by Cathy Gilmore | Feb 14, 2016 | Letters, Love Letters from the Archive
[Ellsworth to Dorothy 9 July 1932]
As I sit here all alone I wonder what you are doing now. Are you having a good time! I hope so because it would compensate in some measure for the wonderful time I’m having. Wonderful – like fun.
Tonight while near the Union Pacific line irrigating No. 18 (Fast Mail & Passenger) came tearing down the track. It was dark but the coaches were ablaze with light and I could see in through the windows. I imagined I could see happy travelers waiting to meet some special friend. I could see lovers as they planned. But soon the “creeper” is gone. With a shrill whistle and a last flash of red light I am left alone. I look up in the sky. There is a half moon there – a star falls – I do not have time to say, “Money! Money!” Hmm – a half moon – 28 more days before another one – two more after that then —— then snow, school, work. Snow. Snowflake – the place where Dot was born one & twenty years ago. Twenty one year [sic] ago. Twenty one years ago I was three years old. What did I know of love then – no more idea that Dot was a squealing red faced little baby then that there was any world outside of my door-yard. Hmmm mighty funny – darn funny. Now I know her but can’t see her for – OH such a long time. But then what matters time. Reward, reward, desire – reward? Desire? I desired a letter this Saturday night but will probably be rewarded with one when a few more days have passed. I thought she was foolin when she said a letter in a few weeks. Hope she was. I desire – hope wish for one Monday. If not Monday then I may get one Tuesday. Think I’ll keep this crazy epistle around until then. If I got one Tues then sent it off. You see I would not like to bore her with too much of this sort of stuff.
Midnight – soon the kids from town will be home from the dance in Bennington. Couldn’t go up because I had to work late. Have to look out or I’ll forget how to dance or dress up for a young lady – best not to anyway, I guess. […] The radio is now transmitting “Extraordinary Girl” a minute ago it (orchestra) played “I love you truly”. It might have gone on and played “I miss a little Miss” and then the later hit that says something about “summer coming on and not girl to be had” – can’t get it just right. AW Rats.
[…] That was a grand letter you wrote last. I received it yesterday afternoon and was tickled nearly pink. It’s funny how I begin to wonder about things and worry for fear you’ve forgotten me if I don’t hear from you for a few days. I wondered all sorts of things. I even wondered if I should not write so often, but after getting your letter I decided to keep on writing but that perhaps I’d better cut down on the salutations & endings. I really mean them but if you think they are not proper I’ll have to let you hold me down a bit. I guess it’s because I’ve never used them before and I really wanted to and though perhaps you wouldn’t care. I hope you don’t think it was flattery. I detest such stuff. It is merely the way I feel. Forgive me.
I take your letters too seriously? Sometimes I think that you do not mean some things at least, not the way I take them. […] This is what I felt more like saying. Goodbye to the sweetest girl I’ve ever known.
Love, Ellsworth
___________________________________
[Ellsworth to Dorothy 1 August 1932]
I can tell by the wild flowers you sent that you were quite high in the mountains, as only those grow there at this time of the year. They were still beautiful.
Who says you are not a poet? It sounds like you and is good enough so I wonder if I should even try any more myself. I wish I could believe that you even though of me slightly, when you wrote it. If I though that were true I’d be just about the happiest fellow in this little old universe.
Gee, if I could step into some summer league I’d be seeing you in about a jiffy. I’d just quit this old letter and tell it to you personally. Somehow it’s not apt to get twisted as it might on paper. I often get of into so world of fantasy while going about my work and when I do I think up some of the greatest and amusing situations. Sometimes I am a fellow with a sudden gift of $10,000.00 and I figure out what I’d do with it. Then I’m in SLC and talking with you. Then we’re going on a hike somewhere and I’m seeing your home after a perfect evening. Sometimes I’m a successful Dr. again I’m a School Teacher. Oh. I guess I’m somewhat of a dreamer. Anyway, most of my dreams cluster around a certain little Girl at 474 E 4th S. She is to me the sweetest girl I can imagine just sensible enough not to be too flippant and just romantic enough to be interesting and extremely desirable. Oh Dot, I think of you in all my work. You just seem to pop up wherever I am and whatever I’m doing. Even though I’m busy and not able to write quite so often as I did I think of us often and with more real appreciation. At first it was sort of a devoid feeling I felt mostly because of my many evenings and days with you. It was a direct change in my way of living. Now I’m somewhat over that. I still am lonely but I’m realizing what it means to be a pal to you and be in your company. A deeper appreciation I believe. It’s surely the foundation for a very close friendship. I realize now that it is not a common infatuation or a short romance. If it were ever that it has changed into something which I want to keep and what means everything to me.
