The Love Sweetie Podcast is a unique historical project that features real letters from Kathryn Frances Demaree Graham a.k.a. "Sweetie" that were written during her lifetime.  These authentic letters are narrated and commented on by the hosts of the show (who give context on what is being discussed).  

This is the third of three episodes which feature letters from Sweetie's husband, Lew.  This episode picks up the story with Lew in the U.S. Merchant Marine as oil tanker he is on (the SS Atlantic Transporter) goes on various trips to fill up with oil in South America, and notably at Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela.  Lew describes what this is like, but he also starts making clear plans about what is to occur when Sweetie and Lewis reunite with him in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  

For more information, please go to www.lovesweetiepodcast.com.  This podcast is also available on YouTube - please like, share, and subscribe there.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on X at @lovesweetieshow.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on Instagram at love_sweetie_podcast

The Love Sweetie Podcast is a unique historical project that features real letters from Kathryn Frances Demaree Graham a.k.a. "Sweetie" that were written during her lifetime.  These authentic letters are narrated and commented on by the hosts of the show (who give context on what is being discussed).  

The Love Sweetie Podcast is a unique historical project that features real letters from Kathryn Frances Demaree Graham a.k.a. "Sweetie" that were written during her lifetime.  These authentic letters are narrated and commented on by the hosts of the show (who give context on what is being discussed).  The letters, as displayed on the screen, have been transcribed based on the original documents - as such, incorrect spellings, typos (especially as Sweetie writes the majority of her letters using a typewriter), and punctuation and other formatting (the use of caps lock for certain words) are authentic to the documents as they were originally written.

This is the second of three episodes which feature letters exclusively from Sweetie's husband, Lew.  In the previous episode, Lew joined the crew of the SS Atlantic Transporter, which crossed the Atlantic Ocean and was heading into the Mediterranean Sea.  This episode picks up the story, as the ship continues through the Mediterranean, past Port Said, Egypt, through the Suez Canal, and into the Persian Gulf.  Throughout, Lew describes what he is seeing and life aboard the ship.  In particular, he describes the tradesmen from Egypt and Kuwait coming aboard the ship to sell their wares to the men on board.   He took several photos of this activity, and they are shown in this episode.

The photographs and map referenced in this episode can be seen in the photo albums on the Podcast's website at www.lovesweetiepodcast.com.

For more information, please go to www.lovesweetiepodcast.com.  This podcast is also available on YouTube - please like, share, and subscribe there.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on X at @lovesweetieshow.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on Instagram at love_sweetie_podcast

The Love Sweetie Podcast is a unique historical project that features real letters from Kathryn Frances Demaree Graham a.k.a. "Sweetie" that were written during her lifetime.  These authentic letters are narrated and commented on by the hosts of the show (who give context on what is being discussed).  

This is the first of three episodes which feature letters exclusively from Sweetie's husband, Lew.  In the previous episode, Sweetie and Lew returned to her home town of Lacona, Iowa in the fall of 1948.  However, Lew was not destined to be a farmer, and by the end of that episode, he had returned to the Philadelphia area to join the US Merchant Marine.  This first part of the trilogy of episodes documenting his time in the US Merchant Marine features the letters he wrote in December 1948 and January 1949, as the oil tanker he is on crosses the Atlantic Ocean.  The ship was known to the men as the SS Atlantic Transporter.  He describes life on board the ship, and at the end of these letters, the ship is approaching Port Said, Egypt.

This episode also features some of Lew's original photographs from his time on board the ship, as well as photos of the original menus that the men had in the mess hall.  It is not known if any other original menus from this ship survive.  Those photographs can be reviewed online in the specific album for them at https://www.lovesweetiepodcast.com/lew-in-the-merchant-marine

For more information, please go to www.lovesweetiepodcast.com.  This podcast is also available on YouTube - please like, share, and subscribe there.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on X at @lovesweetieshow.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on Instagram at love_sweetie_podcast

The Love Sweetie Podcast is a unique historical project that features real letters from Kathryn Frances Demaree Graham a.k.a. "Sweetie" that were written during her lifetime.  These authentic letters are narrated and commented on by the hosts of the show (who give context on what is being discussed).  

