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World War I has ended, and the worldwide flu epidemic has begun, but there's lots of traveling for Thanksgiving anyway.
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South Hadley, Mass. Dec. 1, 1918
Dear Eva,
We are having a cold wind and it is very cold in the study. I have been clearing out my desk and my hands are stiff - I fear it will affect the technique of my type-writing. I am writing in Mother’s room which is nice and warm.
Your interpretation of my letter was quite correct - I don’t remember what I did say, but after I thought about it I meant to pay for your eats too, and I hope I did for the most part. The other would have been too little to have made any difference. I do not expect to see the $2.00 again - I mean for you to spend it freely.
Clara Jones came last Saturday night and stayed until Friday afternoon. Anne and I were in Springfield Saturday afternoon and met one train but as she was not on it we came home. I went down to have a tooth extracted - a crowned tooth that had a chronic ulcer. I took gas and it was perfectly simple. I did not object to either the gas or the tooth extracting; it is so easy that I would not object to having all my teeth taken out. I went to a specialist who does nothing else.
Fred came Wednesday night at 8:30 and stayed until 11:30 Thursday night. He would get a 3 o’clock train from Springfield. It did not mean much sleep for him. We thought that he looked fatter than when he was here; he said he had four meals a day - that ought to make him fatter. His experience was not like yours. He likes the Italians but had a bad time with the Jews. He thought they were very ungrateful and troublesome, and always wanted more than their share of attention.
Fred brought a letter from Mrs. Woodside. Wilfred was flying with the instructor who was in charge of the machine when it fell. The instructor was killed instantly and Wilfred died two days later. He would have qualified as a pilot in three weeks. A lieutenant came up to Rockport with his body and it was buried there. Mr. Woodside is going to return to this country next year; he is not able to stand the work and wants to give it up to a younger man. Mrs. Woodside has bought a place in Florida and they will probably go there to live. She says it is more like Africa than any place she has been.
Ethel Jackson wrote me this week that Mrs. Evans had died of pneumonia. She was expecting another child in the spring. She lost the child Sunday and died Tuesday. Ethel had written to Miss Taylor that Helen and the little boy, Lucius, were sick with influenza, and the two maids and the chauffer, they were much worried about her then but hoped she would escape pneumonia. It is terribly sad. I have known very few women who had as much charm as Helen, and I have never known a happier couple.
There has been an increase in the number of cases around here and we are not allowed to go to Amherst, but they let the girls go home for Thanksgiving if they did not go where there were cases of influenza. We are rather afraid that some will develop it after they come back.
We all went for a walk Thanksgiving morning down to Smith’s Ferry and got some pine branches in the woods on the way home. In the afternoon we took Fred over the new building.
We had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner but it was not a New England one. We had onions in true N.E. style but we did not have any other winter vegetables, not even white potatoes. I missed them and would have preferred them to sweet potatoes. We had sweet potatoes, peas, and onions. No New Englander would have had canned peas. The turkey was excellent - I never ate better. We had squash and mince pie, nuts and figs. The Hazletts seemed satisfied with the dinner - that was something.
We did not have a roast chicken - we have not yet returned to our peace status. We did have mince pie and squash pudding (pie without the crust) which was excellent. Next year we hope to be able to indulge in a roast of our own. We had plenty to eat without it. Fred brought two pounds of delicious chocolates and I got some nuts.
Miss Hinsdale had a letter from Grace this week, she is at St. Nazaire one of the ports on the west coast. She and Belle Mead are engaged in rescuing some Red Cross supplies which were water soaked. She said they had saved at least $7,000 worth and hoped to save more. I think it is something of a joke for Grace to have charge of a laundry - she has always been such a washer. It is a temporary laundry in a school building, just for the salvage of the wet stuff. She seems to be well and happy.
Wednesday we had a picnic at Pearl City, seven of us. Jake and several of her friends, Anne, Clara and I. It was such a cold day that most everybody was afriad to go. It was protected down by the brook and we had such a big fire that we were perfectly comfortable. We lived up to the cannery traditions and ate for an hour or more.
It was much warmer on Thursday and it was very pleasant to be out. It began to rain in the evening and I had to escort Fred with an umbrella.
Yesterday we had our first snow, but it did not stay on the ground.
Did Mother tell you that I rescued you wash cloth?
With much love,
Alma
P.S. I saw in the Oberlin News which Reire gave me that Faith Rogers had died on the way to France and was buried at Bordeaux.
