Nagrom, WN
July 10th, 1915

Dear Mae: Well here goes a short talk with my Little girl. I wonder how she is this fine evening. Well and happy tho I hope. I am still felling just so good as ever and getting along pretty well.

Am back in Nagrom again as you will notice by the address, got back Monday evening and have worked ever since. Got your last letter yesterday, it came to Puyallup after I left there so Mother sent it up to me. Of course you know I was glad to get it. Glad to hear that you were all feeling pretty good and trust you are feeling even better now. Glad you are having nice weather in Wyo. now. We have had nice weather during the past two weeks. I think it is going to be nice for a while now.

Well the Great and Glorious Fourth is now a thing of the past, and I am not very sorry of it either altho I had a good rest and quite a nice time, much better than I expected to have. I think I told you what I did up until Saturday evening. I will take up the story where I left off and tell you all about how I celebrated the fourth.

My chum and I went down town that evening and stayed until pretty late, didn’t go to the show tho, just bummed around the streets. Sunday I didn’t do very much until after noon. Mr. Cook and I went down and got a gallon of ice-cream and we had an ice-cream dinner. We also had fried chicken, new potatoes and green peas and all the berries and cherries we could stand. I tell you it was quite a treat for us after living on camp grub for so long. wish you could have been there and enjoyed it with us. There was no one there beside the home folks except Blanche Stockton and a couple of girls that are picking berries for me. They came from Winlock, Wash. and they were pretty nice girls to, at least I thought so. Sunday evening we all went down to the picture shows and had a real nice time of it. There wasn’t a very good show that evening
but had a good time anyway., Monday we all picked berries most of the day. Mr. Cook and I helped the girls pick and we sure had a great time.

In the evening Blanche and Lida and Mr. Cook and myself all went down to the Stadium in Tacoma. There was a play there called Colonial day and it was just fine. They showed the Landing of the Pilgrims in the Mayflower, the signing of the Declaration of Independence and a number of other historical events. They had the most and best fire-works I have ever saw before. It sure was a grand display and I wish you might have seen it. There was also a tight wire performance and other stunts in that line.

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We stayed in Tacoma until midnight then we took a train out and put the girls off at Puyallup and we came up to Nagrom. It was after three oclock in the morning when we landed here, so there wasn’t much sleeping done that night. Justin met us at the train in Puyallup and came up here with us, but didn’t stay because he couldn’t get the kind of work he wanted. It was pretty much disappointed that he didn’t stay for it would have kept me from getting so lonesome and I think it would have been much better for him also for he could have got what he wanted later on. I don’t know what he intends to do now. Don’t think he has any plans for the future.

I had a letter from Mother today. She said that Richard had come home from the hospital said that he couldn’t walk yet but didn’t want to stay in the hospital any longer and was going to stay home until he could work again. I don’t think he is going to come here anymore, he says he is going down in Oregon to thresh if he gets well in time. The rest of the folks at home are all pretty well. Mother says she feels better now than she has at anytime since they went east last fall. Lida is working pretty hard in the berries. She is getting along pretty well at it. Father seems to be as well as he was before, he sure looks much better than he did. Joe is over east of the Mts. working in the wheat harvest. I don’t know just where. His wife it is staying with some of her folks. I think she is at Wenatchee, WN.

I didn’t get to see any of your relatives while I was down, was at Henry’s several times, so saw quite a lot of them. I helped Lillian pick berries for quite a while and had quite a talk with her. We talked about you to, did it make your ears burn? I saw your uncle John several times. He looks just as he did when you saw him last I can’t see as he looks much older. I didn’t see any of the rest except Hugh. He was over to our place for a little while. I did see Saul on the street to, but didn’t get to talk to him. Mrs. Henry said they are planning another trip back east this fall, wish I was going part way with them.

 Well guess I have told you about all there is to tell about myself so will talk about something else. I wonder what kind of time you had the fourth. My how I wish I might have been with you but that don’t do any good I guess, I sure thought of you many times and wondered what you were doing. Hope you had a good time where ever you were. Hope you got to make that trip up to your Uncle Willies that you were planning.

