Letter transcriptions:

Kentland Ind.
2-15-44

Dear Daddy –

Yours of Feb. 3 & 4 came yesterday & Mark birthday letter too. Son John has been using this (my) pen and it feels like it is about past its useful days. I don’t know whether I can straighten it or not.

We had some furnace trouble today. A pin broke. Mr. Monroe came to fix it and we had to take all the fire out of the furnace to get down to the retort. I finally had to quit and come upstairs to take care of D. I sent John down and in a few minutes it was fixed and John got

[page 2] the fire started again. Yesterday we got more coal but the coal room door was left open – the coal wasn’t dampened – and as I have told you before no coal is oil treated this year – well the furnace room floor and most of the rest of the basement was black and I mean jet black. I went down tonight and cleaned up some of it. Had to – it tracks upstairs and there is enough dirt from the furnace without dragging it up from the basement floor. I had just given the house a pretty thorough cleaning before the coal was delivered – I just finished washing the kitchen and last week washed & ironed the slip covers. I feel like I need to go over every

[page 3] inch of the house with the sweeper.

The roads being impossible in some places yet today, there was no school so I left D. with J. & M. and attended Literary club. Mrs. Ade read the play, “Tomorrow the World.” I heard a sketch from that play on the Quiz Kids Sunday evening. One of the current Quiz Kids is an actress in “Tomorrow the World.”

I saw Dr. Dinwiddie’s wife today (you know he is a dentist from Lowell – Mrs. D. is Bill Strole’s daughter). He is across now and she is living here with Stroles. Dr. D. was at Ft. Leonard Wood for more than a year before he was sent out.

Raymond Bower is home again on leave. He gets back quite often – but I suppose every time

[page 4] he gets back from a voyage he gets a leave. I asked him why he didn’t go to N.Z. and bring you home. Silly question, but makes conversation.

I heard that Red Parr got his greeting from the Draft Board and someone else from the P.O. I suppose Clarence Lucas.

I am enclosing two snow scenes so you can get an idea about how the snow drifted and what a heavy snow from the way the evergreens look. It is warmer now and if it keeps on like this our snow will be a slush. The streets downtown are terrible and boys all over the place with sleds trying to get run over. Someone hooked a sled on our car. I slowly stopped the car, opened the door and said in no kind or uncertain terms “get off and stay off.”

Love – Mother

©2015 copyright owned and transcribed by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2015/12/09/a-pin-broke-gladys/