Mrs. J. C. Bitterman Pullman, Wash. Jan 13, 1934 Dear Circle: We out here are wishing Charles a happy birthday and many happy returns. Dick's birthday comes on Monday, Jan. 15. It just don't seem possible that Jan. is nearly half gone with the tem. still keeping between 30o and 40o and the ground bare and not frozen. The time slips by so quickly that our vacation is half gone before we know it. We are planning on going to Calif. for the month of March and then on home the first part of Apr. Going that way, the distance will be about 4,000 miles. A lady at the Matron's Club here told me this week that she was in Los Angeles over the holidays and that there was 500 people killed in that cloud burst on Jan 1st, but such news is suppressed as far as possible for business reasons. The loss of life was mostly in Glendale a suburb of Los A. They drove out to see the ruin the next day & there was a covering of mud knee deep on the streets. We listened in over the radio to the Rose Parade at Pasadena & the big game. Trullie was VERY disappointed that we were not there for that, but if we had been, we would probably had to be at home because of the downpour. We have had 9 inches of rain here in Dec. which is half the normal annual rainfall, but no floods near here, but in Idaho near Wallace & up near Tacoma, Wash. very serious ones occurred. Our Christmas mail was delayed from the east on that acct. We had a very pleasant Christmas season here. We had not spent Christmas with Ruth & Dick for nine years. Being a college town, Christmas festivities begin before the students leave for their vacation, so its the main topic from Dec. 18 to Jan. 8 when they return. In a letter from Henry & E. this week, Ella offers to send Cal a new recipe for ONION shortcake, post paid, if he wants it. He says to tell her to make one and put it under the pantry and she won't be troubled any more with ANTS. We were sorry to learn of Lona Lincoln's death, also of Lilly Blakley Andrus. Cal is busy, when he feels like it, making a filing cabinet for Dick for his office. He really is developing into quite a cabinet maker. If he had Ponce de Leon's recipe for eternal youth, he'd be quite skillful in several professions. I was so unfortunate as to crack my upper plate about Jan. 1st and had to be without it three days. Little Ralph was much concerned about it and he'd pull his upper lip down over his teeth & say "Grand mother, this is the way you do." I am happy to say I was able to finish the afghan I was making for the Jones family on Jan 4th a few days late for Christmas. When I came, I could not work on it at all. I am that much better. I must mail this now. So I will wish you all Health & Prosperity in this new year. With love, Cal & Annie. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Pullman, Wash. Feb. 13, 1934 Dear Circle: Here it is the middle of Feb. and the front door stands open to let the sun stream in. Alice picked some pansies in the back yard last week and brought in a few radishes, also. To be sure, the radishes were "pethy" as Mrs. Jackson used to say. But this weather is remarkable even for this country. Dick had to go over to Seattle and vicinity for ten days the first of Feb. and always before, when he has gone at this time of the year, the temp. has dropped to below zero, but this year we persuaded Ruth to go with him and we had only balmy days while we were in charge of the family. We got a boquet of pussy willows the day they left, Jan 28. We had a nice time with the children while they were away and it was a pleasure to be able to take charge of a household again after being partially disabled for two years. I hope I shall be able to continue to keep house from now on. We plan to start to Calif. Thurs. noon Feb. 15 and will drive to Walla Walla that day and make the trip up the Columbia Highway the next day to Portland. Cal now plans to use the U.S. No. 101 down thro' Oregon. It is a new route very scenic & very near the shore of the Pacific. I think it was only opened for traffic last year. He thinks he will cut over toward the middle of the State of Cal. near San Francisco & we will call at Berkeley to see Alan Thompson's family a short time. We do want to see the Redwoods and the San Joaquin Valley. We hope to get to Pasadena in time for the Iowa picnic on Feb. 24th. Trullie writes that one man, observing how large a crowd was a the picnic said, "I wonder who is left to feed the hogs in Iowa!" At the Chamber of Commerce luncheon today, Cal said a letter was read from a person 1500 miles north of here and it was 72o below zero there & the only means of transportation was by airplane. We have been in Pullman five months now and it has been a very pleasant