When my father J. Landis Weaver died on April 30, 1991, I inherited many of his papers and mementos. Among these items was a scrapbook containing the letters in this paper. I also found a photograph album which contained most of the pictures used herein. In more recent years I came into the possession of the negatives for these pictures when my dad's sister died. By obtaining fresh and larger prints, I was able to publish much improved pictures on this site.

I became intrigued by these letters, possibly because of my own treks to Florida every winter since 1988 when I retired as a Professor of Mathematics at Millersville University. I was particularly impressed with the colorful details which my grandfather, John H. Weaver of Ephrata, PA included in his letters.

While editing the letters, I corrected some obvious mispellings and punctuation. However, I did not substantially change any of the grammar used. I felt that the letters should be essentially true to the original author. I also dwelled long and hard on the question of whether or not to keep the racial epithets which were used at two spots in the letters. I don't like this kind of language, and consequently I excised them. They were used in an attempt at humor by a man who lived in a time and place when the usage was accepted as the norm. I don't think he would use them if he were living today. He was not that kind of man. I am sure Grandpa would be glad I pulled them out before publishing this on the web.


I compiled this material for sharing with my brothers and sisters and their offspring. I feel it is one way to keep John and Lena present in our family throughout the generations to follow. If anyone else finds these letters interesting, I would consider it a welcome bonus. I decided that they are important enough to post on my personal web site. You may print these out for your own use. However, you may not print out multiple copies without receiving permission nor use them for publication. If you would like to use them with a group or class, please write me and I will probably grant you permission to do so.