The Nash Sisters

by Leatha Marie

Ethel and I talked for the two days I was at Richardson Memorial Hospital about the men in our lives. Us growing up without a papa. How strong our momma was to raise four girls by herself. The challenges of life in general and how we are doing just fine. We talked about our daughters and how close they are. The Nash girls never had any cousins. We just had each other. Ethel and I agreed that Suzy and Marie having each other was adding to their happiness. The longest part of our continued conversation was that men were nice to have around when they were good to us, but they were not necessary for surviving.

  Ethel said it best. “We women have all the smarts we need to accomplish anything we want.” Now we need to be smart enough to know when to ask for help.

  1940

  Nash Sisters

  The Nash Round-Robin Letters

  Things are really different for the Nash family. The Nash Round-Robin letters go to fewer sisters now. But we still write as a journal or history of the family. I share about the visits from Frank. Caroline uses humor to talk about her life at the insane asylum. Annie shines a light on living in D.C. and, of course, on politics.

  To the Nash Women that are left to read my letter – October 4, 1940

  What a year this has been! I think I need everyone’s pages to get through telling you all that is happening to me and Marie. It seems like forever since we were in the same room together, but that is the way our life is now. Thank you, Annie, for coming down for Dianne’s funeral and helping me organize her property.

  Caroline, we missed you there. I am glad you had visited Dianne in the hospital a few months back. Belle was so good to take you there. I know that was hard on you, but Dianne’s smile told the whole story. She appreciated it. Caroline, remember what I said about these letters. When you are reading them, if there comes a point that gets you all nervous and upset—stop reading. When I visit you, I can tell you all the good news so you don’t have to go through the sad stuff.

  Dianne was so organized. She spent time before she last went into the hospital putting stuff in boxes by category. She remembered Momma’s file system which made it easier for us. The most precious box of all held the legal papers giving permission for George and me to adopt Suzy. She and George kept that from me, so I learned it the same time as Marie and Suzy. Boy did I cry my eyeballs out when I heard that! I can’t imagine another gift in the world better than that. I hope when I go, I will have taken care of everything as well as Dianne did.

  Speaking of dying. The final medical report said that Dianne died of cancer. I kind of knew that. It did not matter much, except that is one more on the books for the BIG C.

  Marie and Suzy have enjoyed being together. Once we got everything situated with Dianne and Joe’s house, we set up a bedroom for the two girls to share at our place. They refused to have separate bedrooms. Suzy said she did not ever want to sleep alone again. Marie totally agreed, saying neither of them was an only child anymore. Their room is bright and sunny. I made bedspreads and curtains to match. The fabric I used is blue with tuffs of cotton threads sticking up in an orderly way. I think the magazines call it chenille. I put a fringe border around the bottom. Although Dianne was better at sewing than me, I think she would approve.

  George‘s job as a car mechanic is going well. Since the depression people are not buying new cars; they want to fix the ones they have. George is good at it. He says he can fix anything from bumper to bumper. We are doing well. I am just tending to the garden and the house. I also spend a lot of time keeping two girls out of trouble.

  Caroline, the last time I visited, you were not feeling well. The doctors said you caught something going around. I hope by now you are back to normal. I get scared of most medical words—cancer, flu, polio, tuberculosis. The doctor said he is pretty sure you have none of the bad ones. You just might be feeling sluggish. He said rest and plenty of good food would help. Please let us know how you are doing now.

  Okay, here is the news that is causing the biggest problem. Frank keeps coming around. He says he is owed a chance to get to know Marie. He says he wants to provide for her. Thank God he only visits when Marie is at school. She doesn’t know about him. All she knows about a loving father is George. No need for her to know anything else.

  Each time Frank comes, he leaves money. At first it was just a few dollars and a small gift for Marie. I told him we did not need anything from him. We were fine on our own. But he won’t quit coming. Sometimes he just leaves a letter with money in it. Other times I am home, and we have an argument about his “rights” as a father. I have been honest with George about Frank coming, and he told me I should tell the police about it. I said to George, “What am I going to tell them? There is a man bringing me money, make him stop!”

  I’m not scared of Frank coming here. I’m just annoyed. Anyway, last week he came when I was not home but George was. They evidently got into a fight. I mean a real fight, ’cause George had a shiner. George said he thinks he convinced Frank, man-to-man, to stay away.”

  Frank evidently told George that he would not come back, but to give a letter to me. It was four pages long and made me mad and sad. Here is the gist of it.

  Frank was making excuses why he had to go away when Marie was born. He said he was using the money his parents promised to make a “real life” for me and Marie. I’ve heard all that before. He went into some detail about being a lawyer and how successful he was. But he said, “I’ll never be really happy until I make it all up to you and our little family can be together again.”

  Geez! He knows I am married to George, but said he would wait for me. Oh, good God. Sounds like that movie with Janet Gaynor and (somebody whose first name I can’t remember) March in A Star is Born. I guess Frank wants to make me a star.

