268 3/14/1949 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson 4008 Randall Avenue, St. Louis Park, Minneapolis 16, Minnesota Monday, March 14, 1949

Sadie Erwin Box 44, Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks: I really don't have anything special to write about but still it seems like I have so much to say I hardly know where to start first. A nice letter came from you today and also one from Stella. We are glad that they have decided to stay in Enumclaw. I hope Stella isn't disappointed but to sell their house there and take something else in Seattle seems a shame and Harold is doing so well there that I am glad he is staying. I think it is swell that you are buying the store. It sounds like a lot of money to pay for it but at least it is yours now, and you won't have to worry about any lease. Jan brought the boys over tonight and they and our two are in the bedroom playing some game. I fixed the room up pretty nice. We moved the studio couch in there and I put a nice big throw rug down and it looks like a nice little sitting room. I will open the studio couch up at night and by using just one bed it will save on the sheets. Mary's twin bed is still there too but she will sleep on the folding bed upstairs in Jimmy's room. Jan is paying me ten dollars a week for their food. She gave me a check for twenty dollars tonight to take care of them until the 1st and the father sends the boys their check every two weeks. They showed me a picture of him tonight and he is the best looking young fellow. He looks like he has Warnie beat all to pieces. It sure is a shame they didn't get along but I still don't know what happened or anything about it, except Jan has said they married awfully young while they were both in college. She said the father wanted her to be sure and give me his address and telephone number in Detroit in case anything happened I could get a hold of him, so he certainly seems interested in his boys. Jan brought me over a box just jammed full of clothes for Jimmy which her youngest boy had outgrown. Jackets and sweaters, pajamas and a swell cowboy suit that Jimmy will be crazy about. That certainly will offset any inconvenience I put up with. She said the boys had their own spending money. Jeannie and Phyllis, next door, are just dying to see these boys, as the boys are just a little older than the girls. I'll have to have them over some night to play monopoly or something but Jan said her boys aren't interested in girls at all. I just looked in the bedroom and all four of the kids are down on their stomachs on the floor playing some game. I'll give them some milk and donuts pretty soon and get everyone into bed as it is almost nine o'clock. Among the things that Jan brought over for Jimmy was a heavy yellow raincoat. Jimmy has a good black one but he will like the yellow one. Now that Gary is a little older I'll get a box off to him. I have a lot of things for a little older boy that he should be able to wear pretty soon. Oh, yes, I am now the very proud owner of a brand new electric portable sewing machine. I just love it. I called up last week for a rental. The man brought it and said the factory had sent ten portables to put out for rental use but they only needed six of them so were going to send the other four back and the company told them to sell them instead for the prewar price of 85 dollars. It has all the attachments and I get ten free lessons which I am going to take in the fall when Mary is in school so I can learn how to use the attachments. I paid 18 dollars down and then pay only five dollars a month and I can pay it up sooner if I want to but by paying just five a month I won't notice that. I like it so much I told Elmer I was going to bring it out there with me this summer and he said oh no, he was going to keep it here because then he knew I would come back. I bought three yards of blue wool material and have already made Mary a spring coat, a pair of slacks and had enough for a jacket. Everything turned out just swell and they are all finished except lining and I hope to get downtown soon to buy the lining. Since the 4th of July is a long holiday this year I plan to stay here and spend it with Elmer and leave right afterwards and plan to stay a month or six weeks out there. I am thinking of taking the Canadian trip. Jimmy and Mary would love the boat trip and I would enjoy it much more this time as I am older and not so scared of people and everything and would have Jimmy and Mary's company. I want to check on the rates as they might be a lot more but it seems to me it used to be the same except the Soo Line train was lousy. That is one reason I may not take that line as we will be riding day coach but maybe the Soo Line has improved but I don't know. I have my ticket money saved and our taxes weren't as bad as we expected so everything looks very bright. Our house taxes are 150 dollars which we can divide up into two payments and our state tax was 65 dollars. Elmer went in and asked for a raise Saturday and we are hoping he will get it. Tomorrow is pay day so we should know. If he doesn't get it he will look around for another job but he has asked for a raise every six months since he has been working for them and they have always given it to them but he said as long as he still thinks he is worth more he expects them to give him this one too. He has just completed this huge new hospital which will specialize in heart conditions. He did every bit of the structural designing himself and it is up to him if the hospital falls down or not. Some nights he has worried so much about some beam or something that he hasn't been able to sleep. He would love to come out to Washington this summer and I sure hope he will be able to but am not very optimistic about it. We will see though. Jan will be in Seattle just two hours and will call Betty. Warnie is going to send her a night letter. Jan read me Betty's letter and it was a nice letter but the way it was written Jan didn't know if Betty really wanted to see her or was hoping she wouldn't be coming. I knew Betty had a houseful of company but told Jan I was sure Betty really would like to see her. As it is, though, Jan will just be in Seattle from plane arrival to the time the train leaves Seattle for Portland. She rides on a pass from here to Seattle but there she changes airlines so has to pay for the children and the train was much cheaper. Well Folks, I have written all this and haven't answered a thing in your letter but just must stop and get these kids to bed as it is after nine. Will either add on to this or write again tomorrow. With Love, Helen In addressing my letters you can leave off the St. Louis Park, Mpls 16, Minn. Is sufficient. Tues. Night - Jan hasn't been able to leave yet as her little girl is sick. She is hoping now to leave Thursday night. We are getting along fine here with the boys and tomorrow night I'm going to take them over to see their mother as long as she is still here. Of all things to happen, Elmer came home from work tonight with the mumps. He isn't sick but acts ten times worse than the kids did. I sure hope he won't have to miss much work. Another letter came from you today. Thanks for the wonderful pictures. Gary is darling. Will answer your letters tomorrow night. I'm invited out tomorrow afternoon, have two baskets full of ironing and promised everyone here I would bake a pie. I had to be at school at 9:30 this morning for a room-mother meeting and didn't get home until noon so that put me behind too. Roberta Praull is expecting her fourth. Leila Woodfill is expecting any day so we are having a shower for her at the next meeting. Must stop but I'll write more tomorrow. Love, Helen