February 23, 1967

Dear Family,

Believe it or not, David went bond for this letter and a very nice letter it was son. Keep up the good work! My only advice to you, (this is seconded by Frank), is to stay in that school just as long as possible. The tedium of Treasure Island with San Francisco across the bay, is not nearly as bad as bad as the mosquito infested jungle.

The only news here is that the days are getting nice and we are able to sun tan in the back yard. It is a little early to go swimming for us, although the natives can be seen any day, wheeling surf boards toward the ocean. Then too Mother needs a new bathing suit and Rina, who has taken her in hand dietically speaking, has given her an ultimatum; “No bathing suit until you have lost eight lbs.” She has about four lbs to go and these seem to be the worst.

Every one is well here, or was until this morning when Julie came down with a cold, (she was running through the sprinkler in the back yard). Lane seems to be doing all right. He is his own sweet self again, however he was ill for so long that he has become somewhat “Mimamado”. I have no trouble getting him to stay with me on Relief Society days, when he does not hear the car leave. He knows the sound of the Stobbe cars and when one is started he heads for the door. The other day he was in the bath when his father started out. He ran out of the house and down the street, yelling at the top of his voice, strip naked!

The mail just arrived. We had expected mail after the President’s day holiday and nothing. To tell the truth we are not too perturbed, having talked to most of you recently. We have had no word from the Wild West McKays though and with all the bad weather they have had in that area we can’t help worry about them. How about getting off the dime Bill and scribble a few lines during some rest period in school. We would like to hear about Lloyd Edward, to say nothing of the twins, Steve and Debbie. Is Steve playing ball? Scot is trying out for a team here.

Mother joins me in sending,

All our Love,

Dad

7 March 1967

Dear Family,

Thanks to Bob W. I am writing this decker. He says Marta has not been feeling well the last few weeks, especially in the mornings. Maybe we should not have agreed to baby sit for them! Thanks Bob for sending along our mail.

You “Wild West” McKays are over two months delinquent on your subscription to this publication. This is the FINAL NOTICE. Either we get a letter from you, giving us the news of the family, especially Lloyd Edward, or ELSE! There is a Bert Gardner in this Kailua Ward who is from Roosevelt. I was talking to him the other day and he told me that the town of Roosevelt was loaded with his relatives.

Frank received a Dewalt, black & Decker radial arm saw with cabinet for Christmas and has been very popular with neighbors and Church groups since. I realize that your new saw and basement project keeps you busy at home Bill, but surely you can find a moment at school to scribble a few lines.

Our friends and neighbors in Tucson- The Jaspersons, have a grandson who in finishing a Mission this week. His Father and Mother are coming to go back with him and his Grandparents, much to our surprise, have decided to come along. The poor Grandson is frantic, because this Island is about to sink with tourists and he cannot find accommodations for them. We may have to bring them here and some of us sleep on the floor.

Mother has been bothered by a knee hurting her, almost ever since we have been here. If it does not improve, (we sent to the Dr. and he prescribed aspirins), we will probably go back to the Mainland around the first of next month.

We have been having nice weather, several times I have been able to take my shirt off and get some sun on my “pipes”, then yesterday Mother bound up her knew and we went to play golf. If people saw us standing under a mimosa tree, smooching in a blinding rain storm, they must have thought we were crazy. The bottom fell out of the sky and we had to give it up.

Lloyd, I received a letter from your Aunt Ruth. She said that she would come up the North Umpqua to visit us while we were there, to meet her new kin. She said she would bring goodies.

All Our Love,

Dad

March 14, 1967

Dear Family,

Bill wrote, (I don’t know if it was the result of my dire threats). He says summer is almost in Roosevelt. It is only 16 degrees at night and some afternoons it does not even freeze, Brrrrr! The coal pile held out and the spuds held out and Lloyd is a sweet tempered little angel.. How could he be otherwise with that name?

Rina has a Primary President’s telephone. It has one of those shoulder gadgets and a cord long enough to reach any place in the kitchen and dining room. She gets on the phone in the morning and before she has finished her conversation she has done her dishes, swept the floors and started preparing the next meal. She is the Ward Social Director also. Last Saturday we had a Ward picnic at the beach, believe me that phone had a work out while she was preparing our part of the pot luck.

