The family moved several times during Carl's early childhood, living in Oklahoma, South Dakota, and finally settling in Atchison, KS. As the eldest son, Carl was expected to care for the younger ones.
When he was 12, 13 and 14, he spent summers working on the farm of a Swiss immigrant family, the Spielers. He always referred to them as "Aunt Teenie and Uncle Fritz" but I believe there was no blood relationship.
His early education ended with grade 9, and he went to work to help support the family. I know he delivered newspapers and eventually went to work as an "assistant cereal chemist" at the flour mill in Atchison. The manager's wife, an English teacher, recognized his intelligence and coached him through the equivalent of high school.
He was accepted at the College of Emporia where he enrolled in September, 1927 and graduated summa cum laude in 1930. He then went to the University of Kansas (K.U.) for his Master's in chemistry (1932) and Ph.D in physics (1935). While at K.U. he met Grace, and they were married on June 13, 1935.
Grace was born in Independence, MO, on July 10, 1909, the youngest daughter of an English immigrant steelworker and his third wife (he had been widowed twice) an immigrant dressmaker from Canada. Grace's father already had four children, but only one of them appears in the letters -- Ed, who was fifteen years older than Grace.
When Grace was 7, her father suffered a heart attack, and retired from his job. When she was 16, he died, and Ed, as the oldest son, took responsibility for the family.
The family lived in Independence throughout Grace's childhood and youth, and, though never wealthy, the family was "well-connected" in the town. Grace's mother was very active in women's organizations and knew personally most of the leadership of her church, which is still headquartered in Independence. Grace's brother Ed had served under Harry S. Truman during World War I, and the two families lived within a few blocks of each other.
Grace grew up in a world of gentility and social correctness. One wore white gloves when visiting "The City" (Kansas City MO).
She graduated from high school in 1927 and attended Kansas City Junior College, and then the University of Kansas -- where she met Carl. She graduated from the University in 1931 and returned to Independence to teach, in 2nd grade and then in junior high school.
In 1935, because of the Depression, when a woman married she could no longer hold a job, and so upon her marriage Grace became a full-time home-maker.
After their marriage, Carl's first job was as Assistant Professor of physics (the only professor of physics) at the then-fledgeling University of Kansas City (now University of Missouri at Kansas City), where he built the physics department pretty much from scratch.
When the U.S. entered World War II, the government began hiring every available physicist, and Carl was one of those. His first assignment was at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in Washington, D.C. After three months there, he went to the U.S. Public Health Service, which sent him all over the country during 1942 and '43. In August, 1944 he he was appointed to the Manhattan Project, in the radiological safety section, and was assigned to Columbia University in New York City.
Through all the moves of the war years, Grace accompanied him, staying in hotels and furnished apartments, which gave her a life-long reluctance to "live out of a suitcase" ever again.
Early in 1945, they purchased a house in Leonia, NJ, (in which they never actually lived for more than a few months) and in March of that year, their daughter Winifred was born.
When the war ended soon after, Carl was offered a teaching position in the physics department at The University of Kansas (KU), then chaired by Dr. Shanahan, and in August of 1945 they moved to Lawrence, KS, where they lived for the rest of their lives.
Fortunately, Grace's niece, Alice, then in her teens, was able to spend the summer on the farm, helping with the livestock and the toddler.
Carl then aged 43
Grace then aged 37
Winifred then aged 15 months
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Editorial clarifications are in brown.
Notes in green are comments from me as their daughter -- identifications, memories & observations.
The letters are in the order in which they were written. Carl's letters were written on various kinds of paper, mostly in black ink, but occasionally in pencil. Grace's were written on regular weight notepaper, in blue ink.
I've organized the letters into 3 sections:
The Journey -- how he got from Lawrence, Kansas to Bikini in only 6 days
Early in 1946, they purchased an old farmhouse on 7+ acres, including a barn/garage, chickenhouse, and several sheds. The only garage was a section of the barn, several hundred yards behind the house. Carl proceded to stock the acreage with steers and chickens, and put in a large vegetable garden, which he left in the care of Grace, the "city-girl," when he went off to Bikini.
Cast of Major Characters:
