There are only a couple of letter exchanges this week, as Dave went up to Adams that Friday with Francis and Lydia to visit Ruth and family. He had been busy with work or celebrations of his mother’s birthday. The Parker/Spencer/Sedgemore homestead was constantly busy, especially on weekends when one sibling or another would drop in with their families.
May 24, 1936
Middleburg, N.Y.
My Darling,
It is 9 P.M. Sunday evening and I have just come back from P.H. As usual being down there has put me in a rather bad state of mind and this letter will suffer for it. Talk about your writing your woes. You have twice as much to worry about as I and yet your letters are not half as full of them as mine are. I’ve got a one track mind I guess. When I get to feeling like this I can’t think of anything else. I do know that I have gone just about my limit without seeing you so it will take an awful big obstacle to stop me from coming up this weekend.
Ida (Jackson) Coffin
I worked in the garden this morning until noon. Set out ten peach trees and two cherries. About that time Howard and Emma, his Mother and Carol drove in. Close behind them was Howard’s sister, her husband and boy. We all went down to Lula’s for dinner. It was supposed to be a birthday dinner for Mom.1 Of course her birthday isn’t until Saturday but everyone couldn’t get together then so they had it today.
You are right about being lonesome in a crowd. I felt like a lost sheep. Everyone said they wished you were there but that didn’t help much. To make matters worse, I had to eat alone on a card table. When dinner was ready everyone made a rush for the table like a bunch of starved wolves. I don’t know if I was trying to be polite or just lazy. Anyway I hung back and let everyone get seated and then found out these were only twelve places for thirteen of us. Next time I’ll join the grand rush.
I went down to P.H. about four o’clock. Lydia and Fran were not home so I drove on a ways, parked the car along the curb and took myself off in the woods for a couple of hours. Just a little ticked in the head don’t you think. When I went back they had just arrived.
They are coming up with me Friday night but it doesn’t look as if I will be able to get there early. Fran hates to take the time off and I hate to press him to do it so there I be. I’ll get there as soon as I can anyway, darling.
Your dream about my giving Fluffy a bath was all wet. She could stand one I guess but I haven’t given it to her.
Gee, honey, I want to thank you for all the nice letters I received last week. I don’t see how you do it with so much on your mind. I hope I can make it all up to you some day, sweet.
I could write more in this letter but it would only be a repetition so I’ll close and go to bed.
I love you, my precious girl.
Goodnight,
“Me”
May 24, 1936
Adams Center, N.Y.
Dear Dave,
It is 7:45 and the first time I have had a chance to sit down today. I managed to stay in bed until 8:30 this morning but I have made up for it by working all day.
Friday night I decided I would stay in bed a little later Saturday because the kids didn’t have to go to school. At 5:45 Grace yelled and wanted to be let in. She had come up from Syracuse with a friend so that fixed my sleep. She went back again last night.
Saturday and Sunday are the hardest days of the week for Mom and me. We not only have our family but also Harold’s here most of the time. I guess I am getting nearly as nervous as Mom. I think if I had stood it as many years as Mom has, I would have been crazy years ago. At times I get so tired and nervous it seems as though I just couldn’t stand it, and I know that is half the reason why Mom doesn’t improve more.
Glenn and family were here for dinner. I guess it was five o’clock before I finally finished the dinner dishes. We have had company for dinner every Sunday since I have been home.
We had to go to Adams Center tonight and when we left the cat and kittens were in a box in the kitchen. When we got back there were only two kittens left in the box. We finally found the old cat had moved three into the clothes press in the bedroom. We moved them back and just now I saw her starting toward the bedroom again with a kitten. I think she doesn’t like the idea of the boys teasing her. This afternoon they kept putting them out on the floor and she would pick them up and put them back in her box. Everyone says they are the nicest looking family of cats they ever saw. I suppose it is because they are all just alike. The mother cat is cute and looks like a kitten. I think Glenn is sorry he let us have her now. They are only about ten days old and Janie says they are a lot nicer than her kittens that are over two weeks old. The kittens are as broad as they are long. You should see the attention the old cat gets around here.
Gee, sweet, I bet you are feeling sorry for yourself already. Probably your house will be filled with cats of all colors and sizes. Here comes that darned cat with another kitten. She has parked him by the bedroom door.
I can hardly wait for Friday night to come. I think there is something like 120 more hours to wait until I see my old darling again. I think when I get you here, I’ll never, never let you go again. “It’s been so long.” I hope for your sake Lydia and Fran can come with you. You will be very careful, won’t you, honey. Be sure and let me know for sure as soon as you can what time to expect you so I can have something ready for you to eat. Take good care of yourself and get lots of sleep this week ‘cause I think I’m going to house break you this weekend. Please don’t take me wrong, hon, I mean I’m going to let you join me in doing house work.
