Tuesday, November 25, 2008

628 6/28/1944 Helen Carlson to Albert Erwin

Helen Carlson
Box 1310, Knoxville, Tennessee
Wednesday, June 28, 1944
Albert Erwin
Box 44, Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Pop,
This is Mother’s second night on the train and I hope she is getting some rest and maybe she can get a good sleep in Portland. I know she will be glad to get home. You folks had another anniversary and I don’t know where my mind has been as I didn’t even send a card but I guess this moving and heat has been too much.
I bought some new pen points today but I don’t think they work so good. We had a wonderful hard rain tonight and it cooled things off. The temperature has been ranging around a hundred almost every day since I have been here. Most of the nights cool off but the other night it was 95 at midnight.
Betty Davy, a woman from Lake Charles whose husband is already here, can’t get train reservations so is taking the day coach up here with a baby and five year-old child. I don’t see how she will manage. Mother met her so will be interested. Betty also foolishly expressed her things to Knoxville instead of the reservation which is Oak Ridge. She wired her husband that and now he doesn’t know how he will get the things here from Knoxville. Elmer just told me thought that her husband got it fixed up today. Everything is so complicated here you have to do everything right according to regulations. If you break even a minor traffic law on the reservation they take your license away for a certain length of time.
We certainly got wonderful service here. Yesterday my kitchen sinks plugged up. I have double sinks, one is real deep so can be used for washing clothes. Elmer called the plumbers when he got to work this morning and they were out here by 9:30. They also gave me plugs for the sinks. I had been stuffing pieces of rags in the drain. Grease had caused it to stop up so I asked the plumbers if I should stop washing dishes in the sink and they said that’s what the sinks were for and they were handy to repair things.
Say, Pop, Mom left her pin here and when I noticed it on the dresser the fastener was broken. I thought I had fixed it but it didn’t hold so I took it to the jewelers today on the reservation but they don’t have a repair man so I am going to take it into Knoxville. it will just take a few minutes to fix and I’ll send it as soon as it is fixed up.
Elmer bought some paint so is going to fix our floors. They are awful but will look nice if they are painted. We have an unpainted kitchen table and chairs and Elmer has been spending his evenings getting them painted.
They are working on our road so it is awfully noisy with all the tractors and big trucks. Mom can tell you about that. After she left we had some rest from the noise but it started in again today. I hope they put something on the road so it won’t be so dusty.
What do you think of Dewey for President? I think he would be better than Roosevelt.
The baby and Jimmie are both in bed and I think I will go too. Elmer’s father has been so sick they were on the verge of sending for Elmer but he is improving now but will be in the hospital a long time. He had appendicitis and then got infection. I’m certainly glad you didn’t have to rely on doctors.
Goodnight for now Pop. Wish I knew what hotel Mom will be staying in at Portland.
Love, Helen

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