305 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a154c8f9b78d814ae40e3c7333091aaf.pdf 0b21c4937c5a9388e52eb3afac7a183c PDF Text Text Day 238 by windoworks ��That says it all really. I think I had 12 stories from the Washington Post in my inbox this morning. I didn’t read them. But here’s what I think. The fact that it is so close is enormously disturbing to me. Almost half of all voters voted for Trump. Yesterday the BBC interviewed 2 women waiting in line to vote in Detroit. They happily told the interviewer that they were voting for Trump because they just loved him. They had no idea of his policies (slash and burn, I think), but they just loved him and said every time he talks he speaks straight to me. And that’s the most heartbreakingly depressing thought to me. I ask myself - what has happened to America? But I know the answer. Trump leads half of America to believe that he will take them back to that magical time of the 1950s. That time when immigrants and colored people knew their place - well and truly at the bottom. That magical time when every sitcom was about a middle class middle American white family. Where women knew their place - barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen. Where the biggest goal in any woman’s life was to find a good husband who provided well. And where every ugly thing was hidden, swept under the carpet and never acknowledged. Where the rich got richer and the poor struggled on with the Republicans calling them lazy and ignorant. So here we are, and it isn’t over yet. New York Times has Biden just ahead and Trump starting to call fraud. The number of yet to be counted absentee ballots in the 8 uncalled states is enormous and anything could happen. But my heart has gone out of the race. Think of every negative human belief and trait and then think that almost half or more Americans ascribe to that. Yesterday I FaceTimed with my brotherin-law in Sydney Australia. He expressed what the rest of the world must be thinking: isn’t the US such a joke now? My oldest son in New Zealand said it was like a real life comedy show that New Zealanders are thoroughly enjoying as they read the latest news from the States. �I cannot sufficiently express my disappointment. Shame on all the people who voted for Trump and his acolytes. Mitch McConnell easily (easily) won his seat. Its a wonder anyone can find him in his D.C. office, the pile of unseen House bills not brought before the Senate must reach to the ceiling by now. And thats a really sore point for me - I have been on a number of boards and there have been occasions when a board member has presented a proposal that few board members supported, but at least it was presented to the whole board for voting. It would be fair if all those House bills had been presented to the Senate but not supported - thats how a government is supposed to work. �This morning Canada has announced that they are looking for 400,000 immigrants per year for the next 3 years - so there’s that light at the end of the tunnel. And Canada has managed the virus MUCH better than here. Ahhh, the virus. So half America believes (a) that we’re rounding a corner and (b) if you get it, it’ll be just some sniffles, nothing more. In our conversation yesterday, my brother in law asked if Trump really had Covid. At this point, I’m pretty sure he didn’t. I think of that episode as Trump theater. Unfortunately Walter Reed Hospital is the loser in this event - I wouldn’t go there for treatment if I was bleeding out on the sidewalk outside. And lets be real - if Chris Christie (similar weight and health issues) got the virus at the same time and from the same event and ended up in hospital for a week on oxygen and is still convalescing at home - then Trump didn’t have a 3 day episode of Covid. He had pretend Covid. But, how is real America doing? Stats: in a very scary week the US has swung between 91,000+ - 99,000+ cases a day. In Michigan we had 3,664 new cases yesterday and Kent County had 361 new cases, continuing its 300 - 400+ daily average. Kent County also had 4 deaths yesterday which I believe is the most number of deaths in a single day since March. Grand Valley State University raised its alert level to High, one step below critical. In Craig’s online classes yesterday, 4 students have been quarantined. In Kent County, the percentage of positive cases reached 15.2% yesterday - higher than any other Michigan County. The virus is creeping closer to us, house by house. The internet and the telephone remain my only contacts. I am truly at a loss for words. As I write this, this came into my newsfeed: Washington Post: For four years, President Trump has sought to undermine the institutions of a democratic society, but never so blatantly as in the early morning hours of Wednesday. His attempt to falsely claim victory and to subvert the election itself by calling for a halt to vote-counting represents the gravest of threats to the stability of the country. Millions of votes remain to be counted, votes cast legally under the laws of the states. Until they are all counted, the outcome of the election remains in doubt. Either he or former vice president Joe Biden could win an electoral college majority, but neither has yet done so, no matter what he says. Those are the facts, for which the president shows no respect. A president who respected the Constitution would let things play out. But Trump has shown once again he cares not about the Constitution or the stability and well-being of the country or anything like that. He cares only about himself and retaining the powers he now holds. And so he cries “fraud” when there is no evidence whatsoever of any such thing. And yes, this brings the tears to my eyes. The United States of America is no longer a beacon of hope to the world. Some other country will have to assume that mantle. No words. No words. No words. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-11-04_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-238 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-11-04 Title A name given to the resource Day 238 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/01979a79443ae1498576da047a1d5ec0.pdf 77ac7a840229d436616a537d996c5ed6 PDF Text Text Day 237. Election Day. by windoworks Well here it is. Apparently Trump held his final rally at the Gerald R Ford Airport in Grand Rapids last night around 10:30pm. Earlier in the evening a police car with lights flashing and siren blaring came racing down our block and almost hit Craig as he was turning the car into our driveway. It didn’t take �long to find out why there were so many sirens - a drive by shooting outside Wealthy Market. The victim sustained a head injury and was in critical condition in hospital last night. My neighbors remember a time when you automatically locked your car doors when driving down Wealthy, but in 17 years, I’ve never felt the need. Yesterday my neighbor was picking up some supplies at a hardware store and 2 men with long beards walked through the store, maskless, and glowering at everyone. In the afternoon we went to the grocery store to buy bread for the freezer, and the customers were buying cartloads of groceries. I have never heard the term ‘hunker down’ used so frequently before. So, just because its 2020, I had to go to the dermatologist’s office yesterday. To back up: about a year ago I noticed a small hard object on the edge of my groin. My dermatologist said: its nothing, just a cyst - and its common among athletes (Flattering but no). If it changes, call me. Well, 10 days ago, it changed. It got much bigger, inflamed and sore. I was supposed to see the doctor on Friday but the appointment was mysteriously postponed to yesterday. Then yesterday the appointment was moved to later in the afternoon and with my doctors PA (Physicians Assistant). This rescheduling all came about because some of the staff at the practice tested positive. So, nervously double masked (damn, its harder to breathe with 2 masks on), in I went. Many small injections of painkiller and 20 minutes of the PA carefully removing all traces of the cyst etc, etc. she then packed the wound with a string soaked in antibiotic and iodine. I must point out that she and her assisting nurse had on double masks and she had a disposable jacket on, gloves and a face shield as well. When the painkillers wore off, OUCH, and it is painful this morning. At lunchtime I go back to the practice and she will remove the string (Eeeeww). Then a last visit on Friday to make sure all is going well. In the meantime I’m taking more antibiotics and with these ones you can’t lie down for an hour after taking, and no dairy foods for 2 hours afterwards. Lovely. �The polls opened at 7am and people were already lined up. I have gotten a number of posts saying ‘If you are in line at 8pm and the polls close, STAY IN LINE. You can still vote’. And here’s a handy voter protection chart. �My newsfeed is full of predictions and warnings. Here’s this: Washington Post: President Trump is signaling that Election Day could be followed by a stretch of uncertainty and chaos as a purge of top officials, legal challenges to election results and potential �resistance to a normal transition cloud the prospects for an orderly post-election period no matter who wins. Among the possible scenarios is a quick effort to fire or sideline Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, whose prominence and increasingly pointed criticism of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic have angered the president. Trump, speaking at a rally in Ohio recently, openly suggested that he might throw a wrench in the transition process if Biden prevails, making unfounded claims that his own transition was undermined. “They ask me, ‘If you lose, will there be a friendly transition?’ Well, when I won, did they give me a friendly transition?” Trump said. “They spied on my campaign. They did all this stuff. That was not a friendly transition.” Trump has also complained about mail-in voting, erroneously casting much of it as fraudulent and falsely claiming that it is unusual or dangerous to continue counting ballots after Election Day. That has prompted a frustrated reaction from Biden. “What country are we in?” he said when Trump declined to commit to a peaceful transition. “Look, he says the most irrational things. I don’t know what to say.” Biden’s team is preparing for the possibility that Trump, should he lose, would block hundreds of Biden officials from gaining access to government resources as required by law. Top Biden transition members have discussed potential legal responses and are eyeing other ways, should Biden win the election, to begin what could be one of the most volatile transfers of power in American history, occurring at a moment when the economy is in shambles, coronavirus cases are on the rise and emotions are raw after a divisive election. More than 100M Americans have already voted. That is a staggering number. Does it foretell a change? Who can say. �Meanwhile, in ongoing senseless acts of desecration, this happened at a local Jewish cemetary: �Who knows what will happen today, or tonight, or in the days to come. There is fear and uncertainty all around. And all the while, the pandemic surges ahead, sweeping everything aside in its path. Remember I said no statistics on Sunday? Michigan had 6,634 new cases by yesterday and Kent County had 720 new cases bringing us to a total of 15,715 cases. I am beginning to hear about people I know who are sick. Crooked Media President Trump suggested at one of his superspreading rallies that he might fire Dr. Anthony Fauci after the election, after Fauci told the Washington Post that the U.S. “could not possibly be positioned more poorly” for the fall and winter. Here’s just a glimpse of what Trump has personally contributed to that poor positioning: A Stanford University study estimated that Trump’s rallies were directly linked to at least 30,000 infections and 700 deaths—and that’s before Trump went into campaign overdrive during the �last few weeks of accelerating outbreaks. In the great tradition of ending one’s campaign by killing a few more people closer to home, Trump reportedly plans to hold an indoor election-night party at the White House, with some 400 guests. Apropos of nothing, this is a great article on how Trump set the stage for a catastrophic White House outbreak (from the reporter who made that outbreak public), and this is another on how we might still learn more about the White House cluster through genetic sequencing. And from Washington Post: A top White House coronavirus adviser sounded alarms Monday about a new and deadly phase in the health crisis, pleading with top administration officials for “much more aggressive action,” even as President Trump continues to assure rallygoers the nation is “rounding the turn” on the pandemic. “We are entering the most concerning and most deadly phase of this pandemic … leading to increasing mortality,” said the Nov. 2 report from Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force. “This is not about lockdowns — It hasn’t been about lockdowns since March or April. It’s about an aggressive balanced approach that is not being implemented.” Birx’s internal report, shared with top White House and agency officials, contradicts Trump on numerous points: While the president holds large campaign events with hundreds of attendees, most without masks, she explicitly warns against them. While the president blames rising cases on more testing, she says testing is “flat or declining” in many areas where cases are rising. And while Trump says the country is “rounding the turn,” Birx notes the country is entering its most dangerous period yet and will see more than 100,000 new cases a day this week. Does anyone else keep thinking about Nero fiddling while Rome burned? Like a light burning brightly in the darkness, here comes Oliver to lighten up your day - because who can resist this cutie? ����We’re on the razor’s edge and peering into the Great Unknown. Wherever you are, stay safe and hold fast! Tomorrow then. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-11-03_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-237 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-11-03 Title A name given to the resource Day 237 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a9fdf2a51a5ac0dd82e3bac8b820d11d.pdf 76ee46dbce91ffcb3cb3698c5e283635 PDF Text Text Day 236. The election eve. by windoworks ��It has arrived. Tomorrow the United States decides who will be our president for the next 4 years and who will hold the balance of power in the House and Senate. There are mad scrambles by the Republican Party to find Republican judges in various states to overturn thousands of mail in ballots. In Texas a judge threw this case out, so today the party has asked another more sympathetic judge to hear their case. Here’s an opinion piece from Washing Post about covertigo which resonated with me. Every day is Blursday. While we’ve been struggling through the pandemic, another malady has swooped down on us. It has no official name — so let’s just call it covertigo. It feels like a loss of balance in a world spinning out of control. Years from now, psychologists will surely have a better name for this collective fog. In some cases, it can be serious. There are clear indications that rates of depression, anxiety, loneliness, unmanageable anger and the threat of self-harm are on the uptick. We are feeling wobbly and off balance in part because norms have been shattered and far too many lives have been lost. Even friends who are still with us are lost to us in other ways if they root for the wrong team. Covertigo is not just an outgrowth of our politics. It’s an outgrowth of the current brand of politics practiced by the man who lives in the White House. When constant lying becomes part of the daily discourse, it’s no wonder that our sense of reality is distorted. In the last days of campaigning to hold on to an office he does not deserve, the president is claiming that hospitals earn more money when patients die of covid-19 — a reprehensible lie. He is still claiming that the United States has rounded a corner even as infection rates are surging in nearly all 50 states. And he is continuing to hold massive rallies in defiance of common sense and best practices. Covid-19 has spiked in several townships and cities following Trump rallies. This is a man who is not interested in stability, and his rhetoric and actions show he is not tethered to reality. �I think I passed overwhelming some weeks ago. Sometimes as I research and cut and paste words into my fact file (it has stopped being big and fat), I have an out of body experience. I feel as though this is a tale I am somehow caught up in - like those mazes where you cannot find the way out. Hampton Court in England has a maze and it features a panic button. You press the button and a doorway opens to let you out of the maze. But there is no way out of our situation. We are stuck waiting for tomorrow to dawn and hoping - when the votes are all counted, it might be over. I cannot explain how high my anxiety level is. I am not a weak woman, I have striven to be strong all my life, but nothing has challenged me like this. On FaceBook I cannot look at friends posts where they have their faces pressed together (friends and relatives) and are smiling at the camera. I know they are smiling because they’re not wearing masks. I ask myself - are all those 20 or so people in the same bubble? Are they safe or are they at risk? And then the answer comes to me and this I know to be shamefully true: I don’t care. I have the capacity to care about Craig and myself (and Murphy our dog, I guess) and to strive to keep the two of us safe. We have been here, in our house, since March 11. This has been our choice. The thought of one of us catching the virus, going to hospital and perhaps dying alone while the other one stays trapped inside our house, is dreadful. I can hear you saying: oh Pamela, that’s a bit over dramatic! No its not. There’s only the �2 of us here in the US. All our family live far away, mostly in countries that handled the virus aggressively, and are maintaining careful contract tracing. Did you know that the US has pretty much given up on contact tracing as the case numbers are so massive, no one has the capacity to trace contacts any more. Instead, virus sufferers are asked to notify their own contacts. I have no stats today as none are ever gathered over the weekend. Don’t ask me, I don’t know. You would think that in this country with all its assets and capabilities, they would be able to tabulate the virus over the weekend. On Friday Kent County had over 400 new cases. There is no end in sight and oh, here’s a really cheering tidbit: New York Times Trump suggested at a rally that he might fire Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, after Election Day. Fauci had told The Washington Post that the U.S. “could not possibly be positioned more poorly” heading into the winter. �And here’s the thing that bothers me. After the election is over, if Trump loses, he will have approximately 2 months to do whatever he likes before Inauguration Day on January 20. �Here’s this from NPR: Americans have cast a record-breaking 93 million early ballots as of Sunday afternoon, putting the 2020 election on track for historic levels of voter turnout. That's almost twice as many pre-election votes as were cast in the 2016 election, according to the U.S. Elections Project, a turnout-tracking database run by University of Florida professor Michael McDonald. McDonald calculates that nationally, voters have cast nearly 68% of the total votes counted in the 2016 election. And if Trump wins (by fair means or foul), I cannot imagine what life will be like. And that’s the point. No one is prepared to believe the polls or the predictions. And all the while, Trump fans continue to intimidate and harass voters. People have had lawn signs stolen or desecrated, online posts have been trolled, Biden car rallies have been threatened by Trumpers. There is such ugliness all around. On Sunday, while the wind howled (really) and the light snow fell all around, we drove out to Lake Michigan to take a break and look at the waves, while we ate our morning tea. Craig got bravely out of the warm car to take these photos: ���Its hard to tell from this perspective but the waves were huge and they were undercutting the beach in front of us. The temperature was right on freezing. We sat and gazed at the waves and the sand blowing hard along the beach, and we thought of nothing at all. It was wonderful. Tomorrow is an unknown country. Who knows what will happen? �Maybe. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-11-02_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-236 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-11-02 Title A name given to the resource Day 236 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d3e440487ea5f740e84ff34e70162f4a.pdf 11b88f0021ec05572ca68ef8d19c01d5 PDF Text Text Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on Stuff Day 235. 2 days. Terra Incognita by windoworks Last night we watched the last Gardeners World for the year. Monty Don and his dogs and his stunningly beautiful garden, Longmeadow, have been a Friday night balm since April. At first he used handheld cameras and his family to film, and then in summer, the BBC laid miles of cables across the garden and installed remote cameras so that he could talk and demonstrate gardening techniques entirely on is own. At the beginning of April, he asked people across the world to send in videos of their gardens and 80,000 people did. Each episode featured several home gardens and many featured young children learning to garden. Monty and his team entertained us, educated us, comforted us and all the while acknowledged what a dreadful year this was. The phrase ‘if you look after your garden, it will look after you’ rang true, week after week. And Monty didn’t care if you lived in an estate or a tiny one bedroom apartment with only windowsills to put your garden on. Even the tiniest collection of potted plants could bring comfort and joy. Winter is almost upon us and I will miss Monty’s kind, smiling face until March or April next year. And yes, I’m crying as I type this. �The Atlantic America’s political schisms are so profound that we risk a repeat of the 1850s, when the country was on the precipice of the Civil War. Two Atlantic writers warn that the 2020s could mark another dangerous decade for the American experiment. This time, the split is between those who embrace the country’s diverse future and those who fear it. Should Donald Trump win, America will enter an 1850s-style death spiral. On the left and right, “extremism will spread, mutate into new forms, and gradually become entrenched in more areas of American life,” Anne Applebaum argues. A Joe Biden victory wouldn't necessarily soothe the nation's wounds. Especially if the GOP deepens “its reliance on the most racially resentful white voters,” Ronald Brownstein writes. So here we are. 2 days out. Here’s what Trump has done: Washington Post An analysis by The Washington Post found that nearly three out of four opinions issued in federal votingrelated cases by judges picked by President Trump were in favor of maintaining limits on voting rules in the 2020 campaign. The pattern shows how Trump’s success installing a record number of judges in his four years in office has played a critical role in determining how people can vote this year and which ballots will be counted. There are many articles predicting chaos after Election Day and a local friend sent me this last night: �Have you heard? Millions of people are planning to protest in the streets if Trump loses the election and refuses to leave office – it's called Protect the Results. This is a coalition of more than 100 organizations that are committed to protecting our democracy if Trump throws our country into a manufactured constitutional crisis. Here's the plan: we will hit the streets in our communities and demand that every vote be counted, even if it takes days or weeks to get an accurate count from critical states, especially given the expansion of mailin and absentee voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to ensure that the loser of the election concedes and that Congress, the Electoral College, and state officials honor the accurate, final vote count. And all the while, the virus is spiraling out of control here in the US. Washington Post President Trump’s repeated assertions the United States is “rounding the turn” on the novel coronavirus have increasingly alarmed the government's top health experts, who say the country is heading into a long and potentially deadly winter with an unprepared government unwilling to make tough choices. “We’re in for a whole lot of hurt. It’s not a good situation,” Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s leading infectious-disease expert, said in a wide-ranging interview late Friday. “All the stars are aligned in the wrong place as you go into the fall and winter season, with people congregating at home indoors. You could not possibly be positioned more poorly.” Fauci, a leading member of the government’s coronavirus response, said the United States needed to make an “abrupt change” in public health practices and behaviors. He said the country could surpass 100,000 new coronavirus cases a day and predicted rising deaths in the coming weeks. He spoke as the nation set a new daily record Friday with more than 98,000 cases. As hospitalizations increase, deaths are also ticking up, with more than 1,000 reported Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the total to more than 230,000 since the start of the pandemic, according to health data analyzed by The Washington Post This morning I watched an earnest plea online from the CEO of Spectrum Health here in West Michigan, asking us to mask up, maintain physical distance and wash our hands. Yesterday Kent County recorded 424 new cases and 1 new death. The graph is going steeply upward to the point it is almost vertical. And here’s what scares me: New York Times Gone are the days when Americans could easily understand the virus by tracking rising case numbers back to discrete sources — the crowded factory, the troubled nursing home, the rowdy bar. Now, there are so many cases, in so many places, that many people are coming to a frightening conclusion: They have no �idea where the virus is spreading. “It’s just kind of everywhere,” said Crystal Watson, a senior scholar at the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who estimated that tracing coronavirus cases becomes difficult once the virus spreads to more than 10 cases per 100,000 people. In some of the hardest-hit spots in the United States, the virus is spreading at 10 to 20 times that rate, and even health officials have all but given up trying to figure out who is giving the virus to whom. Yesterday was Halloween and some houses in Eastown gave out candy in very inventive, safe ways: �����I feel as though we have reached the edge of the known world. In 2 days we will enter uncharted waters and Terra Incognita (unknown lands) lie ahead. I am tired and scared and too mistrustful to really be hopeful. Last night there was another shooting in Grand Rapids. I’ll leave you with this because, somehow, it seems appropriate. I'll send an SOS to the world I'll send an SOS to the world I hope that someone gets my I hope that someone gets my I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle, yeah Message in a bottle. HELP. �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-11-01_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-235 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-11-01 Title A name given to the resource Day 235 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7a2217833ff76281d049f4c3c796e76b.pdf 59843b68759dbaacc3d446e3d11993cd PDF Text Text Day 17,459 – oh all right, Day 234. by windoworks ��What does this map mean, Pamela? It means this: • On Friday, Covid Act Now reports that Michigan is recording 25.7 new COVID-19 cases each day per every 100,000 residents -- a number that the research group considers “critical.” • Any number higher than 1 is considered “medium” and anything above 10 is considered “high.” A state has reached “critical” standing if it reports more than 25 daily new cases per every 100,000 residents, according to the group. • Michigan is not the only state experiencing an active or imminent COVID-19 outbreak -- in fact, most of the country is. All states, excluding Hawaii, are labeled at either high risk (orange) or critical risk (red) for a COVID-19 outbreak. Well thats a scary start to the day, isn’t it? And from Crooked Media - Donald Trump and his Large Adult Surrogates have three days left to convince voters that the virus sending their neighbors to the hospital doesn’t exist, and by golly, they’re gonna try. �A perfect weekend to hold 17 rallies! President Trump kicked off his Campaign of Death Farewell Tour with a stop in Michigan, where he ran through a litany of his favorite coronavirus lies, including the baseless conspiracy theory that doctors are fraudulently inflating the number of COVID deaths for cash. Meanwhile Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) is now in quarantine after appearing alongside COVID-positive Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA) at a rally that violated Georgia state limits on public gatherings, and will have to do the rest of his voter suppression over Zoom. After all, if coronavirus denial doesn’t pan out, there’s always pretending the voters don’t exist. �And if that didn’t bother you - in a 3am tweet (because Trump never sleeps) he said: “If Sleepy Joe Biden is actually elected President, the 4 Justices (plus1) that helped make such a ridiculous win possible would be relegated to sitting on not only a heavily PACKED COURT, but probably a REVOLVING COURT as well.” Because, as we all know, he believes he owns the Supreme Court. They are there to do his bidding, Here’s what the Constitution of the United States says: The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. It doesn’t say anywhere: the Supreme Court of the United States shall do the President’s bidding. In fact it only mentions Congress as controlling the appointment of courts. There is increasing discussion of the Trump stench - an odor not unlike that of skunks - a strong, nose wrinkling smell that is almost impossible to wash off with ordinary soap. Here’s some thoughts from the New Yorker: The right-wing intelligentsia has formed three broad categories of response to Trump. The most enthusiastic, on the right, have defended the president unreservedly. The most disgusted (“Never Trumpers”) have denounced him, and often his enablers as well. In the broad middle of conservatism is a third category of conservative. These are the conservatives who will occasionally acknowledge Trump’s flaws even while supporting him broadly. They will ruefully and sarcastically bemoan his childishness, egotism, and self-destructive habits without ever urging a course of action that might stop him (Democratic control of Congress, enforcement of congressional oversight, impeachment, voting for Joe Biden). The conservatives could make a case for supporting Trump despite his racial politics. Instead they present his racial politics as a point in his favor. One day, after Trump is gone, they will make it out that they never liked the racism. But the stink will cling to them nevertheless �This is a photo of the line up in El Paso Texas. These are people waiting to be tested for Covid-19. In Utah, the numbers of people needing hospitalization is so high that in less than a. weeks time, they will have to start making war zone decisions - which patient can we do nothing more for which will free up a ventilator for someone we might be able to save. Locally, Blodgett Hospital has opened up a 3rd covid ward as the first two are full. And here’s a chart from CNN which shows the increasing speed of the virus: Here's a look at the progression of cases: • Johns Hopkins recorded the first case of coronavirus in the United States on Jan. 21. • 98 days later, on April 28, the US hit 1 million cases • 44 days later, on June 11, the US hit 2 million cases • 27 days later, on July 8, the US hit 3 million cases • 15 days later, on July 23, the US hit 4 million cases • 17 days later, on Aug. 9, the US hit 5 million cases • 22 days later, on Aug. 31, the US hit 6 million cases • 25 days later, on Sept. 25, the US hit 7 million cases • 21 days later on Oct. 16, the US hit 8 million cases • 14 days later, today, the US hit 9 million cases �But what are the stats for today, I hear you ask. Here they are, but remember, I just report them. US: 98,959 new cases overnight and 971 deaths. The US total cases stand at 9.12M and the total deaths so far are 230K. Michigan: 3,234 new cases overnight and 13 deaths. Michigan total cases stand at 193K and total deaths so far are 7,664. Kent County: 418 new cases overnight and 0 deaths. Total cases stand at 15,528 and total deaths so far are 186. Here are the top 10 ways to reduce your COVID-19 risk, according to infectious disease specialists at Spectrum Health: 1. Wear a face mask in public and in groups—always. 