825 10/3/1948 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson 4008 Randall Avenue, St. Louis Park, Minneapolis 16, Minnesota Sunday, October 03, 1948

Sadie Erwin 1120 Cole St., Enumclaw, Washington

[The date is approximate] Dear Folks, I just got Jimmy into bed so will write to you now. Mary fell asleep about six o’clock so I undressed her and put her into bed. She hadn’t had her supper yet so will probably be good and hungry in the morning. It was so nice out today we decided to ride out to the lake. About half way out there we saw a Carnival so stopped and the kids had a couple of rides and then I remembered I had forgotten to turn off the oven and I had a roast in so we had to turn around and come back home. If we had been five minutes later it would have started to burn but we got here just in time. Jimmy has his own room upstairs now. I love it up there because it reminds me so much of your upstairs. We didn’t have the heat brought up there last winter but I called the heating place last week and they are coming in a few days and bring the heating gadget on up so now I won’t have to move Jimmy back down. With his bed out of the room downstairs, Mary has a nice big room for all her dolls and things and Jimmy has lots of room upstairs. Mary wants to move up there too and I do have an extra bed up there so may let her sleep there some nights but so far haven’t because she usually wakes up some time during the night. Elmer got his old violin fixed last week. He hadn’t played it since he was in Junior High. You can sure tell it too although I haven’t told him that. He wants me to buy a mandolin now. We haven’t priced them yet but I don’t think they would be too awfully high. I was so surprised to hear Gladys’s news about expecting another baby. I sure hope she gets a boy. Is she feeling real good and is she going to a doctor or is she going to have this one entirely by C. S. She had said once that was the way she would do if she ever got pregnant again. I had a nice letter, or card, from Aunt Mary this last week. Ruth is staying with her and working at the canning factory but when that work is over she will go out to this house she rented in the country. I keep wanting Elmer to drive down there and hoped we could go today but he is afraid to drive the car very far with the tires so I hope to buy two new ones very soon and also have the car fixed up for winter driving. Last winter the car wouldn’t start when the temperature got down to zero. I still buy my meat up on 34th and Hennepin because they really have good meat and it is just a regular meat market. I got started buying there when we stayed with Carlson’s because they have always traded there. Anyway, this Mr. Larson, the meat man, mentioned the other day that he lived in St. Louis Park too, just off the Minnetonka Highway and he had lived there for over 30 years. I asked him if he knew Woodfills and knows them very well and he said his daughter and Frances were good friends. I must call Francis soon. I think of it so often and just don’t get around to doing it. Elmer turned the oil burner on Saturday and it feels good to have a little heat with the chilly weather. Mary has some of her toys upstairs and yesterday she was up there ironing with her electric iron. Before I went to bed I went up to look at Jimmy and came down and, I don’t know why, I made another trip up there and in turning around I bumped into the little ironing board and here the iron was still connected and was burning through the board. Gee that could have been terrible, so I have put the iron away now and when I do let her use it it will have to be with me when I am ironing. If you think of it remind Stella that she can make Mary doll clothes for Christmas. Mary has dolls of all sizes so the clothes would fit at least one of them. Mary wants doll clothes so badly and they are crazy prices at the store and since I don’t have a sewing machine I really can’t make any. I do hope to get a machine soon though because I sure need one. Tuesday I am going over to Mabel Bray’s house. She is going to make Mary a pair of wool slacks. Now if I had a machine I could make Mary all kinds of cute things. I can get one like yours for 40 dollars at the sewing machine company and it is all fixed up in good order. I do hope we can go down to Aunt Mary’s next Sunday as I have a big box of clothes that Marian’s little boy should be able to wear and also lots of toys. Well Folks, I had better stop for now. Pop do you think you’re going to get back here soon? I sure hope you can come. You can have Mary’s room. I wish we had that upstairs to use when Stella and Harold were here. George was up there then though. Now that the railing is on it looks much better too. Goodnight for now Folks, and I’ll write more soon. With Love, Helen