The Humdrum Life of an American Teacher in Germany

September 21, 1953

Took my children out to watch the 1^st Battalion move out this morning.  Very interesting.

September 22, 1953

Went over to Service Club tonight for a little while.  It is very nice and has what looks like a grand library.  Went in the craft shop and felt like I was back home – the electric saw was being used.

I have to admit that this puzzles me.  Did she typically use an electric saw for her crafts?  And just what crafts was she doing?  I remember her knitting and crocheting and doing needlepoint.  None of which involved electric saws, that I recall....

September 24, 1953

Well, we finally got our tank ride.  It was a brand new M47 – had never been run before.  We went out to the field and there he let us drive.  It certainly was thrilling.  Then I rode in the turret – sho’ is complicated looking.  I am sure that I would get the “clams” if I had to ride in one of those in combat.  Coming back, of all things, we ran out of gas and had to walk back.  It was most fascinating.

The "clams"??  That sounds sort of odd.  I don't want to think too hard about what it could mean.  I think it's hilarious that she actually got to drive a tank and then that they played around so much in it that they ran out of gas!

Tonight we went to the NCO club to a party that the personnel of the Regiment had.  It was a fine party – dinner and dancing.  Most enjoyable.  Went with the communications officer.

September 26-27, 1953

We went down to Munich yesterday morning with Jack Jernigan and Alice Quinn.  We went to the game – it was pretty good, and we won 25-13.  Then we went out to the October Fest.  That was most colorful.  It is just a great big fair – midway and all.  You couldn’t get anything to drink except beer, so….  We went in a garden and some Germans sat down with us and started talking to us.  It was a scream because we couldn’t understand them nor they us.  One of them spoke a little English because he was a PW at Bragg.  Then we went looking for an Abort.  Hilde and I had to go up to the “box office” and buy a ticket.  Then they sent us in the Herren with the men too.  Most of the other females had to stand in a line for the Damen.  I guess we were P.C.’s  They were most selective in whom they let go into the Herren.  The boys went to a free one – Pissoit.  They wouldn’t let them come in with us.

Ok, I'm not positive, but all this talk of "Abort" and "Damen" and "Herren" and "Pissoit" sounds like it's bathroom talk.  Good grief, Mother!  LOL  And you had to buy a ticket to go to the bathroom?  THAT would be the scream.  ;-)

Then we went out on the midway and rode some of the rides.  Alice won me a little beer mug shooting an air rifle.  Then we went back to the beer garden.  This time we had to stand up, so we decided to leave and go down town.  We took our mugs with us.  We went look for some place to go and ended up sitting on African drums at the Bongo Bar.  We stayed there until they had their floor show which consisted of one girl coming out and doing a dance about every 10 minutes.  Here we took a German couple in tow.  We went by several other places but couldn’t get in.  We finally ended up at the Atlantic Bar.  We ate here too.  Finally we left about 3:30.  We couldn’t get a place to stay so we decided to come on home.  On the way to the parking platz we saw a girl going to the john.  It seems that that is fairly common over here.  We saw men stopping along the highway going down.  We got here about 7:30 after stopping on the road for a while to sleep.  Then we all went to bed.  It was a wonderful trip.  Sho am glad we had some boys with us.  We certainly didn’t see many Americans at the Fest.  We really stood out in the crowd, and lost of people stopped us and tried talking to us.

More bathroom talk....  And out all night - what a floozy!!  I can't believe they just stopped along the side of the road to sleep.

Went to the movie and then a bunch of us went to the Mariandal for goulash.

September 28, 1953

We finally got paid today but we haven’t been able to cash our checks because we had to work on records.  There is an I G Inspection next week.

New way to drink – shoot oranges full of alcohol with a hypodermic.  They got one of the Sgt’s doing it.  He would be looping every day, and they couldn’t figure it out because he never had a bottle.

