Love
Rose

June 23 1935

My dearest Rosie,

On this your birthday I didn’t so much as get a letter to you and I’m sorry that I didn’t. I hope you’re having a pleasant day.

I thought Julius's speech for the parent-teacher's very good - but when I saw the paper I thought he'd had a promotion - or beat Dougy to the postmastership.
I should have been the “manager” of this poor farm since three weeks ago today and have I been busy? Very much so. There are eighteen of us here to cook and wash and iron for besides an awful lot of house to keep clean. The Murphys have gone on a trip to Oregon. They expect to be gone about a month or 6 weeks. Hazel plans to stay and take a business course out there and then get located permanently.

Obviously with my work here, we can’t go there. Are you coming to see us this summer?

I think that you should because there are rumors that Cornel is getting married in August. In case he does, it will make a change on the farm. The Mrs is hoping now to be able to move into town for the winter months so that Leona won’t have to stay at the Academy because she hates it so. I think too it would be better to do that than to have the two families in the same house.

I shall probably be here at the poor farm for two weeks more. If you could come soon, I mean within that time, I can entertain you here. It’s pretty out here now, I think.

Aunt Anna’s daughter, Viola, visited with me four days. I like her very much. I guess she enjoyed her thee weeks out here too. She had quite a case on Dad.

Maybe you don’t know that Cornel’s girl is the school ma’am in the school whose been teaching out there the past two years. I helped her get the job but I never figured for her locating permanently. Well anyway, she’s a nice girl and a good housekeeper, and thrifty Norwegian, and if Cornel likes her its his business.

To hear Alice and Eddie and Rose you’d think the responsibility was all on their shoulders. I guess he’s doing as well as the rest of the boys if not better. And she’s going to join the church so it ought to be OK all the way around. Anyway, Cornel is such a swell kid that anything he wants to do is OK with me. Ha.

Kathleen has been out at Andy’s for over a week. She and Joan are going to catechism and will make their first communion next Sunday. We got their little outfits last night just alike, shoes and all. The dresses are organdy, inexpensive, but kind of cute for being ready made.

I have a new yellow linen dress trimmed with brown buttons. Last spring, I got a brown suit. That and a green dress Mary gave me is about the extent of my wardrobe.

I guess Mary doesn’t like herself in Chicago so well or maybe the nursing course isn’t what she expected. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d be back in September. She’d have finished the 6 month course by that time.

How have you been? Do you still feel young enough to go on swimming parties at 6 o’clock in the am? You’ll remember that when your rheumatics are acting up again in the winter.

Your John should be out here with me because just across the river are the stock yards and when I go by I see a little boy herding about fifteen or twenty Shetland ponies. Maybe we could get one somehow for him to ride if you come to visit.

We have had quite a lot of rain and the county and crops look grand. Hope they continue so. I have signed up at Hursfield for another year. You keep asking about Peterson. He did pop the question and I said no. Peterson isn’t returning next year but I don’t suppose it was because of that. But if it was and he told people, it’ll make it kind of hard for me, won’t it?

When will we see you?

Love to all,
Ann.
We get up at 4.45 here. How’s that for being up with the birds?