time. Cal has had the car greased today and we will pack up tomorrow. I have a little head cold which I hope will be gone by Thursday. We will not try to stay at cabins, at least not at the northern end of the trip. We expect to get a small light hiusekeeping room after we get to Pasadena, but will use Trullie's house number, 555 Prescott St. until we are located. I hope to write from Pasadena for my next "Robin.". Love to you all from Annie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1250 N. El Molino Ave. Pasadena, Calif Mar 22, 1934 Dear Circle: We've been in this city just a month. We left Ruth's Feb. 15 and arrived here six days later. We have since been down to Mexico, so have now traversed the western coast from Everett, Wash. to Caliente, Mex. We have surely missed winter the past 12 mo's. Ruth writes that they have a flowering almond in bloom there and I have boquets of red roses, pansies, and orange blossoms in our room as I write. The season here has been unusually mild and is from two to three weeks earlier than usual. We need to stop and think just what month this is, with the lawns so green & flowers and fruit on the trees & shrubs. We like this climate and have a nice room with kitchen privileges & garage & our dishes washed & everything furnished but the food for $20.00. We are about a block from Jay & Trullie. The first three days we were here, it rained and the natives were pleased, for they didn't need to irrigate for a few days, but since then it is just one bright day after another. One needs a coat just as soon as the sun goes down, tho' and Cal & I are wearing just the same clothing as we would at home, as we are not yet acclimated. Cal hasn't worn his overcoat down here at all and I wear my spring coat instead of my winter one, but we use just the same amt of bedding as we would at home nights. We are only about three miles from Mt Lowe & Mt Wilson, and have grand views of them day by day. Have not been up them yet & I don't plan on going up but Cal will later. One must use the cog R.R. up Mt. Lowe but there is a private road up Mt. Wilson. Emerson Hartong drives up & down Mt Wilson almost daily with material for the observatory, etc. up there, they tell us. We have not seen him yet. But we were invited to luncheon with Mrs. Humiston one day. She has a lovely little bungalow in Los Angeles, and we called on Mrs. Harry Cross one afternoon. Her husband and two older children were not at home but Mrs. Cross & the 3 year old daughter were and we had a nice chat with her. We called at Harold Sears address one day but he was not in. We left our number & he came over and spent the eveing with us a week later, and we enjoyed him. He is with the Victor Belting & Rubber Co. as salesman at present but hopes to get back to his former position as soon as times get better. He was very thin and did not look so very strong. We went on Mar. 3rd to the Iowa picnic. Trullie said there were not so many there as she had seen some years. We saw Harry Keeler, Frank Cole & wife, Al Avery & wife, Rob Shanks & wife, Mr & Mrs Hersy, Jack Barker, Clarence Trimble and some others I do not now recall. Some Iowa people do not go now. No Balmats or Confers went. We called on them another day. Mr & Mrs Balmat have an elven room house & Clara lives at home & teaches in the school at Pomona. Mrs. Wesley Confer looks almost as she did in Portland Twp. She is 83 and lives alone. She was not very well but invited us to stay over night with her! Frank Confer looks the picture of his father & lives at Upland near Ontario. Clint & Harley live there too, but we did not have time to call on them that day. We went down to Santa Ana with Trullie & Theodore and spent two or three days there and at San Diego. One day at Mary Hendricksons, we took picnic dinner and all went down to Laguna Beach and spent the day getting acquainted with the Pacific Ocean. Brought home star fish & sea urchins. Mary H. is 76 but is as agile as a woman of 35. She climbed over those rocks like a girl & waded into the breakers up to her knees and with her shoes & stockings on & then rode home 20 miles that way. She is a wonder for her age. I was the old woman in the party! Cal & I went on from Santa Ana to San Diego to call on Nellie Armstrong & Eva Berkey Pettersen. Found Mr & Mrs Armstrong both recovering from the "flu", Nellie VERY thin and with a hard cough. Eva was looking fine. She reminded both Cal & me of Myrta. Mr Pettersen was not at home but she said we might tell her Wis. friends that she had a peach of a husband & she seemed very happy. She had one of Aunt Ella's hooked rugs on her floor that she prizes very much. One of the men at the garage in San Diego saw our Wis. license plate & said he was from Fennimore, Wis. & knew Rudolph & went to school to Edith when she taught there before her marriage! On the way home we we went thro' "Old Ironsides" & stopped to see the old mission at San Juan Capistrano. Sun. Jay took us on a 200 mile ride around the San Gabriel Mts. Mon. Trullie had us and two other couples to dinner on our 44th wedding anniversary, & we had a very nice time. Cal has not been feeling well the past two weeks. Seems to have had a touch of the "flu" but is resting a lot and is feeling better today. I keep about the same. We like this climate but think one needs to have funds on hand to locate here permanently. Many are out of work here, too. We will be back home by the time the letter makes another trip, so I will ask Rufus to not send it out here. Will let him know where we will be later. We plant to start home in two weeks. Love to all. Cal & Annie. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Nora Springs, Ia. Apr. 24, 1934 Dear Circle: Rufus brought me the "Robin" this eve so I will write my sheet and leave it at Wendell's tomorrow and thus cheat Uncle Sam of the postage. We arrived at the farm Mon. noon, not in a cloud of glory but of DUST! We had expected to see a Santa Ana in Calif but did not have one, but found it in Iowa. We did not even feel a quake while there which was a disappointment to Cal, not to me! We left the land of sunshine Apr. 16 and drove 337 miles that day to Mohawk, Ariz. It was very warm as we went down by the Salton Sea and the Imperial Valley. At the Ariz. line, they examined our supply of oranges but let us keep them. The next day we drove 378 miles to Duncan, Ariz. where the elevation is 4500 ft. We stopped to see the fine Coolidge Dam which is expected to irrigate 100,000 acres, but the country in the vicinity stood on end, so they must expect to use it at some distance from the dam site. Many cooper mines around Superior and Miami & Globe, Ariz. but only one in operation. The third day we crossed the line into New Mexico at 7:30 AM and drove 423 miles over desert all the way. It took only till 10:30 AM to cross New Mex. into Texas. Set our watches ahead one hr. at Pecos, Tex. Saw some of the worst looking places to live ever, in those adobe huts. The roads are just fine & level & run straight into the horizon with scarcely a curve for miles & miles. Could travel at 50 miles all the time. Very little traffic, and practically no scenery but sagebrush & cacti. The 4th day leaving Pecos, we travelled 423 miles thro the great oil territory and got into the country where they do not irrigate. Went thro' the town of Mineral Wells where they find "Crazy Water" and camped at Ft. Worth. The 5th day we, we traveled 364 miles and saw the immense oil fields at Oklahoma City and Ponca City. The country in Okla. looks like Iowa but the farm buildings were very poor. Saw not more than a dozen farm homes that were attractive in crossing the state. Camped that night at Arkansas City, Kan. The 6th day we drove across Kansas and to St. Joseph, Mo. 359 miles. Crops were not so far advanced as we expected them to be. Wheat 6 in high and cotton not yet planted in Tex. & Okla. The 7th day we drove 243 miles thro' Bethany, Mo. where we called on a lady who was my room mate for three weeks at Rochester, then on to Des Moines where we visited with Harold & Hermine [Pickford] for an hr. or so, & then on to Nevada [Iowa] to spend the night with Charles & Alice [Pickford] where we had a very good visit. We could have been at the farm Sun. eve if we had not stopped at Des M. & Nevada which would have been just seven days to travel the 2634 miles from Pasadena to the farm. We got to the farm Mon. noon in the worst dust storm we've ever seen. Couldn't see two rods ahead at some places. Today has been clear but rather cold, & Dale says there will have to be some rain to bring the grain up, it is so dry. We hope there will be some soon. We are going on to Madison the end of this week and our plans from there are subject to change without notice. The family in our house want it till Sept 1st at least. We have had a most enjoyable vacation the past 8 months but are glad to be at home again. Love to you all. Annie. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2312 Jackson Blvd. Chicago, Ill. May 30, 1934 Dear Circle: I sit in my house (3rd floor) by the side of the road and watch the race of men go by (at 50 miles per hr.) The resulting roar is punctuated several times a day by the shriek of the siren on the fire truck. About every 10 min. a double-decked bus, loaded, goes by. We are a block from the street car line and two blocks from the elevated, so we are a COMPARATIVELY (?) quiet street. Cal gets on and off the bus right by the house. We chose this location because it was convenient for him in that way. We are about 3 miles from the Fairgrounds directly west of the 12th St. entrance where the Sears-R building is located. Cal has two girls to help him in the booth. According to the N.R.A. the girls can not be on duty but 44 hours a week, so they three divide the time among them so that there is two on duty all the time. Cal, of course, works more than the girls. He is on duty five days a week from 12 M. to 10 PM. On Sunday from 9:30 AM to 10 PM and he has Tues. off. It makes it a bit complicated to have meals at normal time. He has taken his lunch but gets the extra meal on the grounds. There's a lunch room in the building & also a nice place to eat one's own lunch under an awning overlooking Lake Michigan. I went to the fair on Mon. for the first time, and the day was fair & cool and it was BEAUTIFUL! The buildings have been repainted in a wonderful array of colors, this year. We went up to the top of the towers on the Sky-Ride at seven PM to see the panorama of the grounds. In that soft light, the grounds were like fairy land. The buildings are so novel and interesting. I went around till 10 PM slowly as I felt able. I only got thro' the Hall of Science, but while I was generally weary when we got home, I was not used up as I thought I might be. I shall go a day once a week and take my time to see it. We came down May 21 by request, so have been residents for 9 days. Cal was required to have a medical exam by the Sears-R physician, have his picture taken for his pass, and be vaccinated before the Fair began. The Dr. found him O.K. with a blood pressure of a man of 50. Our apt. is a big room with one end devoted to the kitchen & dining room & the other to the living & bed room. It is just like living in a summer cottage. I have a good, full size gas range with ice box & sink, and do not need to go down to the street for any thing but gro. & mail. I chose this place. Cal wanted to take an apt. in one of these Apt. Hotels, but I know I'd be homesick in a week with nothing to do but SIT. They have maid service furnished. I'm pretty good at entertaining myself with my housework, books & papers & radio. It is queer to go out on the street and not know a single person. I shall go to church next Sun. to a Baptist church six blocks up the street. I HOPE THAT ANY OF YOU WHO COME TO THE FAIR THIS SUMMER WILL COME AND SEE US. Our land lady is very accomodating. She has three double rooms she rents to transients and $1.00 per person per night or $1.50 if two use the room. I haven't dared go up to the Loop yet but want to go up to Marshall Fields when I know the town better. So far, I think Chicago is a dirty city and I've only seen three small children that looked as if they had any care. There are hundreds of small shops but no large stores till one gets to the Loop. The houses on this blv'd are build solid together with a door & a window & an iron railing on three sides of the front steps, ditto, ditto, ditto. I can see the tops of two trees from my window. Our house is a separate-house so we have ventilation on three sides. We are very comfortable here for $6.00 per week & a garage for $1.25. Love to all, Annie Trullie wrote us that the very day we left Pasadena there was a light quake at Santa Ana. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2312 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, Ill. July 1, 1934 Dear Circle: Well, its "all quiet along the Potomac" today. We took Amelia to her train at 8:30 AM to go to Mad. where she must lay over six hours before going on to Boscobel, and Cal went to work at 9:30 today, so it is as quiet as it ever gets at this location. We enjoyed having Amelia here and I saw more of the Fair the past week than I should have done in six weeks without her. She can "run me ragged" when its a question of walking. Then Merle & miss Steven and Miss Ritchie (sister & cousin of Ritchie's) came and had a room at this house from Tues. to Fri. so we had quite a family party! In the five weeks before, I had had just ONE caller. Was sorry not to have seen Paul and Marjory when they were in the city. Merle invited Amelia & me to be her guests at luncheon at Marshall Field's on Fri. and we had SUCH a nice time. After lunch, an employee of the store took us on a tour of the building, AND SUCH A BUILDING! Thirteen floors and 3 basements! I don't mind going up to the Loop to shop now. The big stores are all conviently near each other on State St. or one St. either side. On our way home last night on the bus, after the fireworks, it was quite crowded and some light fingered gentry picked a few