February 15th 1941
My father passed away earlier this month. Technically he was killed by a kidney stone, but I think it was really his general decision to not carry on. He'd been working on the Herald nearly to the end. The Herald had been sold to the Knight family but my father continued as editor-in-chief and wrote all the foreign policy editorials. He was as clear headed as ever and wrote just as forcefully. His legs didn't work very good because he hadn't exercised them. That's something I'll need to remember: Exercise your legs as well as your brain. (1. pg187)
He always had that Quaker sense about women which is different from the usual Protestant attitude. Quakers made no distinction between men's and women's minds; they didn't think that minds had any particular sense to them. My father had never doubted my intellectual ability. We had an instant rapport over books, although we always had a literary quarrel going. (1. pg100)
I'm currently in the process of sorting through the paperwork and funds left behind. His house has been left to Lillian. A small sum has been left to me, not much, but I wouldn't have wanted much. I plan to use it to get out of the magazine business and start working on a new novel.
You may have noticed the large span of time since my last update. I have been investing all my time into my writing career ever since I had to leave the Herald. In 1924, I started to suffer from nervous fatigue and couldn't sleep at night. Everything seemed to come to a head one night when I left the house late one night and walked up and down the empty streets until morning. The doctor said the Herald was too much pressure for me, and I needed to get away from it. (1. pg167)
Since then, I have been writing a variety of magazine articles, and short stories. For me, it was a perfect job. I hadn't been a good employee. I hadn't like regular hours. I hadn't liked being told what to do, or working for other people. In a way I was a loner at work, the same way I was a loner at home. I wanted to be an individual rather than an employee or a female. I mean, I didn't mind being an employee or a female, but I'd rather be an individual. (1. pg170)
1. Douglas, Marjory Stoneman, and John Rothchild. Marjory Stoneman Douglas: Voice of the River: An Autobiography. Pineapple Press, 1990.
Photo: Frank Bryant Stoneman - editor in chief of the Miami Herald. 1900 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.<https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/144398>
