Your last letter certainly set me back on my heels. Something actually happening back in Ironside Lake? It makes a person wonder, What next? Will John Wayne star in an operatic ballet? Hitler send roses and an apology note to Versailles with his unconditional surrender? Roosevelt resign and join the tightrope act of the Ringling Bros. Circus?
That’s not very sensitive of me, is it? I’m sure it’s very upsetting and that Dad has to deal with complainers calling the mayor’s office at all hours. Still, that’s what he signed up for when he sold the chickens and took up politics, trading one sort of squawking for another.
I’m sure the army will be vigilant about security, and in my view, everyone should thank God for the additional help, no matter who offers it. Only a few months ago, all Dad could talk about was how low our agricultural production numbers had dropped, with so many men enlisting. It must have come up five times during my Christmas visit.
What on earth did Pastor Sorenson say about the camp? I can only assume he addressed it in his sermon, the family connection and all. Poor man. Caught between Jesus’ command to love your enemies and the entire roaring collective of Ironside Lake saying they shouldn’t have to. I don’t envy him.
I’m hard at work, as usual, writing papers and pretending to study for exams while I actually work ahead for my planned summer courses. Besides that, Peter managed to find a used copy of Notre-Dame de Paris in the original French for my birthday present, which will provide me with a week’s worth of light evening reading. I used your gift money to buy a stockade of Earl Grey to accompany my reading of Victor Hugo, since coffee is hard to come by these days. When you’re approaching a tragic ending, fortification with a hot beverage is essential.
Don’t worry too much, Mother; I do venture from my apartment when forced to, mostly by Olive. Why I thought it was a good idea to room with the most social co-ed on campus, I have no idea.
While I’m obviously justifying my introversion, I do get along tolerably with everyone in the program. But I wish Peter were here instead of down at Camp Savage. He gets leave sometimes on weekends and comes up to help me with my Japanese—I pay him in eternal gratitude and chop suey. (Apparently Chinese food is safer to sell than Japanese these days; there’s a shop next to the USO servicemen’s club where we met.)
I don’t report these extracurricular studies to Dr. Smythe. The university is convinced that students must remain within the borders of their assigned classes, and they hold the line like there’s a minefield beyond it that would blow us to bits. I’m attempting to persuade Dr. Smythe to approve an independent study in Japanese this summer, but I assume the answer will be no. It’s not that he hates women in general—he shows remarkable equity in his treatment of female students. He just hates me in particular. Every now and then I think maybe I should stop correcting him in front of the class, but I only do so when he’s blatantly wrong. He shouldn’t take it personally.
In other news, I’m proud to say most of my meals these days are meatless and wheatless—although admittedly it’s motivated not by patriotism but by the fact that rice, beans, and the occasional vegetable are cheap and easy to prepare. Even I can’t burn boiling water, at least not yet. The one variation was last week, when Olive attempted Chelsea buns for my birthday. Evidently our American ingredients are “all wrong,” and they turned out as hard as the sidewalk. I managed a few bites to be polite but nearly chipped a tooth.
Of course I miss you, and I’ll try to visit sometime this summer, but train fare is expensive, and you know I haven’t got a car or the gas rations to fill it. But do write back and let me know how the prison camp fracas resolves. I’m eager to hear all about it.
Love,
Jo
From Dr. Smythe to Johanna Berglund
January 27, 1944
Dear Miss Berglund,
I was told the best place to leave this note for you was with the campus head librarian. He assures me you’re in at intervals as regular as the chiming of a clock and has promised to pass this along, as it contains time-sensitive information that could not wait until our next class.
Please make an appointment at your convenience to meet with me, but make sure that you find today or tomorrow convenient. I have an exciting opportunity to discuss with you.
Attached as well are my notes on your proposed study of the structural similarities between Japanese idioms and the epic poetry of ancient Greece. I’ll summarize my position briefly here: I can’t see how your proposed research has any practical application and would advise you to apply yourself to a more worthy pursuit.
Dr. Sheridan Smythe
Chair of the Modern
Languages Department,
University of Minnesota
From Major J. E. Davies to Johanna Berglund
January 24, 1944
Dear Miss Berglund,
A pleasure to meet you, even if that meeting is only by means of a stamp instead of a hearty handshake. Why, I feel as if I know you already from all of the impressive things I’ve heard about you—child prodigy, top of your class, entire translation of Dante’s Inferno submitted with your application to the university! It downright boggles me. Keep this up and someday you’ll be secretary of state, and I’ll be saluting you!
By the time you receive this letter, my old friend Dr. Smythe should have presented you with the basics of our offer of employment as camp translator, but I wanted to write you myself to convey how essential you would be to our new camp’s function. Vital, in fact!
We believe you to be not only an ideal candidate, but the ideal candidate. Why, you ask? We are running into a bit of—how should I phrase this?—an unanticipated public relations difficulty with Ironside Lake. The other camps in Iowa and Minnesota faced scrutiny upon their founding, but not the outright hostility we’re experiencing from the citizens of your hometown. It’s quite unprecedented! We are hoping that having you on our staff as a local girl made good—and the mayor’s daughter, no less—will bring them reassurance.
While discussing this issue at the fort, one of our language-school instructors (from a military intelligence initiative—highly secretive, you understand) giving a report to my superior said he knew the very person for the job, qualified for the work in both skills and temperament. Namely, you! You must realize how this struck me. Two recommendations of the very same person for this translation position. An amazing godsend! Truly, it felt like the decision had been made for me. I trust you’ll come to the same conclusion.
I must confess, when your parents and our language-school instructor alike assured me that “Jo Berglund” would be perfect for the job, I assumed that “Joe Berglund” was a man. It was only upon speaking with Smythe that I was informed of my mistake. Other camps are reluctant to bring female staff members into the post, even attempting to limit contact when POWs work at canneries alongside civilian women. However, I have heard nothing but praise of your character and abilities, and being a bit of a progressive, if I do say so myself, I do not anticipate any problems.
Thank you once again for considering this position, and I look forward to hearing from you shortly!
With Great Respect,
Major J. E. Davies
US Army, Fort Snelling
From Johanna Berglund to Major J. E. Davies
January 27, 1944