118 8/29/1947 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson 3409 Fremont Ave. South, Minneapolis 8, Minnesota Friday, August 29, 1947

Sadie Erwin Box 44, Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks, Today after lunch the kids and I went for a ride around Lake of the Isles and Cedar. It was nice and we stopped a lot and got out and enjoyed the cool breeze. After our ride around the lakes we stopped at Birche's drugstore where you, mother, and Rose and I stopped in that night for ice cream. Who should wait on me but Gwen Winters and she certainly has been having a sad time of it. She said John just suddenly quit his job in June and said he wasn't going to work any more. He wants to be a writer, so he just sits around the house all day. He won't even do any housework and won't even take good care of the little boy. She said she took the job at the drugstore so they would get enough money for food. She said she could go back to teaching but she knows if she makes enough money to support them, John never will ever think about getting a job again. She has begged him to get at least a part time job but he won't do it. She said though that she is ready to leave him now, and after she leaves him she will then go back to teaching and take care of her self and little boy. She said Rose felt just terrible about it too. Today Rose had taken the little boy with her out to the lake to spend the day with Helen. Gwen said when she gets home from work the little boy is filthy dirty and hungry and the house a mess and John is still just sitting. He says he is trying to think of ideas and can't be bothered with anything else. Gwen also goes out baby sitting on Saturday nights and never gets home then until two or three in the morning. I feel so sorry for her I wish there was something I could do. I would have taken care of the little boy all summer if I had heard about this sooner. I am going to take care of Dorothy Cochrane's little boy when she goes to the hospital in a couple of weeks to have her second. I offered to do it because no one else did, and she didn't know what she was going to do. The father will bring him over in the morning and will pick him up when he comes from work. He is a nice little kid and I know my two will be glad to have him to play with. The house isn't progressing much now as we need the plasterers and all buildings are held up now on account of the plaster lath which is very scarce. If we get in by Christmas we will be lucky. Mrs. Carlson is going from bad to worse and the girls think it won't be so very long before she has to go back to Rochester. They said this is the way it was the last time they had to take her back. I am getting along fine with her but Elmer won't eat here and he and his mother aren't speaking. She has to have one person to pick on and that one person was me, so Elmer got her mad at him so she would lay off of me and have it in for him, so she is just swell to me now, as long as she can be mad at Elmer. I think it is terrible that we ever moved in here because I feel responsible for her having a setback but they all say it would have happened anyway. She doesn't get spells but horrible to be around. She even goes to neighbors, who we don't even know, and tells them terrible things about the family. Elmer wants to move out to Florence's, and they want us to do it too. If we should do that I'll go back to work and Florence will take care of Mary and Jimmy. I would love to go back to work but it would be a lot of bother moving out there and the kids and I are getting along all right here so I think we might just as well stay, for a while longer anyway. Mother, your birthday is next Saturday. I went all over town to try to find some combination suits like you wear and there weren't any but Dayton's put my name down on the list for two pair when their next shipment comes in. So the present I am sending you now is just to fill in until the other comes and is for both you and Pop. How have you all been. I haven't heard from any of you in quite a while. I bought my dining room set the other day and it is just exactly what I was looking for. It is a Duncan Phyfe, drop-leaf table, solid walnut, and I got it for sixty five dollars. It was second hand, of course, but not a scratch on it and looks just like new. The four chairs have white leather seats. I finally got a present sent to Jim and Ruth last week. I hope it goes through o.k. I have a baby present to mail to Ruth now for a shower present. Our car isn't running so good again so I have to take it to the garage Tuesday. I hope they can fix it up without finding too much wrong with it. Last night I took Mary and Jimmy out to Florence's and then met Selma downtown for dinner. Elmer was working until eight o'clock so we picked him up then. Well Folks, I had better stop for now but I hope everything is fine and I will write more soon. With Love, Helen