DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Adelia M. Hoyt memoir and photographs

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Page 106

106, UNFOLDING YEARS

still carrying on with the help of his oldest son. We greatly enjoyed the few days he spent with us. 
In 19411 we were again at war and everything was different. Travel for pleasure was difficult and discouraged. We had no inducement nor purpose to go places, so we remained quietly at home. Emma was failing in some ways. She was now past eighty; in possession of all her faculties but her strength was diminishing. She still continued to look after business matters but everything was a burden and anxiety to her. Miss Emma Clokey left us to make a home for her son and later when he was drafted she secured a government position. A Mrs. Emma Neff, a country woman from up in Virginia, came to keep house for us, but she disliked the city and only remained for a few months. 
In the fall of 1942 I had quite a severe sick spell following an earlier attack of pneumonia. My recovery was impeded by worry over our situation as I knew my sister could not do the housework and care for me. A colored woman, Leah by name, who had been coming once a week for years to clean and wash for us did what she could, but she was leaving town with her husband. In spite of all, I began to improve and by Christmas I was up and around. Leah sent us a colored girl for part time, and she remained until April 1943 
As much as the war affected our home life it had other results which interested me. Because of the extra burden which the wart imposed on the American National Red Cross, it felt obliged at the end of 1942 to discontinue the work of Braille Transcribing which it had fostered for nearly twenty four years. The Library of Congress undertook to carry on but with a much curtailed program. In the reorganization fewer workers were required at the Library. Miss Violet Savage, who had been the Red Cross Secretary in the Service for the Blind for over twenty years, was returned to Red Cross Headquarters. She received several promotions and was finally appointed Administrative Assistant, which position she held until her enforced retirement on May 1, 1949, due to her health.

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106, UNFOLDING YEARS still carrying on with the help of his oldest son. We greatly enjoyed the few days he spent with us. In 19411 we were again at war and everything was different. Travel for pleasure was difficult and discouraged. We had no inducement nor purpose to go places, so we remained quietly at home. Emma was failing in some ways. She was now past eighty; in possession of all her faculties but her strength was diminishing. She still continued to look after business matters but everything was a burden and anxiety to her. Miss Emma Clokey left us to make a home for her son and later when he was drafted she secured a government position. A Mrs. Emma Neff, a country woman from up in Virginia, came to keep house for us, but she disliked the city and only remained for a few months. In the fall of 1942 I had quite a severe sick spell following an earlier attack of pneumonia. My recovery was impeded by worry over our situation as I knew my sister could not do the housework and care for me. A colored woman, Leah by name, who had been coming once a week for years to clean and wash for us did what she could, but she was leaving town with her husband. In spite of all, I began to improve and by Christmas I was up and around. Leah sent us a colored girl for part time, and she remained until April 1943 As much as the war affected our home life it had other results which interested me. Because of the extra burden which the wart imposed on the American National Red Cross, it felt obliged at the end of 1942 to discontinue the work of Braille Transcribing which it had fostered for nearly twenty four years. The Library of Congress undertook to carry on but with a much curtailed program. In the reorganization fewer workers were required at the Library. Miss Violet Savage, who had been the Red Cross Secretary in the Service for the Blind for over twenty years, was returned to Red Cross Headquarters. She received several promotions and was finally appointed Administrative Assistant, which position she held until her enforced retirement on May 1, 1949, due to her health.