Show Notes
It's Thanksgiving!! It's dark! It's cold! It's lonely! And it's time to talk about food. With a rousing poem, and recommendations from the time, we explore the culinary delights of the season. Lee's Broiler! The West Twins! It's a tour of the Twin Cities restaurant scene. Mattie is feeling the absence of the Boys during the Holiday, but she's cooking a goose anyways. We get to learn about how Matt's job works as a railway postal clerk, and debate the difference between east and south (the cardinal directions) and which is which. Plus, Monkey Wards! –––– Characters This Week: Bud (stepson) Gram (mom) Wes (son) Flo (daughter-in-law) Gennrich's (friends) –––– Links: Thanksgiving, 1942, by Christopher La Farge (The New Yorker) I Recommend [good places to go, eat, play and shop] by Roland L. Hill Menu from Lee's Broiler The West Twins Mail By Rail training video
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Mattie On The Homefront is produced by Hans Buetow. It is hosted by Hans Buetow and Steve Buetow. The theme music is by Matt Buetow. The graphic design is by Amy Kirkpatrick.
Check out the podcast Never Post at neverpo.st. A good place to start is the episode A New Type of Grief: Inheritance Posting.
More from Mattie On The Homefront
Wes is having terrible luck, Mattie is still doing lots of volunteering, and wood gas is a possible substitute for fuel oil. There's a lot happening at the end of January, including Mattie processing being an empty nester. Most exciting, though, is that Steve is mentioned in the letters for the first time (despite not being born for nearly 5 years) when Mattie dreams of a son that Ken might one day have. Which leads us, inevitably, to playing with blocks. –––– Characters This Week: Virginia (future daughter-in-law) Wes (son) Florence (daughter-in-law) Bud (step-son) Viv (step-daughter) Wally (step-son-in-law) Billy (step-grandson) ––––
One of our big questions is answered this week when we learn that Ken has a question of his own. Meanwhile, Mattie is proudly showing off snaps around town, and working to keep the house at a frosty 65 degrees during a long cold snap. Plus, their car trouble continues, as do the questions about Wes & Flo's belongings. –––– Characters This Week: Virginia (future daughter-in-law) Wes (son) Florence (daughter-in-law) Gennrich's (friends) Dick Hance (Ken's friend) Uncle Herb (younger brother) Rudy (step-daughter) Dianne (step-granddaughter) ––––
Our first handwritten letter since September means that Mattie isn't at her trusty typewriter. Not one to waste a moment, she is writing to Ken while having her hair done at he beauty shop. She tells him about the overwhelming stresses of Ladies' Aid, about new snaps she's sent his way, and how much better Ken's letters are than Bud's. We get to discover what used to be in the building that is now The Ax Man, the Curtis Hotel is Recommended, and that the tree in the back yard is even more special than we already knew it to be. Plus - how are they going to get to the cabin this summer? January is the perfect time to wonder. –––– Characters This Week: Hanson's (neighborhood friends) Gennrich's (Minneapolis friends) Wes (eldest son) Florence (daughter-in-law) Applebaum (Wes & Flo's landlord) Bud (step-son) Rudy (step-daughter) Diane (step-granddaughter) –––– Links: Photos of the Curtis Hotel Review of Curtis Hotel, from I Recommend, by Roland L. Hill in 1948 Muggley's Recreation Midway Gardens 1947 sit-in by Bayard Rustin
Only 36 hours after her previous letter, Mattie has news enough to write again to Ken. And yes, it's about Wes & Flo. Plus, Mattie is listening to a lot of radio, and narrowly avoiding teenagers, but she cannot get out of her new obligation as it looks as though, despite her wishes, the world isn't ending. But the biggest news isn't from Mattie - it's from us - because we found Virginia! The mysterious Virginia, of whom we have only 2 photographs and no last name, now has that last name and a bunch more photos. We followed the clues from the letters, and now we know a whole lot more. –––– Characters This Week: Wes (eldest son) Florence (daughter-in-law) Applebaum (Wes & Flo's landlord) Mrs. Berkey (??) Virginia (Ken's squeeze) Georgine Hanson (neighbor/church friend) Gram (mother) Myrtle Yocum (acquaintance) Susan (??) ––––
In our longest ever letter (but not episode!), we have a bombshell of a revelation about Mattie's son Wes, and his wife Florence. Mattie is way in her feelings, and leaning on her faith to get through. Ken is NOT leaning on Edgar Guest's poems, so he's got plenty of energy left to be Mattie's sounding board about a homesick Bud, and the answer to who is the new president of the Ladies Aid. Content Advisory: this episode contains discussion of domestic violence. –––– Characters This Week: Wes (eldest son) Florence (daughter-in-law) Mrs. Colona (Wes & Florence's neighbor) Giertsen's (best friends) Mrs. Nelson (volunteer friend) Bud (stepson) Mrs. Hance (friend) ––––