Thelma and Lowell's Diary: July 3, 1943

He buys a cookbook and stocks up on groceries

After several days of silence, Lowell finally picked up his fountain pen again. He made notations about expenditures, including $3.05 on “eats,” which I took to mean he did some grocery shopping so Thelma wouldn’t find the cupboard bare when she returned. He also spent $2.07 on a cookbook, which we will learn in a few days was a first anniversary gift. That translates to about $37 in current funds.

Lowell also did some accounting, figuring out that for the first six months of the year he had earned approximately $1,400, or close to $25,000 in 2023 dollars. Not bad for a guy right out of college!

What cookbook did Lowell buy? We have no way of knowing, but a likely possibility was the Victory Edition of the American Woman’s Cookbook. To read about this popular volume, you will need to be a paid subscriber. Click below to upgrade.