Folder 12

1961 Dec 04, 1 p. no env. Letter to Folks “My houseboy’s name is Paye. It’s a tribal name, I don’t know what his last name is;” mentions that fellow from Cushing Oklahoma is in Liberia on the Police Safety Program; “I went to a Methodist church Sunday and it was pretty awful. Lots of shouting and hell fire.”
1961 Dec 04, 1 p. no env. Letter to Brother Discusses how she gets the run around at work, “Seems like our highest officials are so very ignorant of the simplest procedures. They never show up at the office. The supposedly Director of Ext. went to a F.A.O. meeting in Rome and returned last week. He has not shown up at the office yet after being back at least 4 days;” heard that Kennedy was replacing all career mission Directors with Political Appointees.”
1961 Dec 11, 1 p. no env. Letter to Brother Had another staff meeting and it seems like nobody is going to be dropped in Agriculture; told a story about a gal they had sent to the United states to study and they had thought she was pregnant but she refused to see a doctor, she then disappeared to Switzerland saying she went to visit family and returned back to the United States having had an abortion and demanded to be brought back into school--the story caused quite a stir.
1961 Dec 14, 1 p. no env. Letter to Folks Finally got the money for boat tickets to prepare for home leave; the boss came in and said that her job was gone and she was through in Liberia, “Then he asked me why in heck I was working for A.I.D. anyway. He said he thought I was losing at least $5,000.oo a year doing it and he thought I was crazy;” the boss thinks that the job loss “is a local deal and not one hatched in Wash. D.C.”
1961 Dec 15, 6 p. no env. Season’s Greetings letter from H.B.B.
1961 Dec 15, 2 p. w/env. Letter to Folks Is having a great vacation with six other people; [in Nigeria?]; at a port waiting for her boat 1961 Dec 17, 2 p. w/env.
Letter to Folks Spent two hours in Lagos, Nigeria; met a fellow who has traveled all through Africa, “He says Liberia is the worst and I can readily believe him. The French really know how to lay out streets and towns and the English bring in bicycles. We have neither in Liberia.”
1961 Dec 20, 2 p. no env. Letter to Folks Is disappointed she didn’t get off the boat at Port Gentil; is having a hard time because all the boat announcements are in French and the majority of the passengers are English speaking; “You should see us dock. The largest French Soldiers stand at the gangway and kick the natives in the shins and anywhere to keep them off the boat until the passengers get off.”
1961 Dec 24, 2 p. w/env. Letter to Folks Is at Douala in Cameroon; is starting to feel tired of the trip; “I have never approached Christmas with so little feeling for the day it really is;” stopped at Cotonou, Dahomey but was not able to get off the boat to go sightseeing.
1961 Dec 29, 2 p. w/env. Letter to Folks Had met the Dutch ambassador to five different African Countries including Liberia; “I’ve decided I’m one of the most optimistic people on board which may surprise you after all my complaining.”
1961 Dec 31, 1 p. no env. Letter to Brother “the boat as per schedule came about 9:00am. When we asked them if it would dock they just threw up their hands and said this is Liberia FREEPORT? Evidently they hate this port;” heard that they had really let a lot of jobs go and her boss is leaving in February not to return, “Things are really in an uproar here.”