___________________________________
[Ellsworth to Dorothy 7 September 1932]
We drove from home Monday morning to Twin Falls. There we stayed at the camp ground & then this morning we came to the present place. I hope this letter reached you so that you can get a letter of to Grant’s Pass Oregon. It would tickle me pink to get one while there. Sort of make me remember you and good times past. I’m the future Goodness only knows I think about you a lot anyway. Sometimes I wonder along funny lines of thought. Especially when I did not hear from you for so long a time. Believe me I was glad when I cam home from work last Friday and your letter was waiting for me. I surely thought you had forgotten me.
Dorothy (right) stands with friend Evelyn at the North Temple Wall in Salt Lake City, Utah.
by Cathy Gilmore | Feb 5, 2016 | Features, Resources, RootsTech 2016, Software
Update 22 February 2016:
At this stage our software has limited functionality, but we are still on schedule for a Beta test launch the beginning of March. Among other things, you will see more options for uploading records, increased functionality with the transcription and tagging tools, as well as more robust sharing features. If you are interested in beta testing, please contact us at sales @ kindex dot org.
_______________________________
Kindex Beta just became available on 3 February 2016 for any users to try it out. Here are some important FAQs that will provide our current status and future functionality.
How do I create an account?
For Beta, we are requiring a FamilySearch login. For most (but not all) account types, this will remain a requirement so Kindex and FamilySearch may support one another in indexing Memories and ensuring that there is little or no name duplication in the Kindex Archive. Indexing accounts that are custom or research-orientated will not necessarily require a FamilySearch login.
I pressed the “Try It Out” button and all I see are a bunch of random files.
The “Try it Out” feature is there to demonstrate the Memory import capability and is not associated with your user account.
Can I upload records directly to Kindex?
For this Beta release, records you wish to index must already be added to FamilySearch Memories. To bring those records into Kindex, add the FamilySearch person ID linked to those Memories under the Add person section on the left of the Gather Screen.
When can I add Kindex Records as FamilySearch Memories?
When direct Kindex record uploads become available, the ability to save these records as FamilySearch Memories will follow soon after.
My FamilySearch Memories are all in the same location.
We are currently trying to ensure that record types are placed in the appropriate category in the Gather screen. For example, Family Search Memories that are photos should go directly to the Kindex Photos area. Look for that functionality to improve.
Can I tag people, places and events?
Our tagging feature will become available in the coming days and weeks.
I have records that I want to index, but I don’t want them to be available to the public.
Kindex will offer two types of privacy tools. First, the document contributer designates a record public or private a the document upload. We will also have a redaction tool for certain words or pages you wish to remain private. For example, you may have a journal that contains sensitive information. You may make that journal private and redact the sensitive information during indexing. Then, if you wish you may change the privacy setting to public.
My indexing screen looks the same for photos, letters, or other document types.
In the coming days and weeks, we will add modals that will assign specific document types for Kindex records. These document types will determine what fields are available on the indexing screen.
When will Kindex Family accounts be available?
Subscription KindexFamily and MyFamily accounts will be ready in March. MyKindex accounts will be free during Kindex Beta.
I want to become a Kindex Beta tester. What do I do?
That’s fantastic! Following RootsTech 2016, we will contact all Beta Testers with instructions.
When will your Community Indexing page be available?
We love our volunteer indexers! Kindex will provide records to the indexing community that volunteers may index and review. Also, we are exploring “indexing credits” whereby community indexers may receive free or discounted Kindex subscriptions by indexing our public records.
How will I know Kindex will be around in five years? I don’t want to lose all my work.
Kindex is solidly supported, backed, and funded. We are also FamilySearch Certified. Part of this means that your source records will be saved and backed up to the FamilySearch Memory archive. You also own all of your indexed content that you will be able to download in various formats such as HTML, text, and print.
I’m a researcher, historian, business historian or museum owner. Can we use Kindex for non-family records?
