Letters were sent from Oahu to mainland during Pearl Harbor
The 57-year marriage of Mary and Larry Stuppy started with the newlyweds being stationed in Oahu, Hawaii during World War II. He was a doctor in the service and she was a psychiatric social worker at a hospital. These positions allowed them to stay on the island as the war escalated. The book, “Life on the Island during Pearl Harbor: As told through letters home to family,” written by her daughter Mary Martin, is a compilation of four years worth of letters from the Stuppy’s to their family on the mainland dated between 1941 and 1945. The book was published in November.
A BOX OF LETTERS from the late Windsor Square residents Mary and Larry Stuppy, is the source material of a new book.
The late Mary Stuppy, who moved with her family in 1951 to 357 S. Lorraine Blvd., told her four children she wanted the correspondences published. According to her daughter B.J. Pike, Stuppy felt her life experiences during that time should be shared with the public.
Some of the stories from the letters include renting a home from a German national—who was sentenced to life in prison for spying—dealing with dengue fever, enduring mandatory blackouts, and the challenge of living without daily necessities.
A CLOSE-UP OF one letter sent via airmail between Hawaii and Los Angeles.
The book costs $34 and is available on Amazon and at other book retailers.
The family’s Windsor Square Home is among the area’s finest
On a completely separate note from the recently published Pearl Harbor book, the family’s home on Lorraine, which is among the most stunning homes in all of Windsor Square, was designed by Frederick Louis Roehrig, who was also the architect for the Green Hotel in Pasadena. The home was moved to its current location in 1915 from Westlake, close to downtown. The massive Victorian was divided into three sections for the move. The owner hosted a house-moving party at the corner of Sixth and Alvarado streets, with an orchestra and dancing to mark the momentous move. At the time, it was the city’s largest house-moving job.
STUPPY home on Lorraine Boulevard.
Category: Real Estate
