504 6/30/1943 Helen Carlson to Albert Erwin

Helen Carlson 401 Alexander, Monroe, Louisiana Wednesday, June 30, 1943

Albert Erwin 1120 Cole St., Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Pop, Tomorrow is July 1st, so the summer really is going fast. We had a regular fall day all day today and it certainly seemed wonderful. It is still nice and cool out tonight so we will have a good sleep. I went to a luncheon today and someone is always stopping to say goodbye as the crew is leaving fast now. Elmer is the only draftsman left now and they are keeping him here to do the last minute things that come up. Elmer says he has hardly anything to do and he gets out at four o’clock now and is home by four thirty so we have a nice long evening but it cuts the pay check down a lot too. I paid our rent again yesterday for another month and we expect to be here even longer than that but Elmer said he doesn’t know what he will be doing out there all that time. Lots of the men are quitting this company to take other jobs. Elmer’s boss, not the head boss though, is quitting and taking some job in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I don’t think we will go to Lake Charles if they want us to because it really is awful there. The company doesn’t want to pay any higher salaries down there and there just aren’t places to live and it is hard to even get food. One man from this office who was sent down there came back over the weekend and said you couldn’t even get a loaf of bread unless you got to the store the first thing in the morning. Of course, Elmer said if they really make it worth his while to go there he will go but he doesn’t know yet what they intend to do or where they want him to go. We would like to stay here all summer now as long as it has been this long because it is awful traveling in this heat and would be especially bad now with Jimmie. It won’t be much fun traveling with him anyway because he gets tired of riding when we just go for little rides. Tonight we went out for supper and then went for a ride. We went over to the colored woman’s house to pick up the laundry. There were three little colored children there so I took Jimmie out of the car and brought him over to them. They all came around Jimmie but he hung onto me like everything. He must have noticed they were black because when he sees white children he is so anxious to be with them. Last night when Elmer got home from work he and Jimmie and I went swimming. One of these nights Elmer has promised to take me out and play golf. I have only played once and that was a long time ago but I would love to try it again. We will be able to do lots of things now that he gets home so early. It used to be we just ate and then it was almost time to go to bed. Say, Pop, when I sent those sugar stamps I sent two of the wrong ones. I should have sent two 15 and two 16 ones, but instead of sending any 16 ones I sent the two 14 ones and they aren’t any good yet. I’ll send the right ones and you can send the 14 ones back or keep them until later. I may not ever need them. I just thought maybe they wouldn’t be sugar stamps but be used for coffee or shoes but probably not. I had a nice letter from Mom and she is enjoying her stay in Portland. I think it is swell she got to go because I know she has always wanted to take the class and it will be a nice vacation for her too. Well, Pop, I hope you are getting along fine. Mom said you were to spend the weekend with Glad and Cully. I hope the weather was nice. It won’t be long before Mom is home and I know you will be glad. I think I will write to her now so will stop but will write some more later. With Love, Helen