Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family
Title
Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family
Creator
Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958
Identifier
WWP23177
Date
1928 April 15
Description
Letter from Jon Bouman to his family.
Source
Gift of William C. and Evelina Suhler
Subject
Germany--History--1918-1933
Correspondence
Berlin, Germany
Contributor
Rachel Dark
Denise Montgomery
Language
English
Provenance
Evelina Suhler is the granddaughter of Jon Anthony Bouman and inherited the family collection of his letters from the years of World War I. She and her husband gave the letters to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum in 2013.
Text
28 Zimmerstr.
Berlin SW 68
April 15, '28
My dear daughter Mary,
Here is the translation of Mrs. S.'s letter. It is a very nice and pleasant letter and in accordance with her personality. She is slim and of fair height, but in her manner she seemed to me in a vague way to be not unlike Auntie Eva, which rather predisposed me in her favour.
I think you like gardening? Mrs. S. said she was very fond of it. She had already put in a lot of things. It is smaller than ours (I mean the whole of it, including mac's) and there are pine trees in it, no lawn. It is just a little bit of the Grunewald, recently developed, and the part is very much like the Wildwood corner in Hampstead, I imagine.
Now about classes, I don't know exactly what you would like to attend. I have found you can learn Pitman's shorthand here in addition to the two leading systems of purely German stenography. It might also be advisable to take a course in German for foreigners, or commercial correspondence. There is an "English Institute" from which I will get particulars. I suppose it is still your aim to take a secretarial position? We can talk this over when I come over at the end of this month; D.V.
It is snowing this (Sunday) morning with the temperature a couple of degrees above freezing, so it does not lie. It is one of the very few "unpleasant" days I remember here. I have nothing against the climate generally, as compared with London. Great excitement here about the German aviators getting to America.
Give my love to Mother and all at home.
Your affectionate,
Dac.
Taurmina, Sizilina, den 7./4.28.
Lieber Fraülein Bouman,
für Ihrer Brief von 19./ii danke ich Ihnen sehr. Ich ....
Translation:
Taormina, Sicily 7/4/28
Dear Miss B. -
Many thanks for yours of Feb. 19 (?) to which I am sorry to be have been unable to reply, as I have been ill and had to go to Italy to recuperate, but I am much better now.
You will have heard from your Herrn Vater that we have agreed that you should come to us about the middle of May, and I hope this will also suit you.
We too, had thought of your proposed activity here on the lines indicated in your letter. In the same way as we would talk English and German on alternate days, I think we might also read aloud alternately to each other, in the evening when you are not attending classes.
We only have one child which gives very little trouble as he is already 4 and is happy playing by himself. Especially in the summer we are all much in the garden and I shall be glad of your help in caring for it.
As you have your father in Berlin, we hope you will not be homesick and that we shall become very good friends in our home.
So we shall expect you about the middle of May.
Cordially,
Frau Schürholtz
Original Format
Letter
To
Bouman Family
Collection
Citation
Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958, “Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family,” 1928 April 15, WWP23177, Jon Anthony Bouman Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.