724 3/21/1942 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson Box 582 Newburyport, Massachusetts Saturday, March 21, 1942

Sadie Erwin 1120 Cole St., Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks, I’ve been working most of the morning cleaning the house up but am through now and want to get a letter written to you so we can mail it when we go into town today. Today is the first day of spring and it feels like it too and everything would be so nice if only there wasn’t any war going on. I had a nice letter from you yesterday written on your yellow paper and I was glad to get it of course. Last night we saw Blakey and Esther again over at Esther’s house. We were going to play cards but then her aunt and uncle came over so we just talked and she made another nice lunch. She and Blakey are coming over here some night next week so I’ll have to be sure and have something on hand all week to make a lunch out of because she has served such nice ones both times we have been over there. The doctor is back from his vacation today so I am going in to see him this afternoon. I certainly haven’t much longer to go now. I don’t think I will like the ward because in there the patients can only have company two times a week so I won’t even get to see Elmer any more than that but he can bring my mail to the hospital anyway. A private room costs so awfully much that I can stand a ward for only two weeks don’t you think. Yes I received Ora Dell Allen’s letter when we were in Boston and I have been keeping it and every day I think I will write to her but so far haven’t done it. I will get a letter written to her sometime today or tonight for sure, though, because she wrote such a nice long one to me. We are going to stay home tonight so I hope to get a lot of things done. I guess I told you I ordered a lining for my bassinette and it came the other day. I also have drawn a ribbon through it and have a big bow and it looks so pretty. The little dog in that picture I sent belongs to some people in back of us but seems to be always over here. He is a cute little dog I think. Yes we hear from Bob quite often. We didn’t used to hear from him much but since he came to see us he has been writing a lot and I always try to write often to him too since it means a lot for them to get letters. I had a letter from my friend Peach in Minneapolis and she told me she was married the first of this month and I was awfully surprised to hear it. She went with Chuck for so long but married someone I don’t know. I wonder if Bill Corl got married this month as he said he was going to. There is a little bedroom upstairs right across from ours and I have been fixing it up for the baby to have. I have the curtains soaking now and every day get something more done in there so it will be ready in time. This place was pretty dirty when we moved in but I am slowly getting things cleaned up. Well Folks I had better stop and get some lunch started because I want to get to the doctor’s as early as we can so I won’t have to sit and wait for a lot of people ahead of me. I’ll write more tonight or tomorrow. With Love, Helen P. S. Wasn’t the lesson good this week. It was one that I could understand.