I have had a swell sinus headache all day and nothing I do seems to help it so I think I’ll put Mrs. Cat and family down cellar and see if I can sleep my troubles away.
This letter doesn’t amount to much, but it at least will let you know that I love you dearly.
Good night, my honey.
Loads of love and kisses,
“Me”
P.S. We ate the old rooster for dinner.
May 26, 1936
Middleburg, N.Y.
Dearest Ruthie,
Three more days to go, and what days they are getting to be. This is the worst part of the whole thing, waiting for the last few hours to pass. I’ve just been down to see Fran and he can’t see his way clear to squeeze out even a couple of hours so it will be late Friday night when we get there. I can’t tell you just what time but you know about when we got there before so you had better go to bed as usual and I’ll wake you up when I get there. I will have to quit early myself and go down to Schoharie after my license and then back here after Lydia and Fran. I expected to send for it by Lula but she went down Monday and didn’t let me know.
You seem to be having some time with your family of kittens. I’ll step on a couple of them when I get there so you won’t have so many to look after.
My writing seems poorer than ever tonight. I guess it is because my hands are too sore to hold the pen right. They have cracked open in a couple of places and it doesn’t feel so hot.
Do you remember one night at Hewitt’s him telling me about some man from Ravena being killed in Selkirk? I wish I had asked Mr. Hewitt who it was at the time. It would have saved me a big surprise and an embarrassing moment if I had known. I’ll tell you about it when I see you if I don’t forget it.
LaVere got fifty baby chicks last night and he is having quite a time with them. He only has one hen that will own chickens so he has part of them in a large carton here in the house and an electric sign fixed up for heat.
Gee, hon, I wish you didn’t have so much on your mind. You will be a nervous wreck yourself before long. Try not to worry, dear, and take it as easy as you can. I don’t want my darling to be sick.
If you are not going to let me go when I get up there, maybe I had better bring along some clothes. I wish you would lock me in a room and not let me out until you could come back with me. I never knew I could miss anyone so much.
I can’t think of anything more, so I guess I’ll quit and say goodnight. I love you, my darling, and I’m waiting anxiously until I can hold you in my arms and tell you so.
Love and kisses,
Dave
P.S. Unless something turns up I won’t write again.
May 26, 1936
Adams Center, N.Y.
Greetings Darling,
As usual I have nothing to write about but since my honey will be expecting something that should be a letter, I can’t let him down, providing I can keep body and soul together long enough to get anything written.
Kent and Ethel (Tryon) Spencer
I ironed all of the forenoon and Kent was up this afternoon and fixed the lawnmower, so since then I have been mowing the lawn only taking time off for supper and the dishes. My back is about busted and every mosquito in Jefferson County has taken a bite of me.
Gee, dear, it seems like you must have been feeling rather blue Sunday night when you wrote to me. I am so sorry you aren’t happier. I wish there was something I could do to make you happy. I would like to sneak up on you some time when you are in one of your blue moods. I would kiss your blues away just like you do mine. Wouldn’t that be nice?
I sort of wish Fran would take Friday afternoon off so I could have the evening with my sweet. Far be it from me to want Fran to lose any time, but I wish it would rain Friday afternoon.
I have felt better this week than I have any other time since I have been home. I guess maybe you can answer that one. It is getting dark so I think I’ll go to bed. I don’t dare put any lights on as the mosquitos are thick enough anyway.
Wednesday morning.
Seems like I had something to say, but the kids have made so much noise this morning that I think I have even forgotten my name.
Oh yes, Lydia told me not to be sending down there for anything that I forgot to bring home. However, I would like to have you bring home my textbooks, dictionary, and in my red button box you will find my class pin. I like to look at my books occasionally and I can’t find my pin so I think it must be there. If Lydia says anything, just tell her they are my books in my cedar chest and you are mine. Everything is in the cedar chest and I think you know the books I mean. They are “Modern Nursing”, “Materia Medica” and “Physiology and Anatomy”.2
Lydia said she was going to have a permanent before she comes home. I guess I will get one some day when she is home as I don’t like to leave Mom alone that long.
Mom felt a little better yesterday. She thought it was because she could get outdoors.
I have about steen letters to answer so I’ll let this be enough. I don’t know if I’ll get another letter to answer before Friday or not. If I don’t, be sure and be careful won’t you, sweet.
I love you, my honey.
Lots of love and kisses,
“Me”
Footnote
- It was Ida Coffin’s 61st birthday. The photo was probably taken in the 1940’s.
- “Materia Medica” literally translates from Latin, “Medical material/substance”. Medical textbooks that have this title or variants of it date back to the 1st century A.D. and ran with this title until the mid-20th century or so. The earlier texts contained information about treatments with plants or other agents that promoted healing. These have now been replaced with the term “pharmacology”.