Letters From Turkey 1976
Letters From Turkey, 1976
Louise W. Stanford
INTRODUCTION
The following document contains a journalistic account of our family's trip to Turkey in the fall of 1976. The beginning article is one that I wrote for an entry in Storyworth. The prompt was the question about the riskiest thing I've ever done. This account explains why we went to Turkey in the first place. After the article, there are copies of the letters I wrote home to my parents, along with some pictures of the places we went while in Turkey. It took forever for me to write all those letters. I had also written to the Stanfords, but we haven't come across their letters.
We left home on Monday, August 16, and flew to Frankfurt, Germany, (by way of Chicago), for a few days of orientation. We arrived in Adana, Turkey on Thursday night, August 19 at 7:30PM. We left Adana on Monday, November 8, 1976 and arrived in Otterberg, Germany the next day. When we left Adana, we had to take our own suitcases out to the airplane. What a hoot! The six of us had eleven suitcases plus a heavy rug that we had bought in Istanbul.
We left home on Monday, August 16, and flew to Frankfurt, Germany, (by way of Chicago), for a few days of orientation. We arrived in Adana, Turkey on Thursday night, August 19 at 7:30PM. We left Adana on Monday, November 8, 1976 and arrived in Otterberg, Germany the next day. When we left Adana, we had to take our own suitcases out to the airplane. What a hoot! The six of us had eleven suitcases plus a heavy rug that we had bought in Istanbul.
What is One of the Riskiest Things You've Ever Done?
The riskiest thing I have ever done was not as risky in 1976 as it would be considered to be now. The world was a different place then, and I was much younger, stronger, braver, and slightly more daring than I am at this point in my life. My husband had been offered a year-long teaching position in the US Air Force at four of its bases in Europe. What a wonderful opportunity had presented itself to us. All travel and lodging expenses were to be paid, and we would get to live in four foreign countries. As teachers this would be a dream come true for us, and I agreed immediately that we should go. So, despite the fact that I would birth our fourth child barely three months before we were to leave, we signed the teaching contract, secured a leave of absence from Furman, got our passports, rented out our Greenville house for a year, and prayed for guidance and courage. We were fearless and excited beyond measure, and off we went.
Appeasing my parents had been another thing. In their opinion, taking their only grandchildren to those strange places for that long was the height of stubbornness and danger. They were horrified that I would do such a thing and were convinced that I had lost my mind. Somehow, their attitude made me more determined than ever to show them that I really wasn’t crazy after all and that I could take good care of our family wherever we were. My husband’s parents wondered if we had taken leave of our senses, but agreed to keep our dog, our cat, and our car for the year.
The children reached their developmental milestones just as they would have had we stayed in the States. Potty-training, losing teeth, and learning to read and to write in cursive all occurred when they should have. The baby, Anne, learned to crawl, walk, sprout teeth, and pull her sisters’ hair right on time. The one thing that I had questioned was about our medical care in Europe. We were assured that while we were to live on the economy, we would have access at all times to English-speaking doctors and nurses at the Air Force bases and that the children would get their check-ups and immunizations on schedule.
Our oldest child turned eight years old in July, and we left the States one month later. Several of our friends were at the airport to see us off and were flabbergasted to see the eleven suitcases that we checked. Yes, eleven. In addition, the three oldest girls and Dick and I had carry-on bags, as well. I also had a diaper bag, too. We flew from Greenville to Frankfurt, Germany, where we stayed for a few days of orientation. Then we flew to Adana, Turkey, for the first of our four assignments.
Life in Turkey was quite different from anything we had ever known, but I wouldn’t take anything for the experience. We didn’t dare drink the water at first, but by the time we left in November, we drank it wherever we went. I will write about our numerous adventures in Turkey, as in the other places as well, in later posts.
We enrolled our two oldest girls, Mary and Elizabeth, in the American schools at the bases until we arrived at our fourth base in England. There we enrolled them in the local English school, which is why they came home speaking with an English accent. There was even a preschool program for Catherine, our three-year old. I really hated it when that accent disappeared. We didn’t worry about whether or not they would be behind their peers back in the States because the education they received while traveling during that year was unparalleled. Besides, they were great students, had excellent teachers, caught up quickly, and never missed a beat.
Our second and third bases were in Germany and Italy and our transitions went smoothly. Every day we woke up to new cultural practices and ideas. We tried to maintain a positive attitude about everything that was expected of us. Just like learning to drink the water in Turkey, making adjustments became our everyday goal, and I believe that we were successful in that endeavor. Throughout our long careers in the classroom we drew inspiration from those experiences. Anecdotes from that wonderful year in Turkey, Germany, Italy, and England still come to mind even now in retirement. In today’s world, that trip would not be possible, and I’m eternally grateful that my husband and I took the risk to make the journey.
***This document is lovingly dedicated to these four amazing super troopers who made the trip possible. They were always willing travelers, helpful, cooperative, and curious.
LETTERS FROM TURKEY:
August 24, 1976
Dear Mother and Daddy,
Hope this find you both doing well. We are all still doing fine but have been very careful about what we eat and drink. Today we ate at the Officers Club and it was like going to the Country Club. We get a lot of our regular American food at the commissary, but I still haven't put together a good old country supper.
*****NOTE: It was possible to have fresh, really fresh, chicken. Each week, a farmer came around the apartment with live chickens to show so that you could pick one out. He then went downstairs, and right outside the building, he chopped off the chicken's head, pulled out a few feathers, and proudly presented to you the chicken you had picked out. What a shocker for this city girl from the States! We never did get to the point of wanting fresh, really fresh, chicken that bad.
We walk down to the corner of our street and catch a bus out to the base. Buses come along twelve times a day and all six of us ride for $1.20, or we can take a taxi at any time for about $1.80, but the taxi lets us out at the gate and it's a long way to Dick's office from there. The buses go all over the base. Also, the taxis are small foreign cars, and our family really fills one up.
*****NOTE: Once a taxi stopped to pick us up, but there was already a man in the back seat, and he had brought his goat along with him. We waited for the next taxi.
You ought to see how they drive here in Adana. Or maybe you shouldn't. They drive with one hand on the wheel and the other on the horn, and they blow the horn all the time. Of course, with all the horse carts, cows and herds of sheep in the streets I guess they have to. There are traffic lights at each corner, but no one pays the slightest bit of attention to them, even with policemen standing on the corner.
*****NOTE: Traffic laws in Turkey are such that if there's a wreck, everyone in the car or on the bus is at fault for the wreck. Fortunately, we were never in a wreck, although the bus drivers often tried their best to have one. But imagine our surprise when we saw a fender bender and noticed everyone getting off the bus and running away. That's one of the main reasons that we didn't want to have a car in Turkey.
The imam at the local mosque issues the calls to prayer beginning at 5 a.m. This is all well and good except that he uses loudspeakers. Since we sleep with the windows open, we usually wake up, but we certainly don't feel like praying. We are gradually getting used to the street noises, though.
The climate here is very much like that at the beach--a gentle breeze blows all the time. The highs have been in the low 90's and the lows in the high 70's. That's pretty much like what we've been used to. It was much hotter here in July and early August, so they tell us.
Anne is growing by leaps and bounds, and she laughs out loud now. She slept all day long last Saturday, but other than that she hasn't experienced much jet lag. I guess Catherine is the most disoriented. She keeps saying she wants to go "in home and watch Tarzan." She does miss having a TV. Mary and Elizabeth are looking forward to school opening next Monday. Mary has already met one little friend who will be in her class. Supposedly there is only one section of each grade, so Mary will know all the other 3rd graders and Elizabeth will know all the other 1st graders. They will ride a school bus, not a city bus, to school. They have made several Turkish friends already. It's amazing how they can communicate without knowing each other's language.
The girls would appreciate getting a card from you now and then. They love to get mail. Take good care of yourselves and we'll send you a tape if our tape recorder ever gets out of Germany. We love you, Dick, Lou, & girls.
