Thelma and Lowell's Diary: July 26, 1943

Thelma embroiders a dresser scarf; Benito Mussolini forced to resign as Italian premier

Thelma made a peach pie and while waiting up for Lowell to come home from work — he was on the 3-11 shift this week — she embroidered a dresser scarf set while listening to the radio. This collection of dresser scarves, found on eBay, is typical for that period. Women spent thousands of hours on these things, and now they sell for a few dollars and are repurposed into stuffed animals and incorporated into clothing, etc., like this handbag offered on Etsy.

There was momentous news about Italy in the headlines today. Paid subscribers can read on. Please consider upgrading for the astonishingly low price of 16 cents a day, $5 a month, or $50 a year. If you subscribe for a year, you get a free signed copy of my book Gertie: The Fabulous Life of Gertrude Sanford Legendre: Heiress, Explorer, Socialite, Spy.