Mrs J. C. Bitterman 1717 Chadbourne Avenue Madison, Wisconsin Jan. 18, 1928 Dear Circle. It is 9:45 PM and Cal and I are leaving for Rochester at l. I have been at the St Mary's Hospital here the past week. Came home last eve. They gave me two tests for goiter there & decided that was what was the trouble though the first test at the Wis. General showed nothing. So we decided that after three weeks of observation here, we would go to Rochester to see what they thought. The Dr. here said he would have it out, and I've always said if I had an operation I wanted to go to Rochester. So we will go tonight and see what they say. I have been in bed three weeks & am no different than at first. Have managed to keep from losing more weight by keeping quiet. Grace is going to live here while I am away and Noel also when he gets back to Madison again. We will let you know how I come on up there. I hope to be as good a booster for Rochester as Cal and Myrta are. Was glad to have letters from all of you, and hope you all keep well. Henry and Ella are beginning to plan for their 50th Anniversary and I hope it will prove to be a happy one. It is raining hard outside just now, after a week of fine weather. I am flat on my back writing but must soon be getting dressed to go. Much love to you all. Annie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rochester, Minn. Feb. 15, 1928 Dear Circle: I surely did not think I should still be here when the "Robin" came around again, but when I asked the Dr. this AM when I could go home, he said "after a few days" which is not very definite, as I understand this Clinic. I am much stronger now and I have gained 3 lbs. since I got out of the hospital. I can go home as soon as my throat is all well. We patients are permitted to see our goiters if we care to do so, and so my roommate and I went yesterday to see ours. I wonder if it would shock you if I described it? Mine was in a half pint container. It almost filled it from side to side and looked as if one had used a very dull, nicked knife & had sliced a slice about 1/4 in. thick about once & a half across a turnip. It was grainy & rough looking. Of course it had lost its bright red color since being preserved. I don't know how long they are kept but when we presented our cards, she promptly brought them out all labelled. Dr Rankin was my surgeon. He is a son-in-law of Chas. Mayo. There are several goiter surgeons but as we knew none of them, we took the one who was operating the day I was ready, and he did very well. I am sure a slow poke as compared with Myrta, who was all healed up in 8 days, but it can't be helped. I have had so many letters and flowers that the time goes quickly. Had lovely valentines from Henry & Ella and Cal yesterday & cunning ones from Noel & alice and a box of candy from Amelia. Wasn't that fine? Much love, Annie Isn't it fine Cal found out about Fred? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - AT HOME. March 13, 1928 Dear Circle: 1717 Chadbourne Ave. looks good to me. I got home Sat. eve. Feb 25. and Cal and I have been doing co-operative housekeeping since then. That is, he does the work and I do the sitting around. It runs like this. He has breakfast ready at 7:30. I come down in time to eat. He does the dishes, then goes to the office. I look around the house, pick up the daily papers. dust the mantel and make the bed, then rest. Get a lunch for myself at noon. Then rest. Usually have a caller or two in the PM. Then rest. Get a simple supper. Cal does the dishes. Then more rest. Go to bed at 9:30 or ten and I'm happy to say that for the past week I've been able to fall asleep without any tablets to induce sleep. I have regained all but one lb. of what I lost in weight and will soon have to diet as I do not care to lay on one to two lbs in weight each week indefinitely. Have had some trouble with my right leg swelling since I'm at home. The one I hurt ten years ago while skating. It is better yesterday and today, so I hope it will soon be back to normal. I find I have very little endurance but get along alright when I stay quietly at home. Hope I shall feel able to go to the 50th wedding anniversary. I asked Henry where he kept that "fountain of perpetual youth" he seemed to have. He indicated that it was on the way to the Democrat Printing office on foot. Ella said they had their pictures taken recently together. Hope they are good, but they have the same difficulty Cal & I have. Such a marked difference in complexion to be on one card. We would take it as a personal favor if all of you that have one of Cal & I in black & white on one card would destroy it. They surely were ghostly pictures. Little Noel James is now out of quarantine for chickenpox, and they hope to be in their new home in about ten days. It is a very compact, convenient six room colonial type