My grandma showed me this letter and was so sad she couldn't read it. Any help is greatly appreciated!

by phildiddy_

7 comments
  1. Is it real? It is very old, wrote in old type of language but it’s possible to translate it

  2. There are translation services for that, and I strongly recommend you use one of them, it’s not too expensive and only fair.

  3. In general it is about health issues, christmas and weather

  4. It’s hard to read as it was written with many mistakes, spelling and grammar ones. As someone mentioned, you can hire someone professional to translate it.

    I can translate it briefly. The letter was written before Christmas and it contains Christmas wishes and thanks for gifts. Also, it describes health issues of an author and the death of the father, so the upcoming Christmas will be sad and without any guests. I assume that the letter is written by a mother (and maybe with someone named Basia/Barbara, that’s the signature) to her son Stanislaw (Stasio) and his family but names are hard to read (maybe Harriet or Michael or Maryla).

    Good luck!

    Edit: and there’s a lot of religious sentences like god bless you and the sentence you can greet someone “niech będzie pochwalony Jezus Chrystus”.

  5. Chicago 16/12/57

    Drogi Stasiu, Marylan wraz z dziećmi. Niech będzie pochwalony Jezus Chrystus. Najprzód powiaduje wam, że jestem z zdrowiem i powodzeniem. U nas nima nic nowego ze zdrowiem, jak było tak jest, krzyż mie bardzo bola, że mi jest ciężko siedzieć. Ja myśle, że to nerwy, ale doktor mówi, że nie, ale coby tak mogło boleć? Tylko on mi zraduży dawat siałów, a to na nerki szkodzi, może temu nie rze mówi, że nerki boły, to była jego wina.

    No to już niezadługo świeta Bożgo Nardzena. Będą to smutne świeta przez Ojca. Trzeci rok w śpitalu, spodziewałam śe, że może już wyzdrowieja, że będa mogła chodzić, że te świeta będa weselsze, tym czasem Bóg inacej zarządził. Ja nie odzyskała zdrowia. Bóg nam zabrał to była świata ny bolejsniesne, jakle my kiedyś przeżywali.

    Na te święta pewnie nie będziemy mieli nikogo, tylko Julie przyjedzie i wasz nie będzie, takoże tak nikogo nie zaprosamy, jak to przyjdzie sam to będzie. Bo jak był już była zdrowa, toby było inacej, ale Annie niecka, bo za dużo roboty, a ona też nima wiele czasu, żeby mogła wrzystoprzynośić.

    Pozdrawiamy wszystkich was serdecznie. Jak przyjdzie do was, ale już po świętach, to ja wam nie posyłam teraz nic, jak on przyjedzie, to tam coś posłonim. My już otrzymali od wasz prezenty, za które wam dziękujemy serdecznie, ale my nie rozpieczętowali aż w Wiligę, bo Annie nie pozwoli, żeco tam się obracać niepotrzebnie.

    Powietrze teraz ładne, ciepło około 47°, przesztym tygodniu było zimno 7°, a u nas za cenę kuchnia i wychodek przerabiać, ogrzeni radyjatory i było zimno. Jeszcze nie skojczeli, mają ukojczyć w tym tygodniu, to niewiadomo. Bozo jest trudbe, bo nimamy ni gury wody, any wychodka, ani pieca, wszystko na dole, musze chodzić.

    Już musze skojczec, bo trudno pisać. Za szełamy wam życzenia Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia oraz Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku. Załączam opłatek i dziś myślimy z wami, Stasiu, Marylan, Harriet, Robert i Michałkiem, żeby wam dał Pan Bóg jak najwięcej zdrowia i dobrego powodzenia, zostajcie z Bogiem.

    Mother i Buśka

  6. Dear Stasiu, Marylan, and children,

    Praised be Jesus Christ. First, I’m letting you know that I am in good health and doing well. There is nothing new with our health; it is as it was. My back hurts me very much and it’s difficult for me to sit. I think it’s nerves, but the doctor says it’s not. But how could it hurt so much? He only advised me to take salts, but that’s harmful to kidneys. Maybe that’s why he says it’s not kidneys—it would be his fault.

    Well, Christmas is coming soon. It will be a sad Christmas without Father, the third year in the hospital. I was hoping that maybe he would recover, that I would be able to walk, that this Christmas would be happier. Meanwhile, God decided differently. I didn’t regain my health. God took him from us; those were the most painful holidays we ever experienced.

    For these holidays, we probably won’t have anyone. Only Julie will come, and you won’t be here either, so we won’t invite anyone—it will be as it comes. Because if I were healthy, it would be different, but Annie doesn’t want to because it’s too much work, and she doesn’t have much time to prepare everything.

    We greet all of you cordially. When he comes to you, but after Christmas, I’m not sending you anything now. When he comes there, we’ll send something. We already received presents from you, for which we thank you cordially, but we haven’t opened them until Christmas Eve because Annie won’t allow anything to be moved around unnecessarily.

    The weather is nice and warm now, about 47°. Last week it was cold, 7°, and at our place, they’re renovating the kitchen and bathroom, heating radiators, and it was cold. They still haven’t finished; they’re supposed to finish this week, but it’s uncertain. Because it’s difficult as we don’t have water upstairs, nor bathroom, nor stove—everything is downstairs. I have to go down.

    I must finish now because it’s difficult to write. We send you wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I’m enclosing a Christmas wafer, and today we think of you: Stasiu, Marylan, Harriet, Robert, and little Michael. May God give you all the best health and good fortune. Stay with God.

    Mother and Buśka

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