766 4/11/1937 Albert Erwin to Sadie Erwin

Albert Erwin 1120 Cole St., Enumclaw, Washington Sunday, April 11, 1937

Sadie Erwin 1912 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minn.

Enumclaw, Wash. Dear Folks, I wrote a letter to you but forgot to mail it yesterday so I will include it with this one. I put off writing until I heard from the travelers and then waited some more. We received your wire by phone from Tacoma about eight-thirty this morning. We were very glad to hear that you had arrived ok. You made very good time on the road. I hope that you did not have any trouble after leaving Wallace, but I will hear all about that in your next letter. Wednesday after you left the wind started blowing and by night we had a dandy east wind. It blew very hard during the night. We had a seed case in the doorway at the store. The wind blew it over and scattered seeds all over the store. We had a very busy day Saturday, nearly $1200.00. Cliff had a big day also, next to the biggest day the store has ever had. Jim was good and tired. He went to work at 7:30 am and worked late and got the same $2.00. He felt that he should have had a little more. Carl Johansen, the meat man out on the Buckley highway, has started a grocery store out at his place. He had his big opening yesterday. Mr. Kleemier got sore at the Radcliff folks and went back to live with the Burn’s. This happened the day before the folks left for Minneapolis. Blossoms are breaking out on the cherry tree, the pear tree should be in bloom by the end of the week. A robin decided to build his nest this morning. He came in to the woodshed when I went after kindling early this morning. He was looking for string. I threw out a lot of string. He picked up big bunches of it each trip. I tore a small rag into strips and he took one of them. After he put a lot of it up in the cherry tree he started building the nest. I think that he finished it late this afternoon. Mother robin just sat nearby and didn’t seem to pay any attention to the home building at all. We went to church Wednesday evening and to Sunday school today. Jim didn’t stay for church. Jim cooked so many spuds Thursday that I was only able to finish them this noon. We had cube steaks for supper and dinner today. We are getting along fine but won’t mind having the 1st of May roll along. We dusted this morning and Jim ran the cleaner. We keep the dishes washed up all the time. Jim went to the show this afternoon. He is doing some homework now. Harold was over Wednesday evening but hasn’t been here since. I saw him in the store yesterday. I think he went up in the mountains last night. We couldn’t find any tuna fish so had to buy some more. We had bananas at 4# for 25¢ yesterday. We were going to buy some but I didn’t put them away and by evening both stores were out of bananas so we didn’t have any. We have not cut down on the milk. Jim says it’s swell milk. We must have wood tomorrow or we won’t have any heat or meals. I can’t help wondering if the roads in So. Dakota & Minnesota were all snow and ice. I am sending a clipping about the apple festival at Wenatchee April 30. Maybe you folks can take it in on your return trip. That will give you a chance to go over Bluett Pass, but you may like Minneapolis so well by that time that you won’t want to come back here. We have the Texaco program on now. It is funny tonight. If we had had a car we would have gone down to the beach. Very low tides today and all week. Cliff went to Everett last night to go fishing. Mr. & Mrs. Swain were going to the cottage this morning. They were not in church. Our cabin in the hills has been rented to a family that couldn’t get a house here in town. So what will we do. Just turned to the Jell-O program. Jim has just had toast and tuna fish. Received two letters from the girls Thursday and one from Helen Friday. Radcliffs were to go to Seattle this afternoon. Jim just lost three games of cribbage and says that he isn’t going to play any more. Well it is 20 of eleven here. That is 20 to 1 o’clock there. I suppose you folks have had a nice day riding around. I only left the house to bring in wood this afternoon. Jim left at 1 pm. He went up to Kachevar’s and then to the show. He didn’t get home until nearly seven o’clock. Now he wants to buy a small Kodak for $1.00 but I won’t let him do so. Jim is having a cup of cocoa. Well I will finish this in the morning and will try and get it mailed. Please write to us when you can. We will try to write also. Goodnight to you all. P.S. Did you get many miles per gallon and how far was it to Minneapolis via no. 10_. April 12th Well we had a good sleep and will now have breakfast and go to school and to work. It is raining hard. Has rained all night so things are good and wet. We hope to get some more mail today and will try to write more ourselves. Love to you all from Pop and Jim. 11:30 am 4/12 I didn’t have envelopes so put the letter in my pocket and forgot all about it until 9 o’clock and then I didn’t have the address anyway. I am home now for lunch and forgot to bring home the envelopes, but will try and get the address anyway. We received your letter mailed from Miles City. It must have thrilled Stella to stop at our old cabin at Big Timber, Montana. Stella, Harold won 8th place in the tournament. Yesterday the Jensen boy got 4th and the Peterson boys made 1st and 2nd. The Dorsheimer girl is leaving for Nebraska tomorrow morning. A young married lady wanted to go back to her home in Nebraska about 30 miles from the Dorsheimer place but couldn’t drive so the Dorsheimer girl got a free ride back for driving. The car owner’s husband works for the White River plant. Also, Swains had a nice day at the beach. They stayed all night but came home for breakfast. I am going to Puyallup with Gossards this evening to a lecture. A lot of them in Seattle and Tacoma this week. Well goodby, Pop.