Sweetie in Kansas

The content of this album provides some details about Sweetie and Lew's life in Hutchinson, Kansas. Lew was transferred from Naval Air Station (NAS) Ottumwa in July 1944 to Naval Air Station (NAS) Hutchinson, and Sweetie packs up all of their belongings in Ottumwa, Iowa, sends some of their items to her parents in Lacona, Iowa, and takes the rest with her to Hutchinson, Kansas.

Sweetie's Dependent's Pass for NAS Hutchinson

This identification card is Sweetie's Dependent's Pass for U.S. Naval Air Station (NAS) Hutchinson, Kansas.

This was issued to Sweetie so she could gain access to the base there, as her husband, Lew Graham, served during the war at NAS Hutchinson (having been transferred from NAS Ottumwa).

It is interesting to note that the pass was stamped with the informal logo of NAS Hutchinson that was made by Walt Disney (Jimmy Cricket in a US Navy uniform in a training plane), instead of the formal symbol for that particular midwestern base.

On the back of this card, which has remained in the original plastic, are the words "INDEX FINGERPRINTS" and two very faint fingerprints - what are clearly her thumbprints from both her left and right hands.

Sweetie and Lew's Apartment in Hutchinson, Kansas

This diagram of Sweetie and Lew's apartment in Hutchinson, was drawn by Sweetie herself in the letter she wrote to her sister.

Sweetie is very detailed and gives a precise floor plan of the place. This apartment was a major upgrade from the one room that they had rented upon first arriving in Hutchinson.

Their rent for this apartment in Hutchinson in 1944 was $6.50 per week.

"Not Dead - Just Forgotten"

This image that Sweetie drew for her sister, Jeanne, appeared at the end of her letter to Jeanne dated September 5, 1944.

Sweetie was frustrated with the lack of correspondence from her family to herself and Lew, who were by themselves in Hutchinson, Kansas.

This is a good example of Sweetie's sense of humor... and her unrelenting demand for letters from her family at all times.