manners Archives - Social Correspondence

The Etiquette of a Condolence Letter

Recently, the need arose for me to write a condolence letter. Over the years, I have sent many cards and notes to friends who had suffered a loss, but this time was different. It was a friend who died, a friend with whom I had been out of touch for several years. I did not know her family or how to contact them, yet it felt important to reach out to them. Handwritten notes As a first step, I contacted the senior living community where she had been living, in an upscale city located to the…

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April 1, 2021

city living / Letter writing / Mail / manners / Politics

Dear Family & Friends: A Holiday Letter by Eileen Shields

Dear Family & Friends, Yes, you read that right. This is a “Dear Family & Friends” holiday letter. Before I get into the nits and grits that tells you all about the wonder that is me, I thought I should do a bit of research about how best to approach these broad swinging missives. Surely there are rules laid down for writing one all-encompassing letter to Everyone I Know. I’m not quite sure what has possessed me to undertake this wholesale approach to communication and it remains a bit of a mystery of how I actually…

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October 28, 2020

Autumn and Percy enjoy ant-free dinner. Photo by Murray Schneider

manners / Pets

The Ants Go Marching One by One

This spring, the ants go marching across our kitchen floor, one by one. They are pesky, smart little guys that appear seemingly out of nowhere. The little scouts wander around, looking for something tasty. So far, the main target for these loners has been the cat food dishes. These ants leave no trace of where they come from. There is never a line or trail of marching ants to follow, just one or two scattered here and there. Ant traps placed around the perimeter of the house have had no effect on their presence. In past…

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April 25, 2018

books / email / Letter writing / Mail / manners / Postal Service / telegram

Love Letters from Wisconsin Lumber Camps

By Catherine Roberts Life in the Wisconsin lumber camps in the 1920s, revealed through letters written to my Aunt Lois from 1924 – 1925, was not easy. The letters, preserved for nearly a century in a Milady of Quality Chocolate Covered Brazil Nuts box, tell a story about the everyday news and concerns of this long-ago way of life Aunt Lois, of course, was young and pretty, but not all of the letters addressed to her are love letters. One letter, postmarked January 14, 1924, is from a lumber camp outside Hannibal, Wisconsin. My aunt must…

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March 9, 2016

manners / Politics

Good Manners

Campaigns and elections are upon us and I am irresistibly drawn to reading, listening to, and watching stories about the caucuses and debates. That said, election years, whether they are about local mayoral campaigns, national presidential elections or something in between, can be both appalling and puzzling, as ambition and passion overtake the candidates and their supporters, and good manners are cast aside. Manners are another form of how we correspond or communicate with one another. Unfortunately, this year’s name-calling has reached a whole new level of vitriol, with ridiculing the opposing candidates growing with each…

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February 17, 2016