ABIDING IN GOD

A son reflects on life and love as reflected in the romantic correspondence of his parents.

“The courtship of which my parents sang” is characterized by a “symphony of love colored by their religious heritage,” writes Johnson. Margaret and Walter Johnson first met in 1937 at a church event in Greeley, Colorado, the town where Walter resided at the time. Margaret, who was visiting her sister, returned to North Dakota, where she directed choral groups and taught English. While apart, the two struck up a long-distance relationship via post that culminated in their marriage the following year. In sharing his parents’ letters with the public, Johnson aims to not only provide a rare glimpse into the courtship of two lovers in the 1930s American West; he also hopes that their story and religious commentary will inspire readers. The letters are distributed among a three-volume series; books one and two focused on the early stages of the couple’s relationship, while this final edition covers their engagement and wedding planning. What stands out among the letters, which are lightly edited for clarity but otherwise reproduced in their entirety, is the couple’s religious faith. “I am so happy that we have a home,” writes Margaret in one letter, clarifying, “Both an earthly as well as heavenly.” While the letters are the meat of the book, Johnson provides ample commentary for context—for instance, he informs readers that Walter’s parents were Swedish immigrants who did not speak English at home until after Walter struggled with the language in school, which accounts for grammatical issues that are left unedited in the letters. While many of these editorial remarks provide clarity, occasionally Johnson drifts into his own eclectic brand of spirituality (including the belief that “elemental spirits can come together to form complex spirits that give rise to feelings of love”), which distracts from Walter and Margaret’s story. Still, supplemented by family photographs, news clippings, and other ephemera, this is a well-edited, intimate look at an American romance.

A rare, illuminating snapshot of a 1930s love story.