201 1/13/1949 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson 4008 Randall Avenue, St. Louis Park, Minneapolis 16, Minnesota Thursday, January 13, 1949

Sadie Erwin Box 44, Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks: I was cleaning out boxes and found this old paper Elmer used to use so will make good use of it now. Your nice letter just came and I was just going to fix Mary and me some lunch but since she is playing down in the basement with Karen I will start a letter to you. You are having colder weather than we are. For the last few days the temperature was low but it didn't get below zero in Minneapolis. We missed two or three awful cold waves. Yesterday and today have been just beautiful. The temperature now is around 30 and there is not much snow so it seems just like spring. I cleaned the house this morning and then had a bath and got cleaned up and ran out to see if the old car starts and it does so I'm going someplace this afternoon but haven't decided where yet. The car hasn't started all week and last night I was invited to a bridge party with just girls and Elmer was working and I sure needed the car so Pearce gave me a push and it started o.k. I had worn the battery down during the cold days trying to start it. Elmer is going back to the U starting next week taking an extension course for several weeks. It is two nights a week. Frances Woodfill called last night and said I just had to start going to the gym Wednesday nights because they are going to discontinue the sessions if more don't turn out so I told her if I could get baby sitters o.k. I wanted to. The new house is going up right next door to us. I'll be glad to have that one in between. Poor Grandma, though, I feel so sorry for her. She is in such a mess and can't find things she needs and no one will listen to her troubles so she comes over here and I let her get it all out of her system. Florence called this morning and told me her mother said I was the only one in the bunch who treated her really nice. I asked Florence why did they all treat her like a child when she needed more than anything to be treated like a normal person and Florence said they are just so used to treating her that way that they don't think anything of it. Elmer is glad too that I am nice to her. He said he would just soon fight with any of his family if the cause came up but he did feel sorry for his mother. We went to Mr. Pope's funeral. Mrs. Pope carried on better than any of the others. She didn't even cry but the others, especially Eden, were terribly broken up about it and Wally said they thought Mrs. Pope was prepared for it because everyone but the others in the family could see him failing. Eden and Wally were invited over here this coming Saturday night so I'll have to call her to see if they still feel like coming. Clarence and his wife and boy came up from Texas. Clarence is so thin I hardly recognized him but we had a nice talk at the funeral parlor the night before. Everyone is wondering what Mrs. Pope will do and who will get their nice new Buick since Mrs. Pope doesn't drive. Mrs. Pope will sell it if she wants to avoid any trouble, although none of them would probably say anything about it. I had the people over whose house we were at New Year's Eve, last Sunday night for supper. They have four children. I think Stella would like a change because she said one time that as much as she liked Enumclaw and her friends and being near you folks she always thought it would be fun to move around a little. She would still be near you folks too. The two calendars came the same day as your letter to the children. Does it ever look good to look on my wall and see Erwin's Grocery, Enumclaw printed there. Thanks very, very much. The slip you sent me is just wonderful, Mother. It is so nice I am wearing it just when I'm dressing up. I gave myself a Toni the other day and it certainly turned out swell. Seems nice to have curly hair again. Selma had a snow suit of her little girl's she said she would sell me for three dollars. I said o.k., I didn't especially need it for Mary, but then in the wet and muddy spring the kids do need changes so I thought I might just as well get it, although I didn't see why she had to sell it to me because I drive her around an awful lot and take care of her baby and everybody just seems to give their old stuff away and I wouldn't think of charging for the things I give away. Anyway that was o.k. so then we were going in together on the flowers for Mr. Pope so I went over to Selma's and called the Florist from there and ordered a five dollar spray. That meant 2.50 for Selma minus the three dollars I would owe her for the snow suit so then I would owe her only 50¢. So then she said well the snow suit is really worth a dollar more. I was really floored at anyone being so awfully cheap, but I said alright, I didn't really need the snow suit in the first place, but if you want another dollar for it I will give it to you. The whole thing is Al. He is doing pretty good and he just bought a nice cottage up North but he is the tightest thing you ever saw and he is teaching Selma those things. Elmer said I should have told her to keep the snow suit or tell her something but I thought the way I did it should make her realize she wasn't doing right. Then right after that she asked to wear my new dress before I had even worn it but I was going to wear it the night she needed it. Now she just called and asked me to drive her all over town looking for wall paper because she wants her upstairs papered. Al is home today too. I told her the car wouldn't start. Selma and I have been friends for so long that I would feel awful if anything spoiled our friendship but I'll just be on my guard from now on and not be taken for a sucker. Al is already asking me to drive Selma up to the cottage in the summer and then Elmer said he would probably charge me for the gas because he would figure it would be wonderful to me to get up to his cottage. Dolores was to be operated on this morning but I haven't heard yet how she is getting along. I feel sorry for Bob because this operation will cost a lot of money and they are having such a tough time of things anyway but I don't care much what happens to Dolores. She planned to go out to Florence's to recuperate but Florence called this morning and is sick with the flu and doesn't want Dolores so there will be trouble there. Grandma said yesterday, just wait until Florence and Dolores spend a week together. She said she knew exactly how they would get along with each other. Try to get a picture of Gary with his curls cut off. I am so anxious to see him. Well Folks, I had better stop and get some lunch so I can get out of here for a while. Jimmy gets home at 3:30 so I always see that I am home by then. We had P.T.A. last Tuesday night. Marian Bohm, the girl from Tennessee, and I are room mothers and then the four other first grades had their room mothers and a couple other mothers to make the coffee and serve the lunch. We were all in the kitchen and we got the coffee right on and got everything ready so then all stood around and talked. The meeting was just outside the kitchen in the cafeteria room. None of us women had known each other previously so we all had a lot to talk about and pretty soon the president of the P.T.A. came in the kitchen and told us to be quiet. He said we were talking so loud that the parents couldn't hear the speaker. We laughed so hard when he walked out I almost wet my pants. Well here I have written a regular book again so will stop for now but will write again soon. With Love, Helen I just read this over and want to explain about that snow suit deal. The snow suit is at least five years old and worn very thin in the knees and seat and Selma wanted to sell it to me the winter we first came up here but then decided her girl could still get some use out of it for play. I only paid eight dollars for Mary's wonderful storm coat, which was on sale, so I don't think Selma did right, do you?