pockets. But other than that, we found the crowds very orderly and sober. We are hoping Wendell & Grace will come to see us if they come back by way of Chicago. [Wendell Wilkinson married again Aug 31, 1933, Grace Church.] It is fine they are having such a nice trip. We think Arlyn is VERY fortunate in being promoted at this time. The prospects for the farmers are surely most discouraging and in due time that crop failure will be felt in the cities. Already most food prices have advanced considerably. Dale writes us that he will have to turn his stock into the oat field as the pasture is bare, and he has fed out most of the first cutting of alfalfa hay. Never such a set of circumstances on that farm before! Some men at Cal's desk last week from S.E. Iowa said the chinch bugs would finish the crops there, but Dale didn't mention those or grasshoppers, as there are in N. Wisconsin. It seems as though there might be a possibility of a real taste of FAMINE in this rich (?) America. There were probably 100,000 at the Fair yesterday. (I haven't seen the statement of gate receipts for yesterday.) It was a pleasant comfortable day to visit the Fair but last week we had some VERY warm days, up to 98o. We are glad to hear Henry can rest comfortably these hot days. It seems strange in a crowd of thousands not to know one person. Cal has only had about 12 people that he knows call at his desk so far, but hundreds of strangers. He likes his work & we are both feeling well. Love to you all. Annie E. [on a separate sheet of note paper:] Cal's work isn't Publicity, its INFORMATION. This is the placard by his desk. SEARS ALL STATE TRAVEL BUREAU - - - Highway Information - Bus, Air & Lake Cruises Sightseeing & Boat tickets for sale - Pullman Reservations - Official World's Fair Guide - General Information - Personal Contact Bureau - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2312 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, Ill. [not dated] Dear Circle: "I take my pen in hand" to let you know that we are well and the days are so similar we can scarcely remember what day of the week it is. We enjoyed having Wendell & Grace come to see us, and I have been to the Fair only one day since they were here. (100,000 at the Fair yesterday.) While the weather was hovering around 100o I couldn't get up pep enough to wear enough clothes to be out in public! We invested in an electric fan but what could a poor fan do with air at 100o about delivering cool air? It just couldn't. So we joined the nudists from 11 PM to 8 AM. As Ruth says in her last letter, the question that is bothering them is "What to do to protect the morals of the grandparents?" I had written her about the heat and our trip on the boat to Milwaukee. The boat trip was a comp. on July 17th from the managers of the "City of Grand Rapids" to Cal for putting one of their adv. in each letter he sends out from his desk. We left at 10 AM & got back at 10 PM with two hours off in Milwaukee where we were given a bus ride about the city, and incidentally the busses all stopped at Schlitz brewery where beer, all you could drink in 10 min., was freer than water. I said "Shall we?" to Cal. and he said "Lets try it." So you should have seen two prohibitionists like us in line before that dripping bar getting our mug of beer & a handful of pretzels! Cal couldn't finish his beer but I finally got mine down. The very first I've ever had and I don't care if it is THE VERY LAST. It was very cool on the water & I wore my coat all day. Five hours each way up & back. We had dinner & supper & a state room furnished to rest if so inclined, which made it a pleasant day. Cal says we are going across to Benton Harbor, Mich. soon on the rival boat line. On July 24, while the heat was still terrible, he was given comp. tickets to the play "Fresh Fields" at the Blackstone Theater. We hoped we could keep presentable till we got there & then we'd be comfortable, of course. But was that even air conditioned? NO. and we sat and dripped perspiration for 2 1/2 hrs. The play is a comedy and VERY good, the actors were fine but with that heat, we were not surprised tht there were not over two hunderd persons in the audience. Margaret Anglin was the leading lady. Amelia Churchill & Norma & Will Woods son called at Cal's desk Fri. Also Beulah Mae Bitterman Farquhar, who lives some 16 miles from us on 74th St. but still in the city. She married a man much older than her self & his daughter is married & has a small baby. So Beulah is a step-grandmother at 30! We are glad to know that Henry has been so comfortable thro this hot summer. It is the hottest & driest July on record the paper said, and "I only know what I read in the papers" a