This is Ruth’s final week in Adams before she returns to Preston Hollow, and then to Albany. Dave makes plans to travel up there to meet her, so there are no more letters between them until later in the month. There is lots of talk about the 1935 World Series Baseball.
October 6, 1935
Middleburg, N.Y.
My dear Ruth,
Sunday again and an especially lonesome one or so it seems. Probably because my thoughts keep going back to a Sunday afternoon one year ago. I’ll never be sorry I went out that day.
It is a perfect day here, real warm and not too breezy. I hope it is as nice as this next Sunday but even if it isn’t, I know I’ll enjoy myself more than I am today.
Howard and Emma drove in about an hour ago. They have a new car or one new to them I should say. It is a 1933 Plymouth and hasn’t been run more than enough to break it in nicely. It looks as though it had just come out of the factory and I guess they didn’t pay much more for it than I did for the Ford. Some people are born lucky.
No church this afternoon although we probably would have gone if Emma hadn’t come. As it is, I’ll listen to the ballgame. I listened to the one yesterday and nearly fell asleep while it was on.
Yesterday morning I killed and dressed nine chickens and Mother canned them. She never tried it before so we don’t know if it will keep or not but I hope so after all the work it made.
I just heard the call to dinner so I’ll have to quit for a while. We are having the backs and necks of the chickens we canned yesterday. How would you like a chicken dinner like that? Not even a gizzard for you.
5:30 P.M.
1935 World Series. Game 6 was on October 7; the Tigers won the game and the Series. This was their 5th World Series; the Tigers had lost in 1907, 1908, 1909, and 1934.
The ball game is over and I’m out a quarter. Emma got her sporting blood up and wanted to bet so I obligingly picked the losing team.1
Every time the game got interesting someone would stop for broilers or eggs and I did plenty of cussing. All to myself of course. There was one party here from Albany that used to be great friends of the family. They lived in the same house with us at the time. It has been fifteen years since we last saw them and they didn’t look a bit older. They are between fifty and sixty years old and it seems almost incredible that anyone of that age could have changed so little.
Guess I’ll go down to P.H. now. I have to get gas or I won’t get to work in the morning. I wish I was going to find you down there.
Back again and everything under control down there. I guess there is nothing to tell that Lydia didn’t say in her last letter, unless it is that they have a new cash register. It looks like a pretty swell affair, but its adding ability must be a little off. When Fran figured up tonight he was nearly $30 short and it took us nearly an hour to find two mistakes the machine had made.
Pete seems to be doing pretty well for himself now. He sleeps in the cellar. Speaking of sleep, reminds me I must get a little shut eye myself so, good night.
Dave
October 7, 1935
Adams Center, N.Y.
Dear Dave,
I bet you think I was sort of heartless for not writing Sunday. I don’t know what excuse I have unless it was lack of ambition. I had answered your last letter so there was nothing to write about. We went to church yesterday morning. In the afternoon I developed a terrific headache and went to bed at 7:00 p.m.
I don’t understand why Lydia should receive her letter a day before you did. Both letters were mailed at the same time. It looks like someone is trying to hold out on you.
It is too bad you weren’t coming up last weekend since you had a chance to ride most of the way. Maybe you will get the same chance this weekend. Yes, “Sweetie Pie”, I’m all set to return with you if you want to come up Saturday. There isn’t much chance of me changing my mind again unless Lydia doesn’t want me to come back there until October 21st in which case I can stay at home until Loretta gets back.
Have Lydia and Fran decided to come home for a while this Fall or does Lydia say they can’t afford it? I don’t think Lydia cares much about coming home. She says she never gets homesick. To someone who never gets homesick it must seem silly. However, I can’t say I’m sorry I feel as I do about home.
Before I started this letter I thought of a lot of things to say but now I can’t think of anything. Kent and Ethel were here until just a few minutes ago.
Everyone is talking about the World Series. Harold was plowing out here by the house Saturday afternoon and came in to turn the radio on. He went out and told me to pay close attention so I could tell him what the score was. You can be sure I did. I listened for a few minutes and when Grace came in I told her I was duty bound to listen so she was kind enough to turn it off.
Ruth Parker, Joe Cuffy, and Pat
This afternoon I had a lot of fun trying to make Pat and Joe pose for a picture. Pat stood in Billy’s wagon and rather liked the idea. Joe decided anyone who had their picture taken was a sissy and objected very much. Finally I held Cuffy and Bill took a couple of pictures of the three of us in the wagon. I doubt if Joe’s picture will be very good as he was swearing something fierce.
Billy has fourteen chickens and they don’t know enough to go in the barn at night so Mom, Billy and I had to go out and put them in tonight. I held the sack. Mom and I tried to teach them to roost but they seem awfully dumb for some reason or other.
Now that you have admitted that you are a Jew you can’t accuse me of being a Jewess just because my grandfather’s name was Isaac.2
Gee whiz, if Fran is as slow about getting heaters as they are about getting everything else, you are apt to be installing it about the 4th of July.
Remember a year ago tonight. Just think how bashful and innocent I was. Lydia tells me I was a real hick. She will probably think I am still one when I get back. However, she hasn’t much to say now. I haven’t changed as much in a year as she has in five months. I am listening to “Shine Little Glow Worm”. I bet you can’t guess what it reminds me of.
I haven’t seen Lynn and Marion lately. Kent said that Eunice Anne has had the chicken pox.
Mom is waiting for me to go to bed so I think I’ll say good night.
“Me”
October 7, 1935
Middleburg, N.Y.
Dear Girl,
Great mail service we have around here. I got two letters today, one of which should have arrived Saturday. Anyway I had a lot of reading tonight and it was darn good, too. It makes me all the more anxious to get there knowing you will be glad to see me.
Now, let’s see, to answer some of the questions you asked. It would probably take until midnight to answer them all.
I guess I gave you the low down on Pete in the last letter. As for Ruth and Dave, I haven’t even thought to inquire into their health. They will interest me more when they are ready for the frying pan. Lydia has probably told you they aren’t doing any lunch business because of lack of heat in the place. She even took all of her things up to the house. Frank was supposed to have sent for some kind of a heating outfit but it probably won’t arrive before Easter.
It looks very much as though I’ll be working all of this week so I’ll be seeing you Saturday as I said. The 7:45 bus out of Albany goes through Sloansville at 9:17 so I’ll probably have Claude or Lula drive me out there to catch it. I’ll arrive Syracuse at 1:10 and leave there at 2:15. Arrive Adams at 4:16 so be there with bells on and a great big smile on your face. Also, be sure there is a good fire burning in that fireplace because I am anticipating warming my toes in front of it. No, I won’t be foolish enough to start out without a topcoat. It would probably be wiser to wear the overcoat because a light coat is none too warm here in this balmy clime. I think the temperature right now is about “steen” below zero. At least it is cold enough so I had to give up writing in my room and I am downstairs running opposition to the radio and various arguments. I just told Mother I wish I had bought a furnace and five ton of coal instead of the car.
I don’t have to get up any earlier than I did when I worked down here. We are working on old time now so the extra hour is just used in going to work.
I hope your Mother gets over her cold so you won’t have to leave her when she is sick.
I didn’t listen to the Amateur Hour myself last night. While that was on Fran and I were trying to find the mistakes his cash register had made and we forgot all about the time. He was supposed to go to work for Whitbeck today doing something to the house and Tex will run the station.
Last night I thought I wouldn’t write but one more letter, but here I am writing that one the next night so it looks like my good intentions are all shot and I’ll have to write another.
My eyes have got the blinks or jitters as you would call it, so I think I’ll call a halt and go to bed.
Good night, my sweet, I’ll be seeing you soon.
Dave
October 8, 1935
Adams Center, N.Y.
Hello Honey,
Me thinks this will be the last letter I will have to write. If it takes three days for a letter to reach you, there isn’t any object of writing after tomorrow.
Gee, have we been busy yesterday and today. We have the top of Lydia’s quilt all pieced. This afternoon we went down and got Grace’s portable sewing machine. We kept two electric sewing machines busy all the afternoon. I have made two trips to Smithville today. We are going to Watertown the first thing in the morning to get the material so we can tie the quilt in the afternoon.
I had a card from Sosville today. She said Helen would take care of you while I am away. Maybe I better investigate.
Anyone who attempts to can chicken has my sympathy. We canned about fifty in three days a couple years ago. We never tried it again. We have chicken for dinner here every Sunday and I usually grab the gizzard before it is put on the table so I will be sure and get it. When Glenn, Grace, Kent, Eva, Lynn or Bill is around, I usually have quite a struggle.
My poor dog is on the porch crying to get in. She seems to think it is her bedtime. Joe is in a chair taking a snooze for himself. He hasn’t started on his downward path yet and he is a year and a half old. It must be the wonderful training I have given him. Harold tells me he started to go to the dogs once, but he brought him safely home and since then he has gone straight.
Last night after I finished your letter, Mom and I were all ready to go upstairs and Mom said she could smell cloth burning. We dashed down cellar but the furnace was okay. We came back up and could see smoke. I looked and there was a short in the radio. I don’t know what it was yet. I pulled the plug and it stopped shorting. This morning I messed around with the wires a little and it works o.k. now.
Listen, sweet, don’t try and get even with me Saturday for what happened January 6. I mean the bus mix up. It would be terrible if I had to wait in Adams five or six hours. Be sure and let me know what time that that bus arrives in Adams and I will be there with bells on or sompin’. I may be a little fatter now than I was last time you saw me, but you can identify me by the freckles on my nose. Gee, if you were only here to listen to “The Old Maestro and All the Lads.”
So the World Series is over now. I suppose I’ll have to turn all my attention to football. I knew all the time who would win so there wasn’t any use of listening to it. By the way, who did win anyhow? I could have told you to bet on Detroit Sunday.
We sure were surprised to receive a letter from Lydia this morning. Mom is anxious to go to bed, so I think I’ll draw this to a close. I’ll be seeing you Saturday. Here’s hoping you have a nice trip and don’t speak to any strange ladies ‘cause I don’t want to make a trip to Adams for nothing.
Ruth
Footnotes
- In Game 5 of the 1935 World Series Baseball, the Chicago Cubs beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-1. At this point, the Tigers still led the series, 3-2, and won the series in Game 6 the next day (see score card image). So the Tigers weren’t the losing team after all; he was unlucky to have picked the wrong day! A quarter in 1935 is now worth about $4.50.
- Isaac Parker was born in Ontario, Canada in September, 1833. He came to the U.S. at the age of 4 in 1837, settled in Jefferson county and married Jannet Woodward in 1855. They had 10 children. Carlton Parker, Ruth’s father, was born in 1869, and as described here, took his own life in 1915. Isaac died in 1913 at the age of 80.