  The sweet part of the letter was about Marie. He said he saw her from a distance at school and “E, she is beautiful. She was happy, laughing, and jumping rope with some girls. She will be a good athlete. They were chanting rhymes and counting. She was up to 100 jumps without stopping! And that hair, E! Her jet black curls looked just like you. She is as lovely as her mother.” That part made me weep a bit because he is right about most of that. Marie is smart, kind, and loves to use her muscles in all kinds of games. I am proud of that child. You all know she fills my heart.

  At the end of the letter he wrote the number of a bank account at a bank in Raleigh. He said the name on the account is Marie Nash but it is for both of us. He said until she is 18, I will have to sign to withdraw money for her. Frank has been putting money in that bank account since his parents died in a car crash in 1932. You guys remember, Mr. and Mrs. Pollard were coming home from a party and he crashed the car, killing them both. Somebody at the scene of the wreck said it was probably good Mr. Pollard was so drunk he never knew what happened because his wife was thrown from the car into a tree.

  Anyway, Frank’s letter said he inherited money from them and his law practice was doing well and he didn’t need it all, so he put money in the account anytime he could. He signed the letter, “You and Marie should be very comfortable now. From the man who will always love you. Frank.”

  So sappy. I don’t know how much is in there, but I will check the next time I go see you, Caroline.

  I’ll sign off. Can’t wait for this round-robin letter to come ’round again.

  I love you both,

  Ethel, the oldest now

  * * *

  Hello sisters! – October 14, 1940

  I just wanted to remind you that I am crazy, not stupid. I can read letters and know when to put them down. I take enough medicine to kill a cow, and they will give me more if they see me acting crazier. I stopped reading for a moment when Ethel talked about Dianne and again when she described the Pollards’ crash. I don’t think I ever heard that. Not sure what I thought happened to them but never knew it was a bloody mess.

  Ethel, I perked up like a sane person when you talked about all the money you have. If you want, I can go down to that bank in Raleigh and find out how mu
ch we/you have. If you could see me, you would see my devil face when I wrote that.

  I push away thoughts of Dianne being gone from us. That is not too hard since I have not been around for years. The picture I want in my head is the young Dianne. There is that image of her bossing me around with that brown hair falling over her left eye as she gave me the look. I knew there was always a twinkle in her eye underneath those curls.

  I am glad Marie and Suzy are living as sisters. No girl should grow up without sisters. Maybe even a brother too. Work on that, Ethel. You are not too old yet.

  Annie, you just had another birthday! Happy day to you. If my mind still does arithmetic right, you are 27 years old. Geez, that is a lot of years! I hope you ate cake.

  My doctors think I am doing okay. The spasms and fits have nearly stopped. I sleep a lot. Those brain shock treatments really help me. Some people hate them and say the pain is awful. But it doesn’t hurt me. From the first one they did, my fits stopped, so I’ll go as many times as they want me to.

  And I still like my job in the nursery. The children are fun to play with. And they really like when I hold them, read a book to them, or make projects with them. Like most people, they like attention. These children with crazy parents don’t get much attention paid to them except when they are here.

  It seems like everyone in this place is sick. In the cafeteria you never heard such coughing and cussing. But the cussing is normal. People cough and then cuss, like they were saying ’scuse me.

  Many of my friends are sick. Especially the older ones. They don’t come to the cafeteria anymore. They eat in their rooms. I guess that is to keep the cooties away from us or so they can sleep while being pumped with medicine. Last week three of my closest friends went to the hospital to stay. They had trouble breathing and coughed so much they could not eat or sleep. Doctors say the new medicine, penicillin, will help them get better. I hope it is the miracle medicine they say it is because I might get sick too.

  To end this letter on a good note (like Dianne would want me to do), I want to tell you how much I appreciate you. I have done some bad things and caused a lot of trouble. But you all have stuck by me. You are good sisters. Just like Momma taught us to be.

  Love, Caroline

  * * *

  Dear, dear sisters – October 23, 1940

  Now we are three. As a family, we were six, then five when Daddy was killed in the war, four when Momma died and now three with Dianne gone. It makes me so sad. I have moments most days when I will see something that reminds me of family, and I break down and cry.

  I am worried about being around crowds because I might catch something. And D.C. is full of people. Hordes of them. Since the crash in ’29, homeless people are everywhere. Whole families are living on the streets, in the parks, and under bridges by the Potomac River. Even if they aren’t sick, they look like they are. They scare me.

  People are now beginning to find jobs. More government departments are hiring again. I am seeing new restaurants and shops opening or reopening since the crash. The Civilian Conservation Corps has been good to get the healthy back to work. I have friends whose husbands left for a job when the Corps expanded the age to include men up to 28 years old. It is not much money at $30 a month, but when they send $25 a month back home to their families, it really helps. President Roosevelt is a smart man to know his country needed the New Deal.

  I am so lucky to have kept a job through all this. Part of the reason I have been lucky is that I am still single and have a government job. Married women who held government jobs in the last ten years had to quit so an unemployed man could be given the job. Moving from one government department to another has not been so bad. The work in a secretary pool is similar, no matter who is the boss. My last change was two months ago when I moved to the War Department. I didn’t want to go into that group because I don’t like war and think we should not spend money on it. But I had no alternative when they shut down my last department. They don’t ask your opinion; they just tell you to go to a new department or lose your job. Now I type letters for the generals. I am learning a lot, but it is all about how our men “fight for their country.”

