditary aspects of cancer so the couple must be related to Atha and Lucy. Considering the wording used here "my Mom" and "Aunt Susie," Atha is likely a cousin of Lucy. Not that it really concerns Inkster, Michigan or in any way but we take what we get from artifacts. Either way, just for the record, Aunt Susie had tuberculosis. Onward.

Gordon, whoever he might have been, also had cancer. Edna, apparently his wife, wanted to visit but gas was scarce at the time due to the energy crisis so it was only a tentative plan.

Lawrence and his wife, who writes a nice letter, are mentioned as well.

Atha then goes on to mention seeds and gardening before ending the page.

The the doctor put a quietus on even her gardening suggests that Atha was a bit more sick than she was leading on to. Of course, blood sugar issues can make you feel like you're dying even though you are merely eating out of order and not so much improperly. I had a terrible bout with just such a thing that a dietician remedied where several doctors were absolutely adamant that it was numerous other serious ailments which demanded pharmaceuticals. I can see that medicine hasn't changed much from the 1970s in terms of proper diagnosis.

Lucy and Russell must not have been in the best of health either as Atha chides them for shoveling snow. While I don't know much of anything about Russell and Lucy, they must have been well into their 60s or 70s by 1974 since Richard graduated college in 1953 and would have been about 43 at the time of this letter.

Atha closes the letter by suggesting that the couple not work so hard due to their own health issues. In a PS she mentions the high prices of goods and the necessity to eat lots of meat. High protein and high food prices! Sound familiar?

Well, we didn't get any information of historical value but we get a feel for the times.

A Dudley Randall Poem in Milestone 2

I bought this Milestone 2 poetry Magazine at a Livonia estate sale this week. Milestone was the literary publication of Wayne (State) University and this second issue dates to 1949. While I don't recognize most of the names, Dudley Randall was both a nationally known poet and the librarian for the Wayne County General Hospital at Eloise via the Wayne County Library System. The poem featured is The Southern Road which was a revised version of the completed poem from 1948 that h as a handful or two of word differences between the two. I don't know if Randall edited the poem for later collected works editions or earlier but this link features it in its likely final form in 2009. Neither version particularly enchants me but the block print in the magazine is an added bonus.

A Cabinet Card of a Dead Man Lying in Repose From Wayne Photographer Susan Doolittle

The City of Wayne, Michigan was not a large village at the turn of the 20th century so it stands to reason that there wasn't a glut of photographers practicing their trade there. As such, the 3 cabinet cards and carte de visites that I own represents roughly a quarter of the early ones. Considering that the wives of Frank Hickok and William Corlett, first Village President of Wayne, took over after Frank's death in 1892 the list grows smaller beyond those two families. Had I snagged the Doolittle dead man cabinet card I'd be even that much more Wayne-rich in photographs. Speaking of Susan Doolittle, of whom I have learned very little about, it is interesting to note that Wayne had three women photographers in an era oft dominated by men in that very field. This photograph of a corpse is a startling example of her work.

Frederick Soop: Not An Equal Opportunity Restraunteer

Detroit Free Press , March 28, 1890 If you don't want to hear a racist tale of a suburban namesake then close your eyes now. As early as 1876 Frederick Soop had left his Belleville farm once again, having done a stint at the Hawkins House in Ypsilanti during the Civil War and the City Hotel in Detroit thereafter, and ventured off to Chatham, Ontario to run the Rutley Hotel , which was conducted as a Temperance House. Detroit Free Press , August 17, 1879 In 1879 he was searching for a good restaurant or small hotel to operate. Eventually he ended up on Washington Avenue near State Street running a dining hall which he ran until around 1890. Detroit Free Press , April 16, 1890 It was in 1888 when the aforementioned racial incident occurred at his dining establishment. It was then that William H. Haynes, a black doctor, sat down with his former classmate S. W. Barkwell for dinner. The men ordered but when the food was served none was placed before Mr. Haynes who, ironically, ha...

The Nankin Township Historical Society

Search This Blog