Open Writing

Pingree – August 30th 1919

Dearest Rosy

Annie’s made up her mind to write a letter tonight and she will have her way in spite of the fact that it’s midnight and there no stationery of any sort in the house but she’s lonesome for her Rosy and just had to do something to relieve the awful feeling.

I’m awfully tired though, so if my letter sound kind of out of sorts blame the threshers and not me. Ding-bust their hides, they’ll be here a week Monday and gee its such hard work slinging hash and washing dishes for the whole mob of them and they don’t care if Annie’s tired.

How’s your health? How soon is your little baby due? Really, I had quite given up all hopes of ever hearing from you again when I received your letter. It was quite an agreeable surprise.

School time again – I kinda wish I was going back again at that. I hardly think my six weeks of teacher training at Valley City Teachers’ College this summer was enough to make me a proper teacher, but that is the way it is. I guess I will learn on the job.

I met someone there called Alice, and she is going to teach Cysewkski school again this year – darn her – for $10 per month - not far from Colgan. Ed recommended a school near there and I have applied for it. Haven’t the contract yet but expect it any day. The boarding place is only a half mile from the school. I received a letter from the lady and she said she was sure I could get the school if it wasn’t taken.

From her letter she seems very nice – said I’d have a big furnace heated room and they have a piano and I was welcome to the use of it if I played it. From her letter I judge she is very nice and refined. Used good English. They pay $80 a year, so there – not half bad for a nut like myself Maybe I’d better wait till I get it before I start crowing about it.

Alice went out to Ag’s with me before threshing and we did have the best time. The two of us pretty near ran Andrew’s poor Ford to death. August 15th there was a big dance in Pingree so we got an inspiration we wanted some gaudy blouses to wear to it so then we cranked the Ford and went into town and in our blue everyday aprons.

The only goods we could get were altogether too tame so we got some wide green ribbon to tie around our tummies and a big bow in the back. We made ‘em that same evening our own selves too – wore them to the dance dressed alike, hair combed just the same, the “Skin twisters” were so popular and it was the new blouses that did it all too.

Alice and I went to Jimtown one day too and I got a fall hat for $12.75. Really it’s just plain though kind of a plushy thing with stickups but hats are so ungodly expensive.

Went to the dance at Lees last Saturday with Pete – yes sir – his pa even let him have the car and my pa even said he didn’t give a darn where I went so between the two pas it made things rather nice.

Cealie's staying with Ag now since Wednesday but she says she doesn’t like it at all anymore. That Ag, honest, she’s the limit. They started threshing there on Friday and she only had two strange men from then until Sunday evening so that made six for her to cook for. The boys and Pa came home for supper every night.

About six o’clock she sent Alice over to ask if we were getting supper for the threshers – and if we weren’t, I should come over and help Alice cuz she, Ag, was sick. Say maybe I wasn’t sore. I was darn tired having done the biggest washing all alone, Mrs. and Gertie both in town in the afternoon. I cleaned the clothes room, pantry, helped wash dinner dishes, mopped the dining room and scrubbed the kitchen and had just gotten through them.

Course Ag maybe didn’t feel good. Can’t blame her for feeling that way, still she’s not the first woman pregnant and whose life may not be very pleasant for her. She makes it so darn unpleasant for everybody else. And as for making such a fuss over two extra people for meals, no wonder it makes me sore.

Of course, then we got supper and maybe we didn’t have to hurry – no bread, no potatoes not anything prepared. The threshers have been here ever since - that’s six days –That’s 22 of us to cook for and she doesn’t seem to be sorry for us and she has Alice helping her all the time. It sure made me sore – haven’t seen her since.

Next evening after Alec brought me home, Andrew had gone to the engine to fix something and he drained the gasoline tank on the engine on the ground as there was some water in it and it caught fire from the lantern. He was under the engine at the time. It seems a miracle that he didn’t get burned to death.

Jack was just coming from Fried when he got near Al’s house, he noticed it. The bunch of them ran out and threw dirt all over the engine – Andrew was all in fighting it before they came. If they hadn’t just noticed it the big tank of gasoline near it would have gotten heated and destroyed the whole thing. As it was, it only burned the paint off the engine I guess and stopped threshing for awhile.

I believe I’ve darn near told you everything cepting that Maggie’s tail got cut off in the threshing machine this afternoon so now Cornel says he has another horse. He seems to adopt all the cripples.

Must go to bed cuz must be near time to get up. Anna.