Folder 9

1961 Sep 04, 1 p. no env. Letter to Folks Lists a few titles; had gone with the program officer to Bomi Hills which is one of the iron ore mines; describes how little food there is to eat and gives some examples of what kinds of foods she eats for lunch; her counterpart is leaving for the Cameroons for am African Nutrition Conference; talks about how one family only has a tiny bed room and two teenage children share a store room and sleep on cots, “I just think they have brought people in before facilities are ready for them. It’s costing U.S. $8.00 to house me. Why can’t a mission see the whole picture?”
1961 Sep 09, 1 p. no env. Letter to Folks Adds to the list of items she would like for the Christmas holiday; relies on the U.S.I.S. Library for her entertainment; “What are people there saying about the peace corps? A woman technician in Turkey and I are the only two people I’ve known in I.C.A. who think it might be a good project;” on her way to get groceries, she had run into a parade of folk in tribal dance costumes, and then when she had gone down a different street, she had run into a C.I.O. mob on strike; has received a radio and a transistor and is starting to plan another radio program but is waiting for her counterpart to get back.
1961 Sep 13, 1 p. no env. Letter to Brother “I’ve had an awful lot of time to sit and think. I’ve never wanted to make any notorious records but today I’ve been thinking that I’m the highest paid prof. woman living on the lowest standard of living;” there has been a cancellation of all dances and parties, “The old pres. King Died about 3 days ago and the funeral is today;” is surprised by how big of a deal the funeral is, “Funerals are a great public circus here. The radio is giving blow by blow account of the funeral. It’s disgusting. It’s been going on for an hour. Who is there, in what order they are marching, what relation they are, their positions, etc. etc.; they will be conducting the first ever census in Liberia; on the radio, “The United Pentecostal church is on the air. Sounds like a 2nd class night club to me. Guess I’m too much of a Presbyterian.” 1961 Sep 18, 2 p. w/env. Letter to “Mother and Daddy” from Miriam Describes the family life
1961 Sep 18, 1 p. no env. Letter to Folks Had been told to go home at once and they were not to go into town as the strikers were demonstrating on the highway, a couple hours later, she was able to return to work.
1961 Sep 20, 1 p. no env. Letter to Folks Heard via the radio that after a year of trials, Turkey had hung all the old officials; counterpart came back and gave Mary a face carved out of ivory; tries to describe the situation in Liberia but sums it up to the fact that “there is always a danger where so very few have any education at all;” had heard a rumor that the new mission Director is “some small town Wisconsin politician with no experience fitting him for this kind of a job. We are slightly perturbed.”
1961 Sep 21, 1 p. no env. Letter to Folks Says a lot of folk are sent home from becoming alcoholics, they aren’t able to handle the living situation; describes the market situation which is not good, “The salt meat was lying on the floor in sacks and a dog was chewing on a large slab of bacon. No one seemed in the slighted concerned. Africans are never merchants. Their culture makes it difficult as they must share any food in their possession with all relatives. The Lebanese are the merchants. They came in here years ago and set up little trading centers all over the country as a front for smuggling out diamonds.”
1961 Sep 22, 1 p. no env. Letter to Folks Went out to a Baptist mission school which has been there for eighty years, it has a terrible food situation, “They asked us for our help on feeding. As every place everyone wants us to do their work not heir training;” Mary hopes to return to the mission school to help with menu planning and buying, and training; had been talking to the marketing man about the desperate food situation and had come to this conclusion, “It’s the same old story in these countries, supposed to be republics and democracies but the Pres. has Dictorial powers and a few and very few have everything tied up;” “We just got the new ‘Time’ with my Turkish friends swinging. It made me ill. I met a Liberian woman and she asked what they did and I said ‘stole the country’s money’. She said ‘well if we’d hang the thieves here we’d all be swinging.’”
1961 Sep 27, 1 p. no env. Letter to Folks Heard that she might be moving into an apartment in October as the occupant is slipping mentally and will be shipping out; is reading a book called “American Foreign Policy”; described the “Fish women” who went door to door selling fish which they carried in baskets on their heads.