726 3/23/1942 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson Box 582 Newburyport, Massachusetts Monday, March 23, 1942

Sadie Erwin 1120 Cole St., Enumclaw, Washington

Plum Island Dear Folks, I just finished writing in my ledger and I like to keep track of what we spend because it is fun comparing each month and this way we know where our money goes too. I got my permanent today and am so glad I have it and it seems to have turned out pretty good. It is a machine-less, which is the only kind they give, at least in the beauty shop where I went. It cost 5.50. I had quite a bit cut off since there was some old permanent left but it will be nicer this summer not to have it too long. I went to the beauty shop at ten thirty this morning and didn’t get out of there until almost quarter to three so hurried over to the doctor’s then. There were eight people ahead of me waiting to see him too so when I counted that many I left and tomorrow I will be able to get in earlier so I hope I won’t have to wait. It tried to snow a little today but not much came down and it is nice out tonight and seems to be warming up. I walked down to the water to throw my garbage in after supper and just had a sweater on and was warm enough. It certainly is nice here on the Island but, as you said in your letter, so many worse things are going on then just having to move to some other place that I will enjoy it while we are here and if we have to leave I’ll just make up my mind to like it wherever we go. Mr. McArn, an engineer from the office in Boston, is coming down tomorrow as he often does to work out in the field with Elmer and George and he will have some more news for us about what the boss, Mr. Radway, had to say about our moving so we are all anxious to hear what he has to say. I had a nice letter from you today. Saturday I mentioned to Elmer how it was 4 months ago that night that I had left Enumclaw so I had thought about it too. I also realized that Sandra was four months old and it seems like the time is going so fast. Today in the beauty shop one of the operators was pregnant too. One of the customers had just had a baby and she said it was so terrible that she would never go through it again. It makes me mad when people talk like that, especially when they can see someone they are talking to is going to have one, but even so I think it would be much nicer if people said it wasn’t so bad, don’t you? By the way Glad and Stella talk there is nothing to be afraid of. It is too bad that the Hoeys couldn’t come up for dinner Sunday. I hope you had a nice time with Stella and Harold and did you get to play cards. It is nice Gladys left the buggy there for Stella to use. I am beginning to wish that I bought a buggy instead of a bassinette so I could go for walks with the baby when the weather is nice. Maybe I can get one later on though. Does Mrs. Radcliffe come into your place now sometimes to read? I will think of the thought you wrote about to think of in the morning. I think it is a good one. I do read the lesson every day, but didn’t today because I had to leave for town so early. I wonder if Gladys writes to Jim much now. Did you tell her he wished she would write more often. If you didn’t you better tell her and maybe it will bring the same results as it did when you told me, because I write to him a lot now. I imagine she has been kind of up in the air lately about Cully, though, and I hope he will be getting along all right now that the operation is over. I surely hope they can get out to the cabin because it is really perfect there and they can rest and just enjoy a wonderful summer. I bet you are having nice spring weather even if it is rainy a lot of days it still probably smells and looks like spring. I think of you folks and Enumclaw all the time and sometime I know we will get out there to live. I was wondering if it is worthwhile having kids because by the time they get over being a lot of bother and worry and expense they leave home. I guess there is a lot more to it than just that though. I was thinking about it though because I stopped over at Ducret’s this afternoon on my way home from town and Doris was just about crazy because the boys have been in the house all day for two days in fact, on account of the measles, and they were running around and fighting and making a lot of noise and Doris said she could hardly wait until they went back to school again. Walkers are Ducret’s landlords and they live in the cottage right next to Ducret’s. They moved down Saturday and Mr. Walker and George and Elmer are all air raid wardens for Plum Island so Thursday night when we have the blackout Mrs. Walker and Doris and I are going to get together over at Ducret’s. The blackout is only going to last for half an hour. Elmer is asleep on the davenport again. He usually sleeps for awhile after supper because coming in from the cold air outside and then eating always makes him sleepy. When he walks all day it makes him kind of tired too but he would rather work outside than in the office all the time. I had smelts for supper tonight and they tasted real good. I am going to have fish chowder again some night this week. I bought oil today and got a whole tank full which is 50 gallons. The paper said no more oil was going to be shipped here now but that there was enough to supply everyone for fuel for the winter. We have to cook with oil too though when the weather is warm so I don’t know what they will do about that but when we have to stop heating the house it will cut the oil down to almost nothing so maybe there will be plenty. Well Folks, I am going to stop for now and I am going to write to Ora Dell Allen right now since I didn’t Sunday like I thought I would. After I write to her I may get a letter written to Gladys too. I ordered a housecoat through the catalogue to have when I am in the hospital. I got a real pretty washable print one for only a dollar something. Around a dollar sixty I think it was. That is a lot cheaper than I could get in any of the stores and it is supposed to be fast colors and won’t shrink so I don’t think I made a mistake in getting a cheap one do you. I also ordered two nightgowns, thinking I would have them in the hospital but in this hospital they want you to wear theirs so I am glad I got them anyway because I need them. I’m glad too that I don’t have to take them to the hospital. Well Folks, I will write more tomorrow. Have you played any pinochle lately? With Love, Helen P. S. I just finished Ora Dell’s letter and I’m going to send it airmail so she will know I haven’t forgotten about her.