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The Timeline

The Timeline indicates basic information that has occurred in the letters featured in the main Podcast episodes. Currently, the letters being used in the Podcast are from 1944.

The podcast begins in 1941.

Sweetie attends Parsons College in the fall of 1941 dates a man named Ed.
Dr. Chester Demaree, M.D. is moves his medical practice from Keota, Iowa to Lacona, Iowa, where the family is settling.
December 7, 1941 - Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese and on December 8, 1941, the US Congress Declares War on Japan. Both of Sweetie's brothers, Bob and Frank, actively serve in the US Military.

1942

January 1942 - Sweetie leaves Parsons College to attend a business course in Ottumwa, Iowa. Sweetie has also received a marriage proposal by mail from David Chase, whom she had been dating after breaking up with Ed.
Spring 1942 - Sweetie takes the business course, completing it at the end of the semester. At this time, she is dating a man named Don.
Summer 1942 - Sweetie's sister, Jeanne, considers marrying a man named Bob
August 1942 - Sweetie starts work at NAS Ottumwa
December 1942 - Chester writes a letter to Sweetie's brother, Bob, indicating that Bob is in the Pacific Theater while serving in the US Military.

1943

January 1943 - Sweetie enjoys her social life and spends time in downtown Ottumwa.
February 1943 - Chester writes a letter to Sweetie's brother, Bob, indicating that Bob is in the Pacific Theater and is serving the US Military during the Guadalcanal Campaign.
February - April 1943 - Sweetie continues a correspondence with David Chase, especially after learning that he has been deployed overseas in the service.
May 1943 - Sweetie becomes reflective of her upbringing after introducing Betty Cory to her father, and continues with her social life in Ottumwa, Iowa. She also makes more of an acquaintance with a man named George.
August 1943 - Sweetie meets the man with the million-dollar smile in his voice who is working at NAS Ottumwa on the switchboard, Lew Graham. She goes on a date with Lew, and determines she really likes him. Jeanne at this point has graduated from Nursing School in Iowa City.
November 1943 - Sweetie reveals that Lew Graham has proposed to her, and she has accepted that proposal. Now engaged, Sweetie looks to her upcoming wedding.
December 1943 - Sweetie marries Lew Graham on December 3, 1943, changing her name from Kathryn Frances Demaree to Kathryn Frances Demaree Graham. Her parents, as well as the family of her eldest sister, Margaret, are in attendance at the wedding at the Cory home in Ottumwa, Iowa. Jeanne is her maid-of-honor. The Graham family, residing in southeastern Pennsylvania, are not in attendance. No honeymoon is planned - Sweetie still works at NAS Ottumwa and Lew is an active member of the United States Navy.
late December 1943 - Sweetie prepares for Christmas 1943 as a newlywed.
December 25, 1943 - Sweetie enjoys her first Christmas as a newlywed

1944

January 1944 - Chester writes a letter to Sweetie's brother, Frank, indicating that Frank is in the Pacific Theater
February 1944 - Bob returns to Iowa and celebrates the birth of his first child, K.M., and visits Sweetie and Lew in Ottumwa, Iowa. Sweetie prepares for a trip to Pennsylvania to meet her new in-laws. Sweetie notes that the Cory Family will soon move away from Ottumwa, Iowa, and Nelson Cory is no longer working at NAS Ottumwa.
April 1944 - Chester writes a letter to Sweetie's brother, Bob, noting that there has been extensive flooding in the midwest that month.
May 1944 - Sweetie comments on the heavy rainfall in Iowa, culminating in the flooding in Ottumwa in late May 1944, in which members of the US Navy stationed in Ottumwa assist with flood duties in the city. Mr. Cory goes to Washington, D.C. on updated orders, and Sweetie begins to sense that she will not remain in Ottumwa for much longer.
June 1944 - Sweetie notes that Mr. Cory has returned from Washington, D.C. with others to relocate to San Francisco, California, and the Cory family packs up their home and leaves Ottumwa. Sweetie expects to follow suit as she notes that Lew has been stationed at NAS Ottumwa for many months (almost two years).
July 1944 - Lew takes a troop train after being transferred from NAS Ottumwa to NAS Hutchinson (Kansas). Sweetie packs up their apartment in Ottumwa, stores most of her furniture and belongings, and moves to Hutchinson, Kansas to stay with Lew (traveling by train through Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri).
July 23, 1944 - Sweetie writes her first letter from Hutchinson, Kansas to Jeanne and indicates that while Lew had been told he would remain in Hutchinson indefinitely, the future is uncertain as he has been told by an officer that he will be shipped out in two weeks.
August - October 1944 - Sweetie and Lew reside in Hutchinson, Kansas while he continues to serve at Naval Air Station (NAS) Hutchinson. Sweetie feels isolated from her family during this time, and the uncertainty of whether or not Lew will be sent overseas continues to loom over her. Meanwhile Jeanne considers marrying a blind lawyer named Bill Gruening back in Des Moines, Iowa.
November 1944 - Twice Sweetie believes that Jeanne will visit her in Hutchinson, and she is disappointed both times. Sweetie and Lew spend time with another family for Thanksgiving 1944. Chester Demaree, M.D. (Sweetie's father) and Laura (Sweetie's mother) interfere with Sweetie and Lew's and Jeanne's travel plans, causing the family to remain apart this month.
December 1944 - Jeanne finally visits Sweetie in Hutchinson, Kansas and Sweetie begins to prepare for Christmas 1944. However, Lew and Sweetie make last-minute travel arrangements to go to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Lew's father, Samuel Graham, is in the hospital and the family fears that the worst may happen during the holiday. Chester Demaree, M.D. writes to his son Frank that he is considering buying a 160-acre farm in Iowa.

