Letter from Nancy McEwan to her grandmother, 'Monday February 1, 1965' — page 1 of 2
Book 1, Page 410 ·1965
Transcription
A handwritten letter in blue ballpoint pen on a single sheet of pale blue ruled notepaper, written to fill the entire page. First of two pages; the letter concludes on page 411.
Dear Grandmomma,
Please forgive me for not writing sooner. There is really no excuse and I’ll try to do much better.
The St. Cecilia was just as wonderful as I had expected. I have never been so thrilled about anything as much in my life and it lived up to my every expectation. I only regret that it is all over and I hope that someday I’ll have an opportunity to go again. The debutantes were not presented in any way. They could be distinguished only [in] the white dresses. It was all as formal as could be but it really wasn’t as sticky as I thought. I didn’t feel at all ill at ease.
Everyone in Charleston seemed to be fine. I didn’t get to see Minnie or Toots because they were at Ocatie (sp.).
School is as fine as ever. I got a marvelous schedule. My first class is at 12:00 noon and I am out at 3:00. I am taking English, French, and Psychology. My grades so far have been pretty good and I sort of hope that I can keep them up. I have really been working hard this quarter so that I’ll be able to go out for rush in the spring.
It snowed here two weeks ago and I was just thrilled. It was more beautiful than I had ever
AI Notes
First page of a two-page letter (continued on page 411) written by Nancy McEwan to her grandmother, Mrs. James Pickens Walker (Amy FitzSimons Walker), after Nancy’s presentation at the St. Cecilia Ball in Charleston, S.C. Dated ‘Monday February 1, 1965’ on page 411. Blue ballpoint on lined notepaper. The ‘Minnie’ named in this 1965 letter is Mary Annie FitzSimons Allston (Mrs. D. M. Allston Sr.), Amy’s sister and Nancy’s great-aunt — the younger ‘Minnie’ (not the compiler’s mother, who d. 1934). ‘Toots’ is a household nickname; identity not resolved from this page. ‘Ocatie (sp.)’ — Nancy’s parenthetical ‘sp.’ admits she is guessing at the spelling — is almost certainly Okatie, South Carolina, a Beaufort-County community in the Lowcountry between Charleston and Hilton Head; the Allstons’ Lowcountry retreats are well attested. Nancy is 18, in her freshman year at college (university unstated; based on her later biography this was Florida State at Tallahassee — schedule of 12-noon classes, ‘rush in the spring’ for a sorority, semester break timing all fit). The ‘St. Cecilia Ball’ is the Charleston Society of St. Cecilia’s annual debutante presentation; Nancy was presented in January 1965.