My dear son in law

(c) Frederick Walton, Family historian

UPDATE 4/27/2020: When I talked to my Mom today she mentioned that she was actually born at home and not at the hospital I I had originally assumed and wrote about in theis article. I updated this below.

6/18/2018: My sisters are helping my Mom go through her stuff after a recent move and they have been funneling me some of the family history in the form of letters, photos and newspaper clippings. The letter below  is one of the treasures I would like to share with you:

Ottilie on her farm in warmer weather

Ottilie Kroll woke up to a cold house on Thursday, February 9, 1933. A west wind blew in an overnight cold front that rapidly dropped the temperature from a balmy mid 50's to below zero with swirls of sparkling white snow covering the landscape. A typical day on her farm in Chester had begun. The light snow would not keep anyone from their chores. The morning fires needed to be started and the cows milked while she presided over the huge iron stove cooking the men a hot breakfast. [1]

The Kroll Farm in Chester New York on a snowy Day

Across the continent, in Hollywood, California, the weather was warming up to a chilly but comfortable 57 degree high, with no snow, a lot nicer than the deep freeze covering most of the rest of the United States.

Ottilie's daughter, Lydia, was at home about to give birth to her first child. Lydia and her husband Erwin had crossed the continent the previous year, driving from New York to Los Angeles where they had hoped to ignite his dream career as a singer and actor in Hollywood. This trip was no small task in the depression era America of 1932, long before any interstate highways existed. Many times their travels took them through rutted cowpaths, over steep mountains, fording rivers and crossing the dessert. That they arrived safely is a testament to their determination.

Suddenly Lydia realized that her baby was ready to be born. With no time to get to the hospital, her husband, Erwin, and future brother -in-law, Enrico Caruso,Jr., rolled up their sleeves and delivered the child themselves. Later, they took mother and baby to the hospital, but since she wasn't born there, they couldn't go into the maternity section and had to reside in a regular hospital room.  

Lydia and Baby Jeanne

It is doughtful that Ottilie knew of the impending  arrival of her grandchild on this cold morning, but news soon wisked its way across the country via Western Union telegraph lines that clicked out the message up and down the far away East coast.

Otillie expressed her thoughts in the following note mailed to the new parents in California. My cousin Vivian translated it as follows:

My dear son in law,We are sending you the best wishes to the birth of your little girl. When you return you will have to hang the baby carriage on to the car, so that everyone will think the best of you, but we are very happy that Lydia and the baby are healthy. And now take good care of the both of them.Greetings from your beloved mother in lawThe 5 dollars are for the baby                                                  Ottilie

(Comments in Blue pen from Lydia)

Her German is old fashioned style German/Prussian and the spelling and punctuation are not entirely correct, but the sentiment is clear, Otillie is a proud grandmother.

In case you're wondering, $5.00 is 1933 is equal to nearly $100 today. That would help with lots of diapers and baby formula! And the Baby Carriage... I'm not sure if they hung it on the car, but shortly after Jeanne was born, they packed all their belongings into (and on the driving board) of their trusty automobile and headed back to Middletown, N. Y. where he took over his family dry cleaning business and settled down with his new family.

Notes:

1 The weather was reported in the Middletown Newspaper