Letter from Alma to Eva: 8/13/1918
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A letter from Alma, sweltering in South Hadley, Massachusetts, to her youngest sister Eva, probably in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1918-08-13: ~TOUR STOPS~---images---audio---transcript---notes---links---site navigation
This page is not a currently a stop in any Tour. But it's still worth your attention!
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1918-08-13: tour stops---images---~AUDIO~---transcript---notes---links---site navigation
1918-08-13: tour stops---images---audio---~TRANSCRIPT~---notes---links---site navigation
South Hadley, Mass., August 13, 1918
Dear Eva;
I shall enclose Grace's letter, which she says is for the family. She is still waiting to sail. It is not as easy to get passage as in the days when Margaret Laing went. They are sending only soldiers and canteen workers.
We have been having fearful weather this last week; the newspapers said that New England was a "cool spot" but it did not feel like that to us - it was so humid that it felt very hot. It was rather like Savannah weather. I felt very seedy and could not do a thing. It rained Saturday night and has not been quite so bad since, although it was so hot and humid yesterday that I went in swimming twice in the morning. After I went in the first time I kept on my suit and worked around the laboratory in my suit and then when I was ready to go to lunch I went in again. I went out collecting at the Notch in the afternoon and it was very uncomfortable.
Last week Fred met me at the Upper Lake several times to go for a swim in the evening when he came home from work. We dress at the Plant House. Thursday evening the Pells were up and we had a picnic there afterwards in our bathing suits. We cooled off enough to keep cool all evening. We were having our floors done that day and could not go into the bathroom and kitchenette so we had to move into another suite and use the public kitchenette. It was a good time to have a picnic. The night that the Pells were there when we reached the lake there were a lot of little boys there swimming in their birthday clothes. They told us to go on up above. We did not want to as it was too far to carry the lunch and we wanted to sit on the cement wall to eat. We decided that our modesty could stand it if their's could so we stayed. They are not supposed to go in in the evening and they are required to wear suits, so we did not feel like inconveniencing ourselves for them. The boys have to get written permits from the college to use the Upper Lake and carry the permits with them, when they are up there. One other evening when Fred and I were there, there were three little boys who sat on the wall in their bathing suits for fifteen minutes without going in, although we kept assuring them the water was fine. One of them asked us if it was seven o'clock yet and we told him to wait for the clock to strike. You should have seen the speed with which they dived in at the last stroke of seven. Evidently Mother had given directions. One of them told us "that he had been in a long time in the afternoon and could not go in too soon again." Very likely it was waiting for his supper to digest.
Our floors have all been waxed - that is the study and bedrooms; the bathroom and kitchenette have been varnished or finished off some other way. They look very well, all except the kitchenette - that was too much worn off before they fixed it and the oil we had put on had darkened it too much for beauty.
I have just received an announcement of Mr. Sackett's marriage in St. Louis to Miss Isabel Fisher. I wonder who she is and what she is like. I hope that she is nice enough for him.
Mother used your machine yesterday to make some nightgowns. I am rather low on them. She is going to make you one, but perhaps she will not make it until you come up, and then you can decide how it is to be done. Mine are very simple affairs without sleeves, according to the late models. It is a very economical way as the sleeve is the first part to go, or rather the place where the sleeve is attached.
We had our first corn, Saturday night and it was very good. We had our first cabbage Sunday. Now we are waiting for lima beans and tomatoes - we have tried everything else. Our tomatoes are very slow. Our potatoes are good but are not producing very abundantly. Mothe said that Early Rose do not produce well but she forgot it until we began to dig and then it was too late to plant any other kind to supplement them. The college has lost a lot of potatoes with stem blight or sten rot. It is prevalent around here and is spoiling the crop.
The canning is going pretty well but we have not the facilities for handling as much as we should. That is some of Mr. Adams management.
We have finished Kathleen's sweater and it is very pretty. We did it on finer needles than ours so that it will not stretch so much. I have put ribbon in it to stay it, too. It is not sent off yet. It was too hot last week to get the buttons and finish it up.
Mother is washing my new gingham dress to-day. This is the first day since week before last that the air has been clear enough for anything to dry.
Mother wants to know just what day you are coming so that she can begin to count the days. Do not bring up anything that I can furnish - nightgowns, kimona, shirties, etc. If you mail anything, send it "special delivery" or it will never get here in time for use.
With much love,
Alma
P.S. Violette Dover is still in Wilmington at the DuPont. She did not say how much longer she would be there.
A.
Many thanks for the good cartons [???].
