Dad gets Drafted: Mom Buys a Fur Coat

Mom and her Fur Coat
With Baby Rita

Daddy had been baptized LDS but he seldom went to church. His mother was not a member but his dad was. He and Mom began to get serious but Mom was very religious and since Dad was not active, it became a problem. She would never even consider a marriage outside the temple. Dad didn't know the first thing about the LDS and so he said he not lie to get a recommend. He knew he would be drafted soon and that would not give him enough time to get active and understand the Church's teaching. He and Mom did not want to wait until the end of the war to get married but her parents wanted her to wait  for Dad to come home from the war and get active in the church. Mom and Dad could not stand three or four years. Dad was so in love with Mom that he agreed to go talk to the bishop and see if there was a work-around. He really didn't have clue about the church and he really didn't want to ask for a recommend but he would do anything for Mom. So they did go to the bishop and told them their circumstances. The bishop agreed to give him a recommend if he promised to learn as much as possible while in the war and to pay his tithing and keep the commandments. He was totally holding him to the promise. Daddy was a good man and he did as he was asked even though he did not really understand any of it. Mom saw Dad's family as really odd. So different than her own. Dad's mom said she liked Mom but she was just too small.

Mom and Dad were married on November 4, 1942. They got married in the Salt Lake Temple. Their wedding night was spent in a hotel in Salt Lake. Dad had gone to California to be with Mom and work there. Then he returned to the farm. Mom returned later and that is when they got married. In less than one month, he was drafted. He went to Texas for his training. Mom went back to California and worked. She worked at the aircraft factory and she was paid  65 cents an hour. She paid $2.50 a month for health insurance and $1.50 for income tax. WOW!

The both missed each other a lot. Dad wanted Mom to join him in Texas but he was not sure how often he would get to see her if she came down there. Mom wanted to be with him but also wanted to earn money. They kept debating back and forth about her coming down to Texas. Mom had bought herself a new fur coat. Fur coats were the rage back then.  No, it was not mink but rabbit. The coat cost $49.99. She was making payments on it. She told Dad that she would come down after her coat was paid. Dad was a real penny pincher learning that from his dad. He got after he for buying it and for wanting a coat more than coming down to be with him. He saw the coat as a luxury she did not need. He wrote a letter telling her off. She wrote one back saying not to ever send her a letter like that again. He wrote back and apologized saying his morale was low he was so blue and he just wanted her with him. So in the latter part of March 1942, she finally paid her coat off and joined him in Texas. He had to live at the camp except when he had leave and so she rented a room from some people. Dad joined her when he could.  In all Dad's letters, he kept telling Mom to eat more and gain weight. She weighed 102. He liked women on chubby side. More to love he said.