23 January 1946 Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas

Dearest Mother and Father,
Starting this letter with happy birthday wishes for you, Mother. May the weather be fine so you and Father can meet up with your friends for a time out together. A chance for you to gussy up and celebrate would be wonderful.

I have news for you…exciting news that will change my whole future. Remember that I told you I have been writing letters throughout the war to a Army soldier who came here to train in Topeka three years ago? Well, Cupid’s arrow has touched us both. I am going East to meet him again and get married. Let me fill in some details. Eddie is from Philadelphia and now lives with his immigrant Polish family. Recently, he saw a job posting for a new Army Signal Corps facility in Arlington, Virginia. The Army is looking for war veterans to staff the facility. When he saw the posting, he wondered if I would like to join him. He states that other military offices are looking for qualified secretaries. He wants to know if I want to join him there and get married. Well, yes, I do!

This will be quite an adventure for me as I have never been east of Kansas City. Can you imagine me, the Kansas farm girl/wartime secretary, moving East to the Nation’s Capital? A small town girl adapting to big city life…I never imagined…that idea has surprised me the most.

Eddie and I have one problem that needs solving. His immigrant family are very disappointed that I am not Polish and I am not Catholic. We will solve this somehow as we plan to do this our way. I am willing to convert to Catholicism. Let’s take one step at a time, however.

I am planning to get tickets for home so I can receive your blessing and answer any questions. I am so excited about our plans and want to share that joy with you. In my next letter, I will give my arrival date for home. Hope you and Father can meet me at the station. Cannot wait to see everyone, ride a horse, and see the farm once again.

Love,
Merna Mae

Note: Merna Mae Storer Slabik is my mother. In 1946, she planned a future with my father Edward Joseph Slabik. When they met in Washington, my father had a job at Arlington Hall serving as a government clerk. My mother had a job with the U.S. Navy as a secretary. They married in April 1947. Such a big decision for them to do it their way!

Wednesday, 23 November 1955 Falls Church, Fairfax County, Virginia

Dear Mother and Father,
Once again as we ready for Thanksgiving, I have created my special pies. Yes, I learned it all from you, Mother. I want to thank you for those cooking lessons…I would often protest and wanted to be out riding my horse Beauty as cooking was too girly for me. Dang it, I just couldn’t be bothered. I must add “however” as those lessons paid off. My pies are now as delicious as your Osborne County Fair blue ribbon winners.

There is such a calmness in my kitchen… like being in an oasis as I blend the ingredients. I enjoy making my own pie filling as I am in harmony with the sweetness of the fillings. Loving to play the radio while I work, I enjoy singing along with Jo Stafford, Kay Starr, and the wonderful Nat King Cole. I am in heaven at the moment!

Today my little Mary Anne is working at her own children’s table. I give her scraps of piedough to turn into her own homemade “cookies”. She rolls out the dough, cuts it with a cookie cutter, and adds a raisin to each one. Baking them for her, she waits patiently from the cookies to cool from the oven. She cannot wait for the days before Christmas so we can make real cookies.

Meanwhile, little Michael is in the corner of the kitchen playing with his plastic cowboy figures. Sound effects of shooting pistols and Indian war whoops are blazing through our once quiet space. Love it when my little family is all together.

Waiting for Eddie to come home from work at Arlington Hall, he and I will be getting some food ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow. It will be just the four of us…lots to be thankful for.

With love,
Merna Mae

Note: My mother was Merna Mae (Storer) Slabik, and she was famous for her pies…both making and eating them. She loved her desserts. Thank you, Mom, for these wonderful memories of making homemade pies!