Beulah "Bea" Marie Carlson Carlson

Lilah Crowe2020-10-29T15:27:34-05:00

Name: Beulah "Bea" Marie Carlson (Carlson)
Location of Birth: Grand Rapids, Minnesota
Date of Birth: September 24, 1923
Date of Death: January 10, 2003
Parents: Ernest W. Carlson & Anna (Hogberg) Carlson
High School and Class: 1942 Greenway High School, Coleraine, Minnesota
College: Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota
Highest Rank: SK 3 (Storekeeper 3rd class petty officer)
Branch: Navy
Other Branch:
Date Sworn In: October 21, 1943
Place Sworn In:
Date of Discharge: April 6, 1946
Place of Discharge:
Military Awards:

Military Highlights:
Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - December 10, 1943 - "Dear Mr. Barnes: I received the Bovey Press last night, but didn't have time to read it before taps, as we had shore liberty and had been in New York all day. We only had a few minutes to get to bed in, so after taps I took my flashlight and the paper to bed with me. I enjoy the paper so much. This was the second copy I have received. I spent Saturday and Sunday sight seeing in New York City. I had a wonderful time. Ever since I can remember I have wanted to see New York. But I was always afraid I would get lost if I was to go to New York alone. But I found out that getting lost was the least of my worries. My girl friend and I started out Saturday afternoon and walked on Broadway for awhile. We had a wonderful dinner at the Toffenetti Restaurant on 43rd and Broadway in the heart of Times Square. It's known as the busiest restaurant on the world's busiest corner. It's famous for ham and that's what we had. It was fun to sit at a small table and have everything brought to you and be served so perfect. And to have cups with handles and coffee that tastes like coffee. Here in the Navy there are anywhere from 20 to 80 at your table and if you want anything you yell or you don't get it. Our cups don't have handles either and they call the coffee iodine. After dinner we went to Rockefeller Center and took a tour through all the buildings. We went to the top of the R.C.A. building, which is 70 stories. They had the fastest elevators in the world here, it took us 37 seconds to go 70 stories. There were beautiful gardens on the roofs of different buildings here in Rockefeller Center. The Grand Foyer of Radio City Music Hall was so beautiful it amazed me. The Grand Foyer had a graceful arched balcony on the first mezzanine, a large stairway at each end leading to the Grand Lounge. Also there was the grand staircase leading to Ezra Winter's 30x60 foot mural called "The Fountain of Youth." There were mirrors on the wall three stories high and 29-foot heat-resisting glass chandeliers, weighing approximately two tons. The walls were deep red velvet carpeted. I would go on all night telling you about it, but time is too hard to find in the Navy, so will just tell the high spots. After our tour we walked along Times Square and just let ourselves be pushed along with the busy Saturday night crowd. We saw a lot and had loads of fun. We could stay out as late as we wanted to, so we took our time. Sunday morning we got up early and took a subway to Grand Central and then went to the famous St. Patrick's Cathedral. My girl friend was Catholic, so we went to mass. It certainly was something that left you wondering if you were seeing right. After we went in search of a Lutheran church. Everyone we stopped and asked gave us a different street or avenue. We walked for two hours and it was after 12, so we gave up. We went and got some information as to a tour of lower Manhattan and Upper New York Bay. We saw the Aquarium Building at Battery Park. It is now being demolished. The park is closed now, due to construction work on the vehicular tunnel under the East River to Brooklyn. We took a boat out to Bedloe Island to the Statue of Liberty. We had so much fun. There were 5 sailors and 5 soldiers; 2 who were from Hawaii and one civilian who worked for the Navy. My girl friend and I were the only girls in our tour and being we were Waves, the sailors were testing our knowledge of the Navy. We learned a lot more things about ships and the Navy as we compared the things of our training. We climbed to the top of the statue and in the crown were windows we could look out over the bay. It was 306 feet above the water. After the tour we were guests at the Y.M.C.A. Service Center. We enjoyed a lovely luncheon and program. There were service men from all over the world there. Each branch in the service had to get up and sing their song. When they called for the U.S. Navy, we found we were the only Waves present, so we had to go up on the stage with about 30 or 40 sailors and sing. They were very nice to us and said they were proud to have us in service. There was so much to see on that tour, it took us five hours. I couldn't start to tell you about everything. Next we went to the Empire State Building. We went all the way to the top, 102 stories. It was very interesting. I forgot to mention that while we were on the observation roof lounge of Rockefeller Center, I was looking thru the guest book and I saw Sever Bianchi's name (from Coleraine). It felt good to see a name you knew, when you're so far from home. We just had an air raid drill. You would almost think it was the real thing. We all had our blankets and were sitting on the desk. We could hear a lot of planes. It lasted about 45 minutes. There go the taps! Maybe a good thing or I would write all night. But as you see I enjoyed my visit to New York and hope to go again next week if I am here. Again many thanks for the paper, which is a real treat to me way out here. Sincerely, Beulah Carlson."

Newspaper article - Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - November 3, 1944 – “Washington, D.C. - Dear Mrs. Dargan: I’m a little surprised at the fact that I have nothing to do tonight. This is the first time I have been able to sit down and really write and not have a million things that should be done. I’m a little late in writing this thank you letter, but the appreciation for the birthday greeting remains the same. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness, it meant so much. If all goes well and nothing turns up, I’ll be home two months from tonight. It certainly is something to look forward to. Two weeks ago I had a 72-hour pass and went home with my girlfriend to Pittsburgh. She certainly showed me a wonderful time. I don’t think we missed an inch of Pittsburgh. They took me up in a plane and showed me many interesting places of the city from the air. It was my first plane ride and I ejoyed it very much. Sunday morning I got up at 5:00 and went to work early, so I could get off early. Then we dressed in sport clothes and went for a walk. We crossed the Potomac River and went into Va., and walked through some beautiful parks. We also visited Arlington National Cemetery. We looked for all the famous peoples’ graves which are there and then went to the grave of the “Unknown Soldier.” It was so impressive. The greatest attraction for most of the people seems to be the soldier who guards it. We stood and watched him for a long time. There are so many interesting places to go to down here. I’m receiving the Press regular but a little later in the week because you don’t have my full address. It is – Beulah Carlson, SK3c, Wave Quarters I B1-24, West Potomac Park, Washington 4, D.C. I enjoy barracks life very much. It is all very G.I., but so much more fun than living in the hotel. It’s still early so I had better get some more letters answered, because we have something planned for every night this week. So again, many thanks for the birthday greeting and the Press. As ever, Beulah Carlson.”

Wars Involved:
World War II

MIA / POW:

Civilian Life:
Beulah Carlson grew up in Bovey, Minnesota and attended schools in the Coleraine school district. She attended Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota after her military service was completed. She was married to Lawrence Carlson in Minnesota in 1947 and the couple lived in Mahtowa, Minnesota for many years. She enjoyed flower gardening and baking.

Beulah Carlson Carlson died in Two Harbors, Minnesota and is buried in Mt. Salem Cemetery, Mahtowa, Minnesota. She is survived by daughter Christine (Ruddell) Lind; brother Bill (Sharon) Carlson; and 2 grand-children. . She was preceded in death by husband Lawrence; sisters Ardyce Stringer, Murial Olson, and Verna Zetah.

Tribal Affiliation(s):