Thanks for the fifteen. It’ll come in pretty handy. The cost of living in a big town and all that, you know. I hope to God that by this time you’ve sent my gym shoes. Have you? By the way, see if you can find some of my leather gloves around there will you? Dress [dress gloves]. Tell me if you can’t and I’ll buy some here.
I called Helen [Helen Kaven Stein, the daughter of Leo Lavin’s elder sister Elizabeth Kaven, making Helen Carl’s cousin, living in New York] a few days ago, but won’t be able to see her til she gets back. You worry too much, woman.
You were right about Arsenic and Old Lace not being a particularly good play—but it wasn’t a particularly bad one either. As you said, you have to get tickets to the good plays about a month in advance and the only time I’ll be able to see them will be Saturday night, because most of them don’t have Sunday matinees. We saw Artists and Models yesterday afternoon, which is really good.14 It’s a yearly review musical, like the follies and I was surprised to see that it was as good as it was. Ethel Merman was there watching it, too. I passed her in the aisle and she seemed happy, so if she likes it why shouldn’t I?
We ate in Jack Dempsey’s which was noticeable for the number of times Jack Dempsey’s name appears in print around the place and the excellence of the food.15 It costs no more than the places in Canton and you get better food. Amazing.
Saturday night four of us Jewish guys went to a sort of meeting and party combined. The head of the Jamaica Jewish Center wants to open it as a U.S.O. for the Queens College soldiers and we are to help him out in what the boys want.
So I had a busy week-end. What about broadcasts? The socks are perfect. Thanks again.
Much Love –Carl
. . .
Rationing and sacrificing were also part of the New York landscape.16 Citizens throughout the nation were asked to reduce the use of certain household staples and consumables, or live without them altogether. The war effort and the stability of the American economy would “require the abandonment not only of luxuries but of many other creature comforts,” said President Roosevelt.17
Items that Americans couldn’t buy included new cars, tires, and typewriters. Men had to do without trouser cuffs on new pants. New bicycles were out of the question. Appliances, jewelry, silks, toys, nylon, phonograph records, and metals would be more difficult to come by. Noted the Office for Emergency Management: “Enough steel goes into a washing machine to make six 3-inch shells for a 75-mm. field howitzer.” Also becoming scarcer were razors, leather goods, Vitamin A preparations, woolens, sporting goods, and coffee. Sugar, gasoline, and electrical power would all eventually have to be shared or rationed.18 The shortages went from the material to the personal noted Queens College student Kathie McDermott in October 1943:
1940–no running board.
1941–no gears.
1942–no car.
1943–no driver.19
. . .
Nov 26 1943
Thursday
Dear Mother,
I’ve been leading a pretty busy life lately so haven’t had time to write. This is Thanksgiving but we had a full schedule of classes today anyways. We’re supposed to have a big turkey dinner tonight though. By the way, how was the family Thanksgiving? Tell me all about it.
Did I tell you I received all the stuff you sent me? The socks are really swell; they’re just what I needed. The watch, however, wasn’t repaired. In fact it was in worse condition than when I left it at home. I wore it for two hours and the minute hand fell off. I found out it hadn’t been put on correctly, got it fixed, wore it two hours more, and it stopped completely and firmly refused to cooperate further. So now it’s back getting repaired again. But the fudge was damn good so I’ll excuse you.
And, oh yes—the $20. That came in quite handy also. It lasted me one weekend. I spent $10 for a pair of pants and $6 for tickets to see Ziegfeld Follies20 last Saturday night and Something for the Boys in two weeks.21
Two weeks ago three other Jewish guys and I were invited to what we thought was a party but turned out to be a committee meeting. We are now half of a committee that’s supposed to be running a sort of canteen Sunday afternoons at the Jamaica Jewish Center for the Queens College A.S.T.s. Last Sunday it was singularly unsuccessful, with 50 girls and 12 boys. But we’re putting on a renewed campaign for this Sunday. You should see the Jamaica center. All new in what I guess is a Cretian style of architecture. It has rich furnishings, a swimming pool, bowling alley, beautiful main hall, and is about as big as the Masonic Lodge in Canton, but much nicer. If you want more members for the Canton Center I can tell you how to get them. Just build a place like this one here.
I read about the Massillon game in Sunday’s Cleveland Plain Dealer which I got down-town. Tough. It seemed to be a pretty good game, though. I’ve been getting pretty much practice in football myself. We have six hours of physical a week and I’ve been spending them playing football, not tackle. Swell weather for it.22
You said you saw Angel Street23 in Cleveland. How was it? Is it worth my seeing? It’s been running here for about two years. The only time I can see any plays is Saturday night because most of them don’t have Sunday matinees. We get off from 330 Saturday to 730 Sunday evening.
I got a short letter from Fred before he went to Chicago. Said he would write a longer one. Chicago is supposed to be the best town in the country for service men, so he should be pretty happy.
I don’t think I’ll be able to get home for Xmas. It comes on a Saturday and all we get off is from Friday night at 5:30 to Sunday night at 7:30. By train I could get home at 8:30 A.M. Saturday and have to leave at about 5:00 A.M. Sunday. By plane I could get home at 9 P.M. Fri. and would leave at 3:30 P.M. Sunday. I put my name in for a plane reservation but they’re all filled up and no one will be likely to cancel their reservations. And by train it is hardly worth it. So it looks like I’ll be spending Xmas in New York.
My grades are O.K. so far. Don’t worry. I’m well above the average. Most of the guys have had just about the same amount of schooling that I have.
Bye now and write soon. Love –Carl
. . .
ASTP academic standards were demanding. Courses were condensed and packed with information. It turned out that Carl’s mathematics professor had given the same course every year for thirty years and now had to give it in half the time—which he did by talking twice as fast. What the professor was used to giving in four hours, now he gave in two. Perhaps the double-pace of the Lehman High math teacher was good preparation.
. . .
To Mrs. William Lavin
December 2, 1943
Dear Aunt Ceal (or isn’t that the way you spell it?) [Celia was the wife of Leo’s younger brother William],
Hi. You must have been partly psychic when you started to knit that sweater. Anyways, you sent it at a most apropos time—the coming of winter and my coming to Queen’s College. The students here seem to be quite proud of the fact that it is “the coldest spot in New York.” It’s located right on top of a hill and there’s always a stiff wind blowing.
It’s a very beautiful sweater, and I still don’t see how you did it or found the time to do it, but unfortunately it’s so cold that I have to cover it up with about all the other clothes I wear and so the world at large has no chance for appreciation.
But really, I do appreciate it and I think it was swell of you to do that for me.
With Love –Carl
. . .
Dec. 6, 1943
Dear Mom,
I’ve