Well I can’t think of any more to say so will stop and pull in as it is getting pretty late.

Good night,

 As ever

 Roy

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Nagrom, Wn

July 16, 1915

Dear Mazie:

 Well here I am once again. How are you this fine evening? This is only Thursday evening but I am so lonesome I don’t know what else to do with myself so thot I would talk to you for a little while and see if it won’t cheer me up a little bit. There is nothing special to make me feel lonely but can’t help feeling that way sometimes. I am still as well as ever and getting along pretty well with the work We have had a very sudden change in the weather this week. It stopped raining last Sat. and turned warm all at once. Monday was the warmest day of the season and believe me we felt it some to. It has been hot every day this week but not nearly so hot as Monday was. I don’t think it will last for any great length of time up here in the mountains. If it stays nice until Sunday I am going on a fishing trip. I think I have made plans to go about a dozen time this season but something always happened to prevent. I am going this time for sure tho If we don’t have to work.

I had a letter from Mother the other day. She said they were all pretty well at the present. I guess they are just about through with the berries now I think they were going to pick them for the last time today and I suppose they are glad to get through with them. Blanche Stockton is going to stay at our place through black-berry picking. I think that her and Lida are going to pick for Mr. Perensen.

Saturday evening.

Well here I am once more I had to stop writing the other before I finished and didn’t get to write anymore until now, and don’t suppose I  can finish it now either as Mr. Cook and I are going fishing this evening. I am waiting for him to get ready and thot I would talk to you while I am waiting. We are going up May creeks about five miles and stay all night so we can get an early start in the morning. Well I guess Gus is about ready to start so I will have to stop and finish tomorrow night. I can then tell you about our trip good-bye for now.

Monday evening

Well here I am once more, how was you this evening? I am fine and dandy and hope you can say the same. I intended to finish this letter last night but Gus and I were invited out to supper and we didn’t get home until about nine oclock so didn’t have time to write any. We had quite a time on our fishing trip, didn’t catch many fish but had a good time just the same. We stayed all night Sat. night out in the woods under a big tree on the bank of a swift mountain stream and the water made music for us to sleep by. We got up at four o clock and started out to catch trout enough for breakfast. It was a beautiful morning and the scenery was just grand, wish you could have been there and seen it for yourself. We fished until seven and then we stopped and cooked breakfast. I cleaned the trout while Gus prepared the rest of the meal and then we both fried fish. We certainly had a great feed and it sure tasted fine for we were hungry.

After breakfast we went on up the creek fishing as we went until noon then we stopped and had another fish fry. On the return trip I went to climb along the cliff to get by a water fall and my foot slipped and I went into the water co-plunk and oh was it cold. The sun was shining tho so It didn’t take long to dry. We got back to camp quite early in the evening and we were some tired I tell you. We gave our fish to a family man that lives here and he invited us to come and help eat them so we went and we certainly had a good supper. After supper we had some music and singing go put in the evening quite pleasantly.

 I got your letter today and of course was very glad. I looked for it Saturday, but it didn’t come so I wasn’t looking for it until Wednesday so was some what surprised to get it today. It was a very pleasant surprise tho. Am so glad to hear that you are feeling so well and hope you will stay that way. I had a letter from Mother today also. She and Lida are both pretty well and getting along pretty well. Richard is able to walk without crutches now and the Doctor told him he would be as good as ever by their first of Aug. Guess he will start away threshing just as soon as he can. I bet he is some glad to be able to walk around again. He certainly has had quite a time of it.

Father is getting along pretty well and is feeling quite will. My old uncle isn’t any better and I guess never will be. He had never recovered his health and his mind is failing him. I don’t think he can last so very long but of course it is hard to tell.

 Well it is time for me to pull in so I will have to hang up and go to bed and get some sleep so I will be ready for another long hard day. Gus has been sitting here reading to me while I have been writing so if you find any mistakes you will know the reason and excuse them.

good-night, Roy

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Dear Diary

July 17, 1915

We went to the picnic and dance at Donald on the 15^th. My did we ever have fun and eat so much good food.  It was good to visