234 5/12/1949 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson 4008 Randall Avenue, St. Louis Park, Minneapolis 16, Minnesota Thursday, May 12, 1949

Sadie Erwin Box 44, Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks: Mary and I just finished lunch so I am going to write to you right now so I can mail this when I go out. Muriel Corl called this morning and invited me over for coffee this afternoon so I'm wasting the whole day as this morning I was just going to get busy and scrub my living room rug when Charlotte Murphy, who lives down the road from me, called and asked me down for coffee so of course I decided to do the rug when I came home but stayed too long at Charlotte's. I did get the kitchen and bathroom walls washed yesterday so have accomplished something this week. Today they are putting the gas line in along our road so that means we will be able to convert over to gas heat which we are very anxious to do and we also want to change all our electrical appliances over to gas. I am so glad the line is going in now as our refrigerator isn't going to last too much longer and we hated to buy an electric one so now we will be able to get a gas one when we have to. I have no business planning on coming out this summer but I still am and then this fall maybe we can buckle down and save money. We will just have to get a car by next spring as the one we have is just falling apart. It still looks alright but is just a wreck. I will be very glad to see Mrs. Martel. Jimmy will still be in school so I don't see how I can get down to meet her train in the morning but if she would care to take a cab out to the house I'd love to have her. I thought we could have breakfast after she gets here and then get right out and I'll drive her around the city to see the lakes and things and then we'll go downtown and go up to the roof of the Foshay Tower which is supposed to be quite interesting to visitors and then have lunch at Dayton's Sky Room, and then I'll take her down to meet her train. I saw Johnny Hinch last night as our bridge club met. She came over to my place early before we left for Charlotte's where the party was. Johnny said if she ever gets out to Seattle again she would never even bother calling Betty Anderson. She said Betty didn't treat them one bit nice and kept telling her how she and Andy had outgrown their neighbors in her other house. She said they, over in the other neighborhood, were just common working people but here in the new place the people were all very wealthy and had so much, and she said of course since Andy was head of production and bringing in so much money they just had to better themselves both for their sake as well as the children's. When they were all out that Saturday night, Kenny and Johnny were so hungry that they all stopped at a Chinese joint for food and Kenny paid for all of them. Well I know when I get out there I'm not going out of my way to see Betty. If I'm at Glad's and Betty wants to run over to see me that would be fine but otherwise I don't care if I see her or not. Mother I would just love to go in with you for one of those teeter babies for Gladys. I haven't known what to get her and I couldn't see buying a little dress or something like that when I was sure she probably has so many of them already. I know Gladys must think I'm a fine one for not sending her anything yet but that's the way it is. Tell me how much to send you for that little thing. I would send you five dollars right now but maybe that won't cover my share as I have no idea how much they are, but please let me go in on it with you. We are getting our private line this month, telephone, that is and I am so glad that I won't have to be bothered with Grandma C. anymore. Florence's husband just finished building a nice house out in Richfield. He told me if I could sell it for him he would pay me 500 dollars. I don't know how I can sell it but am working on Kenny and Johnny as they want a house but they aren't too keen on Richfield, because they think the taxes are so high. The reason for this awful paper is because I forgot to buy some yesterday but will have to do that when I go out today. I'm glad Hazel seems to be getting better. Mr. Praull's funeral was yesterday. I sent flowers from us. Elmer worked last night so I took the kids over to Lake Harriet for our picnic supper. I saw Roberta Praull's boy over in the playground there. I had only seen him once before but he looks so much like Roberta I recognized him right away. He and his boyfriend played with Jimmy and Peter. Then a few minutes later along come Eden and Wally and their girls. Mrs. Pope is acting worse all the time and she only has the first of June to put up with them. She might be sorry for it someday. I just noticed by your letter that Mrs. Martel plans to fly. At that rate the airline limousine, or however you spell it, will bring her right into downtown Minneapolis. She'll be let out just a couple blocks from the bus depot and could walk right over there and get a bus for my place and I could meet her down at our bus stop. I could even meet her downtown since she wouldn't get there until about ten at least in the morning. Well I washed out a cotton dress to wear over to Muriel's so I better stop and iron that and Mary and I are going to have showers so had better stop for now and start to get ready. I hope you are all fine and I'll get another letter written soon. With Love, Helen