Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family

Title

Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family

Creator

Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958

Identifier

WWP23097

Date

1920 May 30

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

Requires

PROOFREADING

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

Hotel Adlon, Berlin
Sunday May 30 1920
(towards midnight)

My dearest;

Hooroosh! Here is a ray of hope for a speedy release; read the enclosed letter from Collins which settles one point that was doubtful; that I am to succeed Jones, temporarily at least. On the face of it, it certainly seems absurd that I should go back to write out cheques after being in charge of the Berlin night service, but no doubt one thing will lead to another and I shall be content to be at my own fireside although London as a town presents no attractions to me. But where the heart is, the home is, of that there can be no doubt. You see, patience is the thing!!

Do not imagine I forgot the anniversary of our wedding day, but you know dear, I always think it is the 25th instead of the 23rd -- why, I don’t know, I’m sure. I have up the idea of sending you some kind of memento because I did not know the precise date on which it would arrive, and of course I wanted it to arrive on the day, which after all would have been the wrong day!

I wish you would pay my Mutual Life Insurance, and I have written to the Co. theymay expect payment from you.

Much interested to hear about the garden, it ought certainly to look better after the grass was cut and the roses pruned. Have you got that garden seat yet?

It has been very sultry all day. Enderis, Moyston, & I went out for a stroll after dinner when it began pouring stair rods. We got a cab back to the hotel but hundreds and thousands of women and girls in flimsy dresses must have got drenched. You could see them skip for shelter like hens – you know how I enjoy the sight although I didn’t get off scot free as none of us had an umbrella.

An enchanting sight the other day in the Wilhelmstrasse where President Ebert lives in Bismark’s old town house. In front of the entrance there is a big majestic stone lion with gaping jaws and in those jaws a swarm of bees had settled, and the palace guard was getting very annoyed; they were buzzing around the sentries at the gate. So they got a garden hose and hosed them out but they were still flying in and out when I passed the spot next day. People were making jokes about Samson and the honey he got from the lion and some people thought it was a shame that the presidential residence should be selected by the bees for depositing their honey, as real honey hasn’t been seen in Germany at least in Berlin, for many a day.

Enderis has just wired to London to ask when we may expect Mr. Easterling here; of course I cannot say for certain whether I would be leaving for home immediately; there are the elections on June 6, and no one knows what may happen, so I don’t know that I would be home for my holiday but I certainly think about the end of June, if all goes well. Easterling will need breaking in here, too. Patience, my dear, patience!!!

The criticisms on the “Abenteuer eines Kindes” were very funny. They damned it with faint praise; one paper says “those who didn’t hear it haven’t missed much”which is the key note of the rest of the musical experts’ views. I myself didn’t think very much of it.

Many thanks to Mary and Betty for their little notes about Kew and Hadley Wood. Betty got tied up in a knot about the forget-me-knots which she picked! Never mind she will get huggins just the same when I get home. I am already looking forward to see you all at the station with the motor. So meanwhile let us be joyful, joyful, joyful!! I shall be glad for one thing to come back to a place where I don’t have to lock up everything for fear it may be stolen!

Much love to you all, my dears, may we meet again in our usual good health, and may it be soon.
Your loving,
Jack.
Apologies for the writing – it is a hotel pen, and only a drop of ink in the well!

Enclosure # 1: Concert Program, dated May 14, 1920, for concert referred to in this letter and letter dated May 20, 1920, including symphony, “Adventures in a Perambulator”/”Abenteuer eines Kindes” by John Alden Carpenter.

Enclosures #2 and #3: Undated newspaper clippings, reviews of the concert.

Original Format

Letter

To

Bouman Family

Files

http://resources.presidentwilson.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1920-05-30.pdf

Citation

Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958, “Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family,” 1920 May 30, WWP23097, Jon Anthony Bouman Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.