The Jaspersons, our Tucson neighbors, are here. There was no place for them to stay so we doubled up here. We were able to rent a two bed room cabin at the recreation Center at Bellows Air Force base for a couple of days. It was very nice. Right on the beach, with everything furnished. We would have stayed longer except that the Grandson had sightseeing plans for them.

To-day, Mother and Sister Jesperson are going to a Secret Relief Society meeting! That is a R.S. birthday celebration is planned, but no one knows just what is planned- but the R.S. Officers. They are biting nails trying to figure things out.

There may be a possibility of our coming back space available by air. They stopped all boat travel from Hawaii. If we do get space available we will land at Travis and will depend upon you Marion to pick us up. We will let you know long before we depart.

There is no other news and it is just about time for some of you California people to write remember,

WRITTERS GET GOOD COPIES

Love,

Dad

El Sobrante, Jan 25, 1967

Dear Family,

We declined to come here Christmas because of the stormy weather. We left L.A. in nice weather, dropped over the grapevine and ran under a bank of fog, or rather into one, which stayed with us almost to San Francisco. When we got here it started to storm and has been storming intermittently every since.

We talked to Bob Rice the day after we arrived, (Betty was in the hairdressers), the power went off before Betty could return the call and it was three days before we could talk to her again. They were in a mess! They have an electric stove. They make do with Bob’s camp stove, but gas for that was limited. They ended by roasting wieners over the coals in the fireplace- at least they have lots of wood. As they sat around the fireplace roasting wieners, Roberta said; “Well, we’ve got togetherness anyway”. They had no water. They thawed snow at the fireplace for water to flush the toilet. Betty said the worst of it was that they could not bathe and the aroma of the house was becoming rather “goaty”.

Another storm hit there right after we talked to her, we heard last night that Reno had eight feet of snow and still snowing. The news on the radio this morning indicated that power was still out in the Sierras, so we pray that they are still doing O.K. though “Goaty”. Betty said that for some reason she laid in a $50.00 supply of groceries just before the storm hit, so they are not starving.

This goes to show you how right the Church is when they talk “Year’s Supply”.

Our plans are, “Dios medianente, to leave here Friday the 27^th . We will leave here late to beat the rush and probably stay on the road, (we are going 101) arriving at Lloyd’s and Carol’s on Saturday morning. We are going to help them celebrate their 1^st Anniversary, or t least baby sit while they celebrate. We plan to embark for Hawaii on or about Thursday 9, February.

All our Love,

Dad

PS Oops, This is their 2^nd anniversary. Sorry!

PS added from Grandma, Carol, don’t go to any trouble. We can sleep on the Floor.

February 10, 1967

645 Pauka, Kailua, Oahu Hawaii

Aloha!

From this you will note that we did not fall in the drink. We had a very pleasant trip. Mother had a window seat, (there are three seats in a section), on the other side of me was a very pleasant seeming girl. It was not until we started to come in for a landing that we found that she was a Mormon-a student from BYU, here to help an Aunt, who was ill.

We found the Stobbes all well, although Lane had just recovered from a siege of colds. He was the same old Buddy I left her a year ago. Rina immediately took Mother in hand, weightily speaking. She has her on a strict diet and I feel better about the whole thing. I was beginning to get worried. The heavier she gets, the worse she feels.

Betty, the news in your letter just about caused me to “bust a gallus”. I don’t know when I have received better news. I wouldn’t have been too surprised to hear that Bob took one of the girls to a Father and daughter affair in church, but the fact that he enjoyed it almost floored me. Maybe our prayers were answered. I will here make a public retraction about their girls being unbathed. Betty says she bathed them even, if she had to wash them down with melting snow. Me, I would have rather stayed BOish!

I am very glad you decided to let the girls go with us this summer. Our tentative plans are these: Lloyd and Carol will meet us at your house on or about the 23^rd of June and go on to Oregon with us, so we will have quite a caravan. They will have their own camping outfit and we should have some good times. I wish you and Bob could get off and go with us, which, knowing how you hate camping, is very wishful thinking.