Dear Eva;
I shall enclose Grace's letter, which she says is for the family. She is still waiting to sail. It is not as easy to get passage as in the days when Margaret Laing went. They are sending only soldiers and canteen workers.
We have been having fearful weather this last week; the newspapers said that New England was a "cool spot" but it did not feel like that to us - it was so humid that it felt very hot. It was rather like Savannah weather. I felt very seedy and could not do a thing. It rained Saturday night and has not been quite so bad since, although it was so hot and humid yesterday that I went in swimming twice in the morning. After I went in the first time I kept on my suit and worked around the laboratory in my suit and then when I was ready to go to lunch I went in again. I went out collecting at the Notch in the afternoon and it was very uncomfortable.
Last week Fred met me at the Upper Lake several times to go for a swim in the evening when he came home from work. We dress at the Plant House. Thursday evening the Pells were up and we had a picnic there afterwards in our bathing suits. We cooled off enough to keep cool all evening. We were having our floors done that day and could not go into the bathroom and kitchenette so we had to move into another suite and use the public kitchenette. It was a good time to have a picnic. The night that the Pells were there when we reached the lake there were a lot of little boys there swimming in their birthday clothes. They told us to go on up above. We did not want to as it was too far to carry the lunch and we wanted to sit on the cement wall to eat. We decided that our modesty could stand it if their's could so we stayed. They are not supposed to go in in the evening and they are required to wear suits, so we did not feel like inconveniencing ourselves for them. The boys have to get written permits from the college to use the Upper Lake and carry the permits with them, when they are up there. One other evening when Fred and I were there, there were three little boys who sat on the wall in their bathing suits for fifteen minutes without going in, although we kept assuring them the water was fine. One of them asked us if it was seven o'clock yet and we told him to wait for the clock to strike. You should have seen the speed with which they dived in at the last stroke of seven. Evidently Mother had given directions. One of them told us "that he had been in a long time in the afternoon and could not go in too soon again." Very likely it was waiting for his supper to digest.
Our floors have all been waxed - that is the study and bedrooms; the bathroom and kitchenette have been varnished or finished off some other way. They look very well, all except the kitchenette - that was too much worn off before they fixed it and the oil we had put on had darkened it too much for beauty.
I have just received an announcement of Mr. Sackett's marriage in St. Louis to Miss Isabel Fisher. I wonder who she is and what she is like. I hope that she is nice enough for him.
Mother used your machine yesterday to make some nightgowns. I am rather low on them. She is going to make you one, but perhaps she will not make it until you come up, and then you can decide how it is to be done. Mine are very simple affairs without sleeves, according to the late models. It is a very economical way as the sleeve is the first part to go, or rather the place where the sleeve is attached.
We had our first corn, Saturday night and it was very good. We had our first cabbage Sunday. Now we are waiting for lima beans and tomatoes - we have tried everything else. Our tomatoes are very slow. Our potatoes are good but are not producing very abundantly. Mothe said that Early Rose do not produce well but she forgot it until we began to dig and then it was too late to plant any other kind to supplement them. The college has lost a lot of potatoes with stem blight or sten rot. It is prevalent around here and is spoiling the crop.
The canning is going pretty well but we have not the facilities for handling as much as we should. That is some of Mr. Adams management.
We have finished Kathleen's sweater and it is very pretty. We did it on finer needles than ours so that it will not stretch so much. I have put ribbon in it to stay it, too. It is not sent off yet. It was too hot last week to get the buttons and finish it up.
Mother is washing my new gingham dress to-day. This is the first day since week before last that the air has been clear enough for anything to dry.
Mother wants to know just what day you are coming so that she can begin to count the days. Do not bring up anything that I can furnish - nightgowns, kimona, shirties, etc. If you mail anything, send it "special delivery" or it will never get here in time for use.
With much love,
Alma
P.S. Violette Dover is still in Wilmington at the DuPont. She did not say how much longer she would be there.
A.
Many thanks for the good cartons [???].
1918-08-13: tour stops---images---audio---transcript---~NOTES~---links---site navigation
1.
I shall enclose Grace's letter, which she says is for the family. She is still waiting to sail. It is not as easy to get passage as in the days when Margaret Laing went. They are sending only soldiers and canteen workers.
Grace is Grace Bacon, who is in the Non-family page for South Hadley folks on this website. She did go to France for a few months. I have come across one letter from her, which I hope to upload someday. I can't remember when it was written.
Margaret Laing worked in canteens in France. We have several letters from her from 1918, which I hope to upload someday.
2.
