No letters had been exchanged (or kept) since the date of the last post. Ruth likely went back to Preston Hollow during this time to visit the Spragues and of course, Dave (see photos). On her return, she moved back to Brookline Ave, a few doors from where she lived earlier in the year. Mrs. Finkelstein’s daughter, Mrs. Thorn, tried to get Ruth back to care for her mother, but it didn’t work out, possibly due to better paying work elsewhere. Dave continues to have work with the C.C.C., and finally exchanges the Essex for a Ford “coach”.
August 12, 1935
Dave and Ruth at Preston Hollow, NY
45 Brookline Avenue
Albany, N.Y.
Hello Dave,
I bet just about now you are rubbing your poor little eyes trying to keep them open. There ought to be a law against heartless nurses keeping poor little boys up nights. There ain’t no justice!
Well, all the pondering last night was for nothing. I called Mrs. Thorn this morning and she in a very superior tone told me that I was supposed to have gotten in touch with her before the first of August so when she couldn’t get me, she asked Phyllis to stay but to keep in touch with her and if Miss McDuffy1 decides not to stay, they will have me back. I let her talk a little while and then I started and boy, believe me, her tone changed immediately. I told her I had been doing pretty good on regular wages and was going back on Brookline to live. In a little too polite manner I made her realize that that wasn’t the only case in the world. Loretta talked with her last week and she said she was inclined to be snippy with her until she showed her she could give her as good as she could send. I guess you can imagine how the girlfriend could squelch anybody. Thank heavens that is settled for a while. I bet you wish I would get settled once and stay put. You don’t wish it any more than I do.
I am up to Loretta’s now and the Italian lady has gone into her dance so if this is written in Italian, think nothing of it.
I am all packed and Ed is going to move me tonight. You got a break once in your life anyway. This moving ordeal is enough to drive a person nuts.
How did the tire hold out? I hope you got home o.k. with it. It would be terrible if you had a flat and I wasn’t there to help you fix it.
Don’t forget to send my letters to 45 Brookline and don’t forget when you come up Sunday that I am no longer on Madison Avenue. It wouldn’t be so good if you made a mistake and took Grace Mack instead of me.
While I think about it, how’s about getting a little fatter. No kidding, you have me worried and something has to be done about it. If you weren’t in the country, I would say you needed to go there but you are already there so it must be the city you need.
Tell me all about what you decide about going some place to work ‘cause I’m anxious to hear all about it.
I suppose you will be busy this week taking berries places. I wish I were there to go with you.
Toady is around raising the deuce. Someday remind me to show him to you. He sure is a cute kid but he won’t even give me a tumble.
Someone just called so I imagine I’ll have a bad time controlling the girlfriend. Yeah, it was Ed.
There hasn’t been many things happen since last night or should I say this morning to write about so I’ll call it a day.
Ruth
P.S. Loretta just taught Toady to call “Parky” so being as how my resistance is low I will have to go down immediately.
August 13, 1935
Middleburg, N.Y.
Dear Ruth,
You were right when you said I would be too tired to write a letter Monday night. By the time I got caught up I was so near dead I could easily have been mistaken for a corpse. When I came home from work there was an order here for some broilers to be dressed and delivered besides the berries. When I got right in front of Fran’s station I had a flat and of course the spare hasn’t been fixed. By the time we got that fixed up it was nearly dark so you can imagine what time I got home and how I felt. I really wanted to write but one look at that bed was more than I could stand. It seems every time I come to see you or am supposed to write I’m tired out.
Ruth Parker and Francis Sprague, Preston Hollow, August 1935
I suppose I don’t make a very charming companion (as if I ever did) when I’m like that but I don’t know of any way I can help it. I’ll just have to tell you the same as you did me, if it don’t agree with you, just cross me off your list. How’s that? I’ll probably hold my breath now until I find out if you are going to do it or not.
