Love Sweetie Podcast

This is a special bonus episode in which Alison and Jamie discuss the history of the Office of Price Administration (OPA) which oversaw price ceilings for consumer goods and the rationing system during World War II.  The top leadership of this federal government agency are reviewed, as well as the complex logistics that retailers were expected to follow to ensure the success of the rationing syste...

This is episode 42 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features three letters from July 1945, two from Sweetie, and the third from her father, Chester Demaree, M.D.  Sweetie is staying with her parents during her pregnancy in Lacona, Iowa, and describes her day-to-day activities. She writes to her sister, Jeanne, regarding how much she appreciates her during this time.  Dr. Demaree writes t...

This is episode 41 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features three letters from summer 1945, and the first letter is from Sweetie's husband, Lew, who is writing from England as he is stationed there as part of his service in the United States Navy during World War II.  The other two letters are from Sweetie in Lacona, Iowa.  She is staying with her parents during her pregnancy, and...

This is episode 40 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features four letters from summer 1945, and the first letter is from Sweetie's husband, Lew, who is writing from England as he is stationed there as part of his service in the United States Navy during World War II.  The other three letters are all from Sweetie in Lacona, Iowa.  She is staying with her parents during her pregnancy,...

This is episode 39 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features three letters from late spring and early summer 1945, two of which Sweetie wrote to her sister Jeanne from New York and Iowa, and the third is from Sweetie's husband, Lew, who writes from England.  While Sweetie plans to return with her brother, Bob, and his wife, Florence, as she intends to have her baby in Iowa (she is a...

This is episode 38 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features three letters from spring 1945 that Sweetie wrote to her sister Jeanne from Pennsylvania and New York.  Sweetie, who is now pregnant, is dealing with the reality that her husband, Lew, is about to be sent overseas during World War II.  However, she is able to stay with him until the point of his departure, and meet up with othe...

This is a special bonus episode in which Alison and Jamie discuss the history of Naval Air Station (NAS) Hutchinson.  This base was built in 1942 and was operational for World War II until 1946.  (Lew served at this base from July 1944 - March 1945).  There are some special stories from this base to tell, and we can see how the history can be pieced together to provide a good overview.   The image...

This is episode 37 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features four letters from early 1945 that Sweetie wrote to her sister Jeanne from Hutchinson, Kansas.  We get the revelation in these letters that Sweetie, who has recently visited her sister in Des Moines, is now pregnant, and also the news by the end of the episode that Lew is to be shipped out overseas (as he is serving in the Unite...

This is episode 36 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features the first three letters in the collection from January 1945, providing updates from both Sweetie and Lew who have returned to Hutchinson, Kansas from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the holiday season.  In the New Year, Sweetie observes in the second of her two letters that many of the young couples she knows that have been m...

This is episode 35 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features five pieces of correspondence from four individuals from December 1944.  Sweetie sends a Christmas card and a letter to Jeanne, Lew (Sweetie's husband) sends information to Jeanne, Dr. Chester Demaree (Sweetie's father) writes to his son, Frank, who is at the front during World War II about Christmas 1944 in Iowa and...

This is episode 34 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features four letters from November and December 1944.  Two of the four letters were written by Sweetie from Hutchinson, Kansas, and the other two letters were from Sweetie's parents, writing to her sister, Jeanne, in Lacona, Iowa.  In this episode, we find out what happened to disrupt Sweetie's plans for Thanksgiving, whether...

This is episode 33 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features three letters from November 1944.  Two of the three letters were written by Sweetie from Hutchinson, Kansas, and the other letter was written by Sweetie's husband, Lew.  In this episode, Lew writes to Sweetie's father, Chester Demaree, M.D., regarding some tools that Chester has sent him from Lacona, Iowa, and Sweetie...

This is episode 32 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features four letters from October and November 1944.  Three of the four letters were written by Sweetie from Hutchinson, Kansas, and the other letter was written by Sweetie's mother, Laura, from Lacona, Iowa.  In this episode, Sweetie hopes that her sister Jeanne will come to visit her Kansas, Lew gets a guitar, and Sweetie review...

This is episode 31 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features four letters from fall 1944.  All four letters were written by Sweetie; three of the four were sent to Jeanne, and the last letter in this episode was sent to her other sister, Margaret Elizabeth Bolton.  In this episode, we learn more about Sweetie's social life in Hutchinson, Kansas and we see that Sweetie and Lew are tr...

This is episode 30 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features three letters from early fall 1944.  All three letters were written by Sweetie, and she notes both what is happening with her and Lew living in Hutchinson, Kansas, but also she advises her sister, Jeanne, on what to do with regards to Jeanne's relationship with a man named Bill.  Jeanne is considering marrying Bill and see...

This is episode 29 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features five letters from late summer / early fall 1944.  All five letters were written by Sweetie and updates her family on what is occurring in Hutchinson, Kansas since she moved there.  Sweetie writes to her family members, requesting updates from them as to what is occurring, since she and Lew are by themselves in Kansas. For more...

This is episode 28 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features four letters from late summer 1944.  The first three letters are updates from Sweetie in Hutchinson, Kansas, and she describes a new apartment that she and Lew are renting, since it seems they will be staying in that city for longer than expected.  The fourth, and final letter of the episode, is from Sweetie's father, Ches...

This is episode 27 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features three letters from late summer 1944.  The first, and longest of the three letters is from Sweetie's father, Chester Demaree, M.D., writing from Lacona, Iowa.  He recounts the story as to how he tried to save a man's life from drowning, and then mentions what is occurring in the summer of 1944 with regards to the Democ...

This is episode 26 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features three letters from late summer 1944 from Sweetie - two to her parents, recounting her trip to Hutchinson, Kansas, and one from Sweetie to Jeanne as she tries to help Jeanne with relationship advice. For more information, please go to www.lovesweetiepodcast.com .  This podcast is also available on YouTube - please like, share, a...

This is episode 25 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features three letters from June and July 1944 - two from Sweetie (one from Ottumwa, Iowa, and one from Hutchinson, Kansas), and one from her mother, Laura (in Lacona, Iowa).  These letters were all written after D-Day (June 6, 1944), and so some of that history is also provided.  Finally, at the end, we take a look at the rail lines be...

This is episode 24 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features three letters, all written by Sweetie in May 1944 in Ottumwa, Iowa.  In these letters, Sweetie is anticipating her and Lew's eventual departure from the city, as she realizes that Lew has been stationed at NAS Ottumwa for a long time and most other sailors who were there have already left.  This episode also reviews the hi...

This is episode 23 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features three letters - the first from April 1944 from Dr. Chester Demaree to his son Bob about flooding in the Midwest, some family updates, and an extremely odd occurrence from an attempt he made to further study human anatomy.  Then the second and third letters are from Sweetie to Jeanne in early May 1944.   Sweetie updates Jeanne o...

This is episode 22 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features three letters from spring 1944.  The first two letters are from Sweetie in Ottumwa, Iowa as she plans for Jeanne to visit.  She also comments on some of the bad weather that they are experiencing in April 1944.  The third letter is from Sweetie's father, Chester Demaree, M.D. to his son Frank (Sweetie's brother), enco...

This is episode 21 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features two letters from early spring 1944.  The first letter is from Sweetie to Jeanne as she tries to figure out an awkward situation as she is stuck in the middle between being Betty's confidant and Eleanor's friend.  The second letter is from Sweetie to Jeanne about her social life in Ottumwa, Iowa and she gets some updat...

This is episode 20 of the Love Sweetie Podcast!  This episode features two letters from March 1944.  The first letter is from Sweetie to her family and recounts her first trip to Pennsylvania (to the Philadelphia area) with Lew to meet her new in-laws.  This includes her observations of Philadelphia, a day trip to the New Jersey Shore, and some information about a small trip they took from Philade...