Grandma Wessman's Letter Page 6

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After he got home apartments were impossible to find. We finally got one in May — in September we bought an old car — a green Terraplane — it ran O.K. John was a good mechanic. He even fixed it in a sand storm in Bluff, Utah — our vacation with the McQueens in Sept. to Southeastern Utah.

My father told us to wait to buy a home — prices would come down after economics settled after the war. Well, 1½ yrs later we could see they were steadily going up in price so finally we bought our first house, a small one on the west side, which we could afford. It was new, a tract house which meant there were 4 floor plans to choose from. I was not thrilled to move on the west side — some of the idealism my parents had somehow ingrained in me. But I also had become realistic and had to settle for what we could afford. John returned to the security of his former job at Mountain Fuel Supply and we were in ours & the banks home with three children and a life ahead of us. It was 1950. Life is not predictable to the extent of what all the influences and forces around us combined will affect. Our lifestyle, we individually can maintain the qualities that keep us on an even keel. These are moral courage, honesty, righteousness, integrity, tolerance, patience, love of others, gratitude, involvement to keep our land free from inward or outside aggression and know truth. America is still the land of the free — We as individuals must keep it that way for all who follow us.

My dear sweet grandchildren and all friends. We have been given so much, even to live in America is a blessing more than you realize. We have been on both sides of the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean and we know this great United States is the best place in the world to live. We have a priceless heritage. We have more than anyone on the earth because of our background of freedom loving people who came, fought and were inspired to write the constitution which is our law for governing us — the people of the United States of America. It has never been easy and will never be easy, but we must appreciate, guard, and keep our country free that we all may have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This is only done by good people who respect one another and keeping the laws of the land based on the Constitution of America.

Love Grandmother Wessman