January 1933 – Dear Daddy – The Farm Letters

Month: January 1933

Jan 29, 1933-from Martha to James

Posted on January 29, 1933 by ddadministrator

Dear James,

It is Sunday afternoon and we are sitting around the table reading or writing. I’ve been busy all day and still have dinner dishes to wash and bread to bake. We were too tired to take baths last night so this morning 1 heated water before the children got up and they bathed and put on clean clothes. It started to snow soon after I got up and has been snowing hard all day and blowing some from the south-west but it is not cold. The children have spent most of the day reading Scattergood stories out of the old American magazines.

I hope your leg is well. You must have hit it pretty hard to bruise and cut it as badly as you did. Be careful of infection. We are almost out of reading material. Can you find “Little Women” and “Little Men” by Alcott? and “The Jungle Book” by Kipling? Maybe you can buy them second-hand.

(Later)

I’ve finished the dishes and the bread is nicely baked and all the chores done and it is still snowing and blowing as hard as ever. Our seed catalogue is from Yankton, S.D. You look over the catalogue and give us some idea of the amounts of seed to send for. I intend to make John’s knickers next week. Will you find out what the name of the man is who conducts the A and P program on the air? It is Colonel Somebody. I want to write to him about cultivated blueberry plants. He talked about them last summer. There may be something in it.

I can’t think of any more news.

Love, Martha

Jan 29, 1933-from John to James

Posted on January 29, 1933 by ddadministrator

Dear Daddy,

How are you I am fine. We’ve had a real snowstorm. it’s snowed constantly for two days and every time Mother or Ruth empties the pail I have to shovel new paths. I sure hope your leg feels better. There was some dough left from the crust of the pie Mother made so we gave it to the chickadees. in some places the snow is 21 and 1/2 inches deep. Goodby love from John L.

Jan 29, 1933-from Ruth to James

Posted on January 29, 1933 by ddadministrator

Dear Daddy,

What do you think we could do for lice. The cat has it. today we gave her a bath with lysol in it, and used soap on her and then rinsed her good and wrapped her up in my pink baby blanket and dried her. I made some book ends a day ago and they turned out swell. Gee but we sure have a heap of snow it’s clear up to the window sill by the table. Do you read the Scattergood storys? If you don’t I’ll give you the author, Clarence buddington Kelland. He sure has good storys. Will send you down an American and if you look in the contents in the fiction part you’ll find the author. Well this is all.

Love from Ruth.

Jan 27, 1933-from Martha to James

Posted on January 27, 1933 by ddadministrator

Dear Jim,

We’ve been thinking and talking about you tonight, hoping your leg is well and wishing we were there to keep you company. We got your letter and your nice package today. I hope you kept some of the fruit for yourself. We felt like giving three cheers when we read that you are coming up to get us.

Ruth made another cake today and John got me a sleigh-load of wood, some kindling and some kitchen and heater wood. It isn’t very pleasant to split-wood after a snow-fall. They have played inside most of the time the last few days. Ruth made a little rag doll and painted the hair, face and shoes on it and has been sewing clothes for it. John got down the play-box and played with his trains and airplanes and made a lot of small bows and arrows.

Ruth saw a chickadee fly into the bird house you put up. We put bread crumbs and lumps of fat on the little platform and they make away with all of it. The mailman is the only one who goes by since the last snow. He has a pair of skis on the front wheels and tractor wheels on the back. He came up to the pump one day to get some water for the car, and I was surprised to see what a small man he is.

(Saturday morning)

It is snowing and blowing again and much colder. I had just got the fires burning and breakfast ready when Mr. Vokes drove into the yard and asked if we needed anything from town. I ordered some butter and eggs and I won’t need anything until pay-day. We had ice-cold grapefruit, cornmeal mush, toast and coffee for breakfast. The grapefruit was delicious and we use the toaster a lot. I hope your leg will be well soon. Now you can get caught up on your reading. We’ll all write again tomorrow. Love from us all, Martha

Jan 27, 1933-from Ruth to James

Posted on January 27, 1933 by ddadministrator

Dear Daddy,

How is your leg. I am very sorry you hurt it. Yesterday John and I started a skee jump and sled slide. I have yours and Mother’s valentines made. Please send us 1.00 worth red mint candy harts, and 8 one cent valentines. when you are able. We are all fine. The chickadees are still around the house. Well this is all cause Moms is writing too so love from Ruth.

PS John had to shovel us out again this morning.

Jan 26, 1933-from Martha to James

Posted on January 26, 1933 by ddadministrator

Dear James,

We got your letter saying you had hurt your leg. Mind the Doctor and take care of yourself. I washed today and hung the clothes outside. There is a brisk East wind blowing that should dry them and I won’t need to hang any in the house. John says I am not to try to keep the fire as he has a nice lot of kindling drying in the oven and it won’t take long to get the house warm in the morning. Before I forget it as soon as you can get down town buy us a bottle of iron-glue. The rubber soles on John’s boots have come off. If I can glue them on again he can still wear them.