I went out collecting at the Notch in the afternoon and it was very uncomfortable.
The Notch was mentioned on the Mount Holyoke website. It doesn't seem to have a name other than the Notch.
3.
Last week Fred met me at the Upper Lake several times to go for a swim in the evening when he came home from work.
Later in the year Fred was apparently working in Boston, but at this point he was apparently still working in the South Hadley area. The Mount Holyoke website says:
Upper Lake is the one by MacGregor and Ham Halls, and Lower Lake is in front of Willits and 1837 Hall. Lake Nonotuck is Lower Lake.
4.
I have just received an announcement of Mr. Sackett's marriage in St. Louis to Miss Isabel Fisher. I wonder who she is and what she is like. I hope that she is nice enough for him.
Mr. Sackett is in the Non-family page for Ohio folks on this website.
5.
Mother used your machine yesterday to make some nightgowns. I am rather low on them.
How many nightgowns does on person need? Eva gave her one last May - see: Google told me that multiple nightgowns were needed in the past because people didn't do laundry very often. I do not find that to be an entirely convincing argument.
6.
Violette Dover is still in Wilmington at the DuPont. She did not say how much longer she would be there.
Violette Dover appears to be Mary Violette Dover, a Canadian chemist. Wikipedia says she was an instructor at Mount Holyoke for five years, and that the outfit she was working for in Wilmington was the Hercules Powder Company, which (says Wikipedia) was spun off from DuPont following the court-ordered breakup of the DuPont explosives monopoly in 1911.
I shall enclose Grace's letter, which she says is for the family. She is still waiting to sail. It is not as easy to get passage as in the days when Margaret Laing went. They are sending only soldiers and canteen workers.
Grace is Grace Bacon, who is in the Non-family page for South Hadley folks on this website. She did go to France for a few months. I have come across one letter from her, which I hope to upload someday. I can't remember when it was written.
Margaret Laing worked in canteens in France. We have several letters from her from 1918, which I hope to upload someday.
2.
I went out collecting at the Notch in the afternoon and it was very uncomfortable.
The Notch was mentioned on the Mount Holyoke website. It doesn't seem to have a name other than the Notch.
3.
Last week Fred met me at the Upper Lake several times to go for a swim in the evening when he came home from work.
Later in the year Fred was apparently working in Boston, but at this point he was apparently still working in the South Hadley area. The Mount Holyoke website says:
Upper Lake is the one by MacGregor and Ham Halls, and Lower Lake is in front of Willits and 1837 Hall. Lake Nonotuck is Lower Lake.
4.
I have just received an announcement of Mr. Sackett's marriage in St. Louis to Miss Isabel Fisher. I wonder who she is and what she is like. I hope that she is nice enough for him.
Mr. Sackett is in the Non-family page for Ohio folks on this website.
5.
Mother used your machine yesterday to make some nightgowns. I am rather low on them.
How many nightgowns does on person need? Eva gave her one last May - see: Google told me that multiple nightgowns were needed in the past because people didn't do laundry very often. I do not find that to be an entirely convincing argument.
6.
Violette Dover is still in Wilmington at the DuPont. She did not say how much longer she would be there.
Violette Dover appears to be Mary Violette Dover, a Canadian chemist. Wikipedia says she was an instructor at Mount Holyoke for five years, and that the outfit she was working for in Wilmington was the Hercules Powder Company, which (says Wikipedia) was spun off from DuPont following the court-ordered breakup of the DuPont explosives monopoly in 1911.
1918-08-13: tour stops---images---audio---transcript---notes---~LINKS~---site navigation
DOCUMENT LISTS FOR PEOPLE:
- ALMA: DOCUMENTS ----- Outgoing
- FRED: DOCUMENTS ----- Related
- EVA: DOCUMENTS ----- Incoming
- MAMA MARGARET: DOCUMENTS ----- Related
- KATHLEEN: DOCUMENTS ----- Related
- NON-FAMILY: OHIO FOLKS ----- Mr. Sackett
- NON-FAMILY: SOUTH HADLEY FOLKS ----- Grace Bacon
OTHER DOCUMENT LISTS:
- DOCUMENTS SORTED BY WHERE THEY WERE WRITTEN ----- Western Massachusetts
- DOCUMENTS SORTED BY SOURCE ----- Barbara
- AUDIO READINGS OF THE DOCUMENTS: 1910-1919
OTHER RELATED DOCUMENTS/PAGES:
1918-08-13: tour stops---images---audio---transcript---notes---links---~SITE NAVIGATION~-
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