A.
I am very glad to hear that you are taking singing lessons. How do you like Mr. Greene?
Dear Eva,
We are having a cold wind and it is very cold in the study. I have been clearing out my desk and my hands are stiff - I fear it will affect the technique of my type-writing. I am writing in Mother’s room which is nice and warm.
Your interpretation of my letter was quite correct - I don’t remember what I did say, but after I thought about it I meant to pay for your eats too, and I hope I did for the most part. The other would have been too little to have made any difference. I do not expect to see the $2.00 again - I mean for you to spend it freely.
Clara Jones came last Saturday night and stayed until Friday afternoon. Anne and I were in Springfield Saturday afternoon and met one train but as she was not on it we came home. I went down to have a tooth extracted - a crowned tooth that had a chronic ulcer. I took gas and it was perfectly simple. I did not object to either the gas or the tooth extracting; it is so easy that I would not object to having all my teeth taken out. I went to a specialist who does nothing else.
Fred came Wednesday night at 8:30 and stayed until 11:30 Thursday night. He would get a 3 o’clock train from Springfield. It did not mean much sleep for him. We thought that he looked fatter than when he was here; he said he had four meals a day - that ought to make him fatter. His experience was not like yours. He likes the Italians but had a bad time with the Jews. He thought they were very ungrateful and troublesome, and always wanted more than their share of attention.
Fred brought a letter from Mrs. Woodside. Wilfred was flying with the instructor who was in charge of the machine when it fell. The instructor was killed instantly and Wilfred died two days later. He would have qualified as a pilot in three weeks. A lieutenant came up to Rockport with his body and it was buried there. Mr. Woodside is going to return to this country next year; he is not able to stand the work and wants to give it up to a younger man. Mrs. Woodside has bought a place in Florida and they will probably go there to live. She says it is more like Africa than any place she has been.
Ethel Jackson wrote me this week that Mrs. Evans had died of pneumonia. She was expecting another child in the spring. She lost the child Sunday and died Tuesday. Ethel had written to Miss Taylor that Helen and the little boy, Lucius, were sick with influenza, and the two maids and the chauffer, they were much worried about her then but hoped she would escape pneumonia. It is terribly sad. I have known very few women who had as much charm as Helen, and I have never known a happier couple.
There has been an increase in the number of cases around here and we are not allowed to go to Amherst, but they let the girls go home for Thanksgiving if they did not go where there were cases of influenza. We are rather afraid that some will develop it after they come back.
We all went for a walk Thanksgiving morning down to Smith’s Ferry and got some pine branches in the woods on the way home. In the afternoon we took Fred over the new building.
We had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner but it was not a New England one. We had onions in true N.E. style but we did not have any other winter vegetables, not even white potatoes. I missed them and would have preferred them to sweet potatoes. We had sweet potatoes, peas, and onions. No New Englander would have had canned peas. The turkey was excellent - I never ate better. We had squash and mince pie, nuts and figs. The Hazletts seemed satisfied with the dinner - that was something.
We did not have a roast chicken - we have not yet returned to our peace status. We did have mince pie and squash pudding (pie without the crust) which was excellent. Next year we hope to be able to indulge in a roast of our own. We had plenty to eat without it. Fred brought two pounds of delicious chocolates and I got some nuts.
Miss Hinsdale had a letter from Grace this week, she is at St. Nazaire one of the ports on the west coast. She and Belle Mead are engaged in rescuing some Red Cross supplies which were water soaked. She said they had saved at least $7,000 worth and hoped to save more. I think it is something of a joke for Grace to have charge of a laundry - she has always been such a washer. It is a temporary laundry in a school building, just for the salvage of the wet stuff. She seems to be well and happy.
Wednesday we had a picnic at Pearl City, seven of us. Jake and several of her friends, Anne, Clara and I. It was such a cold day that most everybody was afriad to go. It was protected down by the brook and we had such a big fire that we were perfectly comfortable. We lived up to the cannery traditions and ate for an hour or more.
It was much warmer on Thursday and it was very pleasant to be out. It began to rain in the evening and I had to escort Fred with an umbrella.
Yesterday we had our first snow, but it did not stay on the ground.
Did Mother tell you that I rescued you wash cloth?
With much love,
Alma
P.S. I saw in the Oberlin News which Reire gave me that Faith Rogers had died on the way to France and was buried at Bordeaux.