2. Wash your hands as frequently as possible—use soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer. 3. Try not to touch your face. 4. Avoid crowds. Stay at least 6 feet from anyone not in your household. 5. Avoid contact with frequently touched surfaces and objects. 6. Restrict gatherings to less than 10 people. (This may seem extreme, but as we go indoors more, it’s even more important.) 7. Skip the potlucks. Bring your own food and drinks to a gathering, and have just one person serve all shareable food. 8. Avoid contact with anyone who is sick—and stay home if you feel sick. 9. Avoid indoor visits to bars and restaurants. Order take-out instead. 10. Skip the carpool and ride separately. And if you do ride in a vehicle with someone outside of your household, wear a mask. �And after all that, a photo of Oliver to cheer you up: ��Caption: Oliver in the bath, with ducks. After our visit to the Buddhist Grotto, we climbed back on our boat and went to a floating village. ����It really was a floating village and in the photo of us together I think we’re standing on the football pitch. The scenery was spectacular. It was such a different way of life. �Here we are then. 3 days out. Who will win the election? How long will it take to count the votes? Will the case count reach 100,000 a day tomorrow? Will the pandemic ever go away? 3 days out. What insanity will I report on tomorrow? Who knows? 3 days out. 3 days. Please stay safe today and forget about the candy -its not worth getting sick for. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-10-31_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-234 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-10-31 Title A name given to the resource Day 234 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a8101145f17a1ae29056f7423c4e9c6d.pdf 539ae4bf927caee11207468fc64ef7a1 PDF Text Text Day 233. 4 days out. 4 days out. 4 days out. by windoworks ��Its all about the virus . Yesterday, in the US, after several days of at least 70,000+ new cases a day, we surged to 90.446 cases IN ONE DAY! I guess Dr Micheal Osterholm was right - we’ll make 100,000 cases a day any day now. In Michigan we saw 4,108 new cases yesterday and 45 deaths and lastly, Kent County had an increase of 316 new cases and 3 deaths. Kent County’s positivity rate is over 7%. This email came from Spectrum Health: We are at a critical time as we are experiencing a big spike of COVID-19 cases in West Michigan. The number of patients and testing positivity rate is higher than anything we have seen since the pandemic began. And we are seeing COVID-19 significantly affecting the old and the young. This has the potential to challenge our region’s Intensive Care Units and hospitals. Although the numbers are climbing, we have proven that when we work together and each do our part, we can change those numbers and save lives. Here’s what you can do: Do your part. COVID-19 has been challenging in many ways. But we need everyone to keep doing preventative measures because they work. Limit gatherings, even small ones, as the research shows that most of the transmissions of the virus are happening in small groups. Continue to wash your hands, please wear a mask and social distance. Staying the course is our best chance at limiting the spread. Thank you for doing your part. Darryl Elmouchi MD And this is for all those who think they’re young, fit and healthy and will ‘get over the virus quickly’ . A cautionary tale: FB post In the past six months: I landed in the hospital because my chest pain was so bad that it required iV pain killers and my fever required iv fluids. I’ve had pneumonia twice. My lung capacity has been reduced because of lung fibrosis (damage) I’ve had pleurisy I’ve had inflammation of the cartilage in my rib cage I’ve had so much brain fog. I haven’t thought straight for 6 months. I constantly have to go back and do things twice. I can’t drink alcohol because my liver is inflamed and the alcohol makes me feel bad now. I have had chest pain and shortness of breath every single day. I can only walk for exercise. Anything more and I cannot breathe normally. Before March 16 I used to do spin classes 3/week. My resting heart rate is 101. It used to be 55. Today I just left the cardiologist because I’m going to have to have two different echocardiograms and a MRI to determine the severity of my heart damage. Covid is scary. Covid can cause an inflammatory response that doesn’t land you on a vent but can be life �changing. I would be characterized as having a “mild to moderate” case of coronavirus. My cardiologist is hopeful but doesn’t know what to do about me. It’s not in my head he says! I’m his tenth patient in September who has come to him with these long term symptoms. Average stats of “long haulers” as we are called is 44 (me!) a woman (me!) and previously fit/healthy and no preexisting conditions (me!) �And is kind. NPR Members of a Quaker congregation in Maryland are so concerned that President Trump will prematurely declare victory when states are still counting ballots — a process that could take days — that they are ready to take to the streets in nonviolent resistance. They say such a scenario would amount to a "coup" — even if it involves legal fights and not military action. With Election Day less than a week away, anxiety, distrust and suspicion are running high. Activists and extremists on both the right and left are worried the other side will somehow steal the election, and they're making plans for what to do if they believe that's happening. �Experts in global conflict warn that this is a toxic brew and that conditions are ripe for conflict and maybe even violence in the U.S. There's a good chance that no clear winner will emerge on election night, and experts are concerned about what will happen after that — especially if protesters and counterprotesters collide in the streets. Several human rights and conflict resolution groups that typically monitor elections abroad, mostly in fledgling democracies or places where sectarian violence could erupt, are now turning their attention to the United States for the first time. People on both sides of the political spectrum feel this rising tension, too. Global conflict experts say it's not inevitable that the election or its aftermath will devolve into chaos. But they say it's crucial for political leaders on all sides to deescalate tensions in case there's a long contested election. "Probably the biggest issue is the president of the United States right now, who has portrayed himself as somebody who, you know, is not necessarily interested in calming the waters," said Stephen Pomper, senior director for policy at the International Crisis Group. He added that Trump "might actually court unrest in order to serve his political and personal goals." Still, Balian at the Carter Center hopes it won't come to that. "We have become intolerant, we have started dehumanizing the other side," Balian said. "We are at the edge of an abyss, and we better see this and try to step back before it is too late." It appears that I am not neurotic and this is not all in my head. So far, more than 80M Americans have voted: Democrats, Republicans and Independents. There’s still 4 days before the end of voting. This may be the biggest turnout ever, and if every single vote is not correctly counted, there’s going to be millions of pissed off people. So this morning we got up early and went down to Trader Joe’s. We got there as they opened the store and when we went in, that made a total of 16 shoppers in the store. We bought enough supplies for the next 2 weeks. Partly in case there’s chaos after Election Day and partly because the case numbers are climbing and case studies suggest that 20% of grocery store workers are asymptomatic. Thats 1 in 5. Pay attention people - thats just grocery store workers. In Eastown, Harmony Brewing (and their sister premises, Harmony Hall on the west side) are closed due to a staff member testing positive. They are not sure how long they will be closed. And a successful gym in Eastown, Allegra Coaching is closing its doors at the end of the year. The virus has proved too much. Daylight saving ends on Sunday morning - a real sign that winter is upon us. �Halloween and Oliver (he has no idea). Don’t you just love that face? ��Not the batmobile but close enough. Our next port was in Phuket. ����Phuket is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands off its coast. It lies off the west coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea. Phuket Island is connected by the Sarasin Bridge to Phang Nga Province to the north. Wikipedia Our day tour was by boat and our ship was anchored at sea. Our first stop was at a Buddhist shrine in a cave. I think we were warned not to touch or feed the monkeys. More Phuket adventures tomorrow. I wanted to say thank you to all the readers who have stayed with me for 233 days, or just over 34 weeks. I had no idea I would be writing every day for this long and at this moment, I can’t see an end point. Maybe March or April next year. So as ever, stay safe, stay well and keep your chin up. Here’s something to make you laugh: �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-10-30_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-233 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-10-30 Title A name given to the resource Day 233 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bfe0254122c02a2fd4e3c99f89df3e6c.pdf 5f11ef4d4542edb1cd047b1bfc4b8dc9 PDF Text Text Day 232. 5, only 5 days out. by windoworks November 1st we set our clocks back. November 3rd we take our country back. Biden/Harris 2020 Crooked Media: As the fall coronavirus surge overshadows the final days of the election, President Trump has been campaigning as if the pandemic is over, in the very places now suffering their worst outbreaks since it began. Just in case that closing message was too subtle for anyone, he also went ahead and left his supporters out in the literal cold. Hundreds of Trump rally attendees in Omaha were stranded in the cold for hours after the event ended on Tuesday night, when the buses meant to take them back to their cars �failed to materialize. The crowd included many elderly people and children; 30 people needed medical attention at some point in the night, and seven had to be taken to the hospital. Totally unbelievable. Trump is now saying that if you vote for Biden there’ll be no school, no Thanksgiving, no Christmas, no weddings, no birthday parties. Where does he actually live? There’s none of those things now and he’s in charge. As for the pandemic, here’s todays stats: US: 81,181 new cases yesterday and 1,016 deaths - in one day! Michigan: 3,534 new cases yesterday and 21 deaths. Kent County: 361 new cases yesterday and 1 new death. Last night I watched a post from the President of Spectrum Health. He said, and I quote: ‘this is the second wave and many are hoping it is the peak. I believe we may at the base of the mountain looking up’. Frankly, this morning’s figures confirm this. So, across America, cases are rising alarmingly. People are still arguing against the masks and distancing although Ive never heard any complaints about hand washing. Here’s what I wonder. There is loads of footage of Trump supporters (if you want to watch) and they are all braying about what nonsense the virus is etc etc. But I am sure a number of them have contracted the virus and landed in hospital - and we never hear the ‘I was wrong’ speech from them. I think back to the summer and the Sturgis Rally and all those bikers who then traveled home and spread the virus to their near and dear. It just amazes me how selfish and arrogant people are. Last weekend, before she traveled to Canberra to visit her aunt and her 88 year old grandmother, Zoe took Oliver and herself to be tested for Covid as they both had a slight cold. She then waited for their results (thankfully negative) before packing her suitcase. Because thats how grown ups behave. I read an article about how Canada has dealt with the virus. The focal point of the article was this, from New York Times: Some of Canada’s success is probably cultural and would have been hard to replicate in the U.S., as Ian Austen, a Canadian who has covered the country for The Times for more than a decade, told me. “There is generally a lot of deference to authority in Canada,” Ian said. Deference to authority - hmm. Does that mean that some people such as scientists and doctors who have gone to college for at least 4 years and might actually know something that we (the general public) don’t know? So when they suggest that wearing a mask might cut back on the number of infections - they’re actually right? �And this I just had to share: Crooked Media.: CNN reported today that Jared Kushner boasted to Bob Woodward back in April about Trump “getting the country back from the doctors,” and said without a shred of irony that “the most dangerous people around the president are overconfident idiots.” Biden 2020: Look, Just, Everything Jared Kushner Said. �So far, over 75M American have voted. Yesterday I watched Governor Whitmer, Lieutenant-Governor Gilchrist, Attorney-General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson talk strongly and reassuringly about voting safely in Michigan and describing the counting process. Once again, the only person without a mask was the sign language interpreter. You can check online to see if your ballot has been received and both Craig’s and mine were received at the end of September. Governor Whitmer said that it might take 2-3 days to count all ballots and we shouldn’t expect a result on Tuesday night. Trump is ready to claim victory NO MATTER WHAT on Tuesday night. If he does, imagine all those angry voters who didn’t vote for him, me included. Ah, fun times. 5 days, 5 days, 5 days................ Oliver ��He loves daycare. Tomorrow is their virtual Halloween Parade and he has Batman pajamas for his costume. This takes me back! So 3 years passed before Craig was invited to be a speaker on a cruise again. This time it was a New York Times Cruise and was our first cruise with Maureen Dowd an op-ed writer for the Times and Carl Hulse, the Washington Bureau Chief for the Times. We embarked in Singapore and Craig and I had a day and a night to explore Singapore some more. �������From the top: a storm rolling in as we watched from our hotel room; exploring Singapore; Belitung shipwreck artifacts - The Belitung shipwreck(also called the Tang shipwreck or Batu Hitam shipwreck) is the wreck of an Arabian dhow which sank en route from Africa to China around 830 CE. The wreck has given archaeologists two major discoveries: the biggest single collection of Tang dynasty artefacts found in one location, the so-called "Tang Treasure"; and the Arabian dhow, which gives a new insight into the trade routes between China and the Middle East during that period. Wikipedia Craig was very excited to see the salvaged cargo from the ship as it was part of the Maritime Silk Roads. Next, Craig in front the Singapore Parliament site; the next morning while exploring before sailing, we saw a marathon being run; the Marina Bay Sands Casino Hotel at night. ��5 days. Numbers are climbing. Wear a mask. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-10-29_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-232 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-10-29 Title A name given to the resource Day 232 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/32d175ec227532ebd390a836c580e653.pdf 37a1e90d5c737a4ed00d230b3a97458d PDF Text Text Day 231 by windoworks ��6 days out. Every morning I think: it can’t get any worse today - and then it does. Everyone is scrambling. The Democrat voters are scrambling to get their votes safely in while the Republicans (Party and politicians) are scrambling to avert election disaster by making voting as difficult as possible while planning to steal the election anyway they can, if it seems as though Joe and Kamala are winning. In my state, IN MY STATE, a court of appeals just overturned the ban on open carry weapons at polling booths because thats what all Michiganders want - right? Because every potential voter needs an automatic weapon proudly on display. You can’t make this stuff up. Meanwhile, a man shot and killed a woman in the early hours of this morning and then raced over to his parents house (about 2 blocks from me) and the streets near my house were closed while hostage negotiators and tactical response teams surrounded the area. In Grand Rapids there have been 31 fatal shootings this year - more than 2018 and 2019 combined. The GRPD has been conducting a series of successful gun buy back days with more to come. And, in a reassuring note, GRPD has a well thought out plan for November 3 with 2 teams of police stationed on the South side and the North side of town. But only to be engaged as a last resort. By last night almost 70M Americans had voted. From New York Times: Democrats and Republicans are engaged in a furious struggle over voting rights. In almost every instance, Democrats are trying to make it easier for Americans to cast ballots, and Republicans are trying to make it harder. And here’s what Trump’s up to, from Crooked Media: On Monday night, Donald Trump and the conservative hacks of the Supreme Court announced exactly how they would like to steal this election. But like any good cartoon villain, they’ve done so while we still have time to thwart them. Big problems and discrepancies with Mail In Ballots all over the USA,” the president wrote on Twitter, triggering a warning label that the tweet contained misleading information. “Must have final total on November 3rd.” Buoyed by the Court’s Wisconsin decision, Trump kept that drumbeat going on Tuesday. Republicans are counting on huge GOP-voter turnout on Election Day itself, which could create a “red mirage”: the illusion that Trump is winning, before all absentee votes have been counted. The new median Supreme Court justice has obligingly helped Trump lay the groundwork for demanding an end to vote counting if and when partial tallies in swing states show him in the lead. You can’t make this stuff up. �So here’s the question: what will happen if he tries to steal the election, which at this point it seems pretty likely. Friends and neighbors have decided to hunker down from Tuesday until there is a result. I now understand a siege mentality. I really do have supplies of everything in my basement, cupboards and freezer. I have no idea what will happen from Tuesday onwards. A friend and I actually (half jokingly) discussed if it was possible to sneak into Canada as refugees. And just an FYI: • Trump plans to fire the heads of the FBI, CIA and Defense Department if he wins reelection, Axios reports. You can’t make this stuff up. And all the while, the virus continues to spread further and and deeper into communities. In the US, the daily case number averages 71,000 and above per day. In Kent County, there are over 200 new cases a day and at least 1 death. The hospitals have had rising case numbers for over 3 weeks now, and soon will delay all non essential surgeries. �Washington Post A two-page ad in the Tulsa World, placed by Saint Francis Health System, echoes what health-care workers and experts are saying across the country: “WE’RE HEADED IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.” Fox17: Local hospitals are also facing high COVID numbers. Spectrum Health has hit a record for hospitalized patients. As of Monday, 156 patients were hospitalized -- the highest since the beginning of the pandemic. Health experts attribute the uptick to colder weather, indoor gatherings, and the beginning of respiratory virus season. They are urging everyone to social distance, wear a mask, and continue proper handwashing. "I know it’s been a long haul here with wearing masks and social distancing and everything like that," noted Hartl, "but really now is the most important time to adhere to those precautions, to make sure that we are doing that, so we can really try to stop this transmission." And in case you were wondering if that sore throat or runny nose is a cold or Covid, the CDC posted this reminder again: COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Infected people have had a wide range of symptoms reported – from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19: Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache New loss of taste or smell Sore throat Congestion or runny nose Nausea or vomiting Diarrhea Look for emergency warning signs for COVID-19. If someone is showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately: Trouble breathing Persistent pain or pressure in the chest New confusion �Inability to wake or stay awake Bluish lips or face Washington Post For his part, Trump continues to be in a state of deep denial. His own recovery appears to have made him less sensitive to the plight of ordinary Americans who do not have access to the world-class care and medicines he did. Experts say Trump is giving false confidence and projecting that people do not need to take this contagion seriously. “I don’t see forceful policy intervention happening any time soon,” former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “We have a moment of opportunity right now to take some forceful steps to try to abate the spread that’s underway. But if we don’t do that, if we miss this window, this is going to continue to accelerate.” I’m pretty sure we missed the window. You can’t make this stuff up. My youngest son (just turned 39 years old, OMG!) has only a small balcony space to grow things on. Look at these photos and imagine what he could do with even a small garden plot. ����Obligatory Oliver shot. Fun in Singapore. ��In the fabulous Botanical Gardens. Juhani, Auli and me in another section of the Botanical Gardens �Remember the 3 part hotel with the ‘ship’ on the top? Here I am at the public access end. Very high up. �Looking down at the Botanical Gardens Domes. �Looking across to the hotel end and the infinity pool. Very high up. �The famous Raffles Hotel. �Where we indulged in a really expensive Singapore Sling before dinner. And the next morning we flew home. �If you’ve got them, wear them. 6 more crazy, scary days. I hope you’ve voted and I hope you voted Blue all the way. �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-10-28_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-231 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-10-28 Title A name given to the resource Day 231 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c71be6c6a6cd08c9379d27417e98ebf0.pdf 186e374ad262863b4e0e592111bfddf7 PDF Text Text Day 230 by windoworks Don't stand, don't stand so Don't stand so close to me Don't stand, don't stand so Don't stand so close to me Who sang that? And how appropriate. I think its my theme song. �The Atlantic Welcome to the great wait. The 2020 election is now close enough that you can feel its dragon breath on your neck. And yet! There’s still one more full week to go. �There are some days (and this is one of them) when I think: don’t make me write. But then I think: if not me, then who? There are 7 days to the election and you just can’t make this stuff up. First up: the adventures of Trump and Pence. Washington Post Faced with record levels of U.S. coronavirus infections and a new White House outbreak, President Trump declared Monday that the pandemic was “ending anyway,” further tying his reelection bid to his ability to convince voters, including those at large rallies that defy health authorities, that the viral danger is fading. Financial markets fell as he spoke, with investors reacting to the growing infection rates and dwindling hope of a pre-election stimulus package. Vice President Pence canceled a planned appearance at the U.S. Senate for the expected confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court justice, after Democrats objected because he has been in close contact with at least one of the five staff members who tested positive for the disease in recent days. And yes they did confirm Amy Whatsherface to the Supreme Court where she will rule any way that Trump tells her to. In my research i discovered that the Constitution makes no reference to size of the court and over time, there have been as few as 6 Justices and as many as 10 justices. I’m not sure why a Supreme Court appointee is seen as a lifetime appointment as there is no reference/guidance on this in the Constitution. Amy will take up her seat in the next few days. Will this make the conservative/democrat split 6-3? No one knows. Here’s what McConnell (he of the blue hands) had to say: Crooked Media: • If any Democrats were still feeling squeamish about court reform, they should take a good long look at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s gleeful admission that Barrett’s rushed confirmation was about securing minority rule: “A lot of what we’ve done over the last four years will be undone sooner or later by the next election. They won’t be able to do much about this for a long time to come.” Well Mitch, have you read the Constitution? One last word from RBG: �And we are, Justice Ginsburg, we are. As of yesterday 62M and counting. �Here’s a quick roundup of virus news: ABC news A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.1 million people worldwide. Over 43.5 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The criteria for diagnosis -- through clinical means or a lab test -- has varied from country to country. Still, the actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their outbreaks. Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the virus has rapidly spread to every continent except Antarctica. The United States is the worst-affected country, with more than 8.7 million diagnosed cases and at least 225,735 deaths. California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 910,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 898,000 cases and over 782,000 cases, respectively. Locally, Kent County recorded 469 new cases yesterday and 2 new deaths. And how about this - we were in Meijer’s at Knapps Corner yesterday and everyone had masks on (not always correctly, but they’re trying) except for one 30ish woman and her child. She was angrily motoring through the produce dept. I guess she was one of those special ones, dancing in the rain but not getting wet. Then last night I read a post from a friend who said he had had Covid. What struck me most was the first comment from (I guess) a friend who asked - is this a share or did this happen to you? My friend explained in short terms that it was a personal post. Scrub that friend off your list. I read the post and at no time did I think it was a share. And just in case you thought Trump had turned a corner and begun acting like a real person: Crooked Media Lest anyone forget the president is a full-blown sociopath, this was his response to news reports about the third surge that’s already overwhelming hospitals in multiple states: “The Fake News Media is riding COVID, COVID, COVID, all the way to the Election. Losers!” Funny he should mention riding COVID to the election—Trump’s superspreading campaign rallies appear to have accelerated coronavirus outbreaks in at least five counties. Together, those counties reported 1,500 more new cases in the two weeks after Trump’s rallies than the two weeks before. The earliest post-rally spikes happened while the country’s overall coronavirus case numbers were in decline. �7 days. 7 days. 7 days. 62M already voted. More to come. ��Oliver: thank you for coming to this meeting. I have called you all here today....... Docking in Singapore �Farewell to the Volendam �Setting off with Juhani and Auli to explore the city. �Walking towards the Botanical Gardens. That’s a hotel behind Craig. More Singapore tomorrow. �Listen up. Vote. Wear your mask, dammit. Wash your hands. And ‘don’t stand so close to me’. You knew this - it was Sting and The Police. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-10-27_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-230 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-10-27 Title A name given to the resource Day 230 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/38eee71a6c9d15881315bcee48dcad1b.pdf f35bfd8ccc08994ab7b75df2304923f7 PDF Text Text Day 229. 8 more days. by windoworks Another day. On Saturday the total of new cases in the US was slightly less than Friday’s total. In China, the total number of cases since the outbreak began is approximately 85,000. How can this be,you ask. Part of their containment program is immediate and aggressive testing in the millions daily. And they quarantine areas of breakouts immediately. And in the ‘you knew this would happen’ category, at least 5 members of staff in close daily contact with VP Pence have tested positive, some with symptoms. But its okay, Pence has tested negative and instead of following the rules and quarantining for 14 days, he has been designated an essential worker and is continuing to crisscross the country, campaigning. I think that’s a bit of a slap in the face for the real essential workers. ��How true, Donald. Yesterday almost 60M Americans had voted. And there’s still 8 days to go! Here’s a comparison from last week: New York Times • President Trump and Joe Biden presented sharply divergent cases for how they would handle the crisis still ravaging the country: Mr. Trump sought to minimize it, while Mr. Biden said there was “going to be a dark winter ahead unless we change our ways.” Yesterday Mark Meadows, the White House Chief of Staff said, we can’t contain the virus, we can only mitigate it, that is lessen the gravity of it. Well how are we going to do that, I ask you? Micheal Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy said last week that we could soon see daily case counts in the triple digits in the US. So how is the White House going to mitigate that? �Every year our block holds a children’s Halloween walk. We have lived here for so long that one group of children have grown up and the next batch are the Halloween children. We and one of our neighbors have decided that there is no safe way to provide candy this year and we will not be participating. My neighbor is scheduled for hip replacement and the presurgery routine is daunting - sleeping in a separate bedroom with the bedsheets washed daily for the week before surgery. I have another friend who thought that her husband had Covid and they did the whole quarantining on different floors of the house etc - only to find out he had something entirely different. Both men are worrying that the surge in virus cases might delay their surgeries. My FaceBook page is full of stories with photos of people putting their ballots into the nearby ballot collection box. I hope it makes a difference. I hope that there is such a blue tsunami that the Senate is flipped, Mitch McConnell (he of the blue hands - what’s with that?) is ousted and Joe and Kamala win. Now the White House is discussing marshal law - to keep them safe? To escort them out of the White House? Surely not marshal law to rig the election results. ��I really want this woman as VP. She makes me happy just looking at her exuberant smile. And apparently some farmers show their allegiance this way: �Which makes up a little for all the other Trump supporting farmers out there. I’m still trying to figure out how this was done. Yesterday we walked along the Grand River at Ravine Park. It was cold with a watery sun shining. At one point we saw a Bald Eagle fly over us with a stick in its claws. Bald Eagles nest beside the river - but this is fall. Was it early nest building for next year? ��Here’s your daily Oliver shot - not quite sure what he is saying. ��Our last cruise stop was in Singapore. From memory it took us a day of sailing to get there. Anyway, Craig took photos of shipboard life. The Asian food market night �Me ‘exercising’ �Sunrise through our cabin window ��One night the towel artist outdid himself and left us a friend for my traveling companion, Poochie. Poochie was a Mothers Day gift from my son when he was 6 or so, and Poochie always travels with me. He’s my security companion. Don’t judge. �I couldn’t have said it better myself. 8 days. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-10-26_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-229 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-10-26 Title A name given to the resource Day 229 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e82a742529dfe4a33d3cfd834747d865.pdf 648c5e0912e577df70aa6405bbeb508a PDF Text Text Day 228 – 9 days out by windoworks Its Sunday. The sun will rise at 8.09 this morning and set again just after 6pm. The trees are past their fall glory and more and more have assumed their bare branch winter look. Yesterday morning there was ice on our front steps. Winter is close. Already the doctors and scientists are warning people about gathering as usual for Thanksgiving - but many people intend to go ahead regardless. Dr Fauci is calling for a national mandate for mask wearing but that is falling on Trump’s deaf ears. It is going to be a dark time for us. Speaking of Trump, he is in a frenzy of rallies across America with his fans maskless and crowded together. In the only concession to the virus, he is holding these rallies outside, but if you’re shouting loudly in your neighbor’s ear - being outside doesn’t make that much of a difference. This week the CDC released a study which finds there is a shorter time of contact needed to catch the virus. You realize the situation in Michigan is bad when you see Governor Whitmer, Dr Joneigh Khaldun and Lieutenant-Governor Gilchrest all speaking at the podium with their masks still in place, covering their mouths and noses. That was Thursday and here’s how we are doing: Michigan - 3,257 new cases yesterday and 37 more deaths. Kent County (which is right up there with the counties surrounding Detroit) - 326 new cases yesterday and 2 new deaths. In other big news which we all seem to have greeted with ‘of course’ is this: �Washington Post: A fresh coronavirus outbreak in the White House has infected two of Vice President Pence’s top advisers and a third person who is on his staff, officials said late Saturday night, though officials said Pence tested negative and plans to continue his heavy schedule of campaign travel. Marc Short, the vice president’s chief of staff, who is among the administration’s fiercest skeptics of coronavirus restrictions, tested positive for the novel coronavirus Saturday afternoon, has experienced symptoms and has begun isolation, officials said. Marty Obst, one of Pence’s top outside political advisers who has traveled with the vice president in recent days, tested positive for the virus earlier this week, according to two officials familiar with his diagnosis. A third person in Pence’s circle, a member of the vice president’s staff, has also tested positive, according to one of the officials. The White House has not disclosed that staffer’s name. How on earth has Pence tested negative? Is he and the President on some sort of virus prevention medication? And here’s a question - whatever happened to Hope Hicks who was the superspreader for the last infection at the White House? Has she recovered? Is she in hospital? Was she fired? Early voting continues apace. As of last night more than 56M Americans have already voted. Trump has so muddied the waters that Republican voters are worried about their mail in vote being counted. And you know - there’s nothing on the envelope to show your party affiliation and if your state is scrutinizing signatures on the back of the envelope to count or discard votes -its all the same for Democrats and Republicans. What genius didn’t think of that? Oh and (of course) the open carry citizens of Michigan are taking the Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to court to sue for the right to open carry at polling booths because - wait for it - they won’t feel safe without their assault rifles to help them intimidate possible Democrat voters who are waiting in line to vote. Does anyone else think they might have fallen down a rabbit hole? Washington Post: BRUSSELS — Well into Europe's second wave of the coronavirus, so many Belgians are sick or quarantining that there aren't enough police on the streets, teachers in classrooms or medical staff in hospitals. In some hospitals, doctors and nurses who have tested positive but don’t have symptoms are being asked to keep working, because so many others are out sick with covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. School principals are marshaling secretaries and parent volunteers to replace falling ranks of teachers. “We have runaway numbers in terms of contamination and a major issue is the risk of the collapse of the hospital system of our country,” the minister-president of Brussels, Rudi Vervoort, said Saturday as he announced a host of new restrictions. �Unlike in the spring, there are enough masks and gowns to go around. But months of preparation haven’t been able to avert a shortage of people. And a decision by the national government to remove a mask mandate and loosen restrictions on social contacts this month contributed to an acceleration of the virus before being largely reversed in hard-hit areas since Friday. Take note America! This is what happens when we make masks optional and loosen restrictions on social gatherings. Some states are teetering on the edge of this chaos right now. In other news, we drove to Kalamazoo yesterday for something different. Kalamazoo is hovering on the edge of becoming a virus red spot. The streets were almost empty of people. We drove into Western Michigan University to find somewhere to stop and eat our homemade lunch. We parked in front of a beautiful old building under some trees and ate. You could have fired a canon down any of the streets and not hit a soul. But it was nice to drive further afield. �I’m ready for my close up, Mr DeMille. It was hot in Koh Samui and our last stop was at a coconut plantation. ��They train these monkeys to climb the coconut palms and harvest the coconuts. The trainers use each monkey for about 30 minutes and then rest them. I don’t know how I felt about that. �Drinking coconut milk from a freshly harvested coconut. Surprisingly refreshing. I was so hot. �That night the towel creature in our cabin was a monkey! Off to Singapore tomorrow. �A new sign in our neighborhood. 9 days. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-10-25_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-228 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-10-25 Title A name given to the resource Day 228 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/42adc2e555fb838b3a5bb56472b238e0.pdf d56a3972ac23fb7fe316b81d8158f4f6 PDF Text Text Day 227: 10 days out by windoworks Here are the stats for today: US - a mind boggling number of new cases: between 83,757 and 85,085 new cases (if you count probables as well). Im Michigan we had 2,026 new cases and in the new red hotspot of Kent County we had 228 new cases. On Thursday Dr London from the Kent County Health Dept told us that our case numbers had risen from an average of 145 new cases per day last week to an average of 165 cases per day this week. And the death rate has risen from 1 new death every 3 days in the summer to 1 new death a day now. I read in the Atlantic that 1 in 1000 Americans tested was testing positive. Now I know this next piece is a long and alarming read, but this is where we are. There are so many ‘if onlys’. Washington Post Equally alarming is that no one knows how high this wave will grow before peaking. We are starting this wave much higher than either of the previous waves. And it will simply keep going up until people and officials decide to do something about it. Hours later, White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx warned that closing public spaces may not be enough. “It won’t be as simple as closing public spaces,” Birx said, pointing to increased gatherings in people’s homes. “What has happened in the last three to four weeks is that people have moved their social gatherings indoors.” In some areas of Wisconsin, 90 percent of hospital intensive care unit beds are full, the office of Gov. Tony Evers (D) said. The first patient was admitted Wednesday to a makeshift field hospital erected at a state fairgrounds. In Utah, leaders are trying to open a field hospital at an exposition center. State epidemiologist Angela Dunn warned that the health-care system is at capacity, hospital staff are exhausted, and Utahans are getting scared. “You know, I just, I don’t know what to do anymore,” Dunn said at a Thursday news conference, pleading for residents to be more cautious. “I’m really not trying to scare anyone. I’m just trying to inform you of what’s going on.” “Creating beds is relatively easy, but what do you do when you outstrip ICU nurses, doctors and teams?” said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. A report this week by Osterholm’s center showed shortages in 29 of the 40 basic but critical drugs often used for covid-19 patients. That includes antibiotics, sedatives like propofol that are used to calm patients during intubation and heart medication such as norepinephrine. And because of the widespread nature of the infections, hospitals are finding it harder to draw from excess supplies of such drugs elsewhere. Even as hundreds of people are dying each day, “there’s this false sense of calm right now,” said Tom �Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “We have the president saying, ‘We’re rounding the corner.’ We have state leaders openly defying public health guidances.” Inglesby pointed to plans and metrics many states laid out last spring for reopening. “That’s been completely disregarded in many places,” he said. In North Dakota — among the hardest-hit states — Gov. Doug Burgum (R) put the onus on individuals to wear masks and avoid gatherings. “It’s not a job for government,” Burgum recently declared. At Thursday night’s final presidential debate, President Trump claimed the virus was “going away” and “we’re learning to live with it.” His Democratic rival, former vice president Joe Biden, responded, “We’re learning to die with it." And then there’s this from The Atlantic: This surge is far more geographically dispersed than what the country saw in the spring or summer: The virus can now be found in every kind of American community, from tiny farm towns to affluent suburbs to bustling border cities. This is the first of the American surges with no clear epicenter: From North Carolina to North Dakota, and Colorado to Connecticut, more Americans are contracting COVID-19. As you know, the last presidential debate was on Thursday and here’s a piece from Crooked Media. Sometimes I think I should just post Crooked Media and leave it at that. In his final debate appearance, Donald Trump lied his face off about the pandemic, spoke fondly of family separations, and wandered out into the furthest reaches of the Fox News conspiracy universe, but he didn’t interrupt as much, so let’s call it a tie. • Asked about his coronavirus plan, Trump instead trotted out the claims that way more people could have died (if the country had done nothing at all), that he himself recovered (thanks to treatments nobody else has access to), and that a widely-available vaccine is just weeks away (it’s not). “We’re rounding the corner. It’s going away,” said the president, as the country recorded its second-highest daily increase in new cases since the pandemic began, and hospitalizations rose in 38 states. Joe Biden opened with a simple message: “Anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States.” �This is another of those ‘ a picture’s worth a thousand words’ moments. And an astonishing endorsement from The Atlantic chief editor : “Two men are running for president,” he writes. “One is a terrible man; the other is a decent man. Vote for the decent man.” For just the fourth time in our 163-year run, The Atlantic is endorsing a candidate, and that candidate is Joe Biden. We are doing so because President Donald Trump represents a threat to our collective existence. �This morning at least 52M Americans have already voted. Thats a really big number and we are still 10 days out. Today is our 43rd wedding anniversary and I only remembered when I was updating my calendar. Our celebratory dinner will be home cooked and we will probably finish the evening by watching a favorite show on TV. Personally I’m tired of it all. I look at family members in other countries such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia and I envy those who have far more freedom than me. I am worried because the Republican majority in our state house went to the conservative biased Michigan Supreme Court and had our governors executive powers overturned, and now the state health dept has had to pick up the slack. Yesterday they lost patience with a faith based school that refused masks and physical distancing, and the dept closed the school. A local business we frequented immediately stopped wearing masks after the courts ruling- so we stopped frequenting them, and we may never go back. The list of businesses I won’t use gets longer and longer. I’m tired of warily entering grocery stores, hoping everyone keeps their mask on once they’re inside. And what’s with the covering of the mouth but not the nose? I’m tired of wiping down groceries and washing my hands for 20 seconds. I’m tired of not visiting my neighbors or friends. Some days I’m tired of cooking and cleaning and running the dishwasher every day. I’m tired of watching the world pass by outside the TV room window. And I’m really tired of FB and news stories from people like Chris Christie who tell everyone ‘Gosh, the virus is real, who knew?’ But although I’m tired of it, that’s all we have and the way the virus is exploding, that’s all we’ll have for the foreseeable future. I think I might have lost my sense of humor. Oliver and Zoe have gone to visit family in Canberra for a long weekend. ��Flashback: The next day we anchored off Koh Samui. Ko Samui, Thailand’s second largest island, lies in the Gulf of Thailand off the east coast of the Kra Isthmus. It's known for its palm-fringed beaches, coconut groves and dense, mountainous rainforest, plus luxury resorts and posh spas. The landmark 12m-tall golden Big Buddha statue at Wat Phra Yai Temple is located on a tiny island connected to Ko Samui by a causeway. ― Google Tendering to the shore. �The Buddha at Wat Phra Yai temple. �Small Buddha statutes representing the different aspects. I know these are significant but as it was 6 years ago, I just can’t remember. �Looking out at the coast from the temple. �Inside the temple. The monks wear saffron colored robes. And my thoughts exactly as Halloween approaches �10 more days. You know the drill. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource COVID-19 Journals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Libraries Description An account of the resource This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled. The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Subject The topic of the resource Epidemics Grand Valley State University College students Personal narratives COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COVID-19_2020-10-24_BenjaminPamela_PD-Day-227 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Benjamin, Pamela Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020-10-24 Title A name given to the resource Day 227 Description An account of the resource Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress. Subject The topic of the resource COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020 Epidemics Grand Valley State University Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c6de3df58e95801c79ea3090739d81e7.pdf b4cf3282c18432a701334711421c32ba PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6dfba9df5c7dd417ccf9f1b74b254d7e.pdf 62d415f75503bc1b3376cd68b50016f4 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1944-05-04] [Page 1] England May 4, 1944. Hello “Darling,” Thought of you all day today which isn’t unusual and thought, I’d write to the best girl I have back in the States. Well “Darling,” have you been thinking of us? If you didn’t, you’re still a meanie? Ha! Ha! I still miss you as much as ever, someday we’ll be together and then I shall be able to tell you all about it. I’m just in the mood to be a tease and if I were there now, I’d put all of my threats to good use. Ha! Ha! I got a letter from Ollie’s girlfriend today. She writes interesting letters, too, even if I haven’t met her personally. She also states that she would like to meet you too. Hope she will someday. Ollie sent her [Page 2] some flowers for Easter and I’ll wring his neck if he forgot to send you the ones I told him too. I’m still waiting patiently for your answer of getting engaged and the one from your folks. I’m very happy and contented just to write and ask to be engaged but would be, more so, if I were there. Hope it has made you as happy as it did me? I still haven’t seen Roy, so I don’t know how he is. Seems to me that he ought to look me up once in a while. Don’t you? I guess my folks are pretty well settled in our new home and hope they will remember to write. How are your folks? Don’t forget to mention that I asked about them, will you? Has Elaine answered my letter? [Page 3] If she did, I haven’t received it as yet. Have you heard from Helen lately? Hope you did. Have you had any luck in finding another pen to send me? I know they’re hard to get, so, don’t feel bad, if you can’t find one. [sic] I love you as much as ever and more everyday “Sweets.” If I stay away much longer, I’m liable to bust with all of it I have stored up, being away from you. That’s bad, ain’t it. Ha! Ha! How is Venna these days? Did she get back to Grand Rapids? I sure do wish you could visit me like she did with her husband. It will be swell though if you could when I’m around there again. I just keep marking the months away over here and they seem like years since I saw you last. What a happy day it will be when [Page 4] we shall be together again. It’s something I look forward to always. We’ll have to be patient though, won’t we? Sometimes I get disgusted and peeved but when I do that, I take out all your pictures and look at them. They really are a big morale builder, for me too. Well “Darling,” I will close for this time with [all] of my love to you. Yours always, With Plenty of ( )’s & x’s �Joe {Signature accent mark} P.S. May God bless you and keep you safe for me. [Envelope front] S/Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Inf. A.P.O. - 1 c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y. U. S. Army Free {Signature accent mark} {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE 172 MAY 6 1944 A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 1913 Berkley Ave., S.W. Grand Rapids, 9 Mich. PASSED BY 20639 U.S. ARMY EXAMINER [?] � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1944-05-04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-05-04 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, May 4, 1944 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated May 4, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated May 6, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes as he continues to wait patiently for Agnes' answer to his engagement proposal, explaining how much he misses her and how each month that passes by feels like another year they have spent apart from one another. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Love letters Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/030dc5528760601e7278f1df9b8fffbe.pdf d6d3048fbf65d5316e7614f0ad458e7b PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dd1409a56f07db9d9a844f5efc03aa23.pdf 2ed970e283258122dcae346bafebc135 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-30] [Page 1] England April 30, 1944. Hello “Sugar,” Just got though writing a letter to my mother. Her birthday is May 2nd and I sure didn’t want her to think I had forgotten her. She’s swell and all of the cards in the world wouldn’t express her, as much as I think of her. I told her that I intended to be engaged “Darling.” Is that alright with you, even if I haven’t heard from you? I’m not taking it for granted “Darling” even though you may want to waite [sic] but it’s a good subject to write about, especially when it concerns a swell girl like you. Well, “Sugar” did you have a nice day today? What were you thinking of? About us? I sure did and my love for you grows every minute, with tiny bells [Page 2] tingling everywhere inside of me. I miss you, so much “Sweets,” that I keep hoping and longing for the day when we shall see each other again. The longer I stay away, will only make me think of you more with thoughts of our happiness when we can be together for good. I wrote you a four page letter yesterday too. Don’t you think I’m getting very ambitious all of a sudden? Ha! Ha! Gee!! From day to day, I anxiously await for your letters to arrive. They mean so much to me “Darling” and someday I’ll be able to show you how much I have enjoyed them and you. Believe me young lady, I shall retire from writing and put all of my thoughts to good use making you as happy as I want you to be. Went to [Page 3] church today as usual and what a lovely day it was? I couldn’t help but wish that you were here to tell you, that I’m very much in love with a grand girl such as you. I’m very happy and contented about it too because you keep going deeper and deeper way down in. You mean all of my future happiness “Darling” even though I’m not perfect and hope that we can adjust our likes and dislikes and enjoy a good future, of living and make our dreams come true. I also went to the show this afternoon and saw the picture “They Met in Bombay” with “Clark Gable” and “Rosiland Russell.” It was pretty good. Did you see it? I saw another one [Page 4] but don’t remember the name of it. George Murphy and Joan Blondell played in it. By the way “Sweets” will I be able to button up that new dress you have? If I don’t I’ll be a meanie and unbutton it if you wear it when I get there. Ha! Ha! If it makes you look beautiful “Sweets” it will suit me to a T. Well young lady, I shall close for this time with all of the hugs and kisses, I could give you for being away so long. Write soon “Precious” and make the mailman cuss at the weight of your mail. Ha! Ha! �“Yours forever,” With Loads of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} {Drawing of multiple “hug” and “kiss” symbols with the words “Cheap, ain’t I.”} [Envelope front] S/Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Inf. A.P.O. - 1 c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y. U. S. Army Free {Signature accent mark} {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE 1 MAY 2 1944 A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 1913 Berkley Ave., S.W. Grand Rapids, 9 Mich. PASSED BY 20639 U.S. ARMY EXAMINER Lt. [?] � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-30 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-04-30 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 30, 1944 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 30, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated May 2, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes after writing to his mother, whose birthday is a few days away, and shares the news of his engagement proposal to Agnes. Joe also writes of the recent movie he had seen called "They Met in Bombay" starring Clark Gable and Rosiland Russell. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Love letters Motion pictures--1940-1950 Gable, Clark, 1901-1960 Russell, Rosalind Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/635bd95b271f9b89b3c61c6ed3039c5f.pdf 1b523a69c730e4f506b737ae9f89a5cc PDF Text Text ���� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d7dd9c1dbe5e18785fe0246b3485eea8.pdf 09569349db3f5d971ff125e8938e21e1 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-29] [Page 1] England April 29, 1944. Hello “Darling,” Just came back from seeing two good pictures and on my way back I kept hoping to get a letter from you. Well, “Sweets” I did. I got two dated April 12th and 17th. It sure was swell hearing from you again “Darling” for I’ve been thinking of you all day. Gee!! Sometimes I’m so lonesome for you that I don’t know what to do? The two pictures I saw were “North Star” and “Lost Angel”. The first one was a sad picture and the other one was about a little girl. Did you see them? Well, “Darling,” I love you as much as ever and it gets so lonesome at [Page 2] times when I think that I can’t be with you. I’m still longing for the day when I shall be with you again and keep hoping & praying that it will be soon. I’m just in the mood tonite [sic] to tease you and how I wish I could chew your ears a little and fuss with your curls. It would suit me just fine but I wouldn’t be too selfish and let you squeeze me as hard as you say you will. I don’t I know what I’d do if you got sick and couldn’t write. I’d probably worry myself to death, I think. That picture I sent of the girl reminded me so much of you “Darling” that I just had to send it. You needn’t worry about her legs “Sweets” for yours are just good and better to me. [Page 3] There’s only one girl I love and that is you, “Darling.” No other will ever come up to your standards with me. Anyway, I haven’t time for anyone else, but you. I’m still waiting for that letter of yours giving me the answer, to what I asked. I hated to write and ask you but I thought it may be the best thing. I’ve re-read your letters three times already and it will be more till I hear from you again. I’ve enjoyed your kisses immensely, too, and when I bring them to my lips everything starts to tingle inside. I was sorry to hear that your dad has injured a finger and hope it is better. Don’t forget to give your folks my best regards and a hello. It will be swell if you can send me [Page 4] another picture of yourself sweets and here’s hoping you do. After all young lady, you’re the best pin-up girl, that I have and want. [sic] Flattering ain’t I? Well it’s true, believe it or not. I think of you and I always “Sweets” and someday we shall piece them all together and live in happiness. Shall close for this time “Sweets,” with all my love to the best girl in the world. Would it be asking too much I were to ask for a big hug? Well what are you waiting for? Ha! Ha! Yours forever, With Loads of ( )’s & x’s �Joe {Signature accent mark} PS. Sending Sad Sack again. Do you enjoy them? � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-29 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-04-29 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 29, 1944 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 29, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes of his excitement in receiving two letters from Agnes, re-reading them over and over again as he awaits her response to his proposal. Joe also writes of the recent movies he had seen including "North Star" and "Lost Angel." Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Love letters Motion pictures--1940-1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5dd850c341abc9e50fd88027697a9766.pdf e563349f3c3d1e3250ac9b309b7e5d4a PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/555fabe2ca0f08b4ed64cb977e37618b.pdf cc70dfeceed869eb141e7d98775a4df8 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-27] [Page 1] England April 27, 1944. Hello “Darling,” Haven’t heard from you in a week except for a V-mail you sent and hope my letters are reaching you, better than when mine get to me. Anyway “Sweets,” I patiently waite [sic] for them and enjoy them more. I got a V-mail from Helen today stating that she got a letter from you. Everything is fine with them. Thought of you oodles and oodles since I wrote to you Sunday and love you more than ever. The countryside is really beautiful with all of the flowers and blossoms so I can’t help but think of you all of the time “Darling.” Wish you were here to enjoy all of [Page 2] what I see? [sic] I don’t think you’d see much because I’d hold you so tight, that you’d be worried of whether I’d ever let up or not. Ha! Ha! I could chew at your ears right now just to be a big tease. Ain’t I awful? Well “Darling,” did you get that letter of April 14th? What is your opinion of it? If you are as excited as I am that is something, Eh!? Ha! Ha! Wish I could get your answer to that letter real quick, just for our sake, don’t you? I shan’t rest till I do and at that I’m trying to rush that letter much faster than it will get here. Ha! Ha! Terrible isn’t it? You’re to blame though “Sweets” and a real meanie because I shan’t get even till I get back. Then young lady [Page 3] you’ll never get any rest. If you don’t believe it, just waite [sic] and see. Ha! Ha! Wish I could see you in that new dress you mentioned and it’s a big disappointment being so far away. I haven’t had any civilian clothes on in so long that it may scare me someday when I do get to wear them. Ha! Ha! Still haven’t seen Roy, so, I don’t know much about him at present. I did intend to go to the movies tonite [sic] but felt quite tired so I decided not to go. Monday nite [sic], I went and saw “Dangerous Blondes” & “Headline News”. They weren’t so hot either. How is Venna and your folks? Don’t forget to give them my regards, will you. [Page 4] Well, I managed to make the fourth page which is very unusual for me. Ha! Ha! Sometimes it is very hard to write, when one doesn’t get a letter isn’t it so? Will close for this time Sugar with all my love to a swell girl like you. Write real soon won’t you? Yours forever, With Loads of ( )’s & x’s Joe {Signature accent mark} �PS. Do you think you can find another fountain pen for me? If you can’t, don’t feel bad about it will you? [Envelope front] S/Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Inf. A.P.O. - 1 c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y. U. S. Army {Postmark} PASSED BY BASE 1081 US ARMY EXAMINER Free {Signature accent mark} {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE 1 APR 28 1944 A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 1913 Berkley Ave., S.W. Grand Rapids, 9 Mich. PASSED BY 20639 U.S. ARMY EXAMINER Lt. [?] � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-27 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-04-27 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 27, 1944 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 27, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated April 28, 1944. In the letter, Joe describes how he thinks of Agnes constantly with the springtime beauty of the English countryside and eagerly awaits her response to his engagement proposal. Joe also writes of the recent movies he had seen including "Dangerous Blondes" and "Headline News." Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Love letters Motion pictures--1940-1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d78600f329cc3f83bd47a1f2f080558a.pdf b9b6e2a27b5b90b5623bc168a745ab4a PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e2c489d74eb0d4930bda82b1e8b56d16.pdf 98d65d253faad12a93de5ee685e52d5b PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-23] [Page 1] England April 23, 1944. Hello “Darling,” Here it is Sunday again and what a lovely day? Went to church as usual this morning and wished that you could have been here to go with me. Have thought of you quite a lot today, “Sweets” and I’ll just have to spend it with you since you keep wiggling deep down in. Aren’t you ever going to stop just a tiny bit so I can rest. Well, meanie I shall get even. Ha! Ha! Got one of your letters last nite [sic] dated April 2nd although I got more recent ones, it was grand to hear from you again. I sure do wish that I could pull at your curls and not only that but to squeeze you with all my might. It would please me very [Page 2] much right now if I could see your hair and having it the way I like to see you with it. It makes you real pretty and all my thoughts rush through me and then I could hold you ever so tight. Every morning I kiss your tender lips and say “Good morning Darling” and at nite [sic]when I go to bed I look at your picture and say “Pleasant dreams Sweets.” See!! What [text strikethrough] you’ve done to me? But I like it, because it’s from the girl I love and the one I shall marry someday. I anxiously wait for the day when we shall be together because we have so much to plan and do. Our future will be happiness with our love never growing old. Don’t you think so? I shall always be good for you [Page 3] wherever I maybe [sic] and no other girl will ever take your place. I shall keep that picture “Tender Comrade” in mind and see it when it comes around. I forgot to mention in my letter yesterday that I also got some pictures of Ollie and his girlfriend. They are really nice. Sometimes I often wish that I could steal in your room while you were sleeping and just chew on your ear till you woke up. When you do, the first thing I’d do would be to hold you tight and bite your nose. Gee!! That would be swell and more so because you couldn’t move. Ha! Ha! What do you think of that? Awful ain’t I? I saw the picture “Thank Your Lucky Stars” but it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. Roy sure does hide himself for I haven’t seen him [Page 4] in a long while. Hope he is happy and wish him luck. I’m sending you another clipping of “Sad Sack”, do you like them? Well young lady, what have you been doing today? Not sleeping again I hope and thinking about us. Aren’t you ever going to tell me some of your secrets? Have you taken any recent pictures of yourself lately? No matter how many you will send, I’ll always ask for more. I’m almost out of stationary again and will send you a request for more. Well “Darling” I shall close again hoping to hear from you. �Yours Always, With Lots of Love & Kisses Joe {Signature accent mark} {Drawing of hug symbols and the words “Me” and “You” with arrows pointing to the hugs} [Envelope front] S/Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Inf. A.P.O. - 1 c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y. U. S. Army Free {Signature accent mark} {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE 1 APR 26 1944 A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 1913 Berkley Ave., S.W. Grand Rapids, 9 Mich. PASSED BY 20639 U.S. ARMY EXAMINER Lt. [?] � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-23 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-04-23 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 23, 1944 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 23, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated April 26, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes on a lovely Sunday, wishing they could attend the morning church service together and sharing how he starts and ends every day looking at her picture while saying "Good morning, Darling" and "Pleasant dreams, Sweets." Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Love letters Motion pictures--1940-1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9a62b586a6c5faff6ae62d12ce9981ba.pdf 9306a7b8232aeeb8e5794838a544697c PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6575b6c1d9a6a55af361c653f7c04bf9.pdf b2a798bff4e9748af9d3bf9c99a9df5e PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-22] [Page 1] England April 22, 1944. Hello “Darling,” It’s a beautiful day out and a good one to go for a stroll. Would you care to go with me? You shall in my thoughts and I always keep saying, I love you so you will be able to hear it. I still miss you “Darling” and just can’t wait till I shall be able to hold you and squeeze you again. I always say, Gee!! you’re a lucky guy Joe, to have a swell girl like Agnes back home waiting for you. When I think of you “Darling” everything seems to tingle inside of me and then I just wish that I could chew your ears or knip [sic] your nose. I like to daydream about us, too, and I’m anxiously [Page 2] waiting to hear from you and your folks. What for, well I shan’t tell? Ha! Ha! Believe it or not “Darling” I got a letter from Ollie. Boy, I nearly fell over from the shock. He’s engaged to Janice and has been since Nove. [November]. That was another surprise, too. Well “Darling” if you should except [accept] my proposal, he’ll be the same way. I’m very excited and contended but it would have been more so if I were there to say, “Darling, would you marry me?” I’ll bet you are as excited as I am about the whole thing, aren’t you? Did you get the flowers I sent to you for Easter? I hope you did? [sic] I got your V-Mail dated the 13th of April but you didn’t mention getting them. I also am depressed and blue when I don’t hear from [Page 3] you and keeping saying, hope I get a letter from Agnes today. I often worry about you being sick and unable to write but when I get your letters, I’m relieved of such a burden and awful thought. My folks are living in the other house and the address is 1693 Clairmont St. Ollie said that he will pay you a visit just as soon as he has a little time off. Hope [text strikethrough] he has already? My folks still keep writing about you and how nice you are. I think so too and maybe more. What do you think? Just wait till I get back young lady and I’ll be able to prove my only thoughts? [sic] Did Elaine get my letter as yet? [Page 4] How’s Gloria, ain’t she ever going to answer that letter of mine? Most of all, I’m very pleased to get your swell letters and kisses, so I’m very contented, whether she writes or not. Well, “Darling” I will close for this time and give my best regards to your folks. Yours Always, With Load of ( )’s & x’s Joe �{Signature accent mark} P.S. Guess, I’ll go to the show and see “Sahara” and Thank Your Lucky Stars. Did you see them? Today is Ollie’s birthday. He’s lucky to spend it at home. [Envelope front] S/Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Inf. A.P.O. - 1 c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y. U. S. Army {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE 1 APR 22 1944 A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 1913 Berkley Ave., S.W. Grand Rapids, 9 Mich. PASSED BY 20639 U.S. ARMY EXAMINER Lt. [?] � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-22 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-04-22 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 22, 1944 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 22, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated April 22, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes as he anxiously awaits Agnes and her parents' response to his proposal, daydreaming about their future together and sharing the news of his brother Ollie's engagement. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c8915bee8ea01e404e3884574373a2d4.pdf 99e09db8bd4a9a7aeee5134b42d355b2 PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/98d9aa48cd7dd67a8c15d6d0d2efe5b8.pdf 3e07df6046e66ea6e27066ec578626fc PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-20] [Page 1] England April 20, 1944. Hello “Darling,” Rec’d two of your letters dated April 7th & 10th and was very pleased to hear from you. Was glad to hear you enjoyed yourself visiting your cousin. Gee!! “Sweets,” I sure would like to see your Easter outfit and dress, maybe I will someday? I still miss you as much as ever “Darling” and you are always in my thoughts. I guess, I am just about as anxious of seeing you, as you are me. We don’t know when that will be, but it’s going to be a grand day for us, isn’t it? I love you as much as ever [Page 2] “Darling” and never get tired of looking at your pictures. I sure would like to bite your ears right now and squeeze you ever so much, just for my being away so long and missing all of your hugs and kisses. See! What you’ve done to me young lady? No, I shan’t be selfish in the things I’m going to do and I guess we won’t have much rest either. It will be worth it though, won’t it? Well, “Darling,” I just can’t waite [sic] for your answer to my proposal and I still wish that I was there to ask you about getting engaged. I just couldn’t waite [sic] any longer, though, so I decided [Page 3] to ask. If your folks do give their consent, it’s going to be grand to be engaged to a swell girl like you. If you are in doubt just wait till I get back and I’ll prove it. Your letters and kisses mean so much to me and I can’t help thinking of how much I love you and missed you. This war may keep us apart but my thoughts are always bringing you to me. At times, I just wish I could take you out of the imaginary picture before me and squeeze you with all my might. Someday I shall be able to do that and I shan’t ever let up because I’ve always been yearning to be with you [Page 4] again. I’m very pleased to hear that you’re not going to cut your hair. To me, you look very beautiful, having it that way. You needn’t worry about some other girl over here “Sweets” because there isn’t any that could be as good as you. At that, I don’t have time for any because I have you with me wherever I go. Well “Darling” I shall close hoping to hear from you real soon. How are your folks? Don’t forget to give them my best regards? Went down to visit Roy but he wasn’t around. Don’t know when I shall bump into him again. Yours forever, With “Loads of Love & Kisses” Joe �{Signature accent mark} P.S. Don’t forget to send some more pictures? [Envelope front] S/Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Inf. A.P.O. - 1 c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y. U. S. Army Free {Signature accent mark} {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE 1 APR 25 1944 A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 1913 Berkley Ave., S.W. Grand Rapids, 9 Mich. PASSED BY 20639 U.S. ARMY EXAMINER Lt. [?] � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-20 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-04-20 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 20, 1944 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 20, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated April 25, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes while awaiting the answer to his proposal and looks forward to the grand day when they are able to see each other once again. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Love letters Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/01cff356e44f5b614a969ea7460ea3ab.pdf 49055d66aa76c8673f0ef1f441fb36e2 PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cb6e34c9ba34f6a4f259710e79e2a3e7.pdf aceb0ee09d5299112a0adc1cf8497376 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-16] [Page 1] England April 16, 1944. Hello “Darling,” Shall write a few lines before going to church this morning and finish it when I get back. Thought of you all day yesterday sweets and wished ever so much to have you here with me. I’m still yearning to be with you again and love you more and more each day. I hope you will receive my letter of April 14th before you get this one. I just couldn’t keep my secret any longer and hope you will accept my proposal of getting engaged. Of course, it will have to be on the decision of your mother and father. If they do give their [Page 2] consent, we can plan together all things that will agree to both of us. I hated to propose through a letter “Darling” but being so far away, I thought it would be best. I would of [sic] liked to be there to ask you “Sweets” and I’ll do it anyway when I return. I know that we shall be happy and contented in the future to come. In life people have many disappointments but as long as we face them and make them crumble, we can enjoy all of the happiness, there is, in our future. [sic] The only big thing is to adjust our ways to each other and have faith in each other. When this is done nothing shall keep us from being happy. Don’t [Page 3] you think so? I always did want a nice wedding, not too big and no doubt you have thought of the same thing. It has made me very happy to propose to you “Darling” knowing that someday we shall share our lives together. I just got back from church and I heard a very good sermon. While I [was] walking along I thought and wished that you could be here to go with me. Yesterday I saw the picture “Lassie Come Home” and another one “Secret Enemies.” After having a bite to eat I went to another show and saw ‘Candlelight in Algeirs [Algeria]” and “A Ghost and a Guest.” They were swell pictures. The one of Algiers was of the preparations [Page 4] for the invasion of North Africa. It was a great interest to me and what a great success the whole plans were and that it was liberated of Nazism. Well, “Darling” I shall close hoping to hear from you real soon. Yours forever, With Loads of Love & Kisses Joe {Signature accent mark} �P.S. Give my regards to your folks. Excuse the writing. It’s terrible!! [Envelope front] S/Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Inf. A.P.O. - 1 c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y. U. S. Army {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE 1 APR 19 1944 A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 1913 Berkley Ave., S.W. Grand Rapids, 9 Mich. PASSED BY 20639 U.S. ARMY EXAMINER Lt. [?] � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-16 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-04-16 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 16, 1944 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 16, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated April 19, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes in great anticipation as he awaits her response regarding their engagement, dreaming of their future wedding and the life they will build together. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Love letters Motion pictures--1940-1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/739fcfe22f60f62116c77dd86592a465.pdf d697d3dad91d120e336e700796290fdc PDF Text Text ���� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/09e242370106e20187c4b92add8b7638.pdf fce909a863dac0d3d242afdd4b3b949a PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-14] [Page 1] England April 14, 1944. Hello “Darling,” Got two of your letters today dated March 24th & 28th and a letter from your mother. It sure was swell to hear from the both of you. I’m fine as usual “Sweets,” and hope you are the same. I still miss you and love you as much as ever “Darling” and can hardly waite [sic] to be with you again. I’ve answered your mother’s letter already and asked for their consent to get engaged. I just couldn’t keep it any longer and waiting doesn’t help me any. It will be grand to get engaged to you “Darling,” although I did want to be there but waiting to get back is too much to do. Don’t you think so? We can plan every [Page 2] thing when I return though can’t we? As I told your mother, I don’t intend to get married while being in the Army. Of course, “Sweets” I want your opinion too and we can plan everything as time goes along. I shall though, waite for your mother’s and father’s decisions and what they think, will be right? If they do give their consent here is what I’m going to do? [sic] I’m going to have Helen send you a hundred and fifty dollars to get an engagement ring and a wedding ring. You may think it will be a lot but it will be worthwhile to get good ones. I’d like the wedding ring to be plain for if there are small diamonds in it, they may fall out when you least expect them to. I’m not trying to discourage you on [Page 3] the one you like and I shall let you decide. I don’t want you to be hasty in any of your decisions and really piece them together. I’m really excited as much as you are “Sweets” and who wouldn’t be? I repeat, that I wish I were there to tell you all I have written and will someday if you want me to. I always did want a wedding ring that matched the ones of the girl I marry, with her buying it from her own earnings. In that way, I always shall cherish it and appreciate it, more, than anyone will ever know. I may be asking for a lot but it will be something I shall never forget. This is only my opinion and when we can plan all of this together everything will be to our liking. I don’t intend to come to conclusions until I hear of what your folks think and [Page 4] I shall not be discouraged if they want us to waite [sic] and as time goes on, let them know of our plans. They shall be very helpful with their suggestions of our plans. Don’t you think so? I shall tell Helen to waite till she hears from you whether to send you the money to get the rings or not. I will not tell anyone else till I hear from you and your folks. Well “Darling” I shall close being excited, as we are and hope to hear from you real soon. �Yours forever With Loads of Love & Kisses, Joe {Signature accent mark} P.S. Gave away one of my biggest secrets didn’t it? Helen has my bank book and is taking care of my money for me. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-14 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-04-14 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 14, 1944 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 14, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes sharing the heartfelt news that he wrote to her mother asking for Agnes' hand in marriage, as he is unable to keep his secret from her any longer. He writes with great excitement over planning their future together, awaiting her parents' decision and Agnes' response in the days ahead. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Love letters Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c405aedc31de334a697f6fa6962be373.pdf c2717077ccd37e4d02129bb13859f9be PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/11501d8bc06a511c41eda867aea8384a.pdf 3ed3e5100a39a5538d63c96f8be4f560 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-11] [Page 1] England April 11, 1944. Hello “Darling,” Rec’d two of your letters last nite [sic] dated March 18th and 31st. It was swell to hear from you again. I’m fine as usual and love you as much as ever. Miss you, too and plenty. I’d be very happy and contented, “Darling” if you were here to squeeze me, like you said you would. Why, don’t you? I’ve enjoyed your kisses very much, “Sweets” and their [sic] swell, especially when they come from you. I sure do remember the last time I kissed you and I miss them very much now. You’re to blame young lady and just waite [sic] till I get back. I’ll get even then. Ha! Ha! [Page 2] As long as you daydream of us, “Darling,” I’m well pleased and I do the same often. It’s grand to think of it, isn’t it “Sweets.” I could squeeze you ever so much right now and bite your ears. That!! would be swell! [sic] Ha! Ha! Did you visit my folks or did some of them visit you? I hope they visited you? My! I’m disappointed in you for falling to sleep holding my picture. Next time you do that, “Sweets,” I’m going to jump right out of the picture and knip [sic] your nose. I’ll even jump in and out of your dreams, just to be mean and haunt you. What do you think of that? Worried?!!! Ha! Ha! You will be! Have you tried to make some cookies for me yet? You haven’t, well young lady, you’d better get busy and [Page 3] make some. So, Gloria’s going to work in the store? I see where I’ll apply for another secretary job and take care of all the money she makes. I quit being your secretary because you never sent me anything to balance the monthly budget. Ha! Ha! Has your mother written to me lately? If she hasn’t, I’m still boycotting her. Is Elaine going to answer my letter? Well, tell her to hurry up and write. How’s your dad these days? Don’t forget to tell him that I was asking about him, will you? Today is a very nice day, wish you were here to spend it with me. It wouldn’t cost you much, except for a broken rib, from me squeezing you. Ha! Ha! Would it be worth it? Did you wear your Easter Suit? This Sunday “Sweets,” I want you to [Page 4] wear it because I’m going to take you for a stroll. That’s going to be swell, then I will be able to see it. My thoughts are always of you “Darling” and I can hardly waite [sic] for the day we shall see each other again. Well, I shall have to close hoping to hear from you soon. Yours forever, With Loads of Love & Kisses Joe �{Signature accent mark} PS. Getting back to my usual short letters, ain’t I? Awful isn’t? Ha! Ha! Sending another clipping of “Sad Sack.” [Envelope front] S/Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Inf. A.P.O. - 1 c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y. U. S. Army Free {Signature accent mark} {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE 1 APR 11 1944 A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 1913 Berkley Ave., S.W. Grand Rapids, 9 Mich. PASSED BY 20639 U.S. ARMY EXAMINER Lt. [?] � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-11 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-04-11 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 11, 1944 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 11, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated April 11, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes expressing his love for her and inquiring about whether she gathered with his family for Easter back home in Michigan. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Love letters Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/80e6c8af1f11f61e384e7e9993c75bf1.pdf c8d8b8713464f20de3c26528013a884b PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/343ea80ef12724ee69b21ab41a533d91.pdf 5da51ed3491fbb2224e1a63a46cf57ca PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-09] [Page 1] England April 9, 1944. “Hello Darling,” Today is Easter Sunday and what a swell day it is. I went to church this morning and wished that you could have been here to go with me. I heard a good sermon and also took communion. It’s going to be grand when you and I can go to church again together, won’t it “sweets?” My thoughts are of you always, wondering of what you are doing and thinking. I love you, as much as ever, “Darling” and if I didn’t, I couldn’t write it. Yesterday, I went to the movies and saw a double feature. One [Page 2] was ‘Hostages’ with “Louise Rainer” and the other “Steel Against the Sky” with Lloyd Nolan and Alexis Smith. They were pretty good. Did you see them? Yesterday, I got a long and interesting letter from Ollies girlfriend. She’s very nice by the way she writes. I was kinda hoping that I’d get a letter from you but didn’t. I miss you very much “Darling” and no other girl shall ever take your place. I want you to believe me even though at times, you may be discouraged and depressed. When I get that way, I repeat that I take out your pictures and think of you and I being happy when we shall be together again. It makes no difference of how long it will be before I will return for you [Page 3] are always with me wherever I go. I wish I could whisper in your ear how much I love you, instead of writing it. Someday I will and we shall forget about the days we haven’t spent together. I also miss your kisses, biting your ears and pulling your curls, not to be mean or tease but for my longing to [be] with you to feel your touch and many other things, too numerous to mention. Sometimes, it seems that I want to rush the days so that I can return and be with you but it shall be worth while to wait, for that day to come, for I’m still fortunate to have a swell girl, like you back home. Did Elaine get my letter I wrote to her? How is the rest of the [Page 4] family? Don’t forget to give them my regards and for you “Darling,” all of my love. Will close for this time and write real soon, and as often as you can. May God’s blessing be upon you and keep you, safe, for me. Yours forever, With Loads of Hugs & Kisses Joe {Signature accent mark} �PS. My writing is getting worse, guess I’ll have to go to school again! Ha! Ha! [Envelope front] S/Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Inf. A.P.O. - 1 c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y. U. S. Army Free {Signature accent mark} {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE 1 APR 12 1944 A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 1913 Berkley Ave., S.W. Grand Rapids, 9 Mich. PASSED BY 20639 U.S. ARMY EXAMINER Lt. [?] � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-09 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-04-09 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 9, 1944 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 9, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated April 12, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes on Easter Sunday after attending the church service that morning and looks forward to the day when they can go to church together once again. He also writes of the recent double feature films he saw in town and how Agnes is always with him in spirit. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Easter Church services Motion pictures--1940-1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b1c8969137445203a9e12539fc91a25f.pdf 004b4ea1682bcae17e3e89664eb0c040 PDF Text Text �������� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fef7d322826c86a60fde81663d8901bd.pdf b29dd3f288d41d157f16797acb16af67 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-06] [Page 1] England April 6, 1944. Hello “Darling,” Got two more of your letters dated Mar. 14th & 16th and was very pleased with them. I still miss you and love you as much as ever and still waiting for the day when we shall be together. You bet, I’m pleased that my folks like you although if they didn’t I’d love you always. But it’s a lot better when they do. Don’t you think so? Gee!! How I wish that I were with you and hold you in my arms again. It would please me very much, to bite your ears and squeeze you, like I used to? [sic] It’s been so long and I shall not let you go. See!! What you are in for, “Darling”? I’m glad to hear you liked the clippings I [Page 2] sent “Sweets” and hope you enjoy them as much as I do? I also hope to have two of the same things you wrote about because I’m very fond of them. Anyway, I’m depending on it, especially when we shall have so much to talk over when I return. I’d like to hurry the days but can’t so we’ll have to waite [sic] won’t we? I’m always thinking of you and I which is grand, don’t you think? It takes two to make a bargain, so let us make a date and plan this together. Oh! So you don’t make dates? Well if I were there to wiggle inside of you as much as you do in me, I wouldn’t persuade very long? Ha! Ha! So, I have my young lady peeved by calling her a meanie and I’m very very pleased. Wish I could tease [Page 3] you more and see you while you are that way. I’d be tickled. Ha! Ha! I don’t care if the whole world knows, I love you, for I do and it makes no difference to me as long as I have a swell girl, like you to love. When I close my eyes and think of you, you suddenly appear before me and I often wish I that I could reach out and bring you close to me. I’d knip [sic] your nose too if I did and just waite [sic] till I get back young lady. I shan’t be able to write it then but do it? What do you think of that? I plan to go to Holland, Mich. someday to see the place and all of the tulips they have there. Of course, I wouldn’t go alone because I’m going to take my girlfriend with me, so she can enjoy all of what I see. [Page 4] Is it a date? Now don’t forget it and leave that day open for me. I said just me and no 4 F’s. Ha! Ha! The kisses you send makes my blood pressure go up and when I bring them to my lips, I feel their freshness and all of your inspiring love for me. We shall be happy together some day, enjoy life and forget the darkened days of the past. I shan’t ever get bored to hear of your love for me so don’t ever think any other way about it young lady. We had a U.S.O. show here not so long ago and one of the singers sang, ‘You’ll Never Know.” While she was singing it, my mind raced �back to you across the sea, hoping that you heard it when I did. She also sang “Put Your Arms Around Me Honey.” Have you [Page 5] heard this song? I think it’s swell. I got along letter from home and one from Helen. It was good to hear from them again. Francis didn’t send me the new address, so I don’t know where to write. They are all fine. I still wish that I were there with you when you visit my folks. Someday I shall be? Did Ollie and Francis visit you as yet? I hope that they will get time off to do so. I’ve looked around for your Aunt’s address intending to write to them but haven’t found it as yet among some of my junk. I also got a few Easter cards which were very nice. I’m patiently waiting for yours and hope to get it soon. I haven’t seen Roy since I wrote about him last. He was [Page 6] supposed to come up and see me. Guess he is busy. I have not gotten his wedding picture as yet but will send it to you as soon as I get it. Well, “Darling” what have you been doing today? Have you been thinking of us? I do always. Don’t forget to write and tell me all about it? Will you? How is your mother and dad? Give them my regards and tell them I think of them often? Yes, I got Elaine’s letter and have read it several times. I suppose by now that she got mine. So, Carolyn got fired! I guess she’ll never get along with anyone. She’s got to “smarten up” if she intends to do so. I had figured that she was trying to discourage you about me and I’m glad to hear you didn’t listen to her. [Page 7] I suppose you and I got all of the blame for what happened but if I ever get any letters from them like you got, I’d have it printed in the paper along with my opinion. I did expect one and I’ll carry out what I have written to put them in their place. Well I have run out of brains except to say I love you, which loads of hugs and kisses form me to you. Yours Always, With Lots of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} P.S. Write real soon and don’t forget to take some more pictures? [Envelope front] S/Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Inf. A.P.O. - 1 c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y. �U. S. Army {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE 1 APR 13 1944 A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 1913 Berkley Ave., S.W. Grand Rapids, 9 Mich. PASSED BY 20639 U.S. ARMY EXAMINER Lt. [?] � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1944-04-06 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1944-04-06 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 6, 1944 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 6, 1944. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry A.P.O.-1, c/o Postmaster New York, New York, dated April 13, 1944. In the letter, Joe writes with excitement after Agnes' letters from March had finally arrived and imagines going on a date to visit the tulips in Holland, Michigan with her one day. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Love letters Holland (Mich.) Music--1940-1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives