To Bertha from Cora Hendricks –
Miss Bertha Ballou
Elks, Nevada
Fort George Wright, Washington
November 25, 1920
Dear Bertha,
Your letter of the 18th is waiting to be answered. I intend to have written yesterday, but did not find the time. I have been going to a dentist in town every day this week, having a new lower plate made, and now I have a very sore mouth, if nothing else, I think the new plate will be a great improvement when it is fully fitted and I get used to it.
I have started a sweater for you, dark green, because the greens are prettier than the blue in the dark shades. I have about a foot of the back knitted.
Yes, I was interested and please to know that you were going out so often and that you were dancing again, of course you can dance if it not too hard on your foot.
I am glad you are seeing the people and while I dare say you meet a lot of people you do not care for it is evident that you also meet some when you enjoy knowing. Mrs. Hunter must be a woman of some character and intelligence to manage her home and family so well. What a ______ it is that Dan does not take more interest in helping her instead of making her so much trouble. I certainly hope he will being to think of something besides having his own way.
I wonder what you are doing today. It does not seem much like Thanksgiving day to me. The morning was very dark and rainy, but it began to lighten about noon and now the sun is shining a little. We have just been at the mess for dinner, which was earned early to a small number of people. A very nice dinner but I was not hungry and could not ear with much satisfaction, because my teeth did not work comfortably.
I had a tiny note from Sally morning just explaining that she was too busy to write a real letter, but everything was alright. Of course, she is planning on going to Washington for Christmas and not having considered the possibility of being at home, is not feeling at all disappointed because she cannot be here. I am certainly glad you care coming, it will be the very best Christmas gift for me. By the way, I spent all yesterday morning at work with my Christmas present, the vacuum cleaner, and the amount of dirt I look out of the rugs I went over was shocking. I think after another good going over, they will need very little work on them, until summer comes with the dust which I told is very bad here. It is so damp now that we can get no dust except from the furnace and coal, a really surprising amount I find. Papa found a cider mill yesterday and some very fine ide just made. You will like it when you come.
I am certainly glad we are no further north. One can do nothing without a light after half past three in the afternoon, and it is still a month to the shortest days. I cannot help feeling sorry for your friend, Miss Johnson. Life must have been a pretty hard and lonesome proposition for her, and I a glad you can help her by being her friend. One can hardly think what is would be like to have one who cared for one, or tried at all to help one along. Where is she from? Does she go to her home, if there is one, for her vacations, or does she just go somewhere and board alone?
We are still spending all our spare time on the house, or at least Papa is spending all his spare time on unpacking and repairing and I am spending what is not spare time on trying to get things in order, and keep things clean when I get them cleaned.
We are going to unpack some more books as we have a lot of shelf room here, and I will unpack some China, after a bit, and a box of kitchen things. We really have no place for some of our things, with the D.M. furniture to fill up.
Papa said he told you all about the arrangement of the house, so I will not start on that, besides it is getting him here and I must write or little to Senn this afternoon.
Don’t work too hard, dear.
Your loving mother.