la Will Rogers. Dick and Ruth are spending the month of Aug. at a lake over near Seattle in a cottage. Love to you all. Annie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2312 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, Ill. Sept 5, 1934 Dear Circle: The "Robin" came just after we got home from Madison this forenoon. We went up Tues. morn. Got there at 10 AM and called to see Henry & Ella. Henry was up and said he was feeling real well just then, and later, after supper, Betty Smith drove Henry & Ella over to Grace's where we had another nice visit with them for an hour or so. We had not been up to Madison for three mothns before and the streets seemed so shady & the yards so full of flowers & the buildings so CLEAN (at least on the outside) compared with Chicago. We brought a real COUNTRY chicken home with us and did we enjoy it! The people in our house were not at home but had left the key with the neighbor, so we loaded up some more canned fruit & got some winter clothing to bring back with us. It is raining again. It rained Sun. Mon & Tues. so put a damper on the plans that had been made for a record Labor Day attendance at the fair. The open air Lagoon Theater program and the outdoor symphony concerts could not be given in the rain, also the fireworks. They plan to have fireworks every night the weather permits from now till the end of Oct. I haven't been to the Fair since the first day Dale & family were here. There has been no out-of-town visitors for ten days. They all came in a bunch. Jay Shulte came Aug. 19 and the Ulve's from Madison were here that day. Jay stayed till Wed. AM. Tues PM Dale & family came & were here till Sun noon. Sat AM Rudolph, Edith & Dick came & left Mon AM. We enjoyed them all & Dale & family surely enjoyed their weeks vacation away from the farm. It is so seldom they can get away over night. Grace & Ellen may come down for a few days later if Noel can be at home to look after Elizabeth and Noel James who must go to school. I think Arthur has done WONDERFULLY well to drive all those miles without an accident! We hope Paul will find his new work both pleasant & profitable. Where will they live? Mrs. Ladwigs death reminds us that we are all well along life's road. Tho', as I remember it, she was not much older than I am. Grace is 36 today, & I'm feeling better today than I did 36 years ago. Rufus, I solemnly swear, I never use either Camels or Luckys, but I've seen some as old as I here in this town using them. And there are more red heads & fat women in this town that I ever saw before. Of course, there are as many people here as in the whole state of Wisconsin! We are now saying "Only 56 more days till Nov. 1st." Tho' we have really enjoyed the summer here, but like Madison better than Chicago for a residence. Love to you all. Annie. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2312 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, Ill. Oct. 10, 1934 Dear Circle: Only 21 more days in Chicago! I will write my sheet while I wait for Cal to get home at 10:30 PM. Oct so far, has been lovely and the attendance at the fair has been good. I want to go a few more times yet. Have been ten days so far, and that and one hooked rug, six dresses and a quilt top pieced, are all I have to show for the summer outside of the house work in this one room apt. and keeping my "other half" fed & clothed. We have had a complete rest socially this past 5 1/2 months except when our our-of-town relatives & friends came in. No one bothers to know his neighbor here and this particular location hasn't much to offer outside of two movies during ths summer. Last week Tuesday, on Cal's day off, we drove to Plainfield, Ill. where his folks lived before moving to Iowa & visited his two cousins, Clint & Mel Spangler. It was a beautiful day & we both enjoyed being out in the country again. Grace & Ellen came down for a few days in Sept. She left Noel & Eliz. Anne with their father and the maid, and she wrote that she found the dining room walls all done over with two coats of paint when she got home, which pleased her. We have attended Dr. Preston Bradley's Peoples Church twice and Dr. Shannon's Central church once this summer. Dr. Shannon's services are in Orchestra Hall across the street from the Art Institute. I spent one Sun. at the Art Institute. I am too practical minded to be an artist. I insist on a picture being as true to what it represents as possible and so I couldn't understand why some of them were classed as "Art". I am enclosing one curious one, with the comments "Line-o-type" had on it. So Father's farm has finally passed out of the family. I wonder how much an acre he paid Mr. Reed for it. Maybe if you'd sold it at $250.00 per A. Rufus, you might have invested in Insull's gilt-edged securities & had less than it brought now. It surely is a problem what to do with property. Glad to hear of the safe arrival of all the new relatives on both sides of the house. It seems like old times to read of Henry & Ella driving to Monroe, etc. and we are surely glad to hear it. We were sorry to hear that our Gov. had to have his left leg amputated last week. We hope to be eligible to vote in Mad. but not being at our own house number may make some difference. I will write next time from Madison or Nora S. Will let you know, Rufus. Cal has some repairing to do at the farm when we leave here. Love to you all. Annie. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - a century of progress. chicago ill. Nora Springs, Ia. Nov. 13, 1934 Dear Circle: This letter paper seems a trifle out of date but evidently I forgot to bring any other with me when we came to the farm a week ago today. We left Chicago at 9:30 Nov. 1st but had to call at Sears R. on business as we left the city and one bow of my glasses dropped apart while there so we were delayed a while to have it repaired. Got to Mad. O.K. with our big load and stayed till Tues. morn. After voting, we started to Nora S. We came by way of 60 as No. 18 was bad, Betty had said. Cal hired a tiler to dig the ditch he has had to have dug to repair the water system here at the farm. They finished it Sat. PM and have been hauling corn fodder for two days. That is now finished and I don't know just what will be the order of the day tomorrow but there's never a dearth of jobs needing attention on this farm. Arthur, Cal and I were invited to Rufus' birthday supper and enjoyed it very much. Myrta claims Rufus has gained 15 lbs since he disposed of his farm! He surely looked well with his 65 years. Today I had a card from Henry saying he was feeling quite comfortable, not much pain, but not much strength. He walks about a little upstairs, now. I hope he will feel able to write his sheet himself this time. Cal is thinking of driving up to Mora, Minn. to see Ed [Bitterman] and to Osakis, Minn. to see Jennie [Bitterman Chapman] before we leave for Madison in a week or so, if the weather man continues to give us this fine weather. Rena and I have been doing some sewing for winter for the family and find no trouble in keeping busy every day. We will stay at Grace's until the holidays are over and by that time we may have decided whether we will spend a couple of the coldest months in balmy Florida or not. All well here and hope you all may be the same. Love to you all. from Annie. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - a century of progress Madison, Wis. Dec 14, 1934 Dear Circle: Here I am again with no other stationery than this. I know I have some somewhere but with our worldly goods scattered over three residences, it is not easy to locate all we want when we want it. We got started home from the farm Dec. 8th after being snow bound for a week. Found the No. 18 all cleared of snow by the snow plows, so made 35 to 40 miles an hr. easily. Found less snow on the Wis. side of the Miss. R. Ed Bitterman's left Nora S. the same day we did for their home in Mora, Minn. and found no snow north of St. Paul. The weather is dark today and looks like more snow. Grace has gone to a lunceon uptown today & cal is over at Henry's . I'm looking after the girls and doing a little Christmas sewing. Noel F. is up at Stevens Point, Wis. investigating a case of death of several of a family who were poisoned (presumably) from eating chicks & eggs that had arsenic in them from the poisoned bran fed to the grasshoppers last fall. I saw Henry yesterday and he was busy getting his Xmas greetings cards ready to mail. Well ahead of me there. On Wed. this week, I entertained the Wingra Park Aid society here at Grace's and was glad to see them all again. Cal rode down to Edgerton, Milton Jct., & Janesville with Lola Heinselman's husband, Wallace Rodman, on Tues. and went to a meeting of the Mozart Club in the evening. He has not been to one of their meetings since a year ago last May. John & Sally Marshall have an 8 lb daughter (Jan) born Dec 9th, so Henry & Ella are now proud great grand parents. Sally & Jan are doing nicely, Theo says. Grace read a letter Henry wrote to Sally after the baby came and Grace says it is a "masterpiece". We are glad to have seen the pictures Charles sent of his children and grand children. I have been away from my family records so long, I've not got some of the later arrivals listed as yet. We are still undecided as to Florida. We are very comfortable here. Best wishes for Christmas & the New Year from Annie B.