565 3/10/1944 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson 1414 Cole St., Lake Charles, Louisiana Friday, March 10, 1944

Sadie Erwin Box 44, Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks, Elmer and Jimmie have gone to bed so I will write to you. It rained all day long today and was kind of cold out. Jimmie has been playing outside so much he got tired of staying in but it will probably be nice tomorrow. Last night I made a batch of fudge for Jim and bought some cookies and life savers so got a box off to him today. I hope he is still there. No it was the night before last I made the candy. Last night Jessie was over for dinner and then we all went over to Haugeto’s. Mr. Haugeto was Elmer’s boss in Monroe. Elmer says all the men out at work are sure this job will be over in two or three months and they all expect to be out of a job then as Kellogg has no new ones. As the other jobs all over are finishing up all the men are being sent to this one so it is being finished fast. I think something will turn up though but I hope it isn’t the army. Jessie just had a card from her husband with his APO address so he is on his way across. He left from San Francisco. Frances stopped out the other night with the bills we owed for the last month we were there. We were wondering why we hadn’t heard from her. I asked Elmer if seeing her again made his heart beat a little faster but he said it made him sick to look at her. I think she had a lot of nerve to even bring the bills over but I guess she doesn’t mind how unfair she is. Since we weren’t there the whole month she said we just owed half and that was over eleven dollars. I’m so glad we don’t live there anymore. Her sister and brother-in-law were there for two weeks so it was swell we could get out before they came. Gillards, the ones who own this apartment, don’t bother us at all and are awfully nice when we do see them. They are so anxious for us to be satisfied with the apartment and we are. The girl who has my bassinette is leaving for New York next week to join her husband. Her baby was born sick and is three months old and only weighs ten pounds. I feel sorry for the baby because it looks so pitiful and it is kept under sleeping pills all the time. The illness is called spasms of the colon. This girl shouldn’t even be going because her husband may be shipped out before she arrives and she has no warm clothes for the baby or her six year old boy. Her sister’s husband works with Elmer and her folks are here and a couple other sisters but she says no one wants her. She is a peculiar girl though and she calls her mother a shitface, even to people she hardly knows. Jimmie says he doesn’t want a baby in the house and he doesn’t want to hold one and then he always adds he just doesn’t like babies. He calls himself baby all the time so I decided since he is getting bigger I better get him over it because to outsiders it probably doesn’t sound a bit cute. Today he said, “Mommy, come help baby.” I told him he was my big boy and he shook his head and said, “no, I’m just a little boy.” If Jim leaves soon Mom do you think you’ll be able to come down? Jim said he might get a furlough first so it would be swell if you both could come here. If you do come down you must not even consider the day coach. I’m going to find out about the price of tickets one of these days. Glad and Cully will be on their way out there before long and it doesn’t seem possible that the time can go so fast. I’ve meant to ask you if you have ever noticed Jimmie’s birth certificate in one of the drawers or suitcases. All it is is a card in an envelope. It seems as though I had it in that stationary box of mine because it was sent to me while I was out there. Some day when you have time and feel like it would you send me the few summer dresses I left. There’s the white linen skirt, yellow linen suit, a blue skirt and a yellow checked dress. They are probably in that suitcase. I really have plenty of time to get my clothes in shape but I get that hurried feeling and I want everything in order before the baby comes as I won’t have so much time afterwards. I’ve already started packing the woolens away. Well Folks I guess I’ll go to bed now so goodnight for now. Love, Helen