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Young Bess Wallace, Young Harry Truman, handwriting background.

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The Dear Bess and Dear Harry Podcast, from Harry S Truman National Historic Site

Harry S Truman

From Harry S Truman National Historic Site; a chance to share some of the stories associated with Harry Truman, Bess W. Truman and their times. We will share letters written between Harry Truman, Bess Wallace Truman, Margaret Truman, and others. We will link to digital versions of the letters in case you'd like to see them. You may need to refresh the page for the latest episode.

Episodes

Dear Bess: September 23, 1947

Transcript

Welcome to the 219 North Delaware Street podcast, a service of Harry S Truman National Historic Site and the National Park Service.

Today we would like to share with you a letter that President Harry Truman sent to his wife Bess Wallace Truman on September 23, 1947. You immediately understand that the President is very much missing his family. You also begin hearing how his administration is planning post World War II aid for the people of Europe, a program unlike anything America had ever done before.

[The White House] September 23, 1947 Dear Bess: Well you and Margie have been gone three days. It seems like three months. The old place is like a deserted village and the ghosts still walk. I leave my doors open so I can tell which way they are going. Been sleeping so soundly however I haven't heard them only when I wake up at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. It's still an old barn in the form of a jail for me. Marshall and Lovett were in yesterday morning and went over the European situation from soup to nuts with me. It's pretty bad but not quite as bad as I thought it would be. If it works out as planned it will cost us about sixteen billions over a four year period. I cancelled 42 billions in appropriations for the last half of 1945 so if we can buy peace and quiet for about 2/5 of half year's war cost it will be cheap at the price. But I don't know what squirrel heads like Taber, Herter, Bridges and Byrd will think of it. All of 'em are living in 1890 when a billion dollar Congress beat the Republicans in 1892. That was for the two years too. This amount of 16 Billions is just the amount of the national debt when Franklin took over. He ran it up to 40 odd and then the war came along and it is 257 but we can't understand those figures anyway. The sixteen countries seem to have done an honest job at Paris. Our difficulty is corn crop shortage, price inflation and the consenting of South and Central American countries to help us. But it is not so bad as two wars 3 and 7 thousand miles away. And that's what it was April 12, '45. It's a most beautiful day and cold. It was 42? this morning. But sunshine gives a better outlook and I need that. Have some very grave decisions to make between now and Saturday. Hope you are having a nice time. Kiss my girl. Lots of love, Harry.

A letter from President Truman to his First Lady, September 23, 1947.

The original can be seen here: https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/truman-papers/correspondence-harry-s-truman-bess-wallace-truman-1921-1959/september-23-1947

Dear Bess: September 15, 1911

Transcript

Welcome to the 219 North Delaware Street podcast, a service of Harry S Truman National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service. Today we would like to share with you a letter that Harry Truman wrote to Bess Wallace on September 15, 1911. In this letter he talks about some reading materials that Miss Wallace lent him, an accident that his father, John Anderson Truman, had on the farm. Can you guess who “his majesty” is? This letter is a good example of how Truman gave wonderful insights into working his family’s farm, hazards and all. Grandview, Mo. September 15, 1911 Dear Bessie: You owe me a letter and I am going to write you a note and tell you so. Do you know what has been hurting me all week? I actually came away and forgot that Columbian you gave me. I thought of it as soon as I got on the car and kicked myself from there home. I suppose I shouldn't tell you I forgot but should cook up some long-winded excuse for not taking it. But forget I did and I am sorry. Save it for me and I'll get it if you'll let me have it. Do you know I believe His Majesty himself has a special grudge against us. A horse fell on Papa Tuesday and broke one of the small bones in his left foot. He'll be laid up for a month the M.D. says. I suppose as soon as he gets around again I'll take another turn. I am going to have the blacksmith make me some cast iron shoes and sox. They will name us the Insurance Grabbers Association sure now. Don't ever take out any accident insurance. Things begin to happen at once when you do. We'd worried along all our lives without any and a certain gentleman with a large vocabulary and a bent for using it roped us last December. We've been having accidents in job lots since. I really don't know but what those policies had something to do with the dry year. I got a copy of that red Life last Saturday night and am sending it to you "under another cover", as the ad men say of a particularly heinous offense in circulars. I was in K.C. today buying small pieces of a grain drill. If you buy a whole one, it cost $75; but if you buy it by the piece, it costs $275. A binder whole costs $150, in small bits $600. They always intend to sell as many repairs as they can, too. I tried to get into connection with you over the Bell but couldn't and didn't have time to try over the Home. You owe me two letters. Sincerely, Harry

In this letter to his sweetheart, Harry Truman shares some of the challenges his family is having on the Farm, and talks about some of the reading materials he and Miss Bess Wallace are exchanging.

The original letter can be found here:https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/truman-papers/correspondence-harry-s-truman-bess-wallace-1910-1919/september-15-1911

Dear Bess: September 10 1912

Transcript

Welcome to the 219 North Delaware Street podcast. Today we would like to share one of the letters that Harry Truman wrote to his sweetheart, Miss Bess Wallace. Harry Truman likely wrote this from his family’s farm home new Grandview, Missouri, and Miss Wallace was in Independence. Although the distance wasn’t that far in terms of miles, to Harry Truman Miss Wallace was almost a world away. But via letters like this Truman shared his thoughts, his frustrations on the Farm, and his love for Miss Wallace.

September 10, 1912 Grandview, Mo. [Sept 9, 1912] Dear Bess: I am going to put in this Monday evening properly. I have practiced on Polly's wedding march, read a short story, and am ending up by endeavoring to obtain a letter from you. Today has been the most satanic we've had, to my notion. I took an energetic spell last week and decided to clean out the barn cistern and put a pump on it. Well, last Friday evening Boon and I began draining water about four o'clock I guess. Well, we took bucket-about until after six. I guess we must have taken out some hundreds of gallons - and it looked as if there was as much water as ever. We finally quit because it got dark. I took it on myself to finish getting the water out of the cistern by this afternoon. I'll bet I drew some two hundred gallons more or less, and there's still some water in the blooming thing. I'll get its goat tomorrow though. Then I want it to rain about three inches and fill the thing up. I was on the east side of the barn where breezes were scarce and sunshine was plentiful and exceeding hot, as Moses has remarked about the future residence of some of us. I haven't been much warmer since I sat on Mr. Slaughter's hogs while they were being vaccinated. He had some weighing about two hundred and as strong as mules. It was necessary to sneak up and grab a hind leg, then hold on until someone else got another hold wherever he could, and then proceed to throw Mr. hog and sit on him while he got what the Mo. University says is good for him. A two-hundred-pound hog can almost jerk the ribs loose from your backbone when you get him by the hind leg. It is far and away the best exercise in the list. It beats Jack Johnson's whole training camp as a muscle toughener. I helped at that job all morning Saturday and was supposed to get back this morning and finish. Maybe you think I wasn't glad when I called up and found out he'd done the job yesterday without my assistance. I'm most glad he was so scared. He is our important neighbor. That is, in his own estimation. He is a good neighbor but there is a difference in opinions, you know. We have another one that's a caution. He came up and helped us thresh oats. Along four o'clock he said to the man who was pitching bundles up on the wagon to him, "Do you suppose this man pays every night? I'd like awful well if he would, because I've got to stop by the store and get a little coffee and sugar for breakfast." The pitcher was a poor man and came very near lending that old codger a dollar. He's worth a hundred thousand dollars and probably had a wad on him big enough to choke a mule. To look at him you'd think he was a Dago ( we substitute Italian) ditch-digger or something of the kind. He always has about a thousand dollars in bills in his pocket, too. Papa told him someone would cave his head in sometime, but he says no one would think he had any money. You wouldn't either if you didn't know him. He is always trying to appear as a very hard-up poor man and makes out like he's powerful ignorant, while the one I mentioned first wants to appear as a leading citizen with a bushel of brains. Maybe you can guess which is the more popular and also which has the basket of brains. I'm hoping that Boxley or Cox will get me some good seats for Friday. If he don't, there is going to be a grand row. I think I'll take my grouch out on Polly if things don't hitch just to suit. She had no business coming to see me when I want to go see someone else. Now has she? We'll make Friday as joyous as Saturday would have been anyway. Let's go try your new lunch counter, what do you say? I can meet you somewhere and we can have a whole long, fine evening if you would care to. I hope you will. Answer quick and let me know. Most sincerely, Harry

In this letter from Harry Truman to Bess Wallace, Mr. Truman shares some insights into the challenging world of living on a farm. He talks about his neighbors, workers on the farm, and is planning to see his sweetheart. Truman also makes reference to his friend "Polly Compton" in Independence, You can read an oral history with Mr. Compton's daughter here: https://www.nps.gov/hstr/learn/historyculture/oral-histories_w.htm

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