Our 3rd Wedding Anniversary in Riverdale, NY

The wedding picture was taken at my parents' home in Oak Park  IL on Feb. 1, 1963.  From left to right:  Daniel Pellettiere Sr., Josephine Pellettiere, Dan Pellettiere Jr.,  Diane Kellogg Pellettiere, Ruth Kellogg and John Kellogg.  We were to leave for Philadelphia the next day, but a snowstorm kept us near O'Hare Airport another
night to Feb. 3rd.

Three years later, I left my job as a Technical Writer at U.S. Life in New York City  (documenting the info on huge room-size computers).  Back then, the rule at U.S. Life. was to work only until you were 5 months pregnant, which was Jan. 21 in my case, though Lynn Meredith was actually born on May 12.

Tuesday, Feb.1, 1966 - "Our third anniversary...I slept in the morning for an extra couple of hours after dusting...Took an afternoon nap too.  Took me a while, but I finally got going on the April "Lines of Communication" late in the afternoon.  I'll probably finish it tomorrow.  Had a nice steak dinner.  

Vi called and so did Mom & Dad P.  The baby dressette was delivered today.  It's nice.  I put all of the baby stuff (coupon samples) in the first drawer of the 5... Dan finished the income tax returns, did the cash flow, and worked on the blue still life.  I read.  We both watched Johnny Carson until
12:30.  I seem to sleep better if I stay up past 11:00."

I was writing a newsletter for U.S. Life, continuing it just for a month or two.  Vi (Veronica) Saletta was Dan's older sister, born 16 years before Dan.  Like the rest of the family, she and her husband, Chuck, lived in the Chicago area.  As a mother-to-be, this was a new experience - and so was not going to work.  I'd had my first (part-time) job at 14.

A Very Fine Day for Busch Gardens

The picture was taken in the back yard of 5458 W. Iowa St. in Chicago, where my mother, Ruth Kellogg, and her brother, Jimmie Meredith, were fooling around in the back yard.  The Merediths had lived in the 2-flat, renting out the smaller apartment above, since 1922.  This was probably
10 years before the diary entry.

Jan. 26, 1971 - "A very fine day for the big outing to Busch Gardens in Tampa.  We (Ruth and John) picked up Mom and Jim at about 10 AM.  We took our lunch with us and sat down twice for snacks.  We first took the Monorail train ride thru the wild animal zoo.  We had excellent talk during the ride about the animals.

Next we went to the bird show, which kept us on hard cement seats for an hour, but it was good as the finale of our expedition.  Mom didn't give in to renting a wheel chair, so she sat down now and then.  Her foot got pretty sore toward the end.  We got back to Largo at 3:35.  Came right back here.  Letter from Diane saying she is looking for a job for sake of her mental health.  

Florence phoned."

Ruth was probably about 55 when the picture was taken and Jimmie about 50.  They were 64 (Ruth)
and 59 (Jimmie) on the day of the trip to Busch Gardens.  Ruth's father had passed away in 1944 of a stroke and heart attack.  Ruth and John had moved to Florida

I don't recall looking for a job in 1971.  Kate was 1 year old that year with Cindy turning 4 in July and Lynn reaching 5 in May.  I did become a teacher aid later on.

Lottie's foot was sore because many years earlier she had fallen down the back stairs at Iowa Street and broken her foot.  She refused having it set, so had problems with it for the rest of her life.

Florence Ballentine, one of Ruth's closest friends, suffered with dementia by the 1970s, I believe.  She was able to call Ruth in 1971, but we don't know how well she could communicate by then.