Kathleen was clearing some files yesterday and came upon a couple of items too good to throw out. The first was a certificate of "appreciation for effective service" that her uncle, Melvin Nagle, received in August of 1945 from the Secretary of War, Henry Stinson. It commends him for his part in the Top Secret Manhattan project, which produced the Atomic Bomb, bringing about the destruction of two Japanese cities and the conclusion of World War II.
The second equally curious document was what was known as a "letter," written in September of 1993, before its use was replaced by email. The letter uses the same alphabet as email, so it was easy to translate. (Click to see exquisite detail) It contains an all-time favorite story written by Sosie to her siblings. It is repeated below. The letter, along with the commendation, will be saved as artifacts.Sept. 8, 1993
Sosie wrote:
All goes well here and my battle with the raccoons continues. When we got back from vacation, the pond and patio area looked like a war zone. So we hooked up the electric fence around the pond. At midnight I checked and saw six raccoon, ambling peacefully in and around the pond and electric fence. So I called Bill to see our ineffectiveness. By the time he got downstairs, they had wandered over to the oak tree. When we walked around the deck near them, they came running down the hill TO us. So Bill got his pellet gun again. Stood four or five feet from them and hit each one until it walked away.
Then yesterday my Yard Guard came in the mail. This is a device that emits high frequency sounds that are supposed to make these creatures uncomfortable. The brochure says that it may take a little while to retrain the animals. Well, I guess. Last night they unplugged the device. They are never going to learn anything if they do that!
