Ever the Letters Book

I first met Clair Olson in 2002 when he came to our business, Gap Graphics and Printing, Mountain City, Georgia, to talk to us about typesetting "Ever The Letters." Clair entered our shop with two hand-held files filled with handwritten letters, approximately 850 of them, he and his wife, Pearl, exchanged during World War II.

It was a wonderful journey for me and a joy-meeting the now 80 something man

and woman and comparing them to the youngsters who poured out their love for one another in their letters, and made plans for the future following the end of the war.

I have read several fictional books that were told completely through letters, but this story is so very special because it is true. These letters written by Pearl and Clair will touch your heart and soul, and bring laughter and tears. This love story is also filled with history as Clair enters the Navy, goes to boot camp in Farragut, Idaho, to Radar School in Honolulu, Hawaii, and then on to his assignments in the Philippines as the war rages on. Clair's faith in God becomes more evident as the dangers of war increase, and because of his special friendship with Richard Sytsma.

We get the stateside war news from Pearl, back home in St. Peter, Minnesota, working as a telephone operator and caring for their young son, Gary, with the help of her parents, as they all await the end of the war and Clair's return. One constant theme throughout all their letters is their vow to never be apart once the war is over.

We decided to leave the letters as closely as possible to the way they were written, because this is their story as they lived it. In their own words they tell of the sacrifices and heartaches brought on by a long separation at this difficult time in our history.