All Things Vintage: Dear Abby #AprilA2Z

Good-morning, kittens and dawgs! How are you today, my lovelies? You made this kitty Cathy purr with your return visit for All Things Vintage.

Living in the fast age of technology many of us get our daily dose of news and entertainment from the internet, but when I was a girl I looked forward to getting the daily newspaper for two of my favorite sources of entertainment : the funny pages and the popular advice columnist of Dear Abby.

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Pauline Phillips (1919-2013) was “Dear Abby”, but she used the pen name Abigail Van Buren for her syndicated column. She answered letters as Dear Abby solely from 1956-2000; at that time her daughter – Jeanne Phillips assisted her until taking full helm of the column in 2002. That’s when Jeanne reported her mother had Alzheimer’s. Jeanne uses her mother’s pen name and you can read her advice as Dear Abby at https://www.uexpress.com/dearabby.

I loved Dear Abby! She generally offered good common sense advice to her readers and some of the things she wrote was even humorous.

Here are a few examples:

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A point of interest learned while researching…Abigail Van Buren and Ann Landers (both pen names) were twin sisters. The rivalry created between the two columnist lead to  a long estrangement between the sisters. This explains a lot. When I was younger I got these two women confused. The different names threw me off completely, but now I know why these ladies looked alike.

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Dear Abby earned a place among the stars along Hollywood Walk of Fame memorializing Dear Abby’s Radio Show.

One thing I always wanted to do in those days of reading Dear Abby was to write a letter to see what sort of response I would get. However, it seemed I didn’t have any real worries or problems needing solving that mom and dad or grandma and grandpa or an aunt or an uncle couldn’t help me with, but it sure would have been fun to have written Dear Abby.

Did you read Dear Abby? Have you written Dear Abby? If so, I would love for you to share that in comments with everyone!

A special thank you to the incredibly gifted A2Z Team who many are now my good friends.

Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Heather M. Gardner
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
AJ Lauer
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Damyanti Biswas @ Daily Write
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing

Now, I invite you to hop with me in checking out some of the amazing A2Zers playing along this year and I hope you’ll come back tomorrow to read about Gil Elvgren.

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31 comments

  1. I used to read the column all the time. I still do when I have a paper to read. My mother and sister both loved to read the columns too. Who doesn’t like “Dear Abby”?

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

  2. When I was a teenager, I once wrote to Ann Landers. I never mailed it. I think I was complaining about my older sisters. I miss “Abby” and “Ann.”

    Love,
    Janie

    1. Janie, at least you can say you wrote to an advice columnist. Writing about an older sister would be interesting reading material. I wonder how she might have answered your complaints. Abby’s real-life daughter (she uses her mother’s pen-name, too) took over her column, so you still have a shot at sending your letter in, but to the other sister.

  3. I read both of them growing up but Abby was my favorite. I never wrote her but kinda wished I had. I knew they were sisters and that the daughter took over for her mother.
    What I did not know was about the Hollywood star…very cool and deserved.

    Wasn’t there an article in one of them about the great toilet paper debate?

  5. Dear Cathy, it was fun to read about Dear Abby 🙂 Her responses to some of the questions are hilarious!

    Great post Cathy 🙂

  6. I used to read “Dear Abby” all the time and knew the twin sister story. Seems they both offered some good advice. I think Abby’s daughter took over the column for awhile after her mom died.

    1. Debbie, yes Pauline Phillips’ (Dear Abby’s real name) daughter did take over her mother’s column after she passed, but prior to her passing she helped her mother for a few years. Jeanne uses her mother’s pen name Abigail Van Buren and if you want to read/write the “new” Dear Abby, here.

    1. Alana, both sisters were fabulous. I remember reading Dear Abby’s column more than Ann Landers. I don’t know what that was, except maybe the daily newspaper we got only featured Dear Abby. Thanks for stopping by!

