Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Graeff, Leonard Eugene, 1920-2016 to Susan Prowell Graeff and Raymond James Graeff

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09611.190.01 Author/Creator: Graeff, Leonard Eugene, 1920-2016 Place Written: Great Lakes, Illinois Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 27 December 1943 Pagination: 4 p. : envelope Height: 24.6 cm, Width: 16 cm Order a Copy

One letter from Leonard Eugene Graeff to Susan Prowell Graeff and Raymond James Graeff dated December 27, 1943. Leonard reports that the train into Chicago was about four hours late and he was almost AWOL (absent without leave) due to the delay. He had good luck last trip. The train was so packed that people were sitting and laying in the aisles. He was able to get a corner of the conductor's seat. He slept there until Pittsburg when seats became available. There was a sailor sleeping on the steel platform outside of the car. There was about six soldiers "in a pile" on the floor sleeping. His cold is improving despite the travel. When he arrived in Chicago he visited the U.S.O., washed up and got some food there. The train from Chicago back to Great Lakes stopped at a canteen and Leonard got coffee a sandwich and a doughnut. He sent a postcard that has a picture of the canteen on it. (GLC09611.190.02) He was lucky the train stopped as he hadn't brought lunch and there was no dining car on the train. He asks Susan to thank Mrs. Weaver for the cookies she sent. Writes that they were very good but not as good as Susan's.

Graeff, Leonard Eugene, 1920-2016
Graeff, Raymond James, 1889-1963
Graeff, Susan Prowell, 1890-1967

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources