Attends high school class reunion with Sonny [Marion (Bill) Peterson] and sees Elizabeth English, Virginia Foerstel, Marty Wood, and Bob Besterfeldt. Goes out dancing with Herbie [Herbert Larson], Kay, Boy Yaeger, Frank Fillo, Sonny, and Julie Conn. Alludes to problems in the English family: “the English’s have lost every thing in the world.” [The father, Clarence H. English, was arrested for embezzling.] Spends time with Be [Byron English] on Christmas Eve and many friends on Christmas Day. Mentions Aurelia, Herbert, Daphne, Nancy Kelley, Jane Abbot, Walter Richardson, Dean Ellinger, Red Craig, Bill Lenzen, Mrs. Ellinger, Erskine, Don, Edie, Jane Cheney, Fred Cheney, Mr. and Mrs. Wright, Floyd Davis, Bunny, Caspar Le Fort, and Mrs. Le Fort. Final page reads, “I suppose this little diary seems full of pleasures and parties instead of the more serious things in life. But believe me, dear reader, the serious moods and thoughts were ever present and I made much of my happiness myself, fortunately that I could. I never forgot my ambitions although many times I thought that nothing was worth everything. Is it? I wonder now. I often think of myself at 16! What a child--am I so different now?” (printed dates on diary pages: December 29 through end of diary), [1936 Dec 21-end]

Page — translation missing: en.enumerations.container_type.container: Volume 1

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Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The diary of Lois Eileen Kelley primarily describes her social life, dating, and student life at Fontbonne College. Also includes several accounts of attending events at Washington University and socializing with friends who are Washington University students. In the front of the diary is a card announcing the marriage of Lois Eileen Kelley and Russell Vincent Ellinger on March 30, 1940. The diary entries are written in a preprinted five-year diary that includes one page for each day of the year. The first entries in the diary were recorded in August 1936. The dates of the entries in the diary do not correspond with the dates at the top of the preprinted pages. At the end of the diary entry summaries in this finding aid, the date(s) at the top of the preprinted diary have been provided at the end of each summary to facilitate locating a particular entry in the diary.