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BETTY JEAN LENZ : 1944 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT HOMEFRONT DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY A YOUNG ALL-AMERICAN GIRL IN THE NORTH STAR STATE

12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. On offer is a superb 1944 diary of a young woman working in Minneapolis MN during 1944. The daily diary measures 7 1/2 inches by 5 inches, contains about 380 pages is virtually 100% complete. The hard cover and pages are in very good condition. Included in the diary are 2 unidentified pictures of individuals in uniform and a number of items attached to individual pages. The writing is quite legible. The writer is Betty Jean Lenz. When she begins her diary, she is 22 years old and working at an unidentified business in Minneapolis. She lives with her parents. The diary details her everyday happenings 1944. Her entries can be long and remark on family activities and her fairly busy social life. She certainly enjoys the cinema and sees a movie many evenings of each week, sometimes with her mother and other times with various friends. A film historian would delight in this year-long catalogue of 1944 movies. "Got up at 9:00 A.M. Dressed and had breakfast. Went downtown early to pay my Insurance. Went to work. Valentines Day today. Got a letter from Wally. Had supper with Margie and Gracia. Gracia met me after work and we went to Curley's. Some soldiers and sailors tried to pick us up but no go. Got to bed about 12:00 midnight" [Feb 14]. "... Went downtown about noon to go to Orpheum to see the Andrews Sisters in person. ... Real good. ... Mom and I went for a walk and ended up at Emma's. ... . Played cards. Got to bed at 12:30 AM" [May 14] "... Helen Griffin came up to see me. Gracia didn't leave for NY after all - she got a job at Curley's. I went bowling for Dayton league ... I'm on Tally-Ho team. We lost all games to Nylon team. Margie's announcement (engagement notice clipped to the page) was in paper tonight" [Sept 12]. On April 6th, she changes jobs to begin working at Daytons University Store - the major retailing department store in Minneapolis. On Aug 13th, she and a friend take their vacation in New York City. Her diary is replete with references to well-known points of interest. For example: Marshall Field & Co (Chicago) [Aug 14], Rockefeller Center [Aug 16], Jack Dempsey's restaurant [Aug 18]. A constant theme throughout the diary is her relationship with Wally Spriestersbach. The year begins with her being engaged to him but by June, they had broken up. They continued to see each other and rite each other and by year end, were still going out together. She is certainly aware of events happening on the world stage: "Rome was captured by allies. One down & two to go - Berlin & Tokyo" [June 4]; "Allied invasion started. Allied troops landed in France. So glad it finally started" [June 6]. She notes the servicemen they met and good times enjoyed with them: "Met two "Jewish" soldiers, Abe [ ] and Sal. Played cards and had a lot of fun" [Aug 14]; " ... Met 2 soldiers after the show: Bill Grever and John Willix. Went to Cafe Metropol and Candlelight Lounge with them" [Aug 16]. This is a superb example of detailed diary-keeping. A historian or researcher looking at life during the war years will find this to be a goldmine of data. Full of local references to people and places, a local historian would find many threads to follow up on in this diary.. Illustr.: /. Manuscript. Book Condition: Good +

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