489 5/11/1943 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson 401 Alexander, Monroe, Louisiana Tuesday, May 11, 1943

Sadie Erwin 1120 Cole St., Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks, Here I am at Sarah’s house and the boys are in bed so I thought it was about time I got a letter written to you. I know I’ll make a bunch of mistakes but I won’t go back and correct them because I don’t want them to know what a bum typewriter I am. Sarah’s mother and brother came after us last Saturday and we loaded the baby beds on top of the car and it took us about four hours to arrive here. They don’t live right in Shreveport but in a small town named Vivian about thirty miles on the other side of Shreveport. It is a very nice town about the size of Enumclaw and it reminds me so much of it. I didn’t send you the address because every time I talked to Sarah I neglected asking her what it was and then I figured it was too late to send it to you and for you to write me here. Yesterday Sarah and I and her brother drove into Shreveport for lunch and walked around and looked at some of the stores but it started to rain real hard so we came home. Jimmie has been such a good boy the whole time we have been here. He has even been taking his naps and going to bed at night without being rocked because I have been keeping him up later at night and also have cut out the morning nap so now he is so sleepy when it is time to go to bed he is asleep when I get him undressed. I almost forgot to tell the main news. This job has been discontinued so we will be moving just any time. It may be in two weeks or it may be two months but at any rate it will be real soon. They decided that they didn’t need the plant any larger because the part they just completed seems to be turning out all the ammonia that is needed. Elmer will probably be kept on a little longer to wind up things but even that won’t take very long. Saturday they laid off about five hundred field men and not the engineers and all the others will be going. None of us have any idea where we will be sent but Herb called Sarah Sunday night and said the head man was coming to the office yesterday so they should have heard something by now and Herb and Elmer are going to call us up tomorrow night so I hope they will have some news for us. I hope we won’t have to go right away but when we go I certainly hope it will be at least toward the West Coast. If I could at least get kind of close Jimmie and I would come home while Elmer found us a place to live. The first night we were here we put Tug and Jimmie to bed in the same room but they kept waking each other up so we had to move one of them out. They scared the life out of each other by crying at the top of their voices and were frightened like everything to hear someone else making as much noise as the other one. Jimmie walks all the time now and has so much fun and is the best kid. It just makes me sick that you haven’t seen him yet and I would like to see my two new little nieces too. Sarah’s father hasn’t been a bit well since we have been here because he has heart trouble and it has him in the back and arm this time so he can hardly get around. If he were well he would remind me so much of you, Pop. Both her folks are nice. Well Folks, I will try and write more before I leave but it is hard to get much done. They are going to drive us back Saturday. Today is Glad’s birthday and I hope she had a happy one. When I get back to Monroe I am going to write to both her and Stella. That is, if we don’t have to move right away. Did you have a nice Mother’s Day, Mom. I certainly thought of you a lot but I do all the time. Of you too, Pop and all of you. I’ll stop for now so goodnight but I’ll write more later.