Waiting for the bus
Dear Mother and Daddy,
Hope this find you both doing well. We are all still doing fine but have been very careful about what we eat and drink. Today we ate at the Officers Club and it was like going to the Country Club. We get a lot of our regular American food at the commissary, but I still haven't put together a good old country supper.
*****NOTE: It was possible to have fresh, really fresh, chicken. Each week, a farmer came around the apartment with live chickens to show so that you could pick one out. He then went downstairs, and right outside the building, he chopped off the chicken's head, pulled out a few feathers, and proudly presented to you the chicken you had picked out. What a shocker for this city girl from the States! We never did get to the point of wanting fresh, really fresh, chicken that bad.
We walk down to the corner of our street and catch a bus out to the base. Buses come along twelve times a day and all six of us ride for $1.20, or we can take a taxi at any time for about $1.80, but the taxi lets us out at the gate and it's a long way to Dick's office from there. The buses go all over the base. Also, the taxis are small foreign cars, and our family really fills one up.
*****NOTE: Once a taxi stopped to pick us up, but there was already a man in the back seat, and he had brought his goat along with him. We waited for the next taxi.
You ought to see how they drive here in Adana. Or maybe you shouldn't. They drive with one hand on the wheel and the other on the horn, and they blow the horn all the time. Of course, with all the horse carts, cows and herds of sheep in the streets I guess they have to. There are traffic lights at each corner, but no one pays the slightest bit of attention to them, even with policemen standing on the corner.
*****NOTE: Traffic laws in Turkey are such that if there's a wreck, everyone in the car or on the bus is at fault for the wreck. Fortunately, we were never in a wreck, although the bus drivers often tried their best to have one. But imagine our surprise when we saw a fender bender and noticed everyone getting off the bus and running away. That's one of the main reasons that we didn't want to have a car in Turkey.
The imam at the local mosque issues the calls to prayer beginning at 5 a.m. This is all well and good except that he uses loudspeakers. Since we sleep with the windows open, we usually wake up, but we certainly don't feel like praying. We are gradually getting used to the street noises, though.
The climate here is very much like that at the beach--a gentle breeze blows all the time. The highs have been in the low 90's and the lows in the high 70's. That's pretty much like what we've been used to. It was much hotter here in July and early August, so they tell us.
Anne is growing by leaps and bounds, and she laughs out loud now. She slept all day long last Saturday, but other than that she hasn't experienced much jet lag. I guess Catherine is the most disoriented. She keeps saying she wants to go "in home and watch Tarzan." She does miss having a TV. Mary and Elizabeth are looking forward to school opening next Monday. Mary has already met one little friend who will be in her class. Supposedly there is only one section of each grade, so Mary will know all the other 3rd graders and Elizabeth will know all the other 1st graders. They will ride a school bus, not a city bus, to school. They have made several Turkish friends already. It's amazing how they can communicate without knowing each other's language.
The girls would appreciate getting a card from you now and then. They love to get mail. Take good care of yourselves and we'll send you a tape if our tape recorder ever gets out of Germany. We love you, Dick, Lou, & girls.
Waiting for the bus
Catherine and Elizabeth with some of our Turkish friends
August 29, 1976
Dear Mother and Daddy,
It was great hearing from you this week--both letters arrived on the same day, but we didn't mind that. You never can tell about the mail service anymore. We were glad to hear that you are doing okay. I'm sorry I left so much stuff lying around the house. We should have brought the coloring books with us because we haven't found any yet.
The girls start school tomorrow and are so excited--especially Elizabeth. The school is bigger than we thought--there are three first grades and two third grades. Tomorrow is mostly just for getting started up. Until the weather cools down, their school day will be from 7:30 a.m. to noon or 12:30. So, they will have to get on the bus about 7 a.m., and there will be some early bedtimes here. It hasn't been above 92 degrees since we got here, but these Yankees who run things think it's hot. The swimming pool will stay open until the end of September. It's interesting that we can walk the streets here in town safely, even at night, and leave our windows and balcony doors open when we leave the apartment, but when we go out to the pool at the base we can't leave our clothes in the dressing room because there's so much thievery done by the Americans. The Turks are far more trustworthy than Americans.
I am trying out a maid today. Her name is Emma, and she speaks English very well. She gets 60 lira a day which is $3.60and that includes two-way transportation. Labor is very cheap here--there is no such thing as welfare or food stamps. When we ride the bus out to the base there are three attendants on the bus, a driver, a ticket-taker, and another man who just opens and closes the door. We pay 30 cents a piece for an eight mile trip. Anne and Catherine don't have to pay. Anyway, Emma works for someone else during the week and will come to me on Saturday and Sunday. Since she speaks English, I may be able to leave Anne with her so we can take some tours to near-by places of interest. Emma is Moslem and wears her head covered. She also takes her shoes off inside the door and works barefooted. She works so fast she makes others look like a block of stone.
Emma and Anne
Everyone is still well, thank goodness, but today we hope to go out and get some Turkish food at a local restaurant, so tomorrow we may all have the runs. I also plan to get Emma to fix us some Turkish food. We have bought some freshly baked bread (ekmek) from the landlord, and it is delicious. I'm afraid we are all going to weigh a ton before this trip is over.
Mary is going to write you a letter soon. You should already have gotten one from Elizabeth. Take good care of yourselves and write when you can.
We love you.
Dick, Lou, & girls.
September 1, 1976
Adana, Turkey
Dear Mother and Daddy,
We received your other two letters today and were so glad to get them. The check didn't fall out along the way. If the clinic contacts you and wants the check sent back to them, let us know and we'll send it back to them.
So glad you got the telegram, but sorry it was a day late. We're still trying to arrange a call to you from the base, but haven't had much luck yet. I don't go out there every day, but Dick has to. He brings home a few little groceries each day in his briefcase. It's hard to manage several grocery bags on a bus. The bags have been recycled so much they break open at the bottom quite easily. We are finding out just how much we depend on a car. Anyway, we can always be contacted through the Red Cross, and if there's an emergency for which I should come home, the Red Cross would be the quickest and simplest way.
You asked about when we got to Frankfurt and all. We left Chicago about 30 minutes late--it was 1:15 a.m. Central Time, and landed in Frankfurt 8-1/2 hours later at 3:45 p.m. Frankfurt time, Tuesday afternoon Aug. 17th. It was 10:45 a.m. Tues. morning your time, because in Germany the time is 5 hours ahead of Daylight Saving Time. That flight usually stops in Shannon, Ireland, but did not do so when we were on it. So, we got to Frankfurt 1-1/2 hours ahead of schedule. But someone was there to meet us, and the Frankfurt Sheraton was right across the street from the terminal building. We left Frankfurt at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 19th, and flew to Ankara, Turkey, with a brief stop in Munich. It was about 45 min. flying time to Munich, and then about 2-1/2 hours to Ankara. We had gained two hours by that time, so in Ankara it was 4 p.m. In Germany it was 2 p.m. and in Anderson, it was 9 a.m. Thurs. Aug. 19th. We left Ankara at 5:45 p.m. and arrived in Adana at 7:30 p.m. the 19th.
*****NOTE: Standing in the runway at the airport in Ankara were several Turkish soldiers with machine guns. The Turkish and Greek nations were at odds and were about to go to war. What a scary sight! I remember wondering if that war would come while we were there, and what would we do? I innocently thought that the military would take care of us. Thankfully, war did not come at that time.
It was in Ankara that we had to change from the luxurious Lufthansa (German) airline to the Turkish airline. Quite a comedown to say the least. It was also in Ankara that we had to go through Turkish customs, but as I think I mentioned earlier, we didn't have to open a single suitcase or handbag. The best thing I can remember about the airport in Ankara is that we were able to buy real Cokes during our layover. Just knowing the water is contaminated here makes me that much more thirsty. The mileage chart the Air Force people gave us indicates that it is 2,300 miles from Frankfurt to Adana, or between the bases we're connected with.