1945

January 1945 - Sweetie and Lew return to Hutchinson, Kansas after their last-minute trip to Philadelphia during Christmas 1944. Chester Demaree, M.D. continues to consider purchasing the farm. Sweetie, observing other couples who are having children, wonders when she might become pregnant herself.
February 1945 - Sweetie notes that she is pregnant, and she and Lew begin to shop for supplies for the baby
March 1945 - Lew receives his orders to go overseas during the War, and Sweetie and Lew depart Hutchinson, Kansas for the final time and travel to the East Coast to temporarily stay with Lew's parents in Collingdale, Pennsylvania. Sweetie and Lew visit her brother Bob and his wife, Florence, who are staying in New York City.
April 1945 - Sweetie stays with her brother Bob and her sister-in-law Florence in New York City while Lew reports to Pier 92 per his orders. Lew departs from New York City by ship to England. Sweetie makes plans to return to Iowa with Bob and Florence.
May 1945 - Lew writes to Jeanne after having safely arrived in England. Four days after he writes this letter, the German Army surrenders to Dwight David Eisenhower in France on May 7, 1945, and Victory in Europe is declared on May 8, 1945.
June 1945 - By June, Sweetie has returned to Iowa and is staying with her parents at their house in Lacona.
July 1945 - While Sweetie stays with her parents in Lacona, Iowa in the house that her father, Chester, purchases in town, her family spends time at the farm that her parents have also purchased. Lew writes more letters to Jeanne from England where he is still stationed, and it is unclear when he will be sent back to the United States, though he anticipates it will be in August.
August 1945 - Sweetie remains with her parents in Lacona, Iowa, while Lew returns from England to the United States and is temporarily stationed in Boston, Massachusetts.
September 1945 - Sweetie gives birth to her son, Lewis, at the hospital in Des Moines. Her father, Chester Demaree, M.D., helps deliver his grandson at the hospital. It is believed Lew, who was in Pennsylvania with his parents by mid-September, arrives in Des Moines just in time to be there for the birth of his son. It should also be noted that on September 6 and on September 9, US forces drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, and about a week later, Japan surrenders. World War II ends.
October 1945 - Samuel Graham, Lew's father, passes away on October 5, 1945 in Collingdale, just over a week after learning that his first grandchild (Lewis) was born.

1946

February 1946 - From Lew's letter to Sweetie, we can tell that Lew is at his family home in Collingdale, Pennsylvania, looking for a job and a residence so that Sweetie and the baby, Lewis, can leave Iowa and join him in Pennsylvania, despite her reservations to do so. However, the post-war job market is difficult to navigate, especially due to ongoing strikes in many industries and a high demand for housing for many new families.
March 1946 - Sweetie remains in Iowa, much to the chagrin of her husband, Lewis, but finally decides that she must join her husband in Pennsylvania, and so she travels to Collingdale in the last few days of March with their son, Lewis by plane (having taken a train from Des Moines to Chicago).
April 1946 - Just about a week after having left her family in Iowa, Sweetie receives the devastating news that a horrible accident has occurred - a Navy plane, with 11 people on board - one being her older brother, Bob (who was the co-pilot), crashed just south of Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 4. All 11 individuals did not survive. Sweetie, in her grief, is frustrated that she had just left her family, and mourns the loss of her brother through her letters written to her family. She hopes for a space of her own, and she and Lew start to purchase furniture in the hopes that they will soon have their own place away from her mother-in-law and sister-in-law at 936 Springfield Road.
June 1946 - After a difficult spring, Sweetie, Lew, and Lewis finally find a place of their own in southeastern Pennsylvania at 37 S. Love Lane in Norwood. Sweetie describes their moving to this new location, and notes that she has to do all of her sewing by hand. As such, she gets on a wait list to purchase a sewing machine from Sears Roebuck.
July 1946 - Chester Demaree, M.D., provides updates on the progress of his farm in Lacona, Iowa, and anticipates his daughter, Sweetie, visiting with his grandson, in the fall.
August 1946 - Lew and Sweetie purchase their first car - a 1936 Oldsmobile and prepare for a trip to visit Sweetie's family in Iowa
September / October 1946 - During this time period, Sweetie visits her family in Lacona, Iowa and Lew (when he has leave from the Navy) drives their car to Iowa. The family returns by car to Pennsylvania.
November 1946 - Sweetie recounts the roadtrip back to Philadelphia, and prepares for Thanksgiving and settles back into life in Norwood, Pennsylvania.
December 1946 - Sweetie prepares for Christmas 1946 in her home in Norwood, Pennsylvania.

1947

April 1947 - Lewis becomes quite sick, and has to stay overnight at the US Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He recovers quickly, though, and returns home with his parents. It is indicated (at this point in the letters) that Lew is now working at Naval Air Station (NAS) Willow Grove in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
August 1947 - Sweetie and Lew finally take their honeymoon when Lew gets some leave from the Navy, and they travel to Canada to see Niagara Falls and other sites in Toronto.
November 1947 - Sweetie finally gets her Sears Roebuck sewing machine after a 16-month wait. Additionally, Sweetie receives a letter from her sister, Jeanne, in which it is revealed that Jeanne is in a relationship with a man named Clifford, and Jeanne is seeking advice from Sweetie on whether or not she should accept a proposal from Clifford. Meanwhile, she mentions that Lew's sister, Elizabeth, will likely get engaged by the end of the year.
December 1947 - Sweetie writes to family about Thanksgiving and makes plans for Christmas 1947. She ends the year hoping that her family will visit her on the East Coast soon. Elizabeth waits to receive her engagement ring from the man she is in a relationship with named Bob Brown.

1948

January 1948 - Sweetie writes to her family about Christmas 1947, and notes that Lewis has received a toy accordion from his grandmother, Sidney.
February 1948 - Lewis becomes very sick, and is hospitalized for pneumonia at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. Fortunately, he recovers in about a week.
March 1948 - Sweetie indicates that she and her family are going to leave Norwood, Pennsylvania and move to Iowa to stay in the same town as her parents - Lacona. Plans are set in motion, but it is not clear when they will leave Pennsylvania. With this move, Lew decides to leave the U.S. Navy (which he has served in continuously since 1942).
June 1948 - Lew's sister, Elizabeth, is married to Bob Brown on June 19, 1948 near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sweetie, Lew, and Lewis were all in attendance at the wedding, indicating that they were still in Pennsylvania at this time period, despite their plans to move back to Iowa.
July 1948 - Lew leaves the U.S. Navy and he, Sweetie, and Lewis leave for Iowa on July 30th
August 1948 - October 1948 - Sweetie, Lew, and Lewis live in Iowa, work on a house there, and Lew helps Chester with the family farm just south of town.
October 1948 - While it is not noted in Sweetie's letters until a year later (October 1949), in this month, it is indicated that Chester had a heart attack
November 1948 - Chester and Laura leave Iowa to visit family for Thanksgiving, leaving Sweetie at home in Lacona assisting in her father's office.
December 1948 - Lew, deciding that the life of a farmer is not for him, leaves Sweetie and Lewis in Lacona to seek an opportunity to make more money for his family by returning to the East Coast and joining the U.S. Merchant Marine. At the end of the month, he joins the crew of the SS Atlantic Transporter (of the Atlantic Refining Company), and the ship departs from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

