St. Thomas, Ontario.

December 31, 1943

Dear Mom,

There are a couple of surprises that are going to arrive home soon and one of them is my Christmas present to you.

Well, I've been to Detroit again, and had a swell time again. We went to three different shows (movies), and at one of them we saw two movie actresses in person- Gail Storm and a Miss Morrison.

In the afternoon we went back to the Ford Institute, which we were told covers six acres. This time we saw the armory where all sorts of ancient guns were kept. The guide said that it was actually Mr. Ford's personal collection, Mrs. Ford having started him doing the collecting.

We returned to the U.S.D., which has lists of people inviting Servicemen and women to their homes. We decided to go to one of the homes, so at 1:30 p.m. a lovely car took us to a place called Pleasantridge, just outside the city. It was a swell home, in a nice residential area. The people were Scottish, and they served us a Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner, with all the trimmings. The Americans usually celebrate on the 25th, but they had postponed it for our benefit. There was even a crackling fireplace. When we returned to Detroit, we took a train back to St. Thomas.

Love, Lewis.