J. Paul and Elsie

I was intrigued reading in the March 23 Book Review the article entitled “The Great Getty,” reviewed by Bevis Hillier. I always thought that I was privy to one of Getty’s early romances that would never see the light of day--I refer to your revelation of his “affair” with Elsie Ekstrom.

My family was next door neighbor to the Eckstroms when I was 12 years old. As an impressionable young girl, I watched with interest when the “young man” came to call. He had his own car! In 1920, that really impressed me! The Eckstroms were good neighbors, but soon there seemed to be a lot of whispering and innuendo about Elsie among the neighbors. I questioned my mother, and she used the occasion to tell me the “facts of life.” “Elsie is expecting a baby out of wedlock, but I do not consider this fact a ‘sin’ as the others do, but I think Elsie has some difficult times ahead of her.”

ADELENE R. CRAIG

Oceanside