1949

January 1949 - Lew crosses the Atlantic Ocean on the SS Atlantic Transporter, and goes to Port Said, Egypt and through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea.
February 1949 - The SS Atlantic Transporter, with Lew on board, goes through the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, and past Iran to fill up with oil in Fahaheel, Kuwait.
March 1949 - Lew continues to work as a member of the U.S. Merchant Marine - after the SS Atlantic Transporter returns from the Middle East to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it then heads to Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela for more oil.
April 1949 - Lew continues on the ship as it travels to South America for more oil.
May 1949 - Lew continues his work on the ship as it travels between Texas and South America for oil. Sweetie mentions to Jeanne that she will be returning with Lewis to the East Coast.
July 1949 - Sweetie and Lewis return to Pennsylvania and arrive at the same time that Lew finishes his last journey on the SS Atlantic Transporter. Lew rejoins the US Navy and goes back to work at NAS Willow Grove, and Sweetie and Lew try to purchase a house within a mile of the base.
August 1949 - Sweetie notes that she and Lew were approved for the mortgage, and eagerly await the news about the government appraisal on the property they are trying to buy.
September 1949 - Sweetie and Lew finish settlement on the house, and move in to their new house at County Line Rd. Meanwhile, Sweetie's sister-in-law, Elizabeth, and her family go on a month-long vacation at the New Jersey Shore. Sweetie's mother-in-law, Sidney, sells the Graham family home in Collingdale, PA.
October 1949 - Sweetie meets her new neighbor, Mrs. Riesselmann, and finds in her a kindred spirit. Later this month, she also meets the person who sold the property on which her house was built - a farmer, named Franklin (Frank) Oehrle.
November 1949 - Sweetie celebrates her 27th birthday in Hatboro, and feels lonesome for her family. She expresses concern about the well-being of her parents to her sister, Jeanne, noting that her mother, Laura, may be overwhelmed and she reveals that she knows that her father, Chester, is self-medicating with morphine, and has not informed the Narcotics Board in Iowa.
December 1949 - Sweetie begins to plan for a small Christmas in Hatboro, but receives a communication from Jeanne at the beginning of the month that their mother, Laura, is not well, and she considers returning to Iowa to help take care of her. However, she receives news that their mother is all right, and stays in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Sweetie assists her mother-in-law, Sidney, in clearing out the remaining items in the Graham family home in Collingdale, PA, which had been sold in September. In Iowa, Sweetie's father, Chester, sets a small fire to a brush pile on his farm to take color pictures of the flames, and accidentally burns two acres of his property.

1950

January 1950 - Sweetie learns that her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Brown, is pregnant with her second child
February 1950 - Sweetie and Lew purchase a television set for the first time - a 12 1/2" screen Olympic model
March 1950 - Sweetie writes more about the television and what it's like having it at her home. She also expresses her desire for a good garden to be planted, and notes that she does not plan to go to Iowa to visit family that summer.
April 1950 - Sweetie and Lewis both get sick - Sweetie specifically gets the mumps. Additionally, there is an unexpectedly high amount of rain that spring, dashing her hopes of a productive gardening season.
May 1950 - With her plans for her garden ruined, Sweetie plans to travel home to Iowa during the summer. She gets her own typewriter for her letters, but notes that it needs to be fixed, so the family plans to make a trip to New York City.
June 1950 - Sweetie, Lew, and Lewis go to New York City and visit with Lew's brother, Joe, and his wife, Marguerite while they are there. By late June, Sweetie arrives with Lewis in Des Moines to visit with her sister, Jeanne and continue on to her parents in Lacona.

KOREAN WAR BEGINS - JUNE 25, 1950 - The Korean War begins when the news is reported that the forces of North Korea cross the 38th Parallel into South Korea, subsequently capturing Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and forcing South Korean forces and their allies to the southern peninsula of South Korea. President Truman makes the decision to commit American forces to the Korean Conflict on June 27, 1950.

July 1950 - Sweetie returns home to Hatboro with Lewis after having visited her family in Iowa for a few weeks. She is concerned that her husband, Lew, who is a member of the US Navy and is working full-time at NAS Willow Grove, will be sent overseas to Korea.