We are very well-pleased with both teachers Mary and Elizabeth got. Mary's is Mrs. Callahan, in her late 20's, from Massachusetts but not a know-it-all. Elizabeth's is Miss Berg who is also young and very sweet and has some teaching experience. Elizabeth is on top of the world now that she's a schoolgirl. They walk about a block to catch a school bus at 6:50 a.m. School starts at 7:30 a.m. and goes until 12:15 p.m. until the end of October when the weather should cool down. Then they'll be on a normal schedule. The bus brings them back to the same stop, and they come home for lunch. They tell me that when they're on the bus they try to pretend that they don't know each other. Catherine surely does miss them when they leave each morning.
We all got diarrhea after our outing Sunday, but nothing to keep us in bed. The Pepto-Bismol tablets have really come in handy. It is so dry here that my hay fever and lingering bronchitis have completely cleared up. Hope you are doing well and keeping cool. If you can fit any of those coloring books into one of those manilla envelopes, the girls would appreciate it--we can't find any here and only brought one with us. The toy store on base won't open until October--in time for Christmas, but I don't know if they carry coloring books. This base is not very well-stocked. Write us when you can, we love getting letters from home.
We love you,
Dick, Lou, & girls
September 6, 1976
Dear Mother and Daddy,
Today is Labor Day and of course there's no school, so everybody is home. It's not a holiday for the Turks--they had one last Monday. It was military in nature, and they had a big parade down Ataturk Boulevard with lots of soldiers and tanks and things. Emma fixed us a Turkish meal Saturday, and it really was good. We had something like cabbage leaves stuffed with meat, rice, and onions and rolled up. They really were good. She also fixed stuffed peppers and some kind of little biscuits with meat and cheese. She did all the shopping for things I couldn't get at the commissary. Any fresh vegetables we buy, even on base, we have to wash in a Clorox solution before we can eat them. Lettuce is forbidden in any case. At the Officers Club and at the steak house on base, a green salad consists of tomatoes and cucumbers. We don't eat salad anywhere else. But Emma washed some tomatoes and cucumbers for us here at the house, and they're fine.
*****NOTE: The power company in Adana at that time could not keep up with the demand for electricity in the city, so the power was cut off every day in different parts of the city. Our off time was scheduled from 4:00PM to 6:00PM every afternoon, which made it quite challenging to prepare dinner.
In 1976, the population of Adana was 488,000, and in 2020 it is 1,776,000.
However, we learned that the schedule meant very little to anyone, and we never knew when we'd have no lights or electricity. I found this out the hard way one day when I tried to bake a cake and the oven went out about halfway through baking the cake. What a mess! Thank goodness there was a nice little bakery on the base. When we needed to get a cake we went out there.
The Recreation Center on base sponsors tours every weekend to the beach and other places of interest. We wanted to go to the beach Saturday but didn't want to take Anne, so we decided to let one of us go with one big girl Saturday and the other one go with the other big girl next week. So, Dick and Elizabeth went this time and had a wonderful time swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. They said it was lovely. They rode on a boat out to an island and climbed around among the ruins of an old castle. They also said that Catherine would enjoy going, so when Mary and I go, we'll take Catherine. We'll be able to leave Anne with Emma for some of the other trips. They went through Tarsus on the way and said there was nothing to see. We need to send some Southern Baptists over here to fix the place up. It doesn't have any meaning for Moslems.
Dick and I went to a dinner party the first week end we were here and to a movie on base last Friday night. In both cases we took Anne with us. She slept all the way through the movie and most of the time at the party. The nursery on base keeps children from 6 months and up, so Anne is too young. I can't leave her here at the house because no one around here speaks much English, and the base is too far away in case they needed me or the doctor. With no telephone we have to plan all our connections carefully. But we're so used to going around with lots of children that when we just have one it seems like none. The attendants at the nursery take the children's temperatures before they go in, and if anyone is running a fever they are not accepted. That's good to know.
We hope that you are doing fine and are keeping busy. We enjoy your letters--hope you are getting ours. Let us know about the operation as soon as you decide.
We miss you. Lots of love,
Dick, Lou, & girls
We spent a lot of afternoons at Ataturk Park which was just down the street from our apartment.
Every city in Turkey has an Ataturk park. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey and served as its first president until his death in 1938. He undertook sweeping reforms which modernized Turkey into an industrialized nation.
Our unairconditioned, no seat belts tour bus. Often stopped in the middle of nowhere. Whose kids are those waving from the window?
Animals always have the right of way.
September 8, 1976
Dear Mother and Daddy,
We received two letters from you yesterday along with Elizabeth's weekly reader. It was great getting so much news all at once after a long dry spell. We noticed that the postmarks on all your envelopes showed different dates, but we got them all at once. I think the people here may be a little slow in sorting the mail once it does arrive on base. Maybe if you put PSC Box 487 down on the corner of the envelope, they would put our letters up as soon as they arrive. You don't have to put "air mail" on the envelope--it's all the same thing now.
I have heard from Carole Austin, and also from my bridge club. They said they heard about an earthquake in Turkey, but we didn't know anything about one. Dick says there are a lot of earthquakes in this part of the world; most of them are not very serious.
Both Mary and Elizabeth have been invited to birthday parties this weekend, and they are quite excited and proud of themselves for making friends so quickly. Of course we are proud, too. They are both doing excellent work so far, and I already sense a keen competition between them for who can do the best. We tell them often that we only want them to try and to do the best they can. Dick's classes are going along pretty well, but a few people have dropped out because they said it was going to be too much work. I wonder what they expect at the graduate level. They have been used to some poor teaching in the past and are not accustomed to putting forth much effort. But the counselors have told Dick not to budge. He hadn't intended to anyway, but it was nice to receive their vote of confidence.
We had an unusual sight here this morning. Four shepherds brought a flock of about 70 or 80 sheep to graze in the vacant lot across the street from us. After a few minutes, they all walked off down the street in the middle of the street. The cars have to go around them and of course blow their horns constantly. At the same time, three cows were rumbling around in the garbage bins also across the street. It is very interesting to stand out on our front balcony and watch people going through the garbage. Some take tin cans, some take papers, some take bottles, and some get old peelings and rinds and things for their livestock. It's all very specialized, but nothing goes to waste here. The cans, bottles, and papers are sold (for next to nothing) to plants that recycle them. Then, of course, there are a few out and out beggars who are just looking for something to eat.
Anne's new theme song is "Don't fence me in." She is trying so hard to sit up--she's unhappy in her carrier now. We strap her in it and set it up bolt upright, and she raises herself off of it and thinks she's sitting up. I'm taking her in next week for her first check-up here.
We thought you might enjoy the enclosed picture of four monkeys that live around here. Take good care of yourselves.
We love you, Dick, Lou, & girls
September 13, 1976
Adana, Turkey
Dear Mother and Daddy,
We received your letter with the clipping about Furman beating N.C.State. That's terrific. We're thrilled for them. The Stars and Stripes which is the Armed Services Newspaper carries some football scores, but nothing about Furman. Maybe you can keep us up to date on Furman and Clemson. We also received a letter form the Rosses, and they said our house was looking fine and the people seemed nice, and we're glad of that.
We left Anne with Emma yesterday and went on a tour for the day. We visited Tarsus which is a large city, but no mention was made of Paul. Then we went to Mersin, a city right on the Mediterranean coast. It was really pretty. There were several ships docked there which were part of the Turkish navy. Actually, they were old U.S. ships which the Turks got from us. Mersin has a lot of little leather shops also, and it was interesting to look around. Then we rode inland a ways and got up into the mountains (not very high). There are Roman ruins scattered all along the cost--remains of aqueducts and a few old castles. It's very exciting to be surrounded by so much history. It's too bad the Turks don't make more of an effort at preserving these things. All in all we enjoyed the trip very much even though the bus was not air-conditioned. Thank goodness we can buy Pepsi and Coke everywhere we go--even in the most remote little village. We can always feel safe drinking that. The only problem is that in most places there is no commode--only a "Turkish john" which is a hole in the floor with a footprint on each side showing you where to put your feet. The girls can't get used to it and have a hard time releasing. However, toward the end of the day, they were able to go. Needless to say I always carry plenty of tissue and wet wash cloths. Most places do have running water. You may be glad to know that Catherine is now completely potty trained. Isn't that great!
One of our neighbors in our building is also a teacher and has a car. He has offered to take us to the commissary (grocery store) tomorrow and bring a big load of stuff back for us. This will be a great help. I'm also going to take Anne to the clinic for her 4-month check-up. She's due for her second DPT and polio vaccine. It will be the first "free" trip to the doctor I've ever had in my life.
How is the diet coming along? We haven't lost much weight but have been walking so much our muscles are firming up. Dick usually stops at a little shop each morning, after taking Mary and Elizabeth to the school bus, and buys a loaf of freshly baked bread for 12 cents. We make toast and sandwiches and things from it. It really is good and has no preservatives in it, but it doesn't help our waistlines.
Elizabeth drew these pictures for you in case you have forgotten what all the children look like.
Take good care. We love you,
Dick, Lou, & girls
September 15, 1976
Dear Mother and Daddy,
Hope you're doing well--we're all fine. It's still quite hot in the daytime but is beginning to cool down some at night. A mild head cold has made its rounds through Elizabeth, Catherine, and Anne, but they haven't felt too bad--mostly just a stuffy nose. I guess it was the cool night air that gave it to them. Anyway, we're glad it wasn't a bad cold for any of them.
Thank you for seeing about the insurance--we overlooked that I guess. Sorry you had to make a trip to Sears.
You asked about the water here. We all bathe and wash our hair in it, and I wash dishes in it. We now brush our teeth in it, too, although we didn't at first. There's no danger about the dishes because once they're dried, the germs are dead. After you've been here a while your system builds up to things.
Anne had her check-up on Tuesday and was pronounced to be in fine shape. She now weighs 14 pounds 1 ounce and is 24 inches long. That's a little shorter I think than the other girls were at this age, but she certainly is pleasingly plump. The doctor gave me fluoride vitamins for all the girls because the water here in town has no fluoride. The water on base does have it though. Anne won't have another check-up until we get to Germany. The way she is trying to sit up so fast indicates that we'll need a highchair in Germany. I'm sure there'll be some available on base.
They're making another first grade class next week in order to reduce the size of the existing classes. I'm so glad for Elizabeth's sake, but she says one of her best friends is having to go to the new class. Elizabeth is staying with Miss Berg.
This coming Saturday will be the last beach trip for the season, so since Mary and Catherine and I haven't been yet, we have signed up to go. Elizabeth has already been and may want to go again. I'm sure the bus won't be full, so if she decides to go again she can. Dick will keep Anne because Emma can't come until Sunday.
The other morning I was walking around the apartment with a small paper bag in my hand, and Catherine said "Where you going Mommie--pick figs?" She still talks about picking figs with Papa.
Please thank the Stegall girls for all their trouble--we'll look forward to getting the tape. We have a tape recorder now and maybe we can send a tape to you soon. Catherine will enjoy the Sesame Street. We had taped a few children's records before we left and some Christmas music; so we're glad now to have a tape recorder, although it's not ours. All of Dick's professional materials, including the recorder, are in Germany. We're hoping to retrieve them when we get there.
Take good care and thanks for writing so often. I'm sorry this handwriting is so bad but I wanted to finish this tonight so we could get it in the morning mail.
We love you,
Dick, Lou, & girls
Dick, Lou, & girls
September 15, 1976
Dear Mother and Daddy,
Hope you're doing well--we're all fine. It's still quite hot in the daytime but is beginning to cool down some at night. A mild head cold has made its rounds through Elizabeth, Catherine, and Anne, but they haven't felt too bad--mostly just a stuffy nose. I guess it was the cool night air that gave it to them. Anyway, we're glad it wasn't a bad cold for any of them.
Thank you for seeing about the insurance--we overlooked that I guess. Sorry you had to make a trip to Sears.
You asked about the water here. We all bathe and wash our hair in it, and I wash dishes in it. We now brush our teeth in it, too, although we didn't at first. There's no danger about the dishes because once they're dried, the germs are dead. After you've been here a while your system builds up to things.
Anne had her check-up on Tuesday and was pronounced to be in fine shape. She now weighs 14 pounds 1 ounce and is 24 inches long. That's a little shorter I think than the other girls were at this age, but she certainly is pleasingly plump. The doctor gave me fluoride vitamins for all the girls because the water here in town has no fluoride. The water on base does have it though. Anne won't have another check-up until we get to Germany. The way she is trying to sit up so fast indicates that we'll need a highchair in Germany. I'm sure there'll be some available on base.
They're making another first grade class next week in order to reduce the size of the existing classes. I'm so glad for Elizabeth's sake, but she says one of her best friends is having to go to the new class. Elizabeth is staying with Miss Berg.
This coming Saturday will be the last beach trip for the season, so since Mary and Catherine and I haven't been yet, we have signed up to go. Elizabeth has already been and may want to go again. I'm sure the bus won't be full, so if she decides to go again she can. Dick will keep Anne because Emma can't come until Sunday.
The other morning I was walking around the apartment with a small paper bag in my hand, and Catherine said "Where you going Mommie--pick figs?" She still talks about picking figs with Papa.
Please thank the Stegall girls for all their trouble--we'll look forward to getting the tape. We have a tape recorder now and maybe we can send a tape to you soon. Catherine will enjoy the Sesame Street. We had taped a few children's records before we left and some Christmas music; so we're glad now to have a tape recorder, although it's not ours. All of Dick's professional materials, including the recorder, are in Germany. We're hoping to retrieve them when we get there.
Take good care and thanks for writing so often. I'm sorry this handwriting is so bad but I wanted to finish this tonight so we could get it in the morning mail.
We love you,
Dick, Lou, & girls
Catherine is drawing pictures for her grandparents.
September 18, 1976
Dear Mimi and Papa, (from Elizabeth)
I hope you are well. I am. I hope you can come see us in Italy. Have you gone to the beach?
I like my school, and my teacher's name is Miss Berg. All my work has stars. I am doing good work. They made a new first grade class, and my friend Betsy Bonner went to it. We like to ride on the school bus. Mary and I don't always sit together.
Anne is four months old today. She is almost sitting up.
We were going to the beach today but the bus forgot to come by our stop. We will go tomorrow or next Saturday.
I like our apartment. I am used to it now. I sleep in the same room with Mary and Catherine. We all have a single bed of our own.
We have seen some men kissing and holding hands. We also see lots of lizards and snails.
Since we didn't go to the beach, Mother is going to take us to the movie out at the base. So I will close for now. Did you like the pictures I drew?
September 19, 1976
Dear Mimi and Papa, (Mother and Daddy)
We're still doing fine and hope you are, too. The temperature only went to 82 degrees today, and there was a strong breeze all day, so we had a little respite from the heat. We also had a little rain early this morning. It really did smell good as it fell.
The bus driver for the beach trip forgot to stop for us Saturday so that trip didn't pan out. However, we had all passed by that way the week before on our outing to Tarsus and Mersin, so at least we knew what it looked like. Mary and Catherine were disappointed at not going swimming, though. Elizabeth and Dick had already been. We would go next Saturday but there's another trip to somewhere else we'd like to go. Guess we'll just wait until we get to Italy to go back to the beach.
