Ruth and Janie worked together to give up custody of Donald, the foster child, thinking that it’s best for Jennie. Lydia stayed up in Adams Center for the week to help Ruth take care of Jennie, leaving Francis home to fend for himself. Janie and other family members encouraged Dave and Ruth to go ahead and marry!
June 1, 1936
Middleburg, N.Y.
Dearest Ruthie,
Arrived home all O.K. at eleven o’clock last night. We had a flat tire in Sharon Springs but it didn’t take more than five minutes to change that.
I haven’t seen Fran yet. I’ll probably go down tomorrow night. I’m anxious to see him and find out what he said when he saw his car by daylight. He parked it under an apple tree in the yard and that tree happened to be the home of about ten thousand starlings more or less. Yep, it’s a good thing cows don’t fly, or in this case live in trees.
I had a grand time while I was with you, hon. Being with you is the nearest thing to heaven on earth. After waiting so long to see you, maybe this week will be quick. I hope so anyway.
Gee, have I been stiff today. I guess that running yesterday was a little out of my line. If you were here, I would have you give me a rub down, and no tickling allowed.
I hope you don’t neglect to write that letter to Bill and make it good and strong. Maybe he won’t come home but if his sense of duty is half as strong as yours, he will come. I’ll bet it will be a relief to have Lydia there for a week. I didn’t realize before how much you really had to do. It certainly is too much for one to handle alone and you deserve a lot of credit.
I hope your plans to take Donald back didn’t get sidetracked. I feel sorry for him in a way but whether he is to blame for some of the things that happen or not I guess it is best to get rid of him. It will make it so much easier for you anyway and June and Billy will be plenty for your Mother to look after when she gets well.
I guess everything passed quietly here while I was away. I half expected to find some trouble when I got back but I was pleasantly disappointed. Lula didn’t take Mom to the cemetery but she got a ride with someone else. Ward and Lena had fourteen boarders over the weekend and they came up and got Lula to help.1
Just about fifty minutes out of every hour I have been thinking of what we should do about getting married. You just about knocked out the last barrier when you said your Mother thought we ought to. The only obstacle I can see now is the possibility of “Leslie’s” arrival. If I thought we could be lucky enough to forestall that for a year, I would be there before this letter.
Well, honey, it is past bed time so I’ll sign off and get some shut eye. But, of course, I’ll have to remind you that I love you, I can’t take a chance on your forgetting that.
Dave
June 1, 1936
Adams Center, N.Y.
My Honey Boy,
It is nearly eight o’clock and just about now I must have a pretty tired boy writing me a letter. I hope you were fortunate enough to have an easy day. As usual, I am anxiously waiting to hear how you got home.
I guess it would be fitting and proper to take this time to tell you how glad I was to see you and how sweet it is for you to come so far to see just “Me”.
Gee, Honey, it seemed like heaven to be back in your arms again. I’m afraid you didn’t have a very happy time with conditions as they are around here. I was so worried most of the time that I didn’t talk to you half as much as I intended and there always seemed to be a crowd around.
Well, Janie and I carried out our plans and everything turned out very nicely. We let Donald go to school and I packed his things. Janie introduced me to the teacher and I asked if he could be excused for the day. I’ll have to write a note and explain tomorrow. Donald didn’t know where he was going until after I had him in Miss Kellogg’s office. We got him some candy and another ball. I went in first and explained the circumstances. Miss Kellogg wasn’t in, thank heavens. The woman in the office tried to make me think we should keep him until school was out or at least until tomorrow night when Miss Kellogg would be back in town, but I had made up my mind not to bring him home if I had to leave him with the county supervisor, and if there had been any trouble, I certainly would have seen him. Donald only cried when I started to leave. I consoled him as best I could and got out. I felt like a culprit all the time and I felt awfully sorry for him but I knew it had to be done. You have no idea what a relief it is and will be to not be wondering what he is doing outdoors.2
Mom had rather a hectic night last night and of course poor Lydia was kept awake all night. They called me at three because she had such cramps in her stomach. I was up until nearly four. I got her soda and had her move around and she soon felt better. She went to sleep and slept until after six. I asked them why on earth they didn’t call me before. I was so tired that I would have slept through a circus and not woke up.
After we got rid of our charge today, Janie and I went and had dinner. Janie said she didn’t mean to offer advice but she said we were very foolish to let anything interfere with us getting married. She says we owe it to ourselves to spend the years while we are still young together. I was glad to hear her say that as I had wondered what they would think if we should get married this summer. I told Janie whether I was married or not, I would expect to stay with Mom until she is well enough to do her own work.
Harold and Beulah (Tucker) Parker, c. 1921
We sent a truck over to Glenn’s after some wood this morning. When you come up next weekend I’ll see if I can’t keep you warm for a change.
When I got back from Watertown I took a paper to Smithville, for Mom, to be signed. I also got the charges for the fire extinguishers. If Hop doesn’t come up and fix them, I’ll do it myself.3
Well, old Honey Bunch, I got the other two dimes to fill the dime saver and have fifty cents start on the next one. At the rate we are saving dimes we will soon have our house all furnished and will have to start saving for a new car or sompin’. We will be rich before we know it.