house, in a fine suburb with a view over Lake Wingra & the city. I liked the poem Myrta sent & copied it. I saw a birthday greeting that applies to Henry & Ella very well. It said -- "Every body has 'em, but not every one I know Has your kind of luck, to have 'em and Not to have 'em show." I am writing to Fred today. Rufus, Fred Pickford's address is Otorohanga, Hamilton, New Zealand. Much love to you all from Annie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Madison, Wis. April 13, 1928 Dear Circle: Amelia gave me the letter three days ago so I must hasten to write my sheet. I see I wrote on March 13 last time. So much has happened since that. Theo's sickness and death came as a shock to us and we do not realize yet that her work is done. [Theo Sears Pickford, wife of Arthur, died April 3, 1928.] As a family we are all getting to the three score and ten and beyond so these broken links will come more & more often. I have always hoped that I might go before Cal for I have always relied on hom so perfectly, and he has proved so true. I went to the Golden Wedding (the first public gathering) and it was the loveliest part I was ever at, and Thurs. Henry proudly showed me an autographed picture of Mary Pickford alone and also one of Doug & Mary, with their congratulations in gold ink. It took SOME questioning to get the real facts about them, but finally Henry confessed he had sent them the press notice of their golden wedding with their pctures, etc. etc. She did NOT enclose a check for a million or so, though. [Douglas Fairbanks] I think all these former farmers in the circle are developing wonderfully in their special lines of endeavor, even tho' none of them ever had an hour of elocution instruction. Arthur may well take pride in winning over those younger men, at his age. Rufus, glasses are not a sign of old age any more and Myrta can still be as young as she feels. Cals says the toll bridge at Brideport is not gone, only some of those small ones in the approach. We are so pleased to note that the McGregor-Prairie du Chein bridge is to be a reality before long, even tho' it is likely to be a toll bridge. Grace and family are now in their own home and are two miles from us, tho' I wouldn't have guessed it if the speedometer hadn't registered the fact. Dick & Ruth & Alice plan to go to Seattle in June. Dick is a delegate to the International Kiwanis Convention there from Geneva. They will stop off in Madison a few days, too. Hoping this finds you all well, I am as ever, your sister Annie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Madison, Wis. April 29, 1928 Dear Circle: I am trying to listen to W.E.A.F. and write, too. Cal is away this evening. The Mozart Club are giving a concert at Ft. Atkinson, Wis. tonight. This makes nineteen appearances of the club during the club year. They still have one or two more during May. I attended one meeting of the Woman's Club in April and about three last fall. That is all for this year. I find it tires me to go out much. I went over to Ella's to a luncheon last Thursday. She had ten women in and it was fine to see them all again. I wish I had as much energy as she has. I have turned the church Alliance Presidency over to her for the coming year, and hope it will not be too much for her. We are sorry to hear of Margaret's baby's trouble and hope it comes out all right. The other little folks will be a great help to Arthur in his loneliness. Ruth writes that they will be here on May 29 and will stay till June 5, on their way out to Seattle. Wish Cal and I could make the trip with them, but it's too far and too near the tourist season for him to take a two weeks vacation then. The Ass'n of Commerce has just changed Secretaries after ten years under one man. The new man begins May 1st. There has been no notice of any of the rest of them being changed yet. The paper today says they are planning a much more extensive & intensive program in the future. Have had no word from Fred Pickford yet. Have any of you? Of course it takes more than a month for a letter to go to that island. Hoping this finds all of you well. I am, with love, Your sister, Annie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Madison, Wis. June 7, 1928 Dear Circle: I have had this letter a week but it was such a busy, happy week, that I could not take time off to write, and I wanted to send some of the pictures we took and did not get them till tonight. We had all our children & grand children with us over the weekend. Ruth & family came on Tues. May 29 & staid till June 5. Dale & family came on June 1 and staid till June 6th. Grace and Noel kept the visitors at night as they had two extra bedrooms & we were back and forth day times, and had a wonderful time. We took a good many pictures for we do not know when we may all be together again. I will