  The best thing about this job is Jonathan Walsh. He is an advisor to General Summerall, who reports directly to the President. I met him when I started the new job, and he asked that I be assigned to his administrative group. He meets individually with each of his staff to let us know as much as he can about his responsibility and what we can do to help. I feel better working in the War Department if the work really matters. Mr. Walsh and I speak to each other daily. I sit right outside his office. He brings me coffee when he gets his. He is interested in me. Yesterday he said, “Miss Nash, if you don’t mind me asking, why has a man not caught and married you?”

  My answer was the same I tell everyone who asks this. “The right man hasn’t tried hard enough.” He chuckled and walked into his office.

  I don’t know if this “flirting” will ever turn into something, but if it does, I’ll have to leave the job. They don’t like men and women in the same office seeing each other. I have to get moving on this marriage thing. As Caroline reminded me, I am twenty-seven and single. A few more years and people will call me a spinster. I want a family so bad. Actually I want children. I need a man for that, at least in the beginning.

  I am jealous of you, Ethel, for so many reasons. The first is Marie. What a wonderful child you have! And now Frank is paying up, literally, for being so neglectful. You will have your pockets stuffed with money. You can hire things done, which can help the economy. Tee hee.

  And I am jealous that you were able to move to Burlington and be near Dianne and Suzy. You got there in the nick of time too. Dianne must have waited for you to get there before the Big C invaded her body. And now you have added Suzy to your family just like Dianne wished.

  Caroline, I am sorry you have not been feeling well. It is great that you have doctors watching over you. The illnesses that are in the U.S. are prolific. I read in the newspaper that one in seven people has syphilis, and it can kill you. I wonder what Preacher Thomas at the Methodist church back home would say about that. We all know how you get that disease! We are safe from that one. We only have sex with clean men or our husbands. Right, girls??

  Caroline, you should be safe from polio. I think that strikes children. But since we are not sure how that is spread, we should all be aware. And keep Marie and Suzy safe, Ethel. I have a friend who is a nurse at the hospital in D.C. She said the beds are full of people with pneumonia and influenza. She thinks it is because people are so poor they don’t have enough food. We were so lucky to grow up on a farm and learn to feed ourselves and our neighbors. And people don’t have the money to see a doctor. Lord, this is the worst time in our history. The Forties have got to be better!

  I think it is important for us to know what is going on in the world. The newspapers don’t always get the story right. I have read some things that I knew were untrue. Or at least they were slanted toward what one party or another wants you to think. We all have radios now. Tune into President Roosevelt’s fireside chats. The radio is his voice and his ideas. It is not reporters distorting the truth. FDR gives us information in a way that we can understand and explains his next idea to turn this country around. I really admire that man.

  Well, as usual, I have written more than the Nash Round-Robin Letter rules allow. Dianne would be disappointed. But she could not care less now. She is dancing with Joe, Momma, and Daddy.

  And Caroline, thank you for the birthday wishes. It was uneventful birthday.

  I love you both to the moon and back,

  Annie

  * * *

  AUGUST 1941

  Annie

  Missing My Family

  Annie sent a telegram to me asking that I come to Washington. It said that she was sick and could barely take care of herself. “I need my sister,” it said. Of course, I went right away. Marie and Suzy came along. They could all stay in A
nnie’s rooming house. I told the girls it would be like a camping trip. They would take the train for the first time. We were all excited and I was anxious about what I might find. Annie tells how love can cure. Not only the love from her sister but also from children and the right man.

  I haven’t been able to sleep. If I get three hours a night, that is good. My head hurts, I feel like I have a fever. I have missed work or come home early for a week. Once my cough started, they told me not to come back until it goes away.

  Jon gave me the address for a doctor. I am sure he is worried about me, but he is probably more afraid he might catch something from me. I am not even sure if I have enough energy to bathe and get to the doctor. Since we have a telephone at work, Jon called Dr. Finch and scheduled an appointment for tomorrow. Jon is sending a car for me in the morning. He said, “No excuses! Get your sweet self to the doc.”

  I sent a telegram to Ethel. I really need to see family. She and the girls will be here in two days. This ordeal is going on longer than I can ever remember being sick before. The longer I am sick, the more depressed I feel and a little scared.

  Liquids, rest, and a shot of whiskey with honey is what Momma would say. But at home that worked in just a few days. I am reading at night, hoping to make myself sleepy. I’m about halfway through Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. Not a good book choice to stop being sad. But I can’t put it down. I love the way he describes a scene and gets me into the characters. Those characters win the pitiful award. Whew, I thought our life on the farm was hard!

  I did sleep better last night but still feel exhausted. Today I will see the doctor and get some medicine. Maybe I will be up and around by the time Ethel arrives.

  Dr. Finch’s office was full of sick people. Five people were in the waiting room when I arrived. All looked like some variation of near death. I wanted to wait outside, but the nurse had me take a seat. She gave me a glass of water and said, “Looks like you could use this. It’s okay, it’s clean.”