Tuesday morning.
Eva and family just came.
Lots of love,
Ruthie
June 3, 1936
Middleburg, N.Y.
Hello Sweetheart,
Received your letter tonight so I feel bolstered up again and can continue for a few more days.
Imagine you thinking I didn’t have a happy time while I was with you. I think I’ll slap your wrist for that when I see you Saturday night. You know I’m always happy when I’m with you. I could stand seeing you alone a little more but that isn’t your fault and it doesn’t mean that I didn’t have a good time.
Percy and Janie (Shaw) Parker c. 1917
Glad to hear that you let Donald go. I can imagine how you felt but I think you did the right thing. I’m glad Janie is so nice to you, hon.4 It is a help to me to know someone up there is always ready to help you if possible. So she thinks we ought to get married, too. Gosh, if I don’t watch myself, you will have me saying “yes” here in leap year after all, and me a self-declared bachelor. But seriously though, hon, everything seems to be pointing that way based on the opinion of others.
Fran has said a good many times we should get married. Of course if we do it in the near future before we have enough to furnish a house, it would be just about necessary to live in the house with Lydia and Fran for a while. That would be O.K. with Fran but I don’t know just how it would go over with Lydia. I know she was willing when we were contemplating the gas station but whether she would be under other conditions I don’t know. How am I for digging up excuses, hon? Pretty soon you will be thinking I don’t want to marry you, but really there is nothing in this world that I want more. It is just that I love you so much, I’m afraid of getting you in a mess.
I went down to P.H. last night and stayed all night with Fran. Wait till you hear him tell of all his housekeeping difficulties. I don’t mean by that that he is having trouble, it is just the little things that bother him. For instance, he took a bath and had to put his dirty socks back on because he couldn’t find clean ones. I guess he will survive all right.
Well, dear, I probably won’t write again so this will be so long until Saturday night. We will try and get an early start, but I don’t know if we will be as lucky as last time or not. Here’s hoping anyway.
Yours with love and kisses,
Dave
June 3, 1936
Adams Center, N.Y.
Hello Hon,
Now for answering your letter if I can stay awake that long. I haven’t done much today, but I guess it is because I am nervous and didn’t get too much sleep last night.
Mom has very poor nights. She is having stomach trouble now and is quite weak. She hasn’t eaten much today.
I wrote Bill a letter last night and another one to him this morning for Mom in which I told him that I thought she would get better if he came home. I made it plain and told him just how conditions are. That is all I can do.
I called the Dr. tonight and he is coming over in the morning. I think Lydia realizes a little of what there is to be done here at home. She says she doesn’t know how one person can do it all. It isn’t the work so much as it is the worry.
I am listening to the “Hit Parade”. It is the first time I have heard it since I came home.
You would go and have a flat tire Sunday night. No doubt you hadn’t had enough excitement for one day. I hope you don’t have to buy too many tires, ‘cause if you do, maybe you can’t afford yourself a wife. Gee, how is that for looking out for one’s self. After all, it is leap year.
Listen, sweet, how would you like to bring my kit when you do the books and pin. I hope you don’t make a special trip for it but there is a chance that I will need to use some of the things.
Thursday morning.
Gee, I intended to write you a nice long letter last night but I was so tired, nervous or something that I couldn’t. At least this will serve the purpose of letting my honey know I love him for about the millionth time.
I’m anxious to know how Fran made out this week. Lydia has had a couple cards from him.
The Dr. will be here this morning so I had better close and get to work.
Oodles of love and kisses,
Your Ruthie
Footnotes
- Ida (Jackson) Coffin owned several properties at this time, ranging from 1-15 acres (that we could find). In Schoharie county alone, we found at least five different property exchanges that took place in the 1930’s. Some of these properties were inherited from David Jackson, her father, and others came from her mother’s side, the Deckers. Interestingly, these exchanges, including a 65-acre farm (Nubbury farm) typically occured at the cost of $1.00, presumably because they were between friends and family. Lula was named on several of these properties. It’s unknown whether this boarding house being run by Ward was on a property owned by Ida or something else. In any case, this may explain why there were long absences of both Ida and Wilbur from the house in Middleburg. The home where Dave had been living was a 2-acre parcel purchased by Ida in 1921 from Mamie Ellis for $1.00. She owned it until 1945. The house still stands to this day.
- More notes about Donald can be found in this post, where he was first mentioned.
- “Hop” (Ruth’s brother) was Harold Overton Parker’s nickname. Harold (1896-1970) is mentioned frequently and seemed to have helped out quite a bit. He was a farmer, and married Beulah (1900-1980) in 1921 (the photo was likely taken around the time of their marriage). As detailed in previous posts, they had three children, Nettie Joyce, Ivan, and Lewis. They are buried in Smithville, NY.
- A photo of Janie and Percy is posted here; more about Janie can be found in this post here.