enclose a few. Dick & Ruth went on to Seattle, Wash. on the train, and plan on returning via the Canadian Pacific thro' Canada, which will be a still different route than they took before when they went. Noel left on a weeks trip in Northern Wis. on Tues. so we are a very quiet again now. I hope Arthur can take the trip to Pa. with Henry & E. & Amelia. Ella and Mrs. Humiston plan to drive to Fennimore tomorrow, alone. I have not much courage when it comes to driving out of town with out a man along. But I'm driving about the city again now. Cal & I have not planned what our vacation will be this year yet. I am feeling stronger all the time but still have to rest several times a day yet. My students leave next week; not being in the graduating class. and I hope to have some summer school students in due time. I hope you are all well. With love to you all, I am your sister, Annie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Madison, Wis. July 10, 1928 Dear Circle: The program of music W.G.N. was so fine tonight that I had to write them a card before I began the "Robin". Well, we're all glad the four "youngsters" got back safely from their trip to Pa. and are glad they got such good pictures of the families there for the stay-at-homes. We've had some HOT weather since they got home, just like what we had in Sept. the time we went. We are glad to hear of the new son in Herbert & Mary's family and hope they continue to be fine. [John Roger Wilkinson, b. June 25, 1928.] It must have been the news of a second grandson that caused Wendell to wax facetious & ENCLOSE directions as to calling for the "Robin" at Gen'l Delivery for Charles. We drove down to Monroe recently on Sun. PM We saw no corn more than knee high here, Rufus. We have some in the garden but many of the fields are both weedy and small. Cal is feeling much encouraged in his horse shoe pitching. Mr. Ulve, our neighbor, is very expert, but Cal beat him once last night and almost tied the score again tonight. They both enjoy playing and both need the exercise. Flora and Lettie were planning on going back with William and Lucile last week when they returned to Schenectady. Helen Churchill Shaw & family are driving thro' to Monroe & Madison for two weeks on July 15. People just won't stay "put" these days of automobiles and good roads. Cal & I took Amelia home after supper last Friday eve & were over night at Edith's & home before breakfast. Bedtime now, so goodnight with love, Annie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Madison, Wis. Aug. 8, 1928 Dear Circle: This "corn" weather continues so I may just as well get at this writing. Its 8 o'clock AM and its 80o now. However, I've managed to do a two weeks washing and ironing and can string beans & make watermelon preserves the past two days. Cal said we were to take our vacation from Sept. 2 to 16 this year. I must be back then for the students. We plan now to strike out north in Wis. & get over to Minn. where Ed and Jennie live, then down thro' Iowa & back by way of DeWitt & Chicago, and incidentally, we are planning on cutting out "work" for two weeks. Hope Rufus & Myrta will stop and see us on their trip up or back to Ishpeming.[Upper Michigan] But we know the "pull" those grand children have. Ruth writes that they were going for a week end visit with the chief in Dick's department to the Adirondacks. They've had a nice trip this year across the country & back. Cal says that there haven't been any tourists here who asked for Brule this summer. [tiny Wis. town near Duluth, as far away as you can get.] Some people seemed to think Madison would be deluged with them but there are not so many tourists on the road or in the park here as formerly. The new Sec. of the Ass'n of Commerce has arrived and is just getting adquainted. Cal says he's an unknown quantity, as yet, as to whether he's an improvement over the old one. Grace has just called me to say peaches are 98 cts a box so that seems to mean I must can some. All well, and love to you all. Annie. Henry & Ella & Cal & I were at Monticello recently & called on Jim Pratt & took a picture of our old residence. A batchelor lives there now, & it looks just as it always did. Jim Pratt played on his violin for us, amid the dirt. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Madison, Wis. Aug. 31. 