Yes! Kindex is the idea tool for for transcribing and tagging any primary source documents or records in either a public or private archive.
by Cathy Gilmore | Jan 26, 2016 | Features
The Lethbridge Kiddies, “Easter in Fairyland”
This photo of Dorothy Smith and her theater friends appears in her Book of Remembrance. It has been one of our favorite images of her youth. But with no caption, and nothing written on the back, we didn’t know anything about it. For years we wondered about its context, and it wasn’t until we transcribed one of Dorothy Smith Clark’s handwritten life sketches did we learn the real story behind it. In addition, we also discovered a photocopy Dorothy made that identified many of the people in it. Since then, we have identified and tagged eleven people in the photo on FamilySearch. Now this photo can be searched, shared, and appreciated, thanks to the transcription of Dorothy’s life sketch.
When saving photos to any online site, include as much information as possible, even if you don’t know the people in it. Consider information such as:
- Provenance (Where did the photo come from? How did you receive it? Who was the original owner?)
- Captions (Did the photo come from a scrapbook that included a caption?)
- Information written on the photo itself, on the front or back
- The stamp or mark of the photo developer
- A description, including setting, subjects, time period, or other tags that will make it easy for someone to find.
- The date the photo was taken (or an estimate of the date)
- Other supporting information, such as information extracted from letters, diaries, and other documents.
- Identify the people in the photo. If you are unsure, but want to suggest a possibility, make sure that it is clear in the description.
Don’t give up on unidentified photos. The little information you have may help solve a mystery. Index them. Transcribe the information on them. And of course, if transcribe your family’s documents, the description may already be written for you:
“When Marvin and I were about 13 and 11 we travelled with a group from “The Alberta Conservatory of Music” under Leo McCoombs to several surrounding communities. Billed as the “Lethbridge Kiddies” in Easter in Fairyland, our offering included piano with narratives, violin arrangements, dances and humorous readings by characters dressed as Rain, Snow, Clouds, and various flowers. My role as a pink hyacinth included a short piano number and later a group dance. Despite the novelty and excitement of being “on the road”, the stage never held any real attraction for me, even after some pleasant times in dancing choruses and road shows.” —Dorothy Smith Clark, Life Sketch [Dorothy Smith (KWC4-9F9)]
For more on solving photo mysteries, Maureen A. Taylor, a.k.a The Photo Detective is a fantastic resource.
by Cathy Gilmore | Jan 24, 2016 | Letters
“Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
How can we use letters to reshape our history? We may be surprised to learn how rich a source they can be. As an example, here is a transcription of single page of a letter—one that is part of a larger story of Ellsworth M. Clark hitchhiking his way through Southern Idaho and Wyoming in the summer of 1934. He was to be married to his fiancée Dorothy Smith that August, and was desperately seeking work as a school teacher in the height of the Great Depression:
This morning I came over to Montpelier with the County Sheriff. I was in Montpelier for almost one hour before I found out Wm Clark was not coming over here. From the garage where he worked. I walked up past Munks (Mildred is now home), but I believe they were yet in bed so no one came to the door. Not knowing how I would get over here, I walked towards the canyon until I got out of town. I waited for about an hour and caught a ride over with a big truck. As there are very few cars going on that road, I consider myself very lucky to get a ride so soon. I was back on top of mail sacks and boxes of groceries etc. The wind tangled my hair until I thought I’d never get it combed out. Arrived in Afton about 12:30 and just had time to shave & clean up for dinner. Aunt Louise & family have treated me very fine. You should see the swell bedroom I am to have tonight.
After dinner I called on Mr. Crook, the Superintendent of Schools. He was not home, but his wife said she to at a ballgame or church, she didn’t know. He will be back at home about 5:30, at which time I will interview the Gentleman.
June is leaving Paris for Salt Lake today. I think she left about noon. Suppose you will see her before I will.
The weather is somewhat cool up here
Aside from containing fun details about riding in the back of a truck, this letter is more than just a story: it contains people, places, and events. For example, this page contains six people, four places, a date, and a few subjects:
Names:
County Sheriff [Bear Lake County, Idaho]
Wm Clark [William O. Clark KWCZ-3G6]
Mildred Vilate Munk [KWCB-M92]
Aunt Louie [Louisa Mary Shepherd Call KWJZ-HL8]
Mr. Crook
Mrs. Crook
Places:
Montpelier, Idaho
Afton, Wyoming
Paris, Idaho
Salt Lake City, Utah
Date:
9 June, 1934
Subjects:
Great Depression
Hitchhiking
Job search
Each person tag represents an opportunity to share this source as on their family trees such FamilySearch Memories. The date provides a mark on a timeline for that individual, and the locations can help form a map that is also linked to that person. Finally, subject tags illustrate what is contained on this page that will enrich our view of history with this new perspective.