A.
I am very glad to hear that you are taking singing lessons. How do you like Mr. Greene?
audio---images---comment---transcript---~NOTES~---links---site navigation
1.
I am writing in Mother’s room which is nice and warm.
I'm glad to hear that Mama Margaret gets the nice room.
2.
Your interpretation of my letter was quite correct - I don’t remember what I did say, but after I thought about it I meant to pay for your eats too, and I hope I did for the most part.
It sounds as though Alma and Eva went on a trip somewhere - to Atlantic City or to Cape May, maybe? I haven't noticed any mentions of it elsewhere, however.
3.
I do not expect to see the $2.00 again - I mean for you to spend it freely.
$2 is worth about $45 today.
4.
Clara Jones came last Saturday night and stayed until Friday afternoon.
Clara was a language teacher somewhere or other, so it surprises me that she was able to get a whole week off. Clara has a non-family page on this website.
5.
Anne and I were in Springfield Saturday afternoon and met one train but as she was not on it we came home.
Anne was Alma's friend Anne Starr, who has a non-family page on this website.
6.
I went down to have a tooth extracted - a crowned tooth that had a chronic ulcer. I took gas and it was perfectly simple.
Google AI tells me:
An "ulcer in a tooth" is typically referred to as a "tooth abscess," which is a pus-filled pocket that forms at the root of a tooth due to a bacterial infection, usually caused by deep tooth decay, a cracked tooth, or injury, allowing bacteria to reach the tooth's pulp.
Definitely something one would want to get taken care of before Thanksgiving dinner. When I was a child, all the old people had false teeth. I don't remember Aunt Alma in particular having false teeth, but I'm sure she did, and now I can see why.
7.
Fred came Wednesday night at 8:30 and stayed until 11:30 Thursday night. He would get a 3 o’clock train from Springfield. It did not mean much sleep for him. We thought that he looked fatter than when he was here; he said he had four meals a day - that ought to make him fatter. His experience was not like yours. He likes the Italians but had a bad time with the Jews. He thought they were very ungrateful and troublesome, and always wanted more than their share of attention.
I am a bit puzzled by "We thought that he looked fatter than when he was here". It doesn't sound right, but that's what it says. I guess Fred came to visit some other time, but so far I don't know when that was.
And there is more puzzlement about the Italians and the Jews. When did Eva have experience with them?
8.
Fred brought a letter from Mrs. Woodside. Wilfred was flying with the instructor who was in charge of the machine when it fell. The instructor was killed instantly and Wilfred died two days later. He would have qualified as a pilot in three weeks. A lieutenant came up to Rockport with his body and it was buried there.
The Woodsides were the family of Fred's first wife, Mabel, who died in May of 1917. Wilfred was Mabel's younger brother, who died at Fort Worth, Texas, on October 14, 1918. If I remember correctly, he was born in 1896.
9.
Mrs. Woodside has bought a place in Florida and they will probably go there to live. She says it is more like Africa than any place she has been.
This reminds me of a letter that Mrs. Woodside wrote to Fred ten years letter:
1928-03-11 LETTER FROM MRS. WOODSIDE TO FRED
She said:
I’ve surely enjoyed Miss Minto’s visit, she was here 9 days. We talked Africa morning, noon and night, and then didn’t get through.
10.
Ethel Jackson wrote me this week that Mrs. Evans had died of pneumonia.
I still haven't found a good pigeonhole for Ethel Jackson, mostly because I don't know where or how Alma met her. And I don't know who Mrs. Evans was.
11.
Miss Hinsdale had a letter from Grace this week, she is at St. Nazaire one of the ports on the west coast.
This is Ellen Hinsdale and Grace Bacon, who are in the Non-family page for South Hadley folks. Grace went to France with the Red Cross in the fall of 1918.
12.
Wednesday we had a picnic at Pearl City, seven of us.
I think the picture below must be from that picnic, because Barbara had the file name for the image as: 1918nov-ags-in-pearl-city_3
I am writing in Mother’s room which is nice and warm.
I'm glad to hear that Mama Margaret gets the nice room.
2.
Your interpretation of my letter was quite correct - I don’t remember what I did say, but after I thought about it I meant to pay for your eats too, and I hope I did for the most part.
It sounds as though Alma and Eva went on a trip somewhere - to Atlantic City or to Cape May, maybe? I haven't noticed any mentions of it elsewhere, however.
