Scarborough Historical Society

[This is a letter from “Dotty” (at the Atlantic House and Cottages, Scarborough Beach, Maine,) to “Grammy” (Miss Helen Lamb, Gorham Maine R.F.D. #2. The letter was postmarked Aug 31, 1939, Scarborough, Maine at 3 PM.]

Transcription

Hi! “Grammy”,
How’s everything in Whiterock?  I’ll bet they don’t even miss me!  Are you getting so much practice in croquet that you’ll beat me all to pieces when I get back?
Gee it’s swell down here– everyone is so grand to me.  There are very few restrictions here — we can play tennis on the courts, use the shuffle board, go swimming on the same beach with the guests can an’ everything.  We stay in a house by ourselves and go to bed when we want to, only we have to get up at 5:30.  Imagine that!
Some of the youngsters I have are very exasperating but some of them are dolls.  I have quite a lot of time off, but I don’t know where it goes to. Honestly it seems as though I had been here ten minutes.
I think I will have mama Sunday night and i want them to bring you with ’em.  I’ll tell Helen to call you.
I’m getting along famously with my work.  I still write the orders just to be sure I get everything.  The nurses are awful good (every child has a nurse or governess) and I  have a lot of fun with them.
Two of the girls weren’t speaking to me because I glanced at their boy friends.  You should see them — dumb as they make them. A new waitress is just about it so they used to come into my dining room after every meal while I was sweeping. When I found out about the girl friends I stopped that.  Now the girls smile.  I think they are terribly silly — boy if I did that every time a girl looked at Phil I couldn’t keep them straight and I might speak to the wrong person.  There are about  three radios going here all different so I’ll stop before it gets so  you can’t make sense out of this thing. Write. Love, Dotty

The address is just what is at the top of the papers.
Have about six more letters to write.  Got a letter from Phil this morning. His letters are swell, just as though he were here talking to me. I don’t see how he makes them so interesting.

[Transcription by Rebecca (Plummer) Delaware – 4/11/2021]

Additional Notes:

• “Grammy” is Helen Lamb, later Plummer.
• “Dotty” is believed to be Dorothy Evens. Apparently a waitress for the Atlantic House in Scarborough in 1939.
• “Helen” mentioned in the letter is probably Dotty’s sister, Helen Evans.
• “Phil” mentioned is probably Philip Bodge.
• Helen Lamb, Dorothy Evans, and Philip Bodge graduated from Gorham High School as part of the class of 1940. The Evans and Lambs were from Whiterock (a part of Gorham) which is mostly a rural farming community. Philip Bodge lived in Gorham village.