This episode features ten documents, including letters and postcards, which are the only remaining pieces of correspondence in the collection that provide details on Sweetie's life in the summer and fall of 1948.  In these documents, we learn that Sweetie, Lew, and Lewis left Pennsylvania in July 1948 and moved as a family to her parent's home town of Lacona, Iowa.  It is clear that Lew, having left the US Navy, was attempting to become a farmer.  However, by the the end of the episode, we learn that it is simply not working out, and Lew leaves his family to find other work (while Sweetie and her son, Lewis, remain with her parents in Iowa).  Lew returns to the East Coast, and joins the US Merchant Marine.

This is an exceptional episode featuring rare photos of their home in Lacona, Iowa and Sweetie's father's farm (the Demaree farm).  At this time, these are the only known photos to survive from this time period of those subjects.  These photos are reviewed in this episode in the middle of the video, for about twenty minutes.

For the audio only version of this podcast, please note that the review of the photographs occurs starts about 30 minutes into the episode, and continues for about 20 minutes, after which, the letters resume.  To follow along with the photographs, go to the photo albums on the Love Sweetie Podcast website.

For more information, please go to www.lovesweetiepodcast.com.  This podcast is also available on YouTube - please like, share, and subscribe there.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on X at @lovesweetieshow.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on Instagram at love_sweetie_podcast

The Love Sweetie Podcast is a unique historical project that features real letters from Kathryn Frances Demaree Graham a.k.a. "Sweetie" that were written during her lifetime.  These authentic letters are narrated and commented on by the hosts of the show (who give context on what is being discussed).  

This episode features five documents from Sweetie in the spring and early summer of 1948.  Unfortunately, February 1948 begins with Sweetie's son, Lewis, becoming sick and being hospitalized for pneumonia.  Then, we fast forward to letters from March and May of 1948, in which we learn that Sweetie, Lew, and Lewis are leaving Norwood, Pennsylvania and are planning to move back to her home state of Iowa to stay in the town where her parents live - Lacona.  

Finally, the story progresses to June 1948, in which month Sweetie wrote no letters, but we know the family was still in Pennsylvania, as we review the photos from the wedding of Lew's sister, Elizabeth (Sweetie's sister-in-law).  Elizabeth marries a man named Bob Brown on June 19, 1948.  We get to see the wedding fashion of the time - the 1940's.

Please note that the photographs mentioned in this episode can be seen in the "Graham Family 1940's and Earlier" photo album on the Love Sweetie Podcast website.  Here is the link to that online album: https://www.lovesweetiepodcast.com/the-graham-family-1940-s-and-earlier

For more information, please go to www.lovesweetiepodcast.com.  This podcast is also available on YouTube - please like, share, and subscribe there.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on X at @lovesweetieshow.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on Instagram at love_sweetie_podcast

The Love Sweetie Podcast is a unique historical project that features real letters from Kathryn Frances Demaree Graham a.k.a. "Sweetie" that were written during her lifetime.  These authentic letters are narrated and commented on by the hosts of the show (who give context on what is being discussed).  

This episode features Sweetie's first two letters from January 1948.  Sweetie recaps Christmas 1947 in Pennsylvania, and notes that her sister-in-law, Elizabeth, has gotten engaged to a man named Bob Brown.  We receive updates about the Demaree family, and, in the second letter, Sweetie describes what her daily life is like at her home in Norwood, PA with her two-year old son, Lewis.

For more information, please go to www.lovesweetiepodcast.com.  This podcast is also available on YouTube - please like, share, and subscribe there.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on X at @lovesweetieshow.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on Instagram at love_sweetie_podcast

The Love Sweetie Podcast is a unique historical project that features real letters from Kathryn Frances Demaree Graham a.k.a. "Sweetie" that were written during her lifetime.  These authentic letters are narrated and commented on by the hosts of the show (who give context on what is being discussed).  The letters have been transcribed based on the original documents - as such, incorrect spellings, typos (especially as Sweetie writes the majority of her letters using a typewriter), and punctuation and other formatting (the use of caps lock for certain words) are authentic to the documents as they were originally written.

