Dear Daddy – The Farm Letters

Dear James,

We received your letter and package Friday. Am glad you are well. The fine weather continues every day but it gets cold enough to freeze water in the washbasin at night. The head of your axe almost flew off yesterday, the screw broke out. So I’ll let the heavy splitting go. We’ve used one row of wood in the shed. When we had so much snow we couldn’t split wood outside.

We all feel pretty much let down by your not coming until the end of the month. I saw Mr. Wrightly yesterday about the Shaw place. He says there are 80 acres in it. 40 cleared and 40 in pasture. No large trees but small stuff growing up. He wants $1600 for it and anyone who sells it can have what they get over that; $600 down and balance in 5 to 10 years. Taxes $50 per year. That is what he says. Last summer I inquired just out of curiosity and was told he asked $1400 for it and it is not a full 80. There is some question about the boundary between him and Jenson. I also heard that he will bear watching and he foreclosed on the place once. The 80 acres north of us is owned by a land company and a bank in Park Rapids has charge of it. 140 acres in a swamp but there is some good timber and one cleared field. I heard it was priced at $1000. The farm east of Henry Vokes is an 80; 40 acres on one side of the road and 40 across, I think you can get a list of State-owned farms that have been taken over by foreclosure from the bank or maybe the county agent.

We won’t need any more supplies until the 25th except laundry soap. I haven’t a speck left. The lemon powder is fine for dishes and thank you for that. We thought a pair of rubber boots would make a nice birthday present. I’ll send the outside measurements of his boots and you’d better get a size or 1/2 size larger, that is if you think that is all right for a present.

We’ll each write to you again Sunday and hope we hear from you real often. With love, Martha

Dear James,

Everyone is well and the weather continues fine. Spring seems to have come overnight. The crows were cawing early this morning and I heard a phoebe yesterday. There is still plenty of snow but it is settling fast. The children found a big pine that they can climb to the top of, and has branches like swings.

We were glad to get the letter and package but would so much rather it had been you. We’ll try to bear up however, and plan to see you April 1st. Everything in the package was in good shape; the ink, the book, and the eggs. The book is a dandy, you must read it before you take it back. I wish you would get some school books too; an arithmetic, speller, geography and history, 4th grade books.

One set will do for both. Also some new maps, especially of the U.S. and Alaska. When we had Ruth’s geography here we looked up places in Alaska as we read about them and had lots of fun.

Today is another fine spring day. The sun was just peeking over the horizon when I got up a little after 6, and everything is bright and cheery at 9. We had a breakfast of cakes again and last night we had fried ham for supper. Living up here has taught us the value of food–believe me we don’t waste one speck or drop of anything. I guess we can learn something of value from every experience if we try.

All of the seed catalogues have come. We’ll send you our list of seeds for your official O.K., except the children’s stuff; They can send for what they want. Their desires have changed with each new catalogue. It’s good to know the bills are getting paid and we won’t be having any fuel bills hanging over our heads this summer. I hope the pictures are all right. It was a little cloudy when we took the last two. Shall we start taking milk from the Jensons again? We can get along with the supplies we have and butter and eggs and a few things I’ll mark down on an extra sheet of paper. $2.00 will be enough. No one has gone by here in ages except old Mr. Jenson walked by one morning and we said “”hello”.

The county agent’s name is Mr. Olson, address; Park Rapids. It has taken me just an hour to write this with interruptions. Jack Wrightly owns the place where Shaws live. I’ll ask about other places. It would be nice to have neighbors of our own kind; a group of us would get along fine.

Dear James,

I hope you are all right. We haven’t heard anything from you since last Saturday and naturally we are worried. Mr. Wheaton says the trains haven’t been coming thru. Do you know anything about it? We are all feeling well and do the best we can to keep cheerful.

We have a lot of snow. A big tractor ploughed out the road south of us. It seems somebody big in Wadena by the name of Mason has a cottage near here and decided to go there by car so they cleared the road for him. I heard the noise but didn’t know what it was all about until Mr. Wheaton told me.

We have 3 seed catalogues, one from Faribault, one from N.Y. and one from Wisconsin. The kids make up a list from each one. I hope you are getting our letters and are all right.

Lots of love, Martha