  8. I always loved reading Dear Abby (and the comics, too)! I had plenty that I could have written to her about, but I was always afraid that my parents would figure out that it was me. That would have been a big problem, so I never did. I did write to President Carter, though. 🙂

    1. Isn’t it funny how kids think parents would actually figure out such things? I don’t know, if I ever thought that about my parents, but I know our kids always thought we were some kind of secret agents spying on their every move. Talk about paranoid! I know I wrote to celebrities when I was younger and it almost seems like I wrote one of the presidents, but I just can’t say with complete certainty that I did that now. Oh well, it’s great to have your visit.

      1. Yes, it is funny. In my case, the things that I would have asked Dear Abby were quite specific and that’s why I figure they would have figured it out. I know now, though, that unfortunately, many kids were enduring what I was going through and maybe it wouldn’t have stood out to my parents.

        I don’t remember ever writing to celebrities as a kid, but I definitely kissed the lips off of my Elvis poster. haha

        I wrote to President Carter about the energy crisis. I had a few ideas of ways to help things. Looking back, if he even really saw the letter, he probably thought it was hilarious. But, it very much was in line with the whole off-grid movement of today.

        Thank you. I enjoyed the visit. 🙂

      2. I responded to you, but I don’t know where the response went. I probably hit cancel instead of submit. The buttons never seem to be in the same place twice. 🙂 Anyway, the questions that I would have had would have been very specific and I guess that is why I figured that my parents would know it was me. From this side of things, I realize that, unfortunately, I wasn’t the only child trying to process alcoholism and domestic violence, so maybe they wouldn’t have realized it was me.

        I don’t remember ever writing to a celebrity, but I definitely kissed the lips off of my Elvis post! What celebrities did you write to?

        The letter that I wrote to President Carter was about the energy crises. I had suggestions that to my little girl mind would have made a difference. It is kind of funny in that those ideas I shared with him are very much in line with the off-grid movement of today. 🙂

        Thank you for visiting my PS Annie! blog, too. I appreciate it very much.

  9. Whenever I got my hands on that part of the newspaper, I’d always read Dear Abby. Never wrote her, though.

  10. I never sent an inquiry to Dear Abby, and now I regret that. If I had, I am sure it would have been a puff piece, with an obvious solution. I do recall a neighbor asking a question about the proper way to eat barbecue chicken, whether or not a fork should be utilized, or bare hands preferred. The response recommended silverware. This was vindication for the wife, who immediately threw it in the husband’s face. That went over well… not.

    Have you ever listened to the John Prine record called “Dear Abby?” That was a hoot.

  11. I don’t think I have ever read Dear Abby, although of course I have heard of her. I certainly have never written to her — but now seeing her sense of humour and common sense, I wish I had!

  12. I loved reading Dear Abby and Ann Landers. They were everyday must-reads.
    I knew that Ann Landers and Dear Abby were sisters but I didn’t know they were estranged. How sad. I wonder who they got advice from???

    Michele at Angels Bark

    1. Michele, obviously the two sisters needed advice from someone they mutually trusted to help find their way back together. It’s sad to hear about strife between siblings such as this.

  13. It’s been awhile, but I used to read Dear Abby all the time. I enjoyed the advice she gave and loved reading abut the problems various other people faced. Sometimes it made me thankful I didn’t have their problems, other times it made me laugh a small thing troubled them.

    1. Jeffrey, I agree I never had problems that didn’t amounted to much that needed an outsider to give me advice, but it sure is funny sometimes to find what others get worked up over and Dear Abby always had good words to share at the right opportunity.

  16. My grandmother would read Dear Abby to me! What a great memory, thank you for that! here is to a great week!

  18. Living on the other side of the Atlantic, this is the first I have ever heard of Dear Abby, but by golly, that’s some sensible advice she’s metering out.

    Keith Channing A-Zing from http://keithkreates.com

  19. Hi, dear Cathy!

    I remember those siblings and their famous columns, but Ann Landers is the one that appeared in the newspaper our family read. My mother loved to read the letters and laugh at the strange scenarios described in them as well as the clever responses. i remember many of the questions involved friends or family who asked to borrow money or came to visit and overstayed their welcome. You can learn a lot about the changing values of society by reading Dear Abby and Ann Landers through the years.

    Thank you, dear friend Cathy!

  20. Oh, I read both when I was young and got a kick out of them. They made good sense overall. I did write to Abby once and never got a reply either.

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