1964 Linda Hughes Peace Corps Ethiopia -Feb15

A 1964 aerogramme letter from Linda Hughes, serving in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, has a space removed where the stamp would have been.  Lines of the letter in which these missing words have been written are marked by [...]

Additional information about Linda Hughes Wilson (NVHS'59) and an October 1963 letter was published in the New Vienna Memories Blog on Oct. 26, 2013 and can be found at this link: nvhsmemories.blogspot.com/2013/10/1962-64-linda-hughes-peace-corps.html.  Transcription follows.

1964 Linda Hughes Peace Corps letter from Ethiopia -Feb15

February 15, 1964
Dear Uibles,
Thank you for the Christmas greetings, and now it's almost Easter.  Here in Keren it is definitely like Easter with afternoon temperatures up to 100º and the hot season isn't here, yet.  I'm sorry that I haven't been able to find out the name of the author or publisher of the history book.  Rather hard to track it down that way, isn't it?

I wish all of you could have gone visiting with my roommate & I yesterday.   We went to the homes of several of our students and celebrated their Moslem holiday of "Ed-El-Fatar" – the breaking of their 30 day yearly fast.  All the girls & women were dressed in vivid colored nylon dresses, their black hair was shinny [sic] with oil, their pierced ears held gold dangly earrings and I couldn't help but noticed the air of pride which they carried as we walked through the dirt alleys to their houses.  The father was out visiting his friends, the mother always eat in the back room, and we were entertained by the school girls.  Always they brought in the baby of the house usually [...] 6,7, or 8, and we begged to hold it.  The babies under [...] were the best for us, because if they were older they [...]ry at the strange white face staring at them.  Even the  [...]t babies had on eye make-up; that is a black line [...]g the entire shape of the eye.  It's purpose – beauty.  The same as the circles of gold hanging from their mother's ears & nose.  For the same reason the redish [sic] brown tatoo-like markings on the women's hands, feet, neck's & throats.  And those 3 lines on the side of their faces made by cutting the cheek with thorns when they were very small children, these are partly as a tribal marking, but also beauty.  We were served hot spiced tea, peanuts, dried dates, cookies, and hard candies wrapped in cellophane.  As we left each home the girls took a bottle of strong smelling perfume and poured it into our cupped hands.  You can imagine how we smelled after 3 houses & 3 different perfumes!

They are always so kind & gracious; usually the set the things on the table then sit back and watch us eat.  "Eat, Miss Linda.  You must have another sweet – More tea – Please take more!"  So I came home last evening at 7 P.M. much too ful to eat any supper.  I enjoy doing these simple things just as much as last year and perhaps more, because now they aren't strange customs.  There is a reason & purpose for all ways I once found so strange and backward.

Goodness, how will I recognize your grown children?  Maybe I'll be teaching one of them, as I'm hoping for a position in the New Vienna School next year.

Until September....

Sincerely, Linda

1962-64 Linda Hughes - Peace Corps

Linda Hughes NVHS'59 Collage.  Left to right: 1957 Cheerleader, 1958 Homecoming Attendant; 1957 FFA Queen; 1959 Graduation Picture.

The Peace Corps was officially started in 1961 by President Kennedy and a year later two NVHS graduates were serving: Linda Hughes (NVHS'59) in Ethiopia and Doug Bernard (NVHS'61) in Brazil.  Any other New Vienna people who were part of the Peace Corps?

Found on Newspapers.comNew Vienna Girl Joins Peace CorpsLinda Hughes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Hughes, New Vienna, Rt. 3, is Wilmington College's third graduate to enter the Peace Corps.
Having received her degree with a major in education and English in June, Linda expects to teach English or geography in Ethiopia.  She has left for training at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., where she will study Ethiopia and Amharic, its major dialect, and American politics.  After her training there is completed she will leave Sept. 4 for Africa.* * * * *
The above clipping is from the front page of Hillsboro's Press-Gazette, July 13, 1962.

* * * * * * * * * *

The letter that follows was sent to the Uible family during Linda's second year in Ethiopia. Transcription follows, as does a synopsis of Linda's life after the Peace Corps.  Thanks to the Hughes family for assisting me in this post, and especially to Laura "Weegie" Hughes Page for providing the biographical write-up.

 

 

Tuesday

October 22, 1963

Hello,

I want to thank you for the interesting letter you sent me in June.  And I'm ashamed of myself for not finding time to answer it before now, but if you've read any of my summer letters you'll realize I had a pretty exciting time.

I'm assuming that perhaps you've hard something about it, so I won't go into any detail.  The most interesting part was meeting so many different people and observing the ways of Egyptians, Cyprians, Jordanians, & Sudanize.  They resembled the people of this area in ancient dress and ways, but the signs of progress were much greater than in Ethiopia.

I am now sitting in the teacher's room of the school during my free period.  We don't have any study hall, but we do have an empty room which will be a library and a good one thanks to the Wilmington Community Project.  Those books haven't arrived, yet; but we're eagerly waiting.  I'm sitting here rather oblivious to what is being said by the others, because they're speaking in Tigrinya – one of the 6 local languages.  Two of the women teachers speak English, so they translate for us.  They've just been teasing me about putting holes in my ears, rings in my nose, & tatooes [sic] on my hands, feet & forehead.  These women don't follow these old customs, but their mothers & friends do.

The students understand English so much better and teaching is just so much easier in this second year.  I'm sure the same would be true if I were in the U.S.  As my roommate & I were walking down the street to the post office a man perched on his camel went trotting by only a couple of feet from us.  We remarked at how common place this sight was and how at home we now felt in this once strange land.  It makes me wonder what will be my feelings when I returned to the land of plenty – America. 

How is your sprouting family?  If each has grown as much as Weegie I'm sure I won't recognize them.  Though I hated to see the school lose their identification & personableness, I feel consolidation will bring more advantages and great challenges.  I'm so happy there is now a kindergarten, as I haven't met many people my age who didn't go to kindergarten, and it's about time they had one at New Vienna.

My family wrote that they're preparing another program on Ethiopia – I'm pleased that people are so interested, but wonder if it isn't becoming repetitious for you.  I've never seen any of my pictures on screen, so I don't have a very good idea of how they look.

I would certainly enjoy hearing from you and send my best wishes to all the Uibles.

Sincerely,

Linda

* * * * * * * * * *

Linda Hughes, New Vienna HS of '59, graduated from Wilmington College ('62) and immediately entered the Peace Corps. She was stationed for two years In the Eritrea area of Ethiopia.

After returning from Africa via a trip through the Far East, Linda taught elementary school at New Vienna (1964-5) and subsequently in the Milford and Woodlawn schools in the Cincinnati area. Linda married William C. Wilson in 1966. She received her Masters degree in elementary guidance and counseling from Xavier University in 1968, and her Rank I in 1982 from Northern Kentucky University.

Linda and Bill relocated from Cincinnati to Williamstown, Kentucky, which was Bill's hometown. They were the parents of three children, Todd, Nicole and Stacy.

An enthusiastic planner and organizer, Linda continued being involved in education support at the local, county, and state level. The Grant County (KY) school parent volunteer organization, the Williamstown (KY) United Methodist preschool, and the Grant County Library children's story hour were all founded and developed by Linda based on her love of children and commitment to early childhood education.

Linda passed away at age 43 on October 6, 1984 after a 20 month battle with breast cancer, still orchestrating children's church activities and lesson plans in the last weeks before her death.