I clipped the wool off the pelt and washed it. There is enough to make a light-weight quilt. I have blocks sewed for one side. Send 8 yards of yard-wide material, outing flannel in any colored stripe would do.

Bishop’s store burned down Sat. night. I have asked Mrs. Vokes, Henry’s Mother, to stay with us a few days. The children like her.

The children will write to you tomorrow, so I’ll close. The apples were “Delicious”.

Lots of love and keep well. Martha

(Next morning)

It’s snowing again, a fine snow that may keep on for days. We’re still feeding the chickadees but we have to watch the cat. She is sly. The birds like to pick on the bones and the other day I gave the cat a bone with a little fresh meat on it and what does she do but drag it over to the bird’s tree and leave it there and try to catch the birds when they come to eat.

So long, Martha

Jan 24, 1933-from Martha to James

Posted on January 24, 1933 by ddadministrator

Dear James,

Thanks a lot for the presents you sent me. They are all lovely. The children woke me long before daylight to look at them. We would have sent you some birthday cake but thought the candy would carry better. We haven’t been anywhere since you were here so yesterday being a lovely warm day we walked over to Rood’s. Mrs. Rood had gone to Hubbard so we walked over to Vokes for the rest of the afternoon and stayed for supper. Henry took us home in the sleigh afterward, about 8 o’clock.

(Next morning)

Vokes came for the second cord of wood. It is quite cold again. I got a letter from Anna this morning. I didn’t sleep very well last night. The house was cold when we got home and I drank a cup of coffee for supper. These people are hard to understand, they always make so many wise cracks about city folks a good deal like you do. It seems so silly. Each one knows best about their own way of living and working, why run the other fellow down because he doesn’t know someone else’s job as well as his own? I don’t pretend to know much about farming but I do hope the garden and chickens etc. turn out well and that will speak louder than words.

The wood pile looks good to me as I sit here by the table. Except for that one cord that Vokes took it looks just as it did when you left. We have quite a few big chunks underneath the pile. I piled some of the small stuff in the woodshed yesterday.

We wish you were here. We got a seed catalogue and have been picking out what we’d like to raise. They have the Dolga crab listed there. Well I must get busy at something. We’ll be looking for a letter from you tomorrow. Hope you are well and that Esther is feeling better and your Mother too. Sometimes it seems as tho we can’t stand it any longer here without you or some one with us. It may be better when you are here. Love from us all, Martha

Jan 23, 1933-from Ruth to James

Posted on January 23, 1933 by ddadministrator

Dear Daddy,

I am writing with a pen made from a turkey fether John got from Henry’s barn yard yesterday. John and I rode the old mare and I’m lame as she this morning. coming home from Henry’s last night we got a slay ride and he told me the old mare was lame. Today I made a sweet cream cake. John and I had a doll’s party this afternoon. I made the cake espeshly for that. after that the dolls me and John played rummy. Well this is all. love from Ruth L.

Jan 23, 1933-from John to James

Posted on January 23, 1933 by ddadministrator

Jan. 23rd- 1933

Dear Daddy,

How are you I am fine. We went over to Henry’s yesterday and I rode Fly and watered a horse named daisy and fed one of the colts milk. he has 2 little calves they are about a yard high at the head. they killed old tom and I found one of his featheres. it was about 17 and 1 inches long and about an inch wide. This morning my feet got cold and the cat was sleeping at the foot of the bed so I put my feet under her. well I can’t think of any more, so goodby.

love from John L.

Jan 19, 1933-from Martha to James

Posted on January 19, 1933 by ddadministrator

Dear James,

Your package and letter came and caused a lot of excitement. The children have had secrets all day and tonight I was informed I’d have to hunt for presents in the morning. I am sorry Esther is feeling so badly but I have heard that at first they suffer a great deal of pain in that kind of an operation so I think in a few days she will feel much better. We are all feeling well. I had to let the wood supply in the house get pretty low so that I could sweep out that corner, so this afternoon we all went out and split 4 sleigh-loads of wood. That fills the corner. I am cording wood in that little room you left and we’re going to take a lot of the small stuff into the chicken coop.

I washed and trimmed the pelt and laid it out in the woodshed. We’re sending you a leg of lamb. It will be good roasted in the cooker. There isn’t much meat on it but it tastes good. We’ve had more snow and it has been cold. I hope everything is fine with you now. Get all the sleep you can and eat oranges, lemons and grapefruit. They help ward off colds.

Love, Martha