Hey! You “Buckaroo” McKays, how about a letter telling us how you passed the winter. I realize that storms are “Old Hat” to you but we would like to know how you all, especially Lloyd Edward, stood the winter. I know that winter is not over, but I hope the worst of it is.

I knew this would happen! They have had very pleasant weather in Hawaii until the McKays came. It rained all night last night and is still raining. That is par for the McKay’s course. It is not cold though and it felt good to sleep without a “dunce cap”.

Bob and Marta went away for their little excursion last Monday and returned Wednesday. I did not ask where they went, but they both looked more-----relaxed? Shall I say.

Thanks for your phone call Marion and for that matter yours too Betty, although 4 am is a heck of a time for a phone call. Only night nurses and owls would think of such a thing. Tell Renee that we are very proud of her good grades and that I will write her later. Right now Lane is outside making motions to me through the window. The rain has stopped and he wants us to fly a plane.

Marion, save your copy of the Decker for David. We received a very nice letter from him at Martas. Keep up the good work boy, we are proud of you. The son of a friend here went into the same Service. He is just starting at San Diego. His name is Uda.

All Our Love,

Dad

PS to Lloyd, Thanks for the pictures. I am sorry I was such a doubting Thomas. I thought you had been tied up, any way you know me- chomping at the bit. When they lowered the barrier, I was off in a cloud of dust.

PS to Lloyd from Grandma, Thanks for coming to the plane.

Tucson, November 28, 1966

Dear Family,

At long last, after a certain amount of blackmail, we have received letters from all of you. Lloyd, rather sheepishly handed me his letter, when we met him at the Thanksgiving dinner at Marta and Bob’s. We had to forgive him, because him because it contained some very good pics of Brian Jon. We will send them along, but we do want them back. He is sure getting to be a good looking boy- in spite of his old man. We enjoyed spending the day with so many of our family. With both Grandmothers there, you can well imagine that Brian Jon received his share of attention.

We talked to David and Marion Thanksgiving morning. David is planning to come to Tucson about the 16^th of December. After he spends some time with his friends here, we will go back to California for Christmas if we don’t get cold feet.

Rina, we found your letter waiting at Marta’s. We were very glad to hear from you and had been wondering if you were ill or something because we had not heard from you for so long. It is a nice thought to send them via the Wilsons, but my little Martita is so snowed under with church activities that she sometimes forgets to send them along. I think you had better send them to us first and we will send them back to her. We were very sorry to hear that someone “lifted your leather”. We hope that you got your important papers back anyway.

Bill, we enjoyed your letter very much. I am sure you would have killed a deer with your bow – if someone had held a lamp behind him. Thanks mucho for the invitation, but I have been freezing in both California and Arizona. I don’t think I would stand it in Utah. Why don’t you send us a picture of Lloyd? If you take it just before you write your next letter to us, you might catch him making a high jump.

Robin, we enjoyed your letter very much. How is Queenie? We took Cinders to California with us. Candy and Rinda liked her very much. They became very good friends and hated to see her go.

While we were coming back from Guadalajara we solved a mystery that has been making us wonder ever since Mother, David, Rina and Marta joined me in Japan in 1955. When they left Ft. Mason they were given very, very red carpet treatment. They were called to board the plane before the other passengers, given choice seats forward and to the envy of the other passengers, some of whom were Colonel’s wives, given preferred attention generally. David was even taken to the cockpit by the pilots and shown the works.

Well, we were in a Trailer Court in Mazatlan, sitting in front of the trailer, watching the waves, when a man approached us and remarked that he had a trailer like ours, but was parked in another court. We engaged in conversation and learned that he too had retired from the Army and was the Provost Marshal at Ft. Mason when Mother, David and the girls had their “red carpet” experience. We told him of their experience and he said that it was quite easy for him to understand. He said that at that time a General McKay was the Commanding General of Ft. Mason and that his wife was termagant, a veritable Virago. She and her mother had the personnel of Ft. Mason so cowed, that when she said jump, all they asked was; “how far?” Anyway rather than take chances that anyone named McKay was a relative of the General’s wife, anyone of that name was treated with kid gloves. There you have it girls. All these years you have been trying to make something romantic out of the incident, but anyway you had a nice ride.

