For those of you who showed an interest in my Cley Flood story - which was analysed last night at my Creative Writing class - it did elicit more interest than either my Rosie and Anna book or the Polish Connection. Their main criticisms had to do with changing tense, and point of view. Most thought I didn't make the main character in enough of a panic when she was in 1853 and her family were flooded.

Synopsis of Anna and Rosie

The first 5 chapters have already been posted on the site, and I won’t repost them, even though I made a few changes to the beginning ones on the advice of my creative writing group.

But for those who haven’t read them, I will do a quick summary of the story so far. This is a true story, and the Anna letters and some of the others are genuine. It starts in 1901.

Anna and Rosie are sisters - but Rosie is 7 years older. The first few chapters concentrate on Rosie writing to her Aunt Anna, who her sister Anna was named after. The main function of these letters  is to get across information about the family - which is ever growing in size. In the end, their mother dies pregnant with her 11th child. Rosie, who was in nurses’ training at the time, gives it up to help bring up her younger brothers and sisters - or else Anna would have been taken out of school at 15 to do it. But the father, John Alexander Woychik, gets married again, about a year later, and Rosie takes the opportunity to leave home and get married to her sweetheart, Julius.

The second section deals with alternating letters between Anna, who is now 17 and Rosie who is married and pregnant. Anna becomes a school teacher (only 6 weeks teacher training during the summer for her credentials) and goes into great detail about her life - including how homesick she is in these little remote schools. She talks about her social life - and Rosie replies telling about her married life and about her children when they come. 

Between them, Rose and Anna take care of their younger sisters, Gertie, Ceal and Mary, because their father’s new wife, who they call The Mrs has had a child of her own and doesn’t care much for the other children in the family. Rosie has first Gertie and then Ceal to come to stay with her over the next few years. Anna uses a large part of her meager salary to keep them in clothes, as their father and step-mother seem to have lost all interest in them. When she is 17, Gertie decides to become a nun, and on her 18th birthday she runs away to a convent in St. Paul, Minnesota. Anna tries to get her to quit - but Gertie says that at least God loves her, even if her own family don’t.

When she is 22, Anna decides that she hates the school she is teaching in and that she really would like to get married. She confides to Rosie that a man is paying attention to her, but she says he is homely - his only qualification for her affection is that he owns a car.  Rosie tries to warn her against getting married for the wrong reasons, but in the next summer, Anna marries Ken.

The next section deal with Ken’s death - of endocarditis - at the age of 23. He and Anna have had a baby by this time, and there are letters from him telling how much he misses seeing his little girl grow up. After he dies, Anna feels she has no choice but to go to live with Ken’s mother - who can then look after Kathleen while she teaches in a little town called Hurdsfield, North Dakota.

There is then a long period without any letters. During that time Rosie’s 3 children are growing up, and Kathleen has become primary school age.  Anna spends her summers partly getting more credits for her teaching certificate, and partly helping out at the Poor Farm, in Jamestown, as a cook. We know from photographs, that she also spends time in the summers at Rosie’s house in Ashland, Wisconsin.

September 10, 1934

Ashland, Wisconsin

Dear Annie and Kathleen,

How are you doing in your little country town? I thought maybe you would appreciate some homemade jelly, because probably you don’t have time with all your teaching and housework and cooking to make any yourself. This is chokecherry, which I know you like, and I have also put in some hoarhound candy for Kathleen. It is a favorite with my kids, so I expect she will like it too.

I am interested in hearing more about this Peterson person you mentioned in your last letter. Is he serious about wanting to marry you? What do you think about the idea? I had to laugh when you told about Kathleen putting a strawberry into his open mouth when he was sleeping on the couch after dinner that day. She certainly is full of mischief that child. Did that kitten survive that she put in the oven to get dry when it had been out in the rain?

I remember another story about her too - when she and Joan put the kittens down the outside toilet at Andrew’s farm. I think they both got their backsides paddled for that one, because poor Andrew had to take the little house down and go into all that muck to rescue them. What will she get up to next, I wonder.

Are you going to have Leona come to stay with you next year? As you know, I had both Gertie and Cealie here with me for awhile when they were in high school, and I really valued their company and help. But I think the main thing they valued was getting away from a home which was not very happy. I think maybe Leona would appreciate that too. She might be spoiled by her mother, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t expect her to work darn hard and put up with all their disagreements, which sometimes, I have heard, are more than just words.

Our Georgiana and Eleanor and doing very well at high school, and they both enjoy it. You asked what they want to do when they finish? Well that changes from one day to the next. John is almost as much of a mischief maker as your Kathleen, but he knows he wants to be a photographer, even from this very early age.
I’m sending a little knit coat that Eleanor made to see if it could be used by Kathleen.

Thinking of you always, and with much love,

Rosie

Hurdsfield, N. D.
Nov.9, 1934
Dear Rose

No fooling. I think of you every day and I feel like a skunk not to have acknowledged receiving all the jelly. It arrived fine and I was so tickled to get it. This stuff you buy at the store all tastes alike. I am so fed up on store stuff.
Don't think I ever want to keep house again. I'm always behind with my work and I sure am sick of cooking for myself.

Kathleen likes her coat a lot. I didn't get the buttons sewed on until a week ago Sunday. She refused point blank to go to church unless she could wear her new coat. But the buttons had to go on Sunday or no Sunday.

Have been home to the farm just once since school began. That was three weeks ago when Cornel shot his hand. Wonder if they wrote you about it. He had the gun out in the field and it went off somehow and shot his hand, the thumbless one. Thought at first he'd lose more fingers but it seemed to be getting along o.k. that weekend. It’s interesting that they said that if he hadn’t lost his thumb before it wouldn’t have worked now anyway.

Haven't heard a word since. Mary was coming down one weekend but she didn’t get down. She is no doubt busy with her nursing studies. Do you ever wish that you had finished your training? Haven't heard from Ceal since school began. Wonder how her job in Oakes is holding out. She says she has met a nice man there, so maybe there will be another wedding in the family soon.

Mrs. Langer lost out in the election Tuesday. I thought surely she'd win. This community was so strong for her. I voted for Moodie but if' I'd had money I'd have bet on Mrs. Langer.

The Catholic Ladies are giving a card party here tomorrow. I made 2 apple pies tonite and tomorrow I must make 2 doz. sandwiches for the affair.

I'm not forgetting I owe you three perfectly good bucks but I'm in so deep before school began I'm having difficulty getting caught up.

Had a letter from Fr. Stempel this week asking me to keep house for him. Isn’t that a laugh? I'd like to tell him I'd have to be darn hungry and have no place to go. I never did like him at all.

How're your family? Write. Say wonder if you'd let me use your picture of Jack and myself. Where I'm sitting and he's standing beside me. We're putting on a school carnival Saturday November 10th and I’m supposed to get my baby picture for a Photo Gallery. The only baby picture of me is that family picture. Do you have one? Maybe that would be alright. If you will send one or t'other, wish you would.

What's your new dress like? I never did get my green one dyed.

Love to all

Ann

Ashland, November 30th, 1934

Dear Ann,

This will be just a quick note to say Happy Birthday. I hope this gets to you on time, but rather doubt it. I hope you have a nice day. Will that Mr. Peterson take you out someplace special? You never did write more about how you feel about him.

I am including a dress for Kathleen, which is a hand me down from Eleanor but in good condition yet. Let me know if she likes it, and I will send some more.

Maybe you can come and spend the holidays here with us. You are always welcome.

I seem to have a cold that lasts all winter long, plus aches and pains in all sorts of places. Still I expect I’ll survive.

Love

Rosie