Two children's thank-you notes to Aunt Amy — Henry and Donald, Charleston, November 1960
Book 1, Page 365 ·1960
Transcription
A sheet of light-ruled school notebook paper, three holes punched at the left edge. Two short notes in different juvenile hands, one above the other.
Upper note — in neat boyish cursive:
Charleston, S.C. Nov. 13, 1960
Dear Aunt Amy,
Thank you very much for the money you sent me. It came just when I needed it. I just joined the Boy Scouts and I needed the money to buy some things to camp out with. I missed seeing you and Uncle Puck when you visited Granny and hope to see you next time.
With love, Henry
Lower note — in a younger, looser hand:
4 Archdale Rd. Charleston, S.C. Nov. 1, 1960
Dear Aunt Amy,
Thank you for the dollars you sent me. I am going to buy a thermometer for my fish with it. I hope to see you soon.
With love, Donald
AI Notes
A single sheet of three-hole punched school notebook paper carries two short pencilled thank-you notes from two boys to ‘Aunt Amy.’ The upper note is from Henry, dated Charleston, S.C., Nov. 13, 1960, thanking her for money he used to buy Boy Scout camp supplies. The lower note is from Donald, datelined ‘4 Archdale Rd., Charleston, S.C., Nov. 1, 1960,’ thanking her for dollars he plans to spend on a thermometer for his fish. Archdale Road is a residential street in North Charleston. ‘Henry’ and ‘Donald’ are likely young Allston cousins of the McEwan/Allston circle (cf. p350 pedigree: Donald McKay Allston III b. 30 Oct 1948 — age 12 in 1960 — fits the younger juvenile hand). ‘Uncle Puck’ is JP Walker Sr. (‘Puck’). ‘Granny’ is the boys’ grandmother — given the Allston connection, plausibly Mary Ann FitzSimons (Mrs. Donald McKay Allston Sr.), but the identification is provisional. Note: JP Walker Sr. died 19 Nov 1960 in Jacksonville — only days after Henry’s Nov. 13 note. Henry’s reference to him as if alive (‘see you next time’) is poignant in retrospect.
The signature is partially cut off at the lower edge of the sheet; first letters “Don…” are clear and “Donald” is the natural reading. The cursive capital of the address is unmistakably an “A” — “Archdale Rd.” “Uncle Puck” is the compiler’s husband, James Pickens Walker Sr. (1883-1960). “Granny” is the boys’ grandmother (per the visit context, likely an Aunt Amy sister or sister-in-law — cf. the Allston/FitzSimons pedigree on p350).