I don’t know if it was because Mother and I ate too much turkey at Marta’s, but for some reason our bed, that was not too strong at best, choose night before last to collapse. What a night we had! Mother moved to the couch and I slept, or tried to sleep with my feet higher than my head. Every time I turned over another slat would fall, until I began to feel like a pretzel. When I did dose off I coughed myself awake because of the cold draughts whistling through the room.

Yesterday morning, the first thing Mother said, was; “We have got to find another apartment! “ I was called to do a small job for my old boss. As I was leaving Sister Jesperson came in for a visit. When Mother told her that we were going to move she cried. The upshot was, that we bought a space heater for the bath room. The Jespersons gave us a new bed, we stopped up all the pneumonia holes, Mother got me a night cap and last night we or, rather I had the best sleep in weeks.

We love you,

Dad

Tucson, December 27, 1966

Dear Family,

We enjoyed our Christmas at Marta’s. It was the largest segment of our family we have seen for many a year. Lloyd and Carol, Mark and Brian J. were over the day before Christmas Eve. We had home evening, then played games. Marta’s little neighbor, (Brenda age 15), who is a recent convert to our Church, (Marta again) joined us.

Brian J. McKay is quite a boy. He stayed up past his bed time and was wide eyed, listening to the program. When we sang he looked from one to the other of us and cried when we stopped singing, (most babies would have cried when we started). David came to Lloyd’s and we brought him back with us. He has leave until January 3. He is learning that almost all of his old buddies have gone into the service or are in the process of doing so. He took one to the air port last night.

Mother and I thank you for your thoughtful little gifts, although I am a little surprised at you Betty. It looks like you are relegating me to the rocking chair and cracker barrel before my time. It may not be too long at that. We read the article in the last Rader’s Digest, called “The World’s Worst Killer” referring to my ailment, emphysema. It describes the ailment pretty well and has scared mother. It particularly warns against any cold or irritation to the lungs. I am just about over a condition that I acquired during the last days in Mexico. For this reason Marion, Mother turned thumbs down on our going to San Francisco while it was storms there. We left L.A. in a rain storm as it was. It is for this reason we are contemplating going to Hawaii the first days of February.

Lloyd and Carol, When I saw that book, “The Latter Day Saints, Then and Now”, I wanted it very much, but I am such a tight wad that I was not about to pay $7.00 for it. Then I thought of a way to kill two birds with one stone, read it and then give it some one for Christmas! Mother and I were fascinated with the book. Even though it is written by a non Mormon, it makes me very proud to be one. I started to read it to Mother as she did her morning house work and I often found myself still reading long after she had finished her work and her sitting and listening. I guess I am a sort of Indian giver because it would please me very much if you would pass the book on to some of your kin, especially Marion, as it should answer a lot of her questions especially on Polygamy and the Negros.

Fran, thanks lots for the picture of Lloyd Edward, Boy! Is he growing! He looks almost like one of the twins. I suppose when we see him this summer he will be big enough to toss the twins over his shoulder. We see that you have had the dubious honor of being the coldest place in the nation twice this month, Brrrrrr!

Mother and David join me in wishing you a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Vaya Con Dios,

Dad

Mazatlan November 2, 1966

Dear Family,

We are on our way home. We drove through from Guadalajara yesterday. It is a long drive and we were really pooped by the time we made camp last night. We made some very good friends in Guadalajara. Mother was very reluctant to leave. She is singing Guadalajara again after all these years. If we could have found a suitable Apt. I am sure we would still be there.

It was getting right down chilly nights in Guadalajara. We had to go to bed to keep warm and did not get up in the morning until the sun was on our “Casa de Lona”. It is very nice here. We will leave Friday and arrive in Tucson on Saturday, con Favor De Dios, I expect to find a letter from all of you awaiting us there.

