Dear Daddy – The Farm Letters

Dear Jim,

It is 9:20 and we have our morning housework done and clothes soaking to be washed later. The weather is ideal for anything. A cool breeze blowing and the sky clear. The children are outside playing with their oak branches, building a shelter. I gave the window frame a second coat and all of the windows have one coat of white. The days are so long we can get a lot done. I’ll paint the outside green and the inside white.

The little Shaw boy was here for dinner and supper yesterday. They have a lot of fun together. His mother leaves him alone a good deal and I suppose he comes over here when he gets hungry. We had flapjacks for breakfast this morning and they turned out real good. One cup of sour milk makes plenty for all. We need a good dog to let us know when someone is coming. It startles me when folks come up to the door so quietly.

I must have left one of the blue curtains in the bottom drawer of the dresser. Please send it up. And we can’t locate the fish scaler. We found the nail file.

The Nevis mailman stopped yesterday and took your letter. I think we will get better service from him. He won’t leave the mail in the box, but he will give it to us if we are out there. The Park Rapids man hasn’t stopped at all. The box is on the wrong side of the road for him. We haven’t received any mail from you and are worried about you. I think it would be better to change the address to Nevis. He took our name in case any mail came for us. He is very accommodating. Try to get a letter to us soon so that we will know how you are and how you found things.

With love,

Martha

Dear Jim,

I just got thru with my turn at the buck saw. Each morning while it is cool, we saw enough wood to last 1 or 2 days. It is 8:45 A.M. and we have breakfast and dishes out of the way and the children have their letters written. I’m afraid I can’t depend on getting things in town. You’ll have to send us as much as you can from the city until you come up again. I need a washboard and some gloves– some of the old ones around the house will do. My hands are pretty sore.

We cleaned up some of the suckers and brush in the front yard and it begins to look quite nice. I cleared out the raspberry patch by the house and planted the seed we had. I could use some peas and some more beans. I cleared some of the berry patch on the south but it is hard on the hands. I think you can send us fresh vegetables by mail, like carrots, lettuce and string beans, if you send them so they don’t have to stay in the P.O. over Sunday.

I met 2 new neighbors yesterday, Mrs. Shaw and Mrs. Lofgren. Mrs. Lofgren has a girl 5 years old named Ruth and a boy, Jerry, who is 2 years old. They live in the stucco house near Jensen’s. I made my sour cream cake and it turned out good. I built the fire, baked the cake and frosted it in less than an hour. Mrs. Shaw has a baby boy 2 weeks old. Their house has 2 large rooms downstairs and the porch, and 1 large room upstairs. It is finished with wallboard inside and is light and airy. She is large and dark skinned. The boy we saw looks just like his Daddy.

We walked over to the school house yesterday and I got sunburned. John’s overalls are worn out. You’d better get him 2 pair of either the pants or overalls. The children slept good last night. I woke while it was dark and looked out of the south window. The moon was shining thru the pines and made such a pretty picture, finer than any painting. We could build a beautiful home here. We must be independent tho, so try to send as much as you can by mail and maybe you can leave the car here for a while. I’d be glad to learn to milk a cow so as to have our own milk and butter. Then we’d want some hens and a little pig. We can easily take care of them.

Lots of love from us all. We are going to camp down by the mail box so as not to miss the mailman.

Martha

P.S. Darold brought us a part of a big crappy he caught himself at Sunny Point Camp. It weighed 6 pounds!