506 7/1/1943 Helen Carlson to Albert Erwin

Helen Carlson 401 Alexander, Monroe, Louisiana Thursday, July 01, 1943

Albert Erwin 1120 Cole St., Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Pop, How are you getting along all by yourself. Do you fix all your own meals and pack your lunch and everything? Jimmie just went to bed for a nap and when he wakes up we are going downtown so I wanted to get a few lines written to you so I could mail it then. Yesterday the colored woman Annie was over. I was invited out for lunch so had Mrs. Wilson’s little 14 year old girl come over and stay with Jimmie. Mrs. Wilson is the woman who usually takes care of him at night and her daughter’s name is Addie. Annie was just as mad as she could be because I had Addie Ruth over here to stay with Jimmie. I came home to the biggest mess. Addie Ruth was almost crying and Annie was going around here looking so important. It turned out that Annie wouldn’t let Addie Ruth have a thing to do with Jimmie. She wouldn’t let her feed him or even touch him. Finally when Addie Ruth insisted on taking care of Jimmie, Annie just picked him up and carried him upstairs and asked the lady up there if she would take care of him because Addie Ruth was mean to him. It wasn’t true at all because everyone in the building was watching to see how Jimmie was getting along and they all said that Annie was so jealous of Addie Ruth that she finally just took Jim upstairs so Addie couldn’t see him. And then she made Addie Ruth sit right in the kitchen with her until I came back. If Addie had been older of course she would never had done it but she didn’t know what to do. After hearing all about it when I got home I fired Annie. I had been thinking about it for a long time because some mornings Annie would come over feeling crabby and she would kind of snap at me if I asked her something and I decided I didn’t want her around at all anymore. The laundries are so busy here that it takes at least two weeks before you can get your clothes back and that is one reason why I kept Annie because she did all the washing but now I am going to do it myself. I think by washing every morning it won’t be hard because it won’t pile up on me then. I washed quite a few things this morning and didn’t mind it at all. I did that washing and cleaned my house and bathed Jim and all those things and I am all through now and it is only ten o’clock. I wonder how Mom is getting along in Portland. I bet you will be glad when she gets back. Elmer is going to write to Bill Gossard tonight and thank him for his letter. The superintendent of this company had to go and take his physical yesterday so maybe he will have to go into the army, since this job is practically all finished. Elmer likes working for him so much and was hoping we would go on the same job with him. We might still get out to Washington though but I’m just waiting to see what happens and not planning on anything. I sure would love to see you all and get out there to live. Jimmie has started throwing regular tantrums when he can’t have everything he wants. He gets down on the floor and kicks and screams and I never could stand that in a child so whenever he does that I just pick him up and put him in his bed and make him stay there until he stops. He is getting at the age now where I have to be careful and not let him get too spoiled because they can act so horrid when they don’t get any discipline at all, don’t you think. Well Pop, I better stop and get ready to go to town so we can go as soon as Jimmie wakes up and gets dressed. Did you have a nice Father’s Day? You had to spend your anniversary without Mom, didn’t you. Don’t get lonesome and I’ll write more later. With Love, Helen