Welcome back to the love story of Jane and Raymond Whittaker. If you missed our first post about them, here’s the link to catch up on their story and letters.

Quick recap: Raymond and Jane were Nashville residents, though Raymond was originally from New York, and Jane likely grew up there. They met at Meharry Medical College but lost touch. Raymond enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942, while Jane worked at Vanderbilt. While we had previously mentioned she worked as a lab tech at Vanderbilt, my further research hasn’t been able to fully verify that (I've found her listed as both a maid and lab technician). However, it is confirmed that she worked in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at Vanderbilt. They reconnected through letters and found that their feelings for each other were still strong, despite the distance.

This post picks up where the last one left off, featuring more of their heartfelt letters. If you're wondering why these letters matter to Nashville’s history, the answer is simple: personal correspondence, especially from such a pivotal time, offers invaluable insight that newspaper articles, records, or even oral histories can’t. These letters provide a unique, in-the-moment perspective on their lives, offering more than just a love story—they also reveal details about their work, involvement in organizations, and the racial and gender dynamics they navigated.

So sit back, relax if you’d like, and enjoy a few more key moments from Ray and Jane’s story...

Closing With a Bundle of Hugs and Kisses

Throughout October, leading up to Jane and Ray's marriage, their correspondence primarily focused on the details of their wedding—specifically the location and date. Nashville was mentioned early on, as well as the base where Ray was stationed. Ultimately, they settled on Anniston, Alabama.

From Ray's letter to Jane, dated October 17th, 1942...

"I am going to get the license in Anniston and we are going to get married in Birmingham on Nov. 7th. Anniston is such a hard place to find a decent place for any lady to stop, and I think that you, Gussie, Goldbold and myself could have a better time in Birmingham instead of this sad town of Anniston."

You can tell he was excited about the location, but one key detail mentioned in their letters about obtaining a marriage license during this time was that couples had to first undergo a medical examination. This was required to ensure they received a blood test to rule out syphilis or other venereal diseases. Syphilis was the primary concern, as it was widespread in the first half of the 20th century, affecting about 10% of Americans. It could also be transmitted from mother to child, potentially causing birth defects. As a result, individuals who tested positive for syphilis would need treatment before they could marry.

Once the details of when and where were finalized, anticipation began to build for both of them. As an example, here's an excerpt from Ray's letter to Jane, dated October 31st...

More highlights from their October Letters...

In the same October 12th letter to Jane, Ray briefly discusses life at the camp. The following week, he mentions that their division (the Buffalo Division) was set to be activated on October 15th. To mark this momentous occasion, the Department of the Interior presented a live buffalo named "Buffalo Bill." It seems Ray wasn’t too keen on getting close to the animal, though.

If you'd like to learn more about Raymond's division (the 92nd), their training was tracked in a newspaper called The Buffalo, which is available through the Arizona Memory Project. The National WWII Museum also has an article about it.

In Jane's letter to Ray, dated the 12th, she reminisces about her recent visit and expresses her love, a common theme in their letters. She also often sends him baked goods, like Devil’s Food Cakes, from a friend named Evelyn. Jane mentions the war rationing of sugar, which was limited to 26 pounds per year per person. This was part of broader wartime restrictions on supplies, as Ray's mother, who worked in a restaurant, also mentioned in her letters.

We are Pleased to Present Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Whittaker – Letters From After Their Wedding Day

In the letter Jane sent to Ray after their wedding, it seems she was still a bit "matrimonially hungover," but still quite jubilant...

"I know just how you feel today 'cause I feel twice as badly. But I am very, very happy. Its a wonderful thing to have such a sweet and lovely husband..."

Ray's letter back to Jane was short but still sweet...

"This letter is short due to the time that I have to get ready for the Cadre School. So darling, I just want you to pray and continue to love me as long as there is life in your body."

The week after their marriage, Ray was heading off to training school. In the letter he sent to Jane, he included a copy of a letter he had written to his mother, explaining that they were about to begin a strenuous course in Desert Warfare: "...and no doubt this course will determine whether or not we are prepared to qualify for combat duty in Africa or Australia, which I believe we will be, sooner or later."

Turkey Day

Despite Jane's sincere wishes and hopes, Ray was unable to come to Nashville for Thanksgiving. Instead, he was granted furlough from December 31st to January 12th. However, that didn’t stop them from describing their Thanksgiving holiday events and the food...

From Jane...

"My Darling Husband - Did you have a nice Thanksgiving and did you have turkey? I sure hope you enjoyed the day - I did, I slept until 9:30, and was that enjoyable, no 7 o'clock rising for me yesterday - we had barbecued lamb, spinach? etc. for dinner also mince meat pie and was it good, "Shug" cooked it and you know how good it was..." 

She also went to the Hale Home to a "big bridge party" where "all of Nashville's 400 were there" and she ate another turkey dinner. 

Ray apparently could have had the day off, but he found out too late. Still, they managed to have a decent Thanksgiving meal...

"We had a lovely dinner at the Headquarters Mess hall. Guess what we had. Turkey, candied sweets (my favorite vegetable), green peas, celery, nuts, cranberries, squash, corn, pumpkin pie, nuts, candy, and coffee. The food was prepared nice and everyone that partaked in the dinner was quite satisfied."

Christmas Time and Furlough

Despite Jane's wishes once again, Ray was unable to come to Nashville for Christmas. However, just a few days later, on the 31st, his furlough was set to begin, and their plan was to travel to New York to visit his family. Those plans were up for debated considering how the government informed civilians that trains during the holidays were strictly for the use of soldiers...

But it appears they were able to make a trip to New Rochelle, NY, during his furlough.

Raymond's Side Business

Unsure whether he could "get along on the salary that I receive here and then take care of a wife," Ray started his own side business. In his letter from Thanksgiving Day, he mentions to Jane that he planned to sell military shoes to both officers and enlisted men at the 92nd Division. Business seemed to be going well, as one of his early letters from December 1942 noted that he had sold over 20 pairs and was still receiving orders. He also started selling "overseas caps" in addition to the shoes.

The Dean Home in Edgehill 

It’s rare to find a family that lives in the same house not just for a few years, but for decades. Yet that’s the case for Jane’s family, the Deans. At the time of the letters, Jane lived with her parents at 1023 15th Ave S. While searching that address on our internal content drive, I was lucky enough to find the included photo. There's a good chance the woman (likely) on the right is Jane’s mother, Pauline. The photo is from 1958 and is part of the City Beautiful Collection. The visit to the house might have been to admire its greenery, plants, cleanliness, or something similar—I’m not sure. But it’s a meaningful piece of the Whittaker-Dean family story.

After Ray and Jane lived in New York for a time, they eventually returned to Nashville sometime after 1960, possibly settling back into this same house. We believe this is the home where the letters came from when two women donated them in a basket (see the photo at the top of the blog). We’d love for this blog post to reach one of their relatives so they can know their family's cherished ephemera are being preserved in Metro Archives, alongside the rest of Nashville’s history.

And we’d love to learn more about Jane and Ray and their fairy-tale love story throughout the 20th century!

'Til next time, 

Sarah