I don't know if I mentioned that this area is a big cotton growing area and has been since Bible times. There are large cotton fields all along the countryside. Of course, there is no machinery anywhere to do the picking. Labor is so cheap here. People who pick cotton get between $2 and $3 a day for a twelve-hour day. There are lots of women and older children and a few old men who do the picking. Emma says she makes much better money ($3/day) as a maid and doesn't have to work as hard.
The garbage collectors are on strike now, so the dump across the street is full and overflowing. Our landlord takes our garbage out for us every afternoon. We just put it outside the door. Thank goodness he's not on strike. He always rummages through it before emptying it.
The power company has quit turning the power off every day, but now the water is turned off for a couple of hours each day, right at lunch time. We never know when we'll have to do without what. But we have found it best to roll with the punches.
The pro football game you watched today at 4 o'clock doesn't come on here until 11 p.m. so we won't listen to it. But they announce the pro scores during the day Monday. They broadcast some baseball games at 2 and 3 a.m. but I don't know who listens.
Take good care. We miss you. Lots of love,
Dick, Lou, & girls
Bus drivers loved our cute children and let them help drive and navigate.
*****NOTE: Our apartment in Adana was on the 4th floor of this rather large building. There was an elevator, but occasionally it stopped working, and often did so while we were on it. If we yelled loud enough and banged on the door, someone would come and get us out.
It wasn't particularly pleasant to get stranded in the stopped elevator, especially with four small children, a stroller, and no light or air. The arrow is pointing to where the farmer would go to chop off the chicken’s head.
He just left it there, and eventually some animals came and ate it.
Rug shops everywhere
In the first picture below we see the open-air garbage truck that stopped twice weekly at the open-air dump in front of our apartment. Yes, the smell was pungent. In the next two pictures we see that there had been an upgrade to the tractor because an awning that could protect the driver from the hot sun had been added. More importantly, however, we see the driver responding to the noontime call to prayer. He spreads out his prayer cloth, gets on his knees, and plants his face down on the sidewalk. That filthy, smelly sidewalk. How many of us would be that committed to prayer?
September 22, 1976
Dear Mother and Daddy,
We received two letters from you yesterday and were so glad to hear from you. The letters still seem to be arriving in bunches, but they're welcome any time. No mail comes or goes on Thursdays and once in a while on other days. We haven't received the tape and coloring books yet, but they may have to to through regular mail instead of APO. That would take longer.
Elizabeth's class went on a field trip to the mosque on base today. She really enjoyed it. She said there were no chairs in there and they had to sit on the floor. The mothers were invited also but I didn't go because they left before I could get there. The women in Turkey do not go to the mosque--only men. Women have to pray at home. Their holy day is Friday--at noon. That's when the men go. The base is run by Turks--they hold all the clerk, cook, waiter, janitor-type jobs. It's not actually a U.S. Air Force Base, but a Common Defense Installation under the supervision of NATO. If the Turks pull out of NATO, as they're threatening to do, then they will oust all Americans from the four common installations in Turkey. We have a Turkish gate pass in addition to our regular military identification cards. When we go to the base we have to show the gate pass to the guards. When we're on the bus, the guard gets on the bus and looks at everybody's passes. This probably sounds awfully scary, but the Turks we see every day are friendly and nice and willing to cooperate. They're not particularly friendly to loud, boisterous Americans or to the military wives who insist on wearing short shorts and halter tops in town and on the bus. In many instances it's the Americans who act like idiots.
I got another letter from my bridge club and was glad to hear from them again. The Hartnesses are going to England next week and another couple is going to Mexico in October. We're really a well-traveled group. They write me a group letter when they play bridge. I send a letter to them at the house where I know they'll be playing. They're saving my place for me when we get back which was sweet since it's hard to get substitutes for a year.
We're planning a trip to Antioch Saturday. I hope the bus driver remembers to come by here this time. It's a Turkish Holiday--the end of a month of fasting, so Emma can't come. But we'll take the stroller and Anne can tag along. Since it's a one day trip it won't be too hard on her.
Dick was authorized to buy a desk for this apartment since there was not one here, so he went looking and found a good, practical one for about $110.00 The shop is about two blocks from here, and the manager said he would deliver the desk. So Dick said for them to bring it before 11 a.m. because we were going to be gone after that. Well they of course got here after we had left, so they just left the desk out in the hall in front of our door. It had no covering over it or name on it or receipt or anything. It's a wonder some kids didn't take a knife and carve across the top several times. But vandalism is rare here because it carries such a stiff penalty. Anyway, I guess the men who brought the desk figured they didn't want to make a second trip. We thought it was funny to come home and see that brand new desk just sitting in the hall.
Hope you got the letter with the picture of the girls. Take good care.
We love you.
Dick, Lou, & girls
P.S. Barney and Duchess seem to be fine. At first Barney wouldn't eat and would jump on our car and look in the windows and whine. But now he seems okay, but he won't let that car out of his sight. Duchess is putting on some weight. She climbs on top of the Stanfords' house and even up to the top of the chimney. She seems content to stay with Barney.
Heading to the bus stop
THE HODJA
Hodja is a Turkish icon and is a title meaning teacher or scholar. Very appropriate for us.
September 26, 1976
Dear Mother and Daddy,
Hope you are doing fine--we all still are. Our weather is beginning to cool down a little, and it has been a very nice weekend. Hopefully the schools will go on a regular schedule soon. We don't like having to get the girls up so early. But we've been doing very well about getting them to bed at 8. Without a TV we don't get as many pleas to stay up for "just one more program."
Did you watch the debate? Given the time difference, it was broadcast live here at either 2 or 3 a.m. (I forgot which). We didn't feel interested enough to get up at that hour and listen to it. We heard on the news later that it was pretty much a draw.
We took a very interesting trip yesterday to Antakya--what we call Antioch. We saw Peter's Church, known as the first Christian Church. Peter was in Antioch from 20-40 A.D. and began to hold regular meetings in this small cave-like room in the side of a mountain. Even though Turkey is a Moslem nation, Peter's Church was not destroyed. It hasn't been too well preserved but the Turks did muster up enough interest to charge admission. We really enjoyed going there. Then we went to the Hatay Museum where there are several well-preserved mosaics taken from Roman palaces of the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. We were glad to get out and see some of the countryside again because Adana is so dusty. The country area was clean, and the scenery was beautiful. We saw two palaces or castles built by the Crusaders on their way to the Holy Land.
This weekend in Turkey has marked the end of a month of fasting, called Ramadan. It's a very important holiday for Moslems. They buy new clothes and go visiting all their relatives and friends. They also give candy to children who kiss the hand of adults as a sign of respect. All day today we have watched whole families walking down the street to or from visiting. They send greeting cards to their friends and relatives in other towns. Emma didn't come to work at all. Everything on the base is closed down. The garbage men got their strike settled and came around asking for a little tip from everyone in the apartments. They really wanted cigarettes, but we gave them 10 lira--which is about 60 cents. Cigarettes are a real luxury in Turkey, and everybody smokes.
Did you receive some pictures? We sent two rolls of film to be developed in Atlanta and then forwarded on to you. It should have been there by now. Mary had taken one roll and I took the other. Did you remember to get the pictures back from K-Mart about a week after we left? If you did get any pictures back, just keep them there for us.
We have ordered our car, and hopefully it will be waiting for us in Germany. It's a new Dodge Royal Sportsman van, blue and white. It seats 8 and is loaded with extras--air cond., tinted glass all around, power steering and brakes, and automatic trans. We saved several hundred dollars buying it through the military. Everyone advised us against a Volkswagen. So we checked around to see what was available and decided on the Dodge. Of course, we would rather have a Mercedes Benz, but, among other things, it wouldn't be big enough for a family of 6 to do much traveling. I'm just looking forward to not lugging groceries home on a bus. Hope we can keep up our walking, though. Also, both Dick and I will have to pass a very stiff driver's test.
I was counting my letters to you but lost track. Sounds like you're getting most of them. Be good and take care. We love you, Dick, Lou, & girls
September 29, 1976
Dear Mother and Daddy,
Sorry the coloring books and the tape were returned to you. We have received the manilla envelopes you sent though. Maybe if you send the voice tape in a manilla envelope it will come on through. We were able to buy crayons for the girls but couldn't find the coloring books. However, this week some finally came in at the bookstore. Please send the tax notices on over here because we need the receipt from the last year in order to buy a tag for our car.
We are all still doing fine and hope you are too. The weather was nice last week but went back into the nineties today and probably will for several more days. But we have all gotten so used to the heat that it doesn't bother us anymore. And the nights are nice--in the low 60's.
This is our week to be bus monitor, and Dick has been doing the honors. He says it's quite an interesting experience. Mary and Elizabeth just love having him ride to and from school with them. They are both still doing excellent work at school and seem very happy with their situations. Needless to say, we're glad of that.
This week marks the half-way point for Dick's classes, and he's giving the mid-term exams. That's always fun because it means so many papers to grade. On Friday night (Oct. 1st) he and several other faculty members are going to be on a panel discussing the issues in the upcoming election. The discussion will be open to everybody on base, so they expect a great crowd. Of course, Dick's part will focus on economics. It ought to be interesting.
We have bought several odds and ends in brass and copper and are going to package them up and send them on to you. If they ever arrive, some may be addressed to you and some to us or the girls. We may never see it again, but it won't be a great loss if we don't. We hope to make charm bracelets for each of the girls as we go along, and we can just carry those with us. Gold jewelry is really a good buy here. Mary is really in 7th heaen--she picks out necklaces and bracelets everywhere we go. Elizabeth has never been as crazy about jewelry as Mary has. Mary wears hers all the time, but Elizabeth puts hers in a safe place "to keep them safe" she says. Catherine has one favorite necklace and does't care about anything else yet.
Barney and Duchess seem to be doing fine, and the Stanfords are taking real good care of them. I know it's a lot of work for them. Mr. Stanford continues to improve, but Jack Reid is having bad trouble with his eyesight. Laurine is about the same, and always will be. David has gone back to school again. Things seem to be going along as usual down that way.
Dick is waiting to take this letter with him, so I'd better close so he won't miss the bus. Take good care of yourselves and write when you can. We miss you.
Lots of love,
Dick, Lou, & girls
October 9, 1976
Dear Mother and Daddy,
The pictures are your birthday present and get well present. Since we can't mail packages out of here, this was all we could think of. Besides that, I'm sure you wouldn't want anything from Turkey anyway.
Your letters are getting through just fine. It's only packages that can't get through. Letters are handled entirely by the U.S. military. The Turkish government has nothing to do with the letters. That is why we pay only 13 cents and send them to New York. I'm surprised the man at the post office in Anderson let you mail a package to Turkey since the service has been suspended for quite a while. The servicemen stationed here are mad as fire that the APO won't handle packages in and out of Turkey. They hope to get something settled before Christmas so that people can mail presents home to their families.
If you have not already done so, please mail us those letters you have there for us. We need a receipt of some kind out of one of the tax notices. The small manilla envelope you used last time got here okay.
Did you get the letter telling you to contact us through the Red Cross if you need us in a hurry? They can find out where we are pretty quickly.
I wrote a card to Aunt Jenny and also to the Wares. Hope they got them. Tell Aunt Jenny hello for us and how much we love to think of her delicious pie and cake she brought to the reunion.
Have a wonderful day on the 17th! Get well soon!
Lots of love,
Dick, Lou, and girls
This bridge was built by Alexander the Great.
Not exactly Disney World, but it was fun exploring the ruins of old castles.
October 11, 1976
October 11, 1976
Dear Mother and Daddy,
We just received your letter dated 4 Oct. which said that you are holding our tax notices and bank statements. If you have not already done so, please mail them on to us. We can't get our car without some information in the tax notices. If you have mailed it since the 4th, then we'll probably get it sometime this week. Your letters are all getting here just fine. Letters are not handled by the Turkish government, but by the American military postal service. So, if you think your letters are getting lost, it's not the fault of the Turkish government but of the American government. Turkey suspended postal service with the U.S. when we stopped supplying military weapons to them when they started fighting with the Greeks. But they did agree to let the servicemen stationed in Turkey receive letters, not packages, if the Americans would handle delivery.
We spent the weekend in Cyprus and had a wonderful time. We stayed at a resort area near Famagusta and our motel was right on the beach. The children thoroughly enjoyed the swimming and the sand. The water is quite salty but clear as a bell, and there are no waves like there are in the Atlantic Ocean. Before we left to come back today, we took a sight-seeing tour in Nicosia. It was really hard to get used to driving on the left side of the road. The British influence is evident everywhere. They were there for so long. Cyprus is only 25 minutes flying time from Adana. There was no school today because of Columbus Day, so the girls didn’t have to miss a day of school.
I spent my 32nd birthday on the beach in Famagusta, Cyprus with my family.
We were told not to take any pictures, but we told the authorities that we needed to take pictures of our children to send to grandparents.
Shopping in Nicosia, Cyprus
We certainly wish there were something we could do to help out while Daddy is in the hospital, but it sounds as if you have everything under control Please tell him we're thinking about him and hoping for a speedy recovery. Was the gland completely removed or just repaired? Guess the leaves are really piling up. It's nice that the baseball playoffs are on TV this weekend. Whom are you pulling for this year?
A pilot in Dick's class flies in and out of Germany regularly, and he mailed two packages for us last week from Germany. There's not much in either one, but they will have a little duty due. One is going to the Stanfords' house and one to you. We'll just have to sort it all out when we get home.
The girls sent birthday and get-well greetings last week, so hope you have received them. By the time you receive this letter your birthday will have passed but we hope it was happy. The trip to Cyprus was my present, and I really enjoyed it. It was great seeing the girls have so much fun.
We're all still doing fine, believe it or not, and hope to continue. Take good care of yourselves.
We Love You,
Dick, Lou, & girls
October 12, 1976
Adana, Turkey
Dear Mother and Daddy,
We received your letter today which was dated 7 October. That's only 5 days. Pretty good service. I'm glad you have mailed the tax notices and bank statements. We should get them sometime this week. We're so glad to hear that Daddy has done so well and hope he did get to go home on the 8th. That's remarkable. He must be careful not to get an infection. That's what happened to Mr. Stanford.
Catherine has really been saying some cute things lately. When we were flying to Cyprus her ears started popping, and she said "My ears turned on." One night while we were sitting at the bus stop with a bunch of other people at the base, a man coughed and she said (loudly) "Hey---that's a 'scuse me!" Then on one of our sightseeing tours the guide was telling about some point of interest, and when he turned around to sit down Catherine said (loudly) "He has a fat fanny." What made it worse was that Mary immediately said "Shhh" so loud that everyone laughed and laughed. The truth is that he was rather fat. But I don't think he realized what she meant, at least I hope he didn't. We never know what she will think of next. She keeps us all in stitches much of the time.
Elizabeth is looking forward to the 28th. Her class is having a Halloween Party that day, and I'm sending cupcakes for her birthday. There's no school on the 29th, and I'm not sure if we'll try to have a party because most of her friends live on base and wouldn't want to come in to town because these apartments are so hard to find. Also, Dick has to start teaching at 5:30 that afternoon, so he wouldn't be able to help long. We'll investigate and see if there's a place on base to have a party. The bakery does make beautiful cakes to order, so we might just have a "family party" this year and let her have whatever kind she wants to next year. (I know it will be a spend-the-night.)
The weather still gets up into the nineties every afternoon, so they're going to continue the summer schedule for school indefinitely. We had hoped to start the normal schedule next week, but it's still too hot.
Anne had her DPT and polio vaccines today, and she's sleeping the afternoon away. That always makes them sleepy. She is really beginning to get active. I have this sinking feeling that she's going to put Catherine's activity in the shade. Hope I can survive next year--that will be the year she'll be the hardest to handle.
