Letters Between Elmer and Dot in the 1930's

A local collector recently allowed me to browse through a collection of letters between a young banker in Sandusky, Ohio, named Elmer A. Pimsner, and his girlfriend Dorothy Durkee, who lived in Cleveland, Ohio. In the letters, Elmer wrote fondly of his love and devotion to Dorothy, whose nickname was Dot. They wrote letters back and forth, often discussing plans for future dates, and by the fall of 1933, they were making plans to get married. Sometimes they worried about their jobs, their parents, their future, and they discussed activities with family and friends in their letters. Once in awhile they had little spat, but they always made up very quickly.

In this letter from Dot to Elmer, dated October 3, 1933, Dot wrote about roasting moose meat. This was her second letter to Elmer within a week, and she was hoping he had received her most recent one.























In the last portion of her letter to Elmer, Dot sends a kiss, and tells Elmer to think of her.


















On October 18, 1933, Elmer tells Dot how lonesome he is without her, and says, "Now that we have made up our minds to get married, the time can't come too soon to suit me." He says that he will try to make Dot happy, "even in Sandusky." He vows Dot to "do everything humanly possible to make life sweet for you."


















Elmer wrote about his busy day at the bank that day, and hoped to see Dot on Saturday. He was worried about his ailing mother, and thought that they should soon tell his mother about their plans to marry.























This bridal shower card was in the box of letters. It accompanied a gift to Dorothy from her friend Margaret.














An article in the January 10, 1934 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that Elmer Pimsner and Dorothy Durkee were to be married at the Old Stone Church in Cleveland on January 10, 1934. After a short Eastern trip, they were to reside in Sandusky, where Elmer was a cashier at the Western Security Bank. By 1945, Elmer Pimsner became executive vice-president of Western Security Bank, and in 1950, he was appointed bank president.

On September 6, 1971, Elmer A. Pimsner died after suffering a heart attack, while traveling in Blackburn, England. An obituary for Elmer A. Pimsner appeared in the September 7, 1971 issue of the Sandusky Register. Elmer was a graduate of the Cleveland Law School and the Rutgers Graduate School of Banking. He was a former president of the Erie County Red Cross, and he initiated the blood program during World War Two. He was a past member of the Rotary Club, former president of the Sandusky Chamber of Commerce, trustee of the Good Samaritan Hospital, and on the board of directors of Biro Manufacturing Co. and the Industrial Nut Corp. He was also a member of the Plum Brook Country Club, the Ohio State Banking Association, and Grace Episcopal Church. He was survived by his wife of thirty seven years, Dorothy, and a son. Funeral services for Elmer A. Pimsner were held at Grace Episcopal Church, and burial was in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

Mrs. Dorothy Pimsner lived to the age of 91. She passed away on May 10, 1997 at Parkvue Health Care Center. She was buried beside her beloved husband Elmer at Oakland Cemetery. Dorothy never remarried, after the death of her husband. She was survived by a son, three grandchildren, and a great grandchild. Dorothy had lived a rich, full life, having been a member of the Plum Brook Country Club, PEO, and Grace Episcopal Church. She was a volunteer nurse's aide at Good Samaritan Hospital during World War Two.


Though I never met Elmer or Dorothy Pimsner, it has been a privilege to read their letters, and to get to know two individuals from Sandusky's past who shared true love, and to follow their lives from their youthful romance to their rewarding and successful adult lives.