This episode features one letter from December 1947 - it is the last letter Sweetie writes to family that year.  Sweetie discusses that her son, Lewis, had been sick again, indicates her plans for Christmas, and mentions some of the family drama that is occurring as her sister-in-law, Elizabeth, is getting engaged during the holiday. 

At the end of this episode, we also review some of the world history of the time and review an excerpt from the book "Truman" by David McCullough, specifically his description of President Truman giving the speech to Congress which starts the Truman Doctrine.  We note that with the closing of 1947, the Cold War has begun, and American foreign policy is moving in a new direction.

As noted in the episode, please check out Episode 50 "The Highlight of the Entire Trip" and Episode 57 "She's Expecting a Ring for Christmas."

For more information, please go to www.lovesweetiepodcast.com.  This podcast is also available on YouTube - please like, share, and subscribe there.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on X at @lovesweetieshow.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on Instagram at love_sweetie_podcast

The Love Sweetie Podcast is a unique historical project that features real letters from Kathryn Frances Demaree Graham a.k.a. "Sweetie" that were written during her lifetime.  These authentic letters are narrated and commented on by the hosts of the show (who give context on what is being discussed).  The letters, as displayed on the screen, have been transcribed based on the original documents - as such, incorrect spellings, typos (especially as Sweetie writes the majority of her letters using a typewriter), and punctuation and other formatting (the use of caps lock for certain words) are authentic to the documents as they were originally written.

This episode features three letters from late 1947.  Sweetie writes in confidence to her sister, Jeanne, and it is revealed that Jeanne has been in a relationship with a man named Clifford for about a year.  It is implied that Jeanne is unsure what to do, so she has asked for Sweetie's help with the matter.  What results is some of the best romantic writing that Sweetie has written thus far on the subject of love and marriage.  Her advice is timeless, and it is a privilege to share it with the world.

For more information, please go to www.lovesweetiepodcast.com.  This podcast is also available on YouTube - please like, share, and subscribe there.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on X at @lovesweetieshow.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on Instagram at love_sweetie_podcast

The Love Sweetie Podcast is a unique historical project that features real letters from Kathryn Frances Demaree Graham a.k.a. "Sweetie" that were written during her lifetime.  These authentic letters are narrated and commented on by the hosts of the show (who give context on what is being discussed).  The letters, as displayed on the screen, have been transcribed based on the original documents - as such, incorrect spellings, typos (especially as Sweetie writes the majority of her letters using a typewriter), and punctuation and other formatting (the use of caps lock for certain words) are authentic to the documents as they were originally written.

This episode features two letters from the fall of 1947.  Sweetie provides updates on her life in Norwood, Pennsylvania, writes about her son, Lewis', second birthday in September, and finally receives the sewing machine that she waited 16 months for (after placing the order for it in 1946).  She also provides at the end a dramatic update about her sister-in-law, Elizabeth.

For more information, please go to www.lovesweetiepodcast.com.  This podcast is also available on YouTube - please like, share, and subscribe there.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on X at @lovesweetieshow.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on Instagram at love_sweetie_podcast

The Love Sweetie Podcast is a unique historical project that features real letters from Kathryn Frances Demaree Graham a.k.a. "Sweetie" that were written during her lifetime.  These authentic letters are narrated and commented on by the hosts of the show (who give context on what is being discussed).  The letters, as displayed on the screen, have been transcribed based on the original documents - as such, incorrect spellings, typos (especially as Sweetie writes the majority of her letters using a typewriter), and punctuation and other formatting (the use of caps lock for certain words) are authentic to the documents as they were originally written.

This episode features one big letter from August 1947, as Sweetie recounts her honeymoon that she takes with her husband, Lew, four years after their wedding.  (As they had been married during World War II, they had not taken a honeymoon at that time.). Sweetie and Lew travel to Canada and visit Niagara Falls, and then go to Toronto.  They return a few days later to Pennsylvania, driving past orchards blooming in the late summer, and Sweetie starts to make plans for the fall of 1947.

For more information, please go to www.lovesweetiepodcast.com.  This podcast is also available on YouTube - please like, share, and subscribe there.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on X at @lovesweetieshow.  Follow the Love Sweetie Podcast on Instagram at love_sweetie_podcast