186 10/15/1948 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson 4008 Randall Avenue, St. Louis Park, Minneapolis 16, Minnesota Friday, October 15, 1948

Sadie Erwin Box 44, Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks: Had a nice long letter from you yesterday and was glad to hear from you as usual. Pop, you and Jim have really put on some weight. I especially can't get over Jim weighing 200 pounds. Have either one of you weighed that much before? Well I just called Mrs. Ellsworth but she had walked down to the store so I will call her again in a few minutes. I am going to invite her over for lunch next Wednesday. I will go over after her as she isn't far from me at all. I'll go right out France and she is just a few blocks on the other side of France, and then I'll bring her home later. Elmer works that night but I'll have her over again soon so she can see Elmer too. I have always thought so much of Mrs. Ellsworth and it will seem like old times to see her again. I'll have to get up a bridge game for her too. She played a lot in Texas so would probably still like to. Leila's daughter answered the phone and she sounded so grown up that I have been trying to think how old she is now. She must be getting close to twenty but it doesn't seem possible. Pop, you should be here right now at this time because we are having just absolutely beautiful weather. The nights are snappy but the days are bright and sun-shiny and warm. If you can pull yourself away from the store you better get right back here. It would be wonderful to see you and the rest would do you a lot of good. We could take in some football games and do just lots of things. I surely hope to get out there next summer. I sure hope you will get back Pop. Oh, yes your birthday is Sunday and I have thought about it all month and your birthday card will be late. I'm going to buy both your and mother's present this week and I don't know why I am so slow about things. I am doing my Christmas shopping now though so I will have that done in plenty of time. Just since Jimmy started to school this fall Mary has really started in playing with her dolls. Those lovely soft dolls you folks have sent her at different times are her favorites. She just loves them. Anyway I thought after this year she probably will never enjoy dolls as much as she does now because she will be in school so today I took her downtown with me and we went to the toy department in Donaldson's and I told her she could pick out any doll she wanted for her Christmas present. There were lovely beautiful big dolls dressed just perfectly all over that I would even like to have but she wasn't even interested in them. She even held them but they didn't appeal to her at all and she chose a little doll which cost under three dollars. I got out of that deal pretty easy. Elmer is spending his evenings working on her doll house. It will be a dandy doll house and one that will last long enough for my grandchildren to play with. And to think for little old cardboard things downtown they charge five dollars and Elmer just picked this wood up from the scrap pile and it isn't going to cost a thing. I rented an electric sewing machine and it came yesterday. I had this bunch of flour sacks that Dolores had given me some time ago so I am cutting them and hemming them up and I have loads of things I want to do. It costs six dollars a month to rent. I would love to buy one and might do it. The portables cost 80 dollars and they are just as good as the cabinet ones except they aren't the nice piece of furniture but they work the same. Well last night Mary moved upstairs to sleep. We all love it up there and I don't know why. Elmer had to go up during the night because Mary cried out and he stayed up there then and this morning he said he would like to sleep up there all the time so I suppose we all will be up there before long. For the first time we have lots of beds but still lots of times, by morning, all four of us are in the same bed. Yes, it certainly is hard to believe Ben Swain is gone. It was this same year that Bernice Swain lost her little girl too wasn't it. You hear things like that all the time and it makes you wonder why you ever gripe about anything. I didn't know the Lewis boy who passed away but that was a terrible shock to them. I don't believe he was married was he? Gee I wish I could get Elmer to drive down to the country. I hear from Aunt Mary and Aunt Ruth every week and I write to them too and they sound so nice and would like to see us and the weather is so nice for the ride but the reason Elmer hates to make the trip is on account of our tires. We're going to get the new tires but haven't had them so far but Pop, if you come, we'll have them for sure. Elmer says too that he will take off some days from work too so we can all have fun. I'll try Mrs. Ellsworth again… Well I called but didn't have a bit of luck. Evidently Mrs. Ellsworth has gotten awfully deaf. She answered the phone and couldn't understand who I wanted to talk to but I recognized her voice and finally she said yes she was Nettie but she couldn't understand who I was so after trying to understand what I was saying for a while she hung up. I'll try again after supper. Right now I just have to stop and hurry and get busy cooking but I'll let you know what luck I have after supper. With Love, Helen Later: 8 o'clock Dear Folks: Elmer brought an engineer home from work for supper. At least this fellow drove Elmer home so I asked him to stay and eat with us and now they and Jimmy are down on the floor putting up the electric train. I want to get more track and a few things for it for Christmas so they are checking it over. I just called Mrs. Ellsworth again and she was expecting me. She said she could hardly hear me at all the first time so there must have been a poor connection, but she said after she hung up she realized it was me. She sounded just fine and she is coming over next Tuesday for lunch. I am going to pick her up about 12:30. I made it Tuesday instead of Wednesday because I am anxious to see her. She said she doesn't plan to stay in Minneapolis very long as her sister in Iowa, isn't it, is not very well so she plans to go there and stay with her. Well I had better stop as I want to write a letter to Glad and tell her about my afternoon with Adeline Pearson. Did you ever meet Adeline? I wondered because she said to be sure and tell you hello but I can't remember when you met her. More later Folks: With Love, Helen