March 10 was the birthdate for both Tirzah and Dick, so they celebrated together every year. Tirzah sent this card (with a letter, transcribed below) to Dick on his 19th birthday in 1947. The card does not look like one you’d pick out for a college man, but I imagine that Tirzah didn’t have many “shared birthday” cards to choose from.
Dear Birthday Present,
How I wish we could be together on the 10th but we had so much fun all winter I can’t fuss. We have had snow, snow all the time and I’m too old to like it. We left the robins in Texas and Ark. and I’m afraid they won’t be here to help me celebrate.
I wish you would look out the window at the peach tree for me and take a picture to send me. No flowers here for some time. The bank is going to send your bond. I meant to get you some more little things but I haven’t had a chance. I’ll send your favorite candy later.
I can never tell you how much I love you and how much you have added to the joys of living for me. You for 19 years now have been the best thing for my birthday. I sometimes can’t believe yet you really arrived on the 10th.
I think I’ll get Ida to come spend the day with me. I’ll keep busy that way. Hope you have a swell day. Your most a man and we are so very proud of you honey. I would have made cookies to send but I hate to have you eat them stale.
Extra love for your birthday,
Aunt
This picture of Frank Jessup has no caption, but it looks as if it was taken in the 1940s on the front lawn of the Votaw home in Whittier.
The Jessups were able to take a few weeks off from farm work each year, probably after the harvest, and after the Votaws moved to Whittier Frank & Tirzah always came to see them. Mildred spent a lot of her time driving around, getting to know the L.A. area, and she and Harold would take them on tours and eat out with them in fancy restaurants. The two couples loved travelling together.
Upscale restaurants in those days had photographers who would roam the tables, taking pictures of the diners and offering to sell them prints for a price. Here are two of them from the Jessup’s visits to California. The second one looks like it was a birthday celebration.
Nothing is written on this photo, so we don’t know where or when it was taken. But it seems that the Votaws and Jessups were travelling together.
Charles Driscoll was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist, based in New York. He was in college at Friends University with Tirzah Jessup, and in this column he writes about an opportunity he had to renew their acquaintance, and to meet Mildred Votaw as well. Driscoll has nice things to say about both Tirzah and Frank. This column is undated but we know it is after 1944, since he names Whittier as Mildred’s home town. (Click to enlarge image for reading.)
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