Letters from Simon: A True Story of Love

By Simon Peterson

We never knew our grandparents on our mother’s side. Simon (a.k.a. Jack) and Rebecca (a.k.a. Lessie, Nora) both passed away while our mother was still a young girl. However, after our mother’s passing, we discovered that she had been holding on to scores of love letters her father had written her mother during a long courtship. Clearly, letters are missing, and she only had a couple of letters Lessie had written to Simon, but these letters have allowed us, if only on a small scale, to learn something of their character. It is a fascinating peek into the challenges, hardships, family dynamics, and faith of one South Georgia couple living in poverty.

Simon and Rebecca’s grandkids

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973651536

Simon Peterson

Simon Peterson was born in Douglas, Georgia in 1888 and died 1936 of pneumonia. He was married to Lessie Rebecca Carelock and the couple made their home in South Georgia. The couple had one daughter, Juan Jose Peterson, who was left to the care of an aunt at age 12 following the untimely death of her mother and father. Juan preserved the letters Simon had written to Lessie during their long and arduous courtship. Her grandkids discovered the letters in 2011 following her death.

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Copyright © 2019 Simon Peterson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-5152-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5154-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5153-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019900541

WestBow Press rev. date: 1/28/2019

CONTENTS

Foreword

1908

1909

1910

1911

1912

1913

1916

1917

1918

1919

1920

1921

1922

1923-1927

1927

1934

1936

1940

1941

Epilogue

FOREWORD

We never knew our grandparents on our mother’s side. Simon (aka Jack) and Rebecca (aka Lessie, Nora) both passed away while our mother was still a young girl. However, after our mother’s passing in 2011, we discovered that she had been holding onto scores of love letters that her father, (Simon) had written to her mother, (Rebecca) during a long and complicated courtship. Clearly, letters are missing and there were only a couple of Rebecca’s letters to Simon, but these letters have allowed us to learn something of their character and Faith. It is a fascinating peak into the challenges, hardships, family dynamics, and Faith of one South Georgia couple living in poverty, but deeply in love.

Perhaps most interesting about these letters is the quality of the penmanship in spite of using whatever scraps of paper Simon could scrounge, often writing around the edges to utilize every square centimeter of usable space without ever sacrificing beauty of script.

Simon’s sister Ruby Tanner wrote a regular column for a south Georgia newspaper. In one of her writings, she describes these letters:

"My only niece, Juanie, daughter of my brother Simon Peterson and Lessie Carelock Peterson, sent me a few of the letters he wrote her before their marriage. They are yellowed from over forty years, with a two cent stamp on them.

She, (Juanie) wrote ‘it breaks my heart to read their love letters, but strangely enough they bring me peace. I am proud they were my parents’.

I was beginning first grade when Simon graduated from High School in Broxton, and I remember a few years later, after I could read, I’d drag out all his letters from Lessie and read them. I was lonely and bored and it made fascinating reading.

I began to suspect maybe reading other people’s letters was exactly the right thing to do.

They were sweethearts from school days, dating no one else. Theirs was a long courtship. But they had dreams and goals such as teaching, going to different colleges. He was studying the ministry at Mercer University, and she was in Seminary at Monteagle, TN. They were deeply committed Christians.

Naturally, she excelled in writing love letters. He predicted in time they would be masterpieces. Once he had a difficult decision to make and he wrote her this: ‘My precious one; I feel the need of you with your calm reason and judgement. You express so much confidence, assurance and love, until my very being—soul is flooded with joy.’

In a letter with plans for the wedding he wrote, ‘Ruby is now playing Mendelssohn’s March which shall pronounce the last moments of our single life in less than a week. Just one week from tonight I shall have been a married man more than 24 hours. What strange emotions play over my being. May they never lose one iota of their mysticism and joyfulness.’

They had only a few years together. He died first, she about five years later."

Before you move to the reading of the letters, we feel the need to explain our mothers name, Juan Jose. She hated the name her entire life and constantly threatened retribution when she met up with her parents in heaven. Simon had a brother, John Joseph, that died young. On his brother’s deathbed, Simon promised to name his first born after him. Simon knew that John Joseph wouldn’t do for a daughter’s name, but reconciled his promise by using the Spanish translation, (Simon was fluent is Spanish). Mother’s friends and relatives called her Juanie to give it a more feminine appeal.

Also, please know that the biggest challenge in publishing these letters was deciphering them. Simon often wrote very small. To this, add decades of aging, handling, crumpling, different lingo, and just a general lack of knowledge of the context of much of the content. A huge shout out goes to Rebecca Becker who spent countless hours glossing over these letters and typing them onto a word file. At our request, she typed as close a representation of the actual letter as possible, including bad grammar, misspelled words, etc. Unfortunately, there were letters without envelopes and envelopes without letters (that did not go together) and no way of determining where they fit chronologically. Sometimes we chose to include them as is with a best guess as to where to put them…others we just left out.

Beverly Beebe Heil

Robert David Bruce

Ann Shaffner Shaffy Booth

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The Family Tree

1908

• Lessie is 16 yrs. old

• Simon is 21 yrs. old

• First indication that Simon does some preaching

• Concerns of rumors

Pridgen, Ga

Mar. 4, 1908

Miss Lessie Carelock

Dear Friend:

This pleasant night affords me the pleasure of writing you a short letter. I am in perfect health and good spirits. Although in the meantime I have very many things to try my patience, such as will arise in school. If anything can worry me, it is the true fact that some pupils don’t know, nor don’t try to know anything. I have some of this kind. You remember what I told you I had-some of the dullest on earth and a few of the smartest, or at least as smart.

Oh! Yes I’ll tell you something that happened while I was at home Sunday. Miss Bertie and Monroe Sapp got married. So I suppose you see its not I that’s going to marry as you heard. I knew it before I left for I told her Good-bye. I told her also, I never would see her a single girl again. She denied it but I guess she thinks I’m pretty hard to fool. Ha! Ha!

Wm. McLeau brought me two post cards this a.m. and asked me to mail them to you and Miss Lena and of course I did. He want to go back down there real bad. You girls treated him so nice, and I certainly do commend you for it, for he is to be pitied in his condition. Nevertheless, you and Miss Lena made him feel good by noticing him. Please ans. those cards for I want to go home again before long and if you wasn’t to ans. he may not wait to carry me. I want you to have an entertainment when we go again. I’ll bet you know where I’m coming. Ans. if you wish

Sincerely, Simon

(a side note is written on top of letter reading: You may rest assured an ans. would be pleasantly recvd and fondly cherished. Give my love to Ma and Pa" and Ruby, and yes to Miss Lena too. But keep enough for yourself.)

Pridgen, Ga.

3-16-08

Miss Lessie Carelock,

Dear Friend:

Lat Sat. p.m. I was afforded the pleasant prerogative of reading a letter from you also a card from Miss Lena, and you may be assured that I felt better after learning of current events of home and surrounding community. Although the most pleasure was in realizing the fact that you both were the writers.

You must have heard of Miss Bertie’s wedding at an early date. They were married in Broxton, not Nicholle.

I wish I could have been with you all at the party, but all in vain. I suppose you can have another as good again, in fact, you ought to do better, because people become perfect by constant practice. I certainly enjoyed myself yesterday. I went to preaching in the a.m. and in the p.m. a crowd of young folks came by and asked me to go with them to the river. We all rode in buggies to Mr. Suddath’s, there we got his car and went on it and spent the greater part of the p.m. skating. There is a pavilion at the Bluff. We are going back next Sunday and carry dinner. Better come.

Well I’m glad you all are getting along some better. I suppose a smile does