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Diary, 1946

 File — Box: 1, Folder: 4
Identifier: Folder 4

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection is composed of eleven diaries from 1935 to 1953 written by Patrice (Patsy) Racette Sundstrand (1924-2009) who lived in Paw Paw, Michigan. The diaries cover daily life and activities, school, national events like World War II and the death of FDR, family, vacations and her husband Warren Sundstrand.

She mentions going downtown meaning downtown Paw Paw and going to Kalamazoo but does not give too many specifics about where she went in Kalamazoo but does talk in generalities about what she would do. She entered Western in September, 1944 and stayed what looks like a semester and then transferred to Northwestern University. Warren figures in prominently in the diaries as they both graduated from high school in 1942. After the War, he spent two years at Western and then transferred to the University of Michigan where he graduated in 1950 with an electrical engineering degree. She talks a great deal about him. She goes into great detail about her day-to-day activities and frequently uses the term, "slick up" as in "...slicked up the house today," which possibly could mean cleaning or tidying it up. She wrote faithfully every day although there are some years where some entries are empty but that is unusual. The first diary entry began when she was eleven and the last one when she was twenty-nine. She passed away on February 28, 2009. The invitations and announcements are for various graduations and weddings. In addition, there was a love letter, possible a draft, to Warren found in one of the diaries. Also in some of the diaries in the back are addresses for family and friends. In addition in the back of the first diary is a list of family and friends who have met famous people.

Dates

  • created: 1946

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

None

Extent

From the Collection: .50 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Repository Details

Part of the Western Michigan University Archives & Regional History Collections Repository

Contact:
Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center
1650 Oakland Drive
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5307 US
(269) 387-8490