Guilty Pleasures, Posted on January 20, 2026

One of the guilty pleasures afforded to historians is the chance to read the private correspondence and diaries of people who lived long ago.

Recently, I found a letter posted in December of 1945, while the United States was at war.

The letter was addressed to Mary Kerr (Mrs. John T. Kerr, Sr., 1864-1947).  It was from her niece Gertrude who lived in Canada at the time.

The letter included an update on Mary’s brother (Gertrude’s father) who was in the hospital with a duodenal ulcer. Apparently, he was feeling much better and would be discharged soon. She suggested that if Mary wanted to cheer her brother up, some cigars would help. He was contemplating a vacation to Florida but didn’t want to go alone, she added. 

Mary was expecting a lonely Christmas as her husband had passed away in 1940 and her son, John T. Kerr III was away in the Navy. So a trip to sunny Florida would be a nice diversion. 

I wonder if Mary took the hint.