1928 Dear Circle: I've had the letter here all week and have been too busy to ans. Ruth & Dick & Alice came Mon. eve. They drove from Geneva N.Y. to Edgerton where their car burned out a bearing & had to be left. So they took the bus to Madison. They are moving to Pullman, Wash. where Dick has a good position with the Agric. College of the State of Wash. Cal & Dick drove down to get the car Mon. eve & it was repaired here. Dick hoped to sell it & go on by R.R. but the market is slow for used cars & they offered him so little, he decided to drive thro'. They left yesterday PM via No. 18 to Canton, S.D., then to Billings, & to Pullman, some 2,000 miles. They are all good travellers but that is a pretty long jaunt. They expect it to take seven days, at least. We are sorry to have them go so far away, but the offer was so pleasing they thought best to accept. The letter offering them the position was waiting for them when they returned from the west the last of June. Today a letter from Rena says that Dale & Jean have both had tonsil operations yesterday. Dale has not been well of late & I hope this will be of great benefit to both. It has rained so much they've not finished threshing yet. We expect to leave for our vacation Sept. 2. Grace & Noel spent a couple of days at the State Fair this week & I kept Noel J. He had a fine time with Alice. This clipping about Cal was in the editorials in the Capital Times here last week. I think Cal has done more to advertise Madison since he's been in the Ass'n of Commerce that the Sec. of it has. He has many complimentary things said to him by travellers all the time. He would like to drive to the Pacific coast himself, but I could not stand that trip this year. But now that Ruth & Dick are to be out there, we may try it some time. Hope you all keep well. I'm busy till we leave, so will close. Love from Annie PS. I think Edith will recognize the Tridelt group. It came in an "ad" from Kessenicks last week. She may keep it. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Madison, Wis. Sept. 20, 1928 Dear Circle: As an extra special favor from Arthur, I want to ask him to get a bottle of Sheaffers Skrip ink for writing the "Robin" and no one will have to complain that it is too dim. My fountain pen refused to act with other ink but with this, it is above reproach. Ella has told me of the death of little Lois yesterday. [Lois Jean Pickford 4-9-1928 to 9-19-1928, granddaughter of Arthur Pickford] We know Margaret [mother] will miss her but it is for the best that she did not have to suffer longer. Grace and Noel & Noel Jr. have just come in getting home from a ten days trip in northern Wisconsin. We were in rather a queer position for two weeks. Dick & Ruth on their way to Pullman, Cal & I moving about in Minn & Iowa, & Grace & Noel in northern Wisconsin not being able to reach each other with letters. But a letter from Ruth yesterday says they got thro' to Pullman in 6 1/2 days and were glad to have the car to use. She says they were only held up 4 1/2 hours to have a leaky radiator fixed once on the trip. They got to Pullman at 7:45 Sept 5. Had supper at a hotel, met the head of Dick's dept, Dr. Heald, who took them to their new home. They unpacked their bedding & slept in their own house that night. She had been busy canning peaches & plums & making jelly since settling. They are much pleased with their new work & location. We enjoyed our vacation very much. Some of the relatives we had never visited, others not in their present homes, so we enjoyed the visits even tho' they were short. We got home Sunday Sept 16 at 4 PM. We left Herbert's at 9 AM and came by way of Rockford, Ill. thro' Beliot to Janesville, a new route to us. Rockford, Ill. had had a tornado in the S.E. part but the part we passed thro' was not hurt. It came up thro' Verona, Wis. and unroofed some houses. That is only 12 miles S.W. of Madison. So now, we are getting down to business again after our vacations. My roomers will be back on Sun. All well here and hope this finds all the rest the same. Love to you all. Annie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Madison, Wis. Oct. 21, 1928 Dear CIrcle: You may be sure I did not tell Henry when they were here to dinner today that I still had not written my sheet for the Robin that he sent me last Mon. but I'll do it now. Our weather still keeps quite warm. No killing frosts yet, but considerable rain. Dale writes that he has bought a share in a corn husker, and we hope they make a success of running it, for we know of the back-breaking months work the yearly husking is. Cal says he thinks it is the hardest work on the farm. Henry drove us around the city this PM and it surely is surprising the amount of building that has been done this year here. New additions have sprung up where two years ago was marsh. Grace & Noel & Noel J. enjoyed a week end at the farm last week. Noel J. had never been near so many animals before and was afraid of some of them. Cal and I hope to be fortunate enough to get seats to hear Galli-Curci who sings here Nov. 13, in the Capitol Theater. I have not been feeling very well for a month but have had an infected tooth out and am taking some medicine now that seems to be making an improvement. So I hope soon not to be the champion grunter of this group. Henry's pictures of the old home are good. One