Dear Daddy – The Farm Letters

Dear James,

It’s the end of another Sunday and a rainy one too. It started to rain at 7 this morning and has kept it up off and on all day. We were caught without any wood but while the children went after the milk, I sawed enough wood to last us today and tomorrow morning. The saw works much better now.

We walked over to Mrs. Shaw’s Friday evening and brought home a young rooster. There being no one else to do it I chopped its head off with the new ax, plucked it and cut it up ready for the kettle. We all wished you were here to help eat him. We read half of “The Lone Cowboy” today and dug up a bunch of “funnies” that we hadn’t looked at yet,

The place looks quite cozy now that things are straightened up. I put the odd boxes out in the old house. We need a lamp now. It gets dark much earlier now and the lantern is smelly and doesn’t give a very good light. We’ve all been tired enough to turn in early so far.

We went out to gather cherries Friday afternoon. We had picked a small pail full when I caught my hand on a hidden barbed wire. It jabbed thru the big vein in the back of my hand and the vein started to puff up right away and the hand swelled. We went home and I opened up the cut and put on some Pepsodent, then got some boiling water and put on hot compresses the rest of the afternoon. That stopped the swelling and the pain and today it is just a little sore to the touch.

I put the phonograph on the chest and we’ll use that for papers and magazines and the clock. I use the lower part of the kitchen cabinet as a refrigerator. I wish you could be here too. The children went out to look for hazelnuts but didn’t find any. Jensen’s cut corn all day Friday and Saturday. They haven’t thrashed yet. We haven’t walked around the farm yet. Some day soon I’m going to follow the north line fence to the N.W. corner.

Instead of sending us money this time get each of the youngsters and yourself a raincoat. Get a red one for Ruth and a yellow slicker for John. If you want to send us groceries, send dried fruits, rice, macaroni, brownies, graham crackers and some cheese. We need some writing tablets too. I think we’ll write 3 times a week after this. I’ll mail letters from here on Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday. It seems so long apart to write only twice. We intended to take pictures today but the weather prevented us. We’ll do that as soon as we can. We must get the milk now and then to bed.

Love from us all,

Martha

P.S. Jenson just brought us a nice load of wood. We are piling it up in the old house now. Some of it is too long to use in the cook stove but we can use it in a heater. John is going to write you a special letter all his own. He says we write all the news.

Dear James,

I hope you reached home safely. The children brought Darold home with them and they went coasting in the wagon, then got out the trucks and played with them most of the afternoon. I got the dishes and supplies stored in the cupboard and washed the mirrors and windows. We had a nice shower in the afternoon and the roof is O.K. We ate supper in the dark. About midnight we had another rain. I heard the wind blowing and got up and lit the lantern and put in three of the windows. Then I went outside with the lantern and shut the old house tight and brought in a few things from out in the yard. I called the cat but she didn’t come so I locked up again and went back to bed. It thundered and lightninged quite hard but the children didn’t hear a thing. We slept until 7:30 this morning. It is going to be hot today. I believe the new roof will keep out some of the heat too.

Last night in the dark I saw what looked like glow worms on the ground around that stump you cut down and a strip of wood on the outside of the stump glowed too, as tho it had an electric light inside. We brought one piece into the house and set it on top of the bookcase. After the light was out it shone like the ball on the end of the light chain only it wasn’t green. It is the light colored wood that glows.

Can you get a toy dump truck and send it up to Darrold and a little coffee pot?

I must close with lots of love, Martha

(Continued Friday morning, Aug 26th

It’s cooler this morning. I have the fire going and the children are dressing. We had another nice rain yesterday afternoon and it drizzled all evening and into the night. It is nice to have a tight roof. We read from “The Lone Cowboy “in the evening. Ruth fixed dinner. Mrs. Jenson is back. I bought a dozen eggs from her for 14 cents, mopped part of the old house yesterday. The floor was painted gray at one time.

School starts Sept. 6th. Maybe you can send John a new tie to wear to school and a pencil like Ruth’s blue one only a different color. Good luck and lots of love. If you are off Sunday go visiting.

Martha