Our trip to Manzanillo, where I last wrote, to Guadalajara was uneventful, except for getting lost once. We came back another way, through Colima. It seemed very strange to be going through sugar cane and banana country and then an hour passing through pine forests that reminded us of Lake Tahoe.

Our last days in Guadalajara were spent sightseeing. We went to San Pedro, a suburb of Guadalajara, which is the silver and pottery center. We watched the glass blowers and Mother acquired another charm to her bracelet, a gold Mexican hat. That bracelet is becoming a history of our travels since we left Hawaii. We also took in the Regional Fair, which displayed a very comprehensive collection of Mexican products. Things that were not dreamed of when we lived here twenty years ago. We also saw the Fiesta Folklorica de Mexico. It reminded me very much of the Polynesian dances we saw in Hawaii, except that one cost us $4.50 and the Mexican dances cost 2.50P. This price was subsidized by the Mexican government so that the poor people could go. The costumes were very elaborate and it was quite worthwhile seeing. Your mother horrified the people sitting near us by “Pegando un grito!”

We went to church again Sunday. Again I was struck by the humility and sincerity of the congregation. There were about one hundred present in this branch Sunday and it is a fine attribute for the Missionaries, who have wrested this many souls from the domination of the Catholic Church. Guadalajara is overburdened with Catholic churches. Their bells tolling for Mass awaken one every day, in the early hours of the morning.

Rina, we received your letter, (the only one we have received). There must be direct service between Mexico and Hawaii because your letter arrived in two days. We were sure sad to hear of the bad luck of Earl and June. I understood that Earl and Gonzales were in business together. Did Gonzales lose money also? No I was not complaining of high prices. If you go to the Super Market prices are somewhat higher than in the Municipal Market, however you can buy anything in the Super Markets that you need. Campbell soups and like products are just exactly like their gringo counterparts, but canned in Mexico. They have instant “Frijoles refritos” Rina, which you would love for your dips. I ate a lot of free samples of these at the fair and I was surprised that there were no noisy after effects.

All our love,

Dad

Writers get CLEAR COPIES.

Tucson, November 11th, 1966

Hijos Mios,

This is just a short note to let you know that we returned safely and to thank those of you who wrote- even though your letters were forwarded from Mexico. Now I concede that both of the new Papas are busy helping with the new babies, (or getting in the way) and find it hard to write, however Bill wrote when the “terrible twins” were small and I am sure he can find time to write now, because Lloyd Edward is such a little gentleman. As for Lloyd John, I suspect that he used his spare time playing with Brian Jon, but Brian Jon must sleep sometime, so I know he has time to write. Anyway the rest of you will get much clearer copies next time, BECAUSE THIS IS THE FINAL NOTICE TO YOU DOGONE MCKAYS.

Rina, we enjoyed your newsy letters very much. Yes I guess you were lucky to buy a Chrysler (1957) with 28,000 miles for only $450.00. I was worried about your driving that old Chevie. It was falling apart a year ago. We have put almost that many miles on our “Ugly American” and the more we drive it the better we like it. The Lord was really with us on this last trip. Just before we started the foot accelerator cable broke. When they put on the new one, they found that the carburetor was out of adjustment, which was the reason I could hardly pull the hills on the Oregon trip. Now we have a passing gear and zoomed up those Mexican mountains with the greatest of ease.

Betty we enjoyed your, at long last letter and no, you did not mail Renee’s. It sure sounds like you had a wonderful time on your vacation. It is no surprise to us to know that the girls pitched in and ran the house, because there is no place like Camp to get to know a person. I don’t know just which hearth Mother has planned for us to park our carcass during the holidays, but we have discovered that this little “cot” while cool in summer, is cooler in winter so as far as I am concerned it will be any warm port in the storm- and soon.

David, we would like to know your plans for sure. Are you sure you can come to Tucson next month? Let us know as soon as possible. By the way, Catalina came out second in the football championship.

Marion, thanks for your letter. You might call Dorthy and tell her we waited an extra day in Guadalajara for her telegram. Tell her she owes us a letter. Give us the rundown on David’s plans, if you cannot get him to write.

Mother joins me in sending all our love,

Dad