Letter from Edwin A. Shanke to parents, April 15, 1939 |
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Berlin, Germany
April 15, 1939
Dear Folks:
At this time last year I was enjoying a vacation back home. Right now, we are in the midst of a heavy period of news with no let-up in sight.
I had a very hard night last night. Since Mr. Bouman went on the retired list, we naturally have been short a man. The result has been that I have been on duty alone nights. In the last two weeks, an awful lot of news has been breaking in the course of the evening. With telephone calls coming from everywhere
and the news to handle here, too, I've had quite a time. Last night, the reaction to Roosevelt's peace message came out of the clear blue sky at 10:30 after all
indications were there wouldn't be any. I certainly had my hands full.
Well, I received some pleasant news this weekend. I received another salary increase of $25 a month. That boosts my pay to $275. In addition, of course, I receive $25 monthly expense money so that I'm really getting $300 a month. The raise becomes effective May 1. It seems as though it is costing more and more to live in Berlin. Some of the restaurant prices now are outrageous. Frquently one hears complaints about the high prices of foodstuffs.
My vacation still is set for April 30. I expect to make definite plans early this week for my four weeks vacation. As I said in my last letter, I want to spend a couple of days at Athens, Greece, then take a slow steamer along the coast which is beautiful to the sea resort of Raguzza on the Adriatic where I will probably stay a week or so. Then farther to Italy where I want to hit the high spots of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius, Rome, Florence and Venice. On May 27, of course I am due to report at Budapest where you can address my mail. It will be the same address - Associated Press of America, Esterhazy Utca 17.
It certainly is too bad the earlier plans couldn't be realized so that possibly I could have spent a month with you over here. But with events developing
over here the way they are, probably it is better not to think of coming over this summer. Observers just now are taking a rather pessimistic view of the trend,
but personally I am more optimistic. I feel that most of the fireworks is just so much oratory and that really none of the european countries wants to fight.
Everyone is hoping for the best at any rate, but you never can tell when some insignificant little event might touch off Europe. It looks like a poor tourist season for Europe. Anyway I'm not worrying.
I spent Easter day at the Volmers. Tomorrow I am going to Lochners in order to take a look at some of his pictures taken in the same regions where I am planning my vacation. That will help me visualize what I should see and help to arrange my itinerary.
I received news by cablegram from the Arimonds that they have another son. The baby was born last Wednesday. It weighed eight pounds. As I told you in my last letter Carroll asked me to be sponsor by proxy. Therefore I will have to send a little gift for the baby - whatever a sponsor is supposed to send. Will
mother please take care of that right away. I don't want to send anything from here because the U. S. customs on gifts from Germany now is terrifically high
and the Arimonds would have to pay once more what I would lay out here
Object Description
| Rating | |
| Title | Letter from Edwin A. Shanke to parents, April 15, 1939 |
| Description | Typewritten letter from Edwin A. Shanke to his parents, April 15, 1939. Shanke is writing from Berlin, about summer plans and checking in on friends. |
| Creator | Shanke, Edwin A. |
| Date-Original | 1939-04-15 |
| Rights | This image is issued by Marquette University. Use of the image requires written permission from the staff of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives. It may not be sold or redistributed, copied or distributed as a photograph, electronic file, or any other media. The image should not be significantly altered through conventional or electronic means. Images altered beyond standard cropping and resizing require further negotiation with a staff member. The user is responsible for all issues of copyright. Please credit: Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Marquette University Libraries. |
| Subject |
Shanke, Edwin A. -- Correspondence World War, 1939-1945 -- Journalists -- Correspondence War correspondents -- United States -- Correspondence War correspondents -- Germany -- Berlin -- Correspondence Foreign correspondents -- Germany -- Correspondence |
| Format-Original | Typescript |
| Identifier-OriginalItem | Box 1, Folder 1 |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned as TIFF at 300 dpi on Epson Expression 10000XL. Display image is generated from the archival TIFF. |
Description
| Title | Letter from Edwin A. Shanke to parents, April 15, 1939 |
| Page No. | p. 1 |
| Identifier-DigitalFile | MUA_EAS_00110 |
| Rights | This image is issued by Marquette University. Use of the image requires written permission from the staff of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives. It may not be sold or redistributed, copied or distributed as a photograph, electronic file, or any other media. The image should not be significantly altered through conventional or electronic means. Images altered beyond standard cropping and resizing require further negotiation with a staff member. The user is responsible for all issues of copyright. Please credit: Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Marquette University Libraries. |
| Transcript | Berlin, Germany April 15, 1939 Dear Folks: At this time last year I was enjoying a vacation back home. Right now, we are in the midst of a heavy period of news with no let-up in sight. I had a very hard night last night. Since Mr. Bouman went on the retired list, we naturally have been short a man. The result has been that I have been on duty alone nights. In the last two weeks, an awful lot of news has been breaking in the course of the evening. With telephone calls coming from everywhere and the news to handle here, too, I've had quite a time. Last night, the reaction to Roosevelt's peace message came out of the clear blue sky at 10:30 after all indications were there wouldn't be any. I certainly had my hands full. Well, I received some pleasant news this weekend. I received another salary increase of $25 a month. That boosts my pay to $275. In addition, of course, I receive $25 monthly expense money so that I'm really getting $300 a month. The raise becomes effective May 1. It seems as though it is costing more and more to live in Berlin. Some of the restaurant prices now are outrageous. Frquently one hears complaints about the high prices of foodstuffs. My vacation still is set for April 30. I expect to make definite plans early this week for my four weeks vacation. As I said in my last letter, I want to spend a couple of days at Athens, Greece, then take a slow steamer along the coast which is beautiful to the sea resort of Raguzza on the Adriatic where I will probably stay a week or so. Then farther to Italy where I want to hit the high spots of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius, Rome, Florence and Venice. On May 27, of course I am due to report at Budapest where you can address my mail. It will be the same address - Associated Press of America, Esterhazy Utca 17. It certainly is too bad the earlier plans couldn't be realized so that possibly I could have spent a month with you over here. But with events developing over here the way they are, probably it is better not to think of coming over this summer. Observers just now are taking a rather pessimistic view of the trend, but personally I am more optimistic. I feel that most of the fireworks is just so much oratory and that really none of the european countries wants to fight. Everyone is hoping for the best at any rate, but you never can tell when some insignificant little event might touch off Europe. It looks like a poor tourist season for Europe. Anyway I'm not worrying. I spent Easter day at the Volmers. Tomorrow I am going to Lochners in order to take a look at some of his pictures taken in the same regions where I am planning my vacation. That will help me visualize what I should see and help to arrange my itinerary. I received news by cablegram from the Arimonds that they have another son. The baby was born last Wednesday. It weighed eight pounds. As I told you in my last letter Carroll asked me to be sponsor by proxy. Therefore I will have to send a little gift for the baby - whatever a sponsor is supposed to send. Will mother please take care of that right away. I don't want to send anything from here because the U. S. customs on gifts from Germany now is terrifically high and the Arimonds would have to pay once more what I would lay out here |