The woman is a party animal.  Beer at Octoberfest and now shooting oranges full of alcohol.  How come I never heard about that....

You just ought to see the men dieting over here.  They have either gotten a letter from Col. Duvall or are afraid of getting one.

September 30, 1953

Finally got our checks cashed.  Feels mighty good to have some money.

This afternoon we found out that this building was the hospital when the Germans were here.  We went down to the basement where we were told that the dead were kept, but they look more like cells.  Each room is big, has heavy doors and a peep hole.  I would not be surprised if they kept either prisoners or mental patients down there.  It’s tremendous too.

October 4, 1953

Went down to Augsburg yesterday morning for the game.  We won again.  Afterwards we ate at the Officer’s Club with Harry and Smitty – a couple of boys from the ship.  Then there was a dance there.  It was a very good one.  Their club is slightly tremendous.  The more places I go the more I realize that we really are out in the sticks!  After the dance we went to a place there called Maxim’s.  Had a very good time.

This afternoon Harry took us to Munchen – our first ride on the autobahns.  The autobahn goes from one end of Germany to the other.

We ate lunch at the Ratskeller – lots of atmosphere and good food.  There is a tremendous beer barrel in there.

The train coming back was very crowded with people going home from the October Fest.  No one around us spoke English.  It was most interesting to listen to them and watch their motions as they talked.  But one of the funniest things was one girl showing another how to drink orangeade out of a bottle.

Well, I have finally done it.  I used the men’s room by mistake.  Up until now the bath across the hall has been the ladies room, but they must have changed it while we were gone.  After I had been in there a couple of times and was taking a shower, I saw someone come in through the glass.  I thought it looked mighty big for Hilde.  Then when I came out I saw the “Gentlemen” sign up there!

I'm not convinced she didn't do it on purpose.  After all, she seems quite fascinated by bathrooms in Germany!  I think it's hilarious that she was taking a shower in the men's bathroom.

October 6, 1953

Just got back from PTA meeting.  Over here the men take over and run the PTA.

This afternoon John Fulton took us through the commissary.  It looks mighty good.

Got another pay check today.  It’s mighty nice being paid every two weeks.

Took my children to the fire department here this morning.  I know the people around here thought that the Russians were coming for sure – they sat on the sirens and bells for 20 minutes straight.

October 11, 1953

Yesterday morning we got a ride to Nurnberg with John Fulton.  Went to the PX and got some boots and shoes.  It was tremendous – just like a department store.  I really felt like country come to town.  We wandered around with our mouths open.

We had a staff car which was a Tannus.  Did we feel stupid when we tried to unlock the trunk – no lock – it is on the floor in the back seat!

When we left we didn’t exactly know the way out of town.  We rode around for about 30 minutes and thought we were really getting somewhere when we came right back to the shopping where we had started from.  Finally we got on our way.  We ran through a convoy all the way to Regensburg – they (169^th) were coming down for the Harvest Moon maneuver.  Saw lots of things that I hadn’t seen before.

We missed the game, but it really must have been something.  We won 18-13.  They had a dance here afterwards.  We went with a bunch of the married men – no bachelors!  Afterwards we went to the Mariandal for awhile.

A terrible thing happened last night.  One of the younger officers here hit a German woman and killed her.  That was bad enough for he had been partying although they say it was not his fault.  But he had just been court martialed before we came for crashing one of the planes here – drunk and with unauthorized personnel in it.  They took his wings away and are going to send him home.  I don’t think that his case had been finished.  I feel so sorry for him because they say he has really had it now.

Things are kind of popping in Trieste.  It looks like that it might be the 50 yard line here!

Went to Sgt. Tufts’ for Carolyn’s birthday.  Then had supper – vegetables too.  Then went to movie.

October 15, 1953

Spent the night in town with Pat Clark last night.  Valloy Butler did too.  Noble is out in the field for two weeks as is all of Reg. and Battalion.

This afternoon hit some golf balls and ordered some clubs.