[I have discovered a couple of letters that were not posted in order. Here, from January, 1937 is is the first of them. Later it will appear in the correct place in the order of letters but for convenience here is a link to the letters that appeared before it in January, 1937. LAG]

Jan 23 ‘37
Hope I answered all your letters. Now I have a whole big stack of mail to be answered.

I bought some black wool material and will have a winter coat made from it. Madge, my sister-in-law, sent me a lovely watch for my birthday. It is to be worn on the lapel of a suit.

Have gone to bed very late every night this week.

Monday I finished a hat for a friend, Tuesday as usual with Trudel Batzner, Wednesday delivered a hat to friends and had dinner with them, and the 4 of us went to a movie, and then back to their house for something more to eat.

Trudel Batzner

Leonard had to go to a political meeting and Trudel B, that girl [the niece of Englebert Hriss] and I visited together until midnight. Last night, Friday, Aunt Flora, Leonard’s favorite aunt who lives in Indianapolis, was here in town and invited us for dinner. She was staying with Leonard’s cousin on the far south side, all wonderful people.

I took home a couple of hats to be remodeled. Glad to have a good reason to go there again. Since his divorce, Leonard had withdrawn from all his relatives and friends. He wanted all of them to be friends with his ex-wife and daughter and he did not care about himself.

Trudel

The price for hosiery is between $0.65 and $1.25. But in the summer I wear only knee hose which is about 35 cents a pair. Besides I wear a lot of “footlings.”

Ernale please write me a letter describing exactly what you do at work, in English. Maybe Aunt Flora can help find a job for you here.

Love,
Trudel

Trudel Batzner (later Nachmann) became my mother’s closest friend and they remained close the rest of their lives. Oddly, there is no account of their first meeting in any of Trudel’s letters. LAG