4/4-4/10/54

Apr 4 Sunday Eugene returned dirty but in pretty good shape. The extreme cold was the only drawback, he said. He raved about the steaks they had. They did a lot of wood chopping. It was coldest Apr 3 ever - 24°. Shaemas O'Sheel is dead at 67. 

Apr 5 French Leftists and Rightists mauled President [Premier] Laniel and Defense Minister Pleven in protest against the dismissal of Marshall [sic] Juin from the Supreme Council of War. Toscanini announced his retirement from the NBC Symphony.   

Apr 6 Lillian and Sylvia helped on the Chest Xray Mobile truck which came to Kingsbridge. Lillian also collected for the Anti-Cancer drive. Frederick Lonsdale is dead at 73. Lillian signed up Sylvia in the Y.W.C.A. She enrolled in the drawing class. 

Apr 7 Pierre DuPont is dead at 84, Lester Stone at 49, Tiger Jack Fox at 47 and William Pickens at 73. 

Apr 8 Lillian got Sylvia a plastic jacket - $10. They both trimmed their holiday hats with new ribbons. Sylvia went to a supper party at Susan Kahn's where the girls did the Lindy Hop. Sylvia got Susan a cinch belt for her birthday. 

Apr 9 Eugene, Larry, Mark Buckstein and Arthur Sherman will get tennis permits and play together. Joseph P Tumulty is dead at 74 and Fritzi Schiff at 74. 

Apr 10 Sylvia and Susan Kauffman Kaufmann went bicycling going around the reservoir in an hour. They took sandwiches. I took Eugene and Bobby to play ping pong at 181st & the Concourse. Lil, Sylvia and I went to the bazaar at Science High School for the benefit of the Scholarship Fund. We bought some candy, cake, salami, paint set, deodorant, raffle tickets, jam, tam-tams, relish. 

Susan's last name was corrected later in a different handwriting, certainly Silvia's, scanned in below.

3/28-4/3/54

Mar 28 Sunday Mar Lou Silvers is dead at 62 and Dr John F Erdmann at 90. Lil took the kids to the Lido where they saw John Wayne in "Hondo" and Rickey Andrusco in "Little Fugitive". ...

The extra "Mar" was, I think, an accident that he didn't bother to cross out.

Mar 29 Mom and pop came over this afternoon. They stayed for supper and some television after. Eugene got a bid for the new honors math experimental class. Lillian went to a meeting at "Science" to arrange a bazaar for scholarships and student activities. In one of the greatest sea rescues ever, 1500 were taken off the blazing British troopship Empire Windrush, safely. Four crewmen were killed in the explosion which set off the fire. A political crisis in Egypt between Military and Civilian rule advocates reached the fourth day. "The Teahouse of the August Moon" and "Kismet" won "Tonys" for outstanding play and musical respectively. Audrey Hepburn repeated her "movie" triumph with the prize for her part in "Ondine" David Wayne won the male "Tony" for his role in "Teahouse". "Musical prizes were won by Dolores Gray for "Carnival in Flanders" and Alfred Drake for "Kismet". Francis Brett Young is dead at 70. 

Mar 30 Pickets of the old I.L.A. union picketed the White House. Another H-bomb was detonated Friday in the Marshall Islands. An Israel raid on a Jordan village claiming nine victims was believed to be in retaliation for the Scorpion Pass ambush. 

Mar 31 Eugene stayed home due to a sore throat. Congress passed the excise cut bill.  

Apr 1  Eugene returned to school. New plans were started for dispersal of production plans and for civil defense in the light of revelations that the H-Bomb could destroy an entire city. Russia asked to join Nato and the West to join the European Security Treaty. Mario Korbel is dead at 72. 

Apr 2 Jack Lait is dead at 71 and Gen'l Hoyt Vandenburg at 55.  

Apr 3 Eugene left early this morning for another overnight camping trip. It turned very cold so we worried about him all day. The rest of us went to the Zenith to see "Ivanhoe" with Robert Taylor, Joan Fontaine and Elizabeth Taylor. Also "Rich, Young and Pretty" with Eleanor [sic] Powell. We ate supper at the "Old Jade" on 170th st. Sam Sears a pro-McCarthy lawyer has been retained as counsel to the investigation of the McCarthy-Army fight. The old I.L.A. faced with court injunctions, a threat to be displaced from the ballot in a new election and revolt within its ranks, sent 30000 dock workers back to work after 29 days, the longest and costliest pier strike in NY history. Bobo Olson, Middleweight champion retained his title in a decision over Kid Gavilan Welterweight champ. Gavilan rarely used his right. Pudge Heffelfinger is dead at 86.  

It was Jane Powell, not Eleanor.