wonders what it looks like inside. "Hurrah for Hoover" and Prohibition. Love to all. Annie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Madison, Wis. Nov. 19, 1928 Dear Circle: I have the house to myself this eve as Cal is out at Club practice and our "girls" are rarely in before 10:30 PM. As for myself, I've been "at home" pretty much for the past year, and am beginning to wonder when I am going to be back to normal. For the past ten days, I've had some thing entirely new and novel. A friend of Cal's gave him a wild duck from a hunting trip. I didn't know much about game birds but cooked it like chicken & we had it for Thurs. eve supper. I ate five mouthfuls of it & didn't care for the flavor. Cal ate considerable of it. Fri. morning (Nov. 9th) I began to scratch & scratch etc. etc. etc. and nothing I could put on my skin did any good. It went on till Sat. eve when I was almost frantic & called the Dr. I confessed the five mouthfuls of wild duck & he said "Well, you've got the hives from it." Gave me two prescriptions ($4.00 Please) and his call $3.00 for 5 mouthfuls of duck, which seems HIGH to me and I've SCRATCHED every day since till today. I don't want any more HIVES or DUCK. The weather man says we are to have freezing weather by morning. So far the grass is green and some flowers like snapdragons are still trying to bloom. Cal says there is a foot of snow farther north in Wis. just a strip across the state. Some years the lakes are frozen enough for skating by Thanksgiving. We are very glad Myrta is coming to Madison on Sat. While the river is still open for ferries, it does not take so very long to drive thro'. We are hoping for a bridge before many years over the Miss. River. Those are good pictures of Chas. & Alice [Pickford] & their comfortable home. We are trying to locate some stations on our radio since the new allocations. Hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving Day. Love to all. Annie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Madison, Wis. Dec. 19, 1928 Dear Circle: I should have written this letter yesterday to have it get to Mason City by Christmas., but I went to a "tea" in the PM and got interested in a book I was reading & finished that & then went at a Santa Sack Puzzle I am going to send in and I suppose I shall get the prize (as usual). Amelia, I think, or Betty will more likely get it. However, there is no capital invested if we lose. Cal is in bed with the Flu today. Should have been yesterday, but no! must be at the office. However he was very week this morning when it made him sweat just to stand up two or three minutes. The Dr. said "Stay in bed until Sat." He says it is a mild form here, but one never knows what Flu may do. He says in the cases of small children two or three years old, it is turning into pneumonia quite often. So far, I've not had it this year. It's just a year ago that I was having it. Grace's family are all better after their attack. The "curling" club are having a rink on Camp Randall again this year. Cal would like to join that but it costs $10.00 and if one has to buy the stones, it's very expensive. He's gone down with Mr. Ulve & played some other winters. I noticed he took his skates with him to the office the other day, but did not skate because the Mozart Club had to sing 4 days & evenings at the Capitol Theater & he did not want to take cold. However, he is missing the last days singing today, but hope it will not be long till he is out again. Have had a card from Charles saying Alice was doing well, and I hope it will continue. Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to you all. With love, Annie. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [Filed away with the 1928 letters is the Doctor's report of her physical examination and diagnosis prior to her trip to Rochester for the surgery. Other findings noted valvulvar heart disease and the absence of all her upper teeth, as well as all but seven of the lower gone. Also there are several loose pages of the diary she kept while at the Rochester hospital. She came to Rochester on Jan. 30, had several basal rate tests, surgery on Feb. 1, with her hospital room costing $5.50 per day and two trained nurses, which were paid $3.50 per shift plus their board, through Feb. 3. Cal went back home on the 7th,and she went to a rooming house near the hospital to recuperate, going back to the hospital to have the dressings changed every day. Here she paid $1.50 per day for room and board. Went home on the train Feb. 24. Included is a list of 13 books she read during Jan and Feb. -- Lorna Doone, Good Manners in the Home, David Harum, Daddy Longlegs, The High Forfeit, The Hoosier School Boy, Cobbs Anatomy, The Spendid Idle Forties, (comment: she didn't like it), A Window in Thrums, The Hon. Peter Sterling, Alice Adams, and Babbitt.]