If this much information can be indexed from a single page, imagine what we could derive from an entire letter? An entire collection of letters? This is why transcribing and tagging is the key to unlocking our histories and the stories contained therein.
by Cathy Gilmore | Jan 13, 2016 | Love Letters from the Archive
[Ellsworth is in Georgetown, Idaho on summer break from his studies in Salt Lake City. He is looking for work and missing Dorothy. You may note the absence of Dorothy’s letters. We know she sent him replies, but she had apparently discarded some letters she sent Ellsworth. Spelling an punctuation (a particular vice of Ellsworth’s) have not been corrected. -CG]
Georgetown Idaho
June 24, 1932
Mein Leibes Schatzie, (you said once you did not care if I said that)
There is a new word for you to learn. (schatzli) I couldn’t remember it for the longest time, but it came like a shot this morning. I shaved today and that could be a good reason for an approiate [sic] word to come to me. You see I had not shaven for a week. Well, you should have seen me. I looked like a porcupine. I’ve been weeding garden and hoeing again today, and believe me it’s plenty hot. We have almost as not weather here as they do in Salt Lake during the day, but thank the lucky stars it cools off in the evening.
I couldn’t get all the french in the last two letters, but I will before long. Also I want to ask you what you meant when you said “Noth kent kein gebot” OH! I see now I’ve written it down, only it seems that I can’t quite make out the noth. It means some sort of extremis knows no law. The other expression you used meant ‘To me it is all the same’ (mir ist alles emerlei[?])
So you don’t give a ‘hoot’ whether your letters are interesting or not. Is that what you mean? Gee! they are always interesting to me, but I hope that you cared whether they were or not. You surely are funny sometimes. You change so quickly. did you know that it is been forever that Carbolic acid has been formed to be mostly a bluff anyways it’s not really as effective as once thought.
Oh! Well! ‘doh de doh’ It looks like i have to toughen myself and not let things worry me.
Say, about the snaps. They should be here any day and there as soon as possible. I’ll send them to you. I hope that is soon.
The dance what was scheduled for tomorrow evening has been postponed until Tuesday. I wish they would make up their minds. I am pretty stiff now though, and a few days to loosen up a bit will help. I don’t know what I’ll loosen up for though. It seems that I’m not so crazy about the idea as at first.
Say, in those crazy dreams you have where I’m around some other woman, all you had better do is to remember that dreams go in opposites. That would make things much nicer for me.
You must not get any dream ideas of me running arosn around with someone else’s wife. When I take a girl out I hope that she does not foul me by making me believe things that she has already told someone else. I guess I’m funny that way. If you want to get rid of me, just get married, divorce your husband and come around. I’ll probably say “Yes dear I love you more than ever” (like heck I will) I wouldn’t say it anyway.
Now I think I’ll sign my name
Pure Concentrated Sulfuric Acid Clark
Now forget all that, I guess I’m just a little piqued at the way you ended your letter. The beginning was so good and the end so- so. Not at all like the Old German Proverb “Wie die Anfang zu die Ende” (How the beginning so to the end)
I guess the beginning was too good so the end had to compensate.
Anyway, I guess such things are the spice of life. Keep it up, just so there is compensation as much one way as the other.
It’s funny how a fellow reads things into letters. When I sat down to write your letter seemed the best ever and the more I read it the more I read into it. I guess I had better put it away and read it again when in better humor.
I wish I could see you tonight and talk to you . I’ve so much to say that will seem funny on paper. I’m afraid I’m a pretty poor correspondent card You might read things into it also. Then lets hope that I’ll get better in my writing, become I guess its improbable that I’ll see you soon. Oh. Dot. Now here I am getting ‘blue’ etc.
I’ll cut this rotten letter short and hope that the next one is very much better.
Auf wieder sehen to the sweetest girl in the whole world
Repentantly
Ellsworth
Don’t worry about the ‘can de vil’ and the contemporaries. I have promised.
[circle with X inside] (not habitual)
believe as you will about the sentiment you know me better than most people I believe
