Thelma and Lowell's Diary: July 7, 1943

G.I's favorite pin-up girl gets married; boxer gets divorced

Apparently entertaining Reva is keeping Thelma and Lowell too busy to write in the diary today, other than to list expenses: payment of a gas bill, 90 cents; rides, 42 cents; “eats,” $1.74, and show (shorthand for movie), 34 cents.

The Times-Picayune had a front-page story about the success of the previous evening’s surprise blackout, which had caught Thelma and Reva in the dark while they were taking a streetcar home. The 35-minute drill, focused on New Orleans, had resulted in 98 percent response, officials said. Those failing to obey the blackout were arrested.

There was news of a more entertaining nature on the front page of the Shreveport Journal: the marriage of actress Betty Grable (her second and last) to big band leader Henry James; and the divorce of retired heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey from the third of his four wives.

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