Was I sleepy when I was coming home Sunday night. When I got in Greenville the restaurant was closed so I couldn’t get any coffee and I drove the last few miles in a perfect daze. It must have taken me all of two hours to get here because from Feura Bush to P.H. the fog was just about as it was the night we drove to Albany.
Well, Ruthie my dear, you have taken your last ride in the old Essex. Yep, all those flat tires were the last bit I could stand so I went to Central Bridge tonight after supper and got rid of it. Maybe I’m no better off now but time will tell. I got a 1930 Ford coach.2 Did I say I would never own a Ford? I guess I did but it was a case of take what I could get. I’ll probably get this about half paid for and then be out of work.
So you didn’t get the job after all. In a way I’m rather disappointed even if I did get out of moving you. I told Lydia and Fran all about it last night while I was fixing the tire so now I’ll have to go down there and correct that mistake. Well, here’s hoping you get something else soon.
So you are worried because I’m so thin. Well, all I can say is stop it because in the first place you have enough worries of your own, in the second place I’m not worth worrying about, and the third place there is nothing I can do about it. It’s awful sweet of you to take that much interest in me, but you had better lay off the worrying, my dear.
This writing is getting so bum I can’t even make it out myself and it is 10:30 so I’m signing off till Thursday night when I write again.
“Me”
Advertisement for Model A Ford
August 15, 1935
Middleburg, N.Y.
Dear Ruth,
Well here it is 9 P.M. before I can get around to writing a letter again and I’m tired as usual so you know what to expect in this letter. Guess I’ll stop writing because I can’t seem to produce a decent letter anymore. They never were anything to brag about but I know they have been worse than usual of late.
I went out with berries again tonight but I think (and hope) this will be the last. I’m almost sick of the sight of berries.
I’m still working down at the camp. Looks like a life-time job. Some of the men were laid off again this week but there is still plenty of work to do. They just got orders today to put up three more buildings. One of them is a garage 144 feet long. Think you could get your Ford in it? As long as I have work here I’m not even going to think of going to Middletown. The extra cost of living and commuting back and forth would just about eat up all the extra money I would make. So that’s that. Here’s hoping I can get on at Gallupville when I finish here.
I went down to Lydia’s a few minutes after work last night and put them right as to your location. They didn’t have much to say but seemed to think it was too bad you had to change your plans so often. I hope you are getting along all right up there and for the love of Pete don’t start doing a lot of things you don’t have to do.
Gee, you should see those fellows down in the camp work. I mean the C.C.C. men. I thought our outfit was bad at goldbricking but they have us stopped a mile. There are 160 of them there and I don’t think they get anymore done in a day then the few of us do who are working on the construction part of the camp. All they are doing so far is cleaning up the grounds and at the rate they are going it will take them a month to do it. You would never think they were a bunch of grown-up men to see them going around playing jokes like a bunch of kids.
Was the mailman on Brookline glad to see you back? He will probably ask the P.O. department to give him a helper now to carry all the mail, especially that coming from Middleburg.
I hope you don’t have to spend a couple of hours trying to figure out this writing. My penmanship seems to be getting poorer all the while. I’m sure you will never attempt to struggle thru one of these letters twice if you manage to get thru it the first time.
This is just about my limit for tonight so I’ll ring off and see you Sunday.
Dave
Footnotes
- See this post, Mar 1-3, 1935, for a photo of Phyllis McDuffy.
- The Model A Ford was first introduced to the market in 1927 and was sold until 1931. It replaced the Model T; it had a 3-speed manual transmission (compared to the previous 2-speed in the Model T), slightly larger wheel base and a standard set of driver controls (brake pedals, clutch, gearshift and throttle) that had become common in the cars of other manufacturers. There were nine body styles of the Model A. The “coach”, a name that was not used by Ford, likely referred to a standard sedan, possibly the “Tudor” (literally meaning “2-door”). A 1930 Ford coach is listed in the ad (3rd line down, left side) for $425 (about $8,000 in 2019).