There are several varieties of flowers that bloom here for a long time, I guess because it is so hot. But we have fresh flowers a lot--glads and other kinds. They're very inexpensive. Emma brought some once when she fixed us a Turkish meal. On many of the balconies around us we see ferns and other potted plants.
One thing that interested us about Cyprus was the absence of horse-drawn carts and animals in the streets. We also saw armed soldiers all along the roads. Guess they're holdovers from the fighting two years ago. But there wasn't much activity there--very quiet.
Hope Daddy continues to improve. Take good care of all and quit worrying about us. We're all fine.
We love you,
Dick, Lou, & girls
October 17, 1976,
Adana, Turkey
Dear Mother and Daddy,
Hope you are continuing to improve and that this was a happy birthday. I tried to call you at 3 p.m. our time (8 a.m. your time). By 5:45 the call still hadn't gotten through, so I had to cancel it and come back home. The operator said she had no idea why it was taking so long. Sorry about that, but we will try again when we get to Germany.
We are scheduled to leave here on November 8th and fly to Frankfurt. We hope to spend the night there and go to our apartment the next day since it will be late when we arrive and even later by the clocks in our bodies. The name of our village is Otterberg, and it is about a two-hour drive from Frankfurt. On our way out of Turkey we will stop in Istanbul to go through customs and change over to the Lufthansa airline.
Dick and Mary went to Goreme this weekend and had a wonderful time. It is the site of a vast underground city. It was about 20 miles from Caesarea. Goreme is what we know as Cappadocia. They had a great time, but the trip was about five hours by bus. We know Elizabeth and Catherine would never last that long, so that's why all of us didn't go. I did take E. and C. to the base where they were having the "Octoberfest," a fair of sorts. We had a great time doing that, too. We all plan to fly to Istanbul this coming Friday (22nd) and come back Monday 25th. The girls get another holiday Monday, Veterans Day I think, so they won't have to miss any school. We are going with a tour group sponsored by the Officers Wives Club. I'm really looking forward to that.
Anne is five months old (tomorrow) and is really developing fast. We can see the imprint of two little teeth on the bottom. She sleeps all night through, but less and less in the daytime. She's about to outgrow her carrier. She's also just before sitting up. We sent you some pictures of the children for your birthday and get well present. Hope you got them. Also, the girls drew some pictures for you. We did receive all the tax notices, etc. last Monday. Also got the birthday cards. I had a very nice birthday--my trip to Cyprus was just what I wanted. Also, on the 14th Dick got a beautiful birthday cake at the bakery, so we all go a little fatter. We also had prime rib at the NCO Club.
The weather continues to be hot, but the last few days we have had a light rain followed by a little cooler period. Very refreshing. It got really cool in the mountains where Dick and Mary went. It also is much cooler in Istanbul than it is here--it's 500 miles north of Adana. I bought a new pants suit to wear to Istanbul.
Guess you're watching the Series. Are you pulling for the Yankees? Looks like it might be as good as last year's Series. Hope so anyway. The games must come on around lunch time there (the first two games anyway) because they come on at 8 p.m. here. We can listen on the radio.
Dick is waiting to take this to the base so I'd better go. If he misses the bus it's 90 minutes til the next one. Hope you're both doing well. We miss you.
We love you,
Dick, Lou, & girls
October 19, 1976
Adana, Turkey
Dear Mother and Daddy,
We were so glad to hear that Daddy got home from the hospital and that he has done so well. Hope he continues to do so well and that he doesn't have a setback. He must rest up and get ready for the visit to Italy.
In case you didn't get my last letter, let me repeat that we are to leave here on Nov. 8 and fly to Frankfurt. Since we arrive in Frankfurt at night I hope they will let us stay at that nice Sheraton Hotel and then go on to our apartment in Otterberg on the 9th. It's about a two-hour drive from Frankfurt. Of course we'll stop in Istanbul on the way up to go through customs and to change planes. It's really hard to believe that the first leg of our journey is almost over.
If the packages come back to you again--(they probably will unless you put them in envelopes) you can mail them to Germany. They should get through to Germany. We're looking forward to some cooler weather, although lately we have not had to run the air-conditioner. We'll have to really plan well when we leave here in the heat and arrive in Germany in the cold. The girls are looking forward to some snow. Hope they're not going to be disappointed.
We have been without water now for almost 24 hours. A main water pipe burst or something. Anyway, we'll be glad when they get it fixed. I always keep some ready-to-feed formula on hand in case of emergencies such as this.
Do hope the rains didn't cause too much damage in Greenville. That was terrible. Guess our renters will know whether or not our house is waterproof. I'm sure that creek went way over its banks.
I am going to try and mail some of the children's schoolwork to you in manilla envelopes. Elizabeth insists that we not throw away any of hers. Of course it's much too bundlesome to take with us, so maybe it will make it to you. You may enjoy looking at some of the pictures they have drawn. We have a first grader just learning to print and a third grader learning to write in cursive. Both of their teachers are so good. I wish they could go with us to Germany. But maybe we'll get two more good ones there.
Poor Furman started off with such a bang this year and now is having a bad time of it. We noticed that Clemson is having a poor year, too. Georgia's doing pretty well.
Catherine said yesterday that she wanted to "get pretty and go to Papa's house." Guess she was thinking of getting dressed up and going to the Country Club. She tells everyone she sees that we're going to get a car in Germany. Whether or not they understand English, they're so impressed when she talks to them.
Has the package arrived from Germany yet? One of Dick's students took it and mailed it from there. I don't know what was in it--nothing much. We'll have to sort it out when we get there. We have some more stuff we'd like to mail, but we may have to try and carry it with us to Germany and then mail it.
Take good care of yourselves and write when you can. Don't mail anything here after Nov. 1.
We miss you. We love you,
Dick, Lou, & girls
October 28, 1976
Adana, Turkey
Dear Mother and Daddy,
Hope you received our letter telling you about our trip to Istanbul. We had such a good time. It was the highlight of our trip to Turkey. Spent a good bit of money, but we feel it was worth it. The hotel was really nice, and we had very good guides on our sightseeing tours. Since we were with a tour group, we didn't have to worry about taxi fares and such. That was a great help. We will be able to sign up for lots of tours like that in Germany, and of course with a car, we can take a few trips on our own.
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also known as The Blue Mosque in Istanbul. An Ottoman era mosque, it was built from 1609-1616 and is still a functioning mosque today. It is affiliated with the Sunni Islam tradition. It has six minarets and is next door to the Hagia Sophia mosque, which was converted to a museum in the 1930’s. The Hagia Sophia mosque was built in the 6th century and for the next millennium it served as a Christian Church. Both mosques are principal tourist attractions in Istanbul.
The Eurasia bridge across the Bosporus Sea connects Europe and Asia. We saw it from our hotel.
Today there is an underground tunnel for a rapid transit system.
Our hotel in Istanbul, looking out over the Bosporus Sea. It was lovely, and we enjoyed our trip back to the 20th century while staying there. However, what I remember most about the hotel was that one night at dinner the waiter gave all of us glasses of water, and before we could stop her, Catherine, aged 2 & a half, immediately bit into hers, sending broken glass everywhere. I had to get the glass out of her mouth, and a nice man nearby started putting the glass back together to see if any pieces were missing. It all turned out fine, and Catherine wasn’t hurt. But, the waiter made us pay for the glass.
Elizabeth is now six and is so proud of herself, and we are too. They sang to her at school today and we sent cupcakes. They also had their Halloween parties today since there's no school tomorrow. It's the Turkish Independence Day--the Republic is 53 years old. So it was a very exciting day for Elizabeth. We gave her a camera, necklace, a new Barbie doll, and some books. We are going to get her a watch in Germany or Switzerland. Mrs. Stanford gave me the money for it before we left. We reminded her of the suitcase you gave her. She seemed very pleased with everything. We ordered a cake at the bakery, and it is the largest cake we've ever had. Delicious, too.