3.
I do not expect to see the $2.00 again - I mean for you to spend it freely.
$2 is worth about $45 today.
4.
Clara Jones came last Saturday night and stayed until Friday afternoon.
Clara was a language teacher somewhere or other, so it surprises me that she was able to get a whole week off. Clara has a non-family page on this website.
5.
Anne and I were in Springfield Saturday afternoon and met one train but as she was not on it we came home.
Anne was Alma's friend Anne Starr, who has a non-family page on this website.
6.
I went down to have a tooth extracted - a crowned tooth that had a chronic ulcer. I took gas and it was perfectly simple.
Google AI tells me:
An "ulcer in a tooth" is typically referred to as a "tooth abscess," which is a pus-filled pocket that forms at the root of a tooth due to a bacterial infection, usually caused by deep tooth decay, a cracked tooth, or injury, allowing bacteria to reach the tooth's pulp.
Definitely something one would want to get taken care of before Thanksgiving dinner. When I was a child, all the old people had false teeth. I don't remember Aunt Alma in particular having false teeth, but I'm sure she did, and now I can see why.
7.
Fred came Wednesday night at 8:30 and stayed until 11:30 Thursday night. He would get a 3 o’clock train from Springfield. It did not mean much sleep for him. We thought that he looked fatter than when he was here; he said he had four meals a day - that ought to make him fatter. His experience was not like yours. He likes the Italians but had a bad time with the Jews. He thought they were very ungrateful and troublesome, and always wanted more than their share of attention.
I am a bit puzzled by "We thought that he looked fatter than when he was here". It doesn't sound right, but that's what it says. I guess Fred came to visit some other time, but so far I don't know when that was.
And there is more puzzlement about the Italians and the Jews. When did Eva have experience with them?
8.
Fred brought a letter from Mrs. Woodside. Wilfred was flying with the instructor who was in charge of the machine when it fell. The instructor was killed instantly and Wilfred died two days later. He would have qualified as a pilot in three weeks. A lieutenant came up to Rockport with his body and it was buried there.
The Woodsides were the family of Fred's first wife, Mabel, who died in May of 1917. Wilfred was Mabel's younger brother, who died at Fort Worth, Texas, on October 14, 1918. If I remember correctly, he was born in 1896.
9.
Mrs. Woodside has bought a place in Florida and they will probably go there to live. She says it is more like Africa than any place she has been.
This reminds me of a letter that Mrs. Woodside wrote to Fred ten years letter:
1928-03-11 LETTER FROM MRS. WOODSIDE TO FRED
She said:
I’ve surely enjoyed Miss Minto’s visit, she was here 9 days. We talked Africa morning, noon and night, and then didn’t get through.
10.
Ethel Jackson wrote me this week that Mrs. Evans had died of pneumonia.
I still haven't found a good pigeonhole for Ethel Jackson, mostly because I don't know where or how Alma met her. And I don't know who Mrs. Evans was.
11.
Miss Hinsdale had a letter from Grace this week, she is at St. Nazaire one of the ports on the west coast.
This is Ellen Hinsdale and Grace Bacon, who are in the Non-family page for South Hadley folks. Grace went to France with the Red Cross in the fall of 1918.
12.
Wednesday we had a picnic at Pearl City, seven of us.
I think the picture below must be from that picnic, because Barbara had the file name for the image as: 1918nov-ags-in-pearl-city_3
13.
Did Mother tell you that I rescued you wash cloth?
It sounds as though Mama Margaret spent Thanksgiving with Eva in Philadelphia, but I don't know what the story on that is.
Did Mother tell you that I rescued you wash cloth?
It sounds as though Mama Margaret spent Thanksgiving with Eva in Philadelphia, but I don't know what the story on that is.
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DOCUMENT LISTS FOR PEOPLE:
- ALMA: DOCUMENTS ----- Outgoing
- FRED: DOCUMENTS ----- Related
- EVA: DOCUMENTS ----- Incoming
- MAMA MARGARET: DOCUMENTS ----- Related
- NON-FAMILY: CLARA JONES ----- Related
- NON-FAMILY: ANNE STARR ----- Related
- NON-FAMILY: SOUTH HADLEY FOLKS ----- Ellen Hinsdale and Grace Bacon
- NON-FAMILY: MISSION FOLKS ----- Woodsides
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