History of John Smith Griffin
page 52
Washington D.C. 1937-1938
Another thing he told us was that a baby was not a play thing; that he was more comfortable and better off in his crib than in our arms and that was where he should be left except at feeding time. One thing he insisted on was that we not pick him up when he cried. He told us that if we did, the baby would soon be the mouth of the house; that if there was anything wrong with him he was much better off in his crib. We followed these instructions, not only with Bob but with Paul and Marian and they all three were good babies that did very little crying and were content to stay in their cribs and sleep and lie and play with their toys or their feet. A year or so after Bob was born, Dr. Smith died and we missed him very much. I have yet to find another doctor who was so practical and so willing to use good horse sense as well as his medical skills.
LETTERS
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(L370925) John Griffin to Father / Washington D.C.
(L371013) Dorothy Griffin to Griffins / Washington D.C.
(L371027) Dorothy Griffin to Griffins / Washington D.C.
(L271221) John and Dorothy to Griffin / Washington D.C.
My father and mother decided to drive to Washington for my graduation from Law School. My grandmother Smith who was 78 years old, had never been east and so decided to come with them. Dorothy's mother who was visiting in Utah also decided to come back with them...
Dad had a 1936 Chevrolet, which in those days was really a good car. Everything went well until they reached the midwest. One afternoon as Dad was driving along the highway a big truck and trailer passed him and turned back into his lane of traffic too soon, crowding him off the road. When the front wheel hit the soft shoulder the car rolled completely over and back up on its wheels. Miraculously, no one was seriously injured. Grandmother Smith had an arm broken, mother received a couple of broken ribs, and Dorothy's mother had two of the blackest eyes I have ever seen. The first we knew of the accident was when we received a wire from Dorothy's mother saying that she would be in on the train the next morning.
We were very apprehensive when we met the train and when she steped off with those black eyes we were sure that there had been an accident. She received her black eyes because of a severe blow on the top of her head when they rolled over.
Dad got the car running and came on into Washington with it all mashed up. He had it fixed up in Washington and fortunately the insurance paid all but $50 of the bill which ran to several hundred dollars.
At least they all arrived for the graduation and enjoyed their visit in Washington despite theri accident. While Dad was visiting us we drove out to Wilmington, Deleware and went through the DuPont Paint factory. Dad has sold Du Pont paints for years and years and our trip through the paint plant was very interesting.
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