Dick is giving his last lectures tonight. Next week will be the exams. He'll really be busy this weekend grading their reports and making up tests. He's really worked hard and has hated being away from the family so many nights a week, but he has enjoyed the work.
The other day one of his students took him to see the Galaxy C5A which is the largest plane in the Air Force. He got to sit in the pilot's chair. It's the type of plane that was carrying those Vietnamese orphans and crashed. It has two computers on board. He said it was hard to describe just how big that plane is. They can drive six greyhound buses onto it and park them and have room left for 80 soldiers and all their gear. Dick said it was really a thrill to see it. He had to climb 2 flights of stairs inside it to get to the pilot's chair. It's hard to imagine that something that huge can actually fly.
We hear that Mr. Stanford is doing pretty well after his accident. Hope it doesn't get his spirits down. He won't be able to walk around 18 holes anymore. I'm sure he's had enough of doctors and hospitals for a long time.
So glad you got the pictures. Hope you had a nice birthday. We had a real sweet letter from Aunt Jenny. It's hard to believe she's 80 years old. I will ty to write Mrs. Ramseur a card soon.
Mary is reading the Bobbsey Twins stories now and is really enjoying them. She really reads well for a third grader. She almost reads one book in one day. I remember reading those stories when I was a little older than she is. We can buy books at the Stars and Stripes Book Store or check them out of the base library. I have read a few Agatha Christie books but spend most of my free time writing letters. We haven't missed the TV but Catherine has. We really enjoy the radio.
The hours for trick-or-treating on the base are 5 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday night. So Dick will take M., E., & C. out there for that. I'm glad it will still be light. Turkey will also go back on standard time Sunday. Next week is conference week for the schools so the girls will get out at 10 a.m. every day. Guess they can help me pack up. Ha, ha, ha! We'll be leaving soon after you get this letter.
Be careful. We miss you. We love you,
Dick, Lou, & girls
Elizabeth’s 6th birthday. What a big girl, and what a huge cake!
Elizabeth and Miss Berg at school.
Below is a photo of an updated C5A, the plane that one of Dick’s students took him to see. It could hold 6 Gray Hound buses and still have room for soldiers and their gear. A really big plane for that time.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures of anything on the base, so we don’t have any idea how this illegal photo (below) of a C130 that was parked at Incirlik got into our camera. Seriously.
November 1, 1976
Adana, Turkey
Dear Mother and Daddy,
Hope you are still doing well. We are all fine and are enjoying the cooler weather. It still gets up to about 90 degrees in the afternoon, but down to 60 degrees at night. As soon as the sun goes down, we have to put on sweaters. The few rains that we have had have cleared the air of dust, and we can see some beautiful snow-covered mountains in the distance. We didn't even know there were any mountains that close to us.
Did you set your clocks back? We forgot to, and got up too early. But Anne was awake and didn't look at the clock to see what time it was. We went to the base for breakfast at the Officers Club. They serve a big brunch every Sunday. It's okay, nothing much to brag about.
I took the three big girls trick-or-treating last night at the base. The hours were from 5-7:30 p.m. and were strictly enforced. This was Catherine's first time to go, and she didn't quite understand what it was all about right at first. She wanted to stop and eat after the second house. She also got frightened by some of the other trick-or-treaters in their costumes. But finally she began to get the hang of it and enjoyed it a lot. I have rationed out the candy and gum and hope to give most of it to the Turkish children in our neighborhood.
By the time you get this, the election will be over. In all the confusion before we left, we neglected to see about getting absentee ballots, so we can't vote. But we have been keeping up with both candidates and are hoping Ford can pull it out. Guess it will be close. I sure do hate not voting.
I'm not sure how much I'll get to write this week since there is so much packing up to do. The children will get out of school at 10:00 a.m. every morning this week for conference week, so I'll have my hands full. I do hope to be able to leave this apartment as clean as I found it. We're still trying to figure out the best way to take what few gifts we have bought, since we can't mail them yet. If the APO opens up for parcels, we can leave them here all packed up and ready to go and let a friend mail them.
We're still eating Elizabeth's birthday cake, and it's so good. Of course we're not losing much weight this way. I had expected to get real sick in Turkey and lose lots of weight that I could put back on with apple strudel in Germany. However, we've all stayed well, fortunately. The water is not nearly as bad here as some people think it is.
We received a letter from a friend in Greenville this week in only four days. That was a record. We were also glad to hear that Mr. Stanford is home from the hospital. We do hope that's the last of the hospital stays for our families.
We love you,
Dick, Lou, & girls
NOTE: That was the last letter I wrote to my folks from Turkey. What a wild and wonderful adventure we had during those three months. The next letter I wrote was from Germany. And that’s a whole different story.
This is the van we ordered while we were still in Turkey. We picked it up in Germany, and for the next nine months, we put 24,000 miles on it. We enjoyed many road-side picnics and tailgates in Germany, Italy, and England. Also, it was such a relief not to have to put four small children, a stroller, and a week’s worth of groceries on a bus to get to our apartment. Just sayin’ …
Dick, Anne & the van in Germany. We don’t have many photos of him in Turkey since he was always out at the base or taking photos of us.
EPILOGUE:
We left Adana on November 8 and headed for the second leg of our awesome year-long journey. As we have looked back through the pictures and letters from that time, we have been thrilled and amazed at what all we did and saw and that we were even brave enough to accept such a wonderful travel opportunity.
We wouldn’t take anything for having spent time in southern Turkey. Incirlik was considered a hardship base, which meant that those who were stationed there had to stay only 14 months, instead of the regular two- year assignment. It was located in an underdeveloped area of the world, and there were significant cultural challenges there. Life, indeed, was difficult on numerous levels. We learned a lot about many things, especially about the capacity of being flexible and about not complaining about what we didn’t have. We made do every day, and loved every, well almost every, minute of our time there.
Our second base was in Otterberg, Germany at Ramstein Air Force base, which was the headquarters of the US Air Force in Europe. We lacked for nothing there. It was like going from the 19th century in Adana into the 20th century in Otterberg. Of course, the first thing we did when we got to Ramstein was to call our parents in Anderson and Jacksonville. We had not been able to make a phone call from Turkey the entire time we were there. All our parents and friends were surprised that we had loved Turkey so much and that we were healthy, happy, and in such good spirits. While we really enjoyed being in Germany and spending Christmas there, we truly cherish the memories of our time and experiences in Turkey. We never felt threatened or in danger, and often became the objects of much curiosity. The people were wonderful to us and accepted us as we were.
Yes, that trip, starting in Turkey, was a risky undertaking, especially with four small children, no telephones, no GPS, multiple language barriers, different money and currency, and mysterious things in the water. But the risk was far outweighed by the unique experiences we had, and we are the grateful beneficiaries of all that we gained by accepting the risk.
Our second base was in Otterberg, Germany at Ramstein Air Force base, which was the headquarters of the US Air Force in Europe. We lacked for nothing there. It was like going from the 19th century in Adana into the 20th century in Otterberg. Of course, the first thing we did when we got to Ramstein was to call our parents in Anderson and Jacksonville. We had not been able to make a phone call from Turkey the entire time we were there. All our parents and friends were surprised that we had loved Turkey so much and that we were healthy, happy, and in such good spirits. While we really enjoyed being in Germany and spending Christmas there, we truly cherish the memories of our time and experiences in Turkey. We never felt threatened or in danger, and often became the objects of much curiosity. The people were wonderful to us and accepted us as we were.
Yes, that trip, starting in Turkey, was a risky undertaking, especially with four small children, no telephones, no GPS, multiple language barriers, different money and currency, and mysterious things in the water. But the risk was far outweighed by the unique experiences we had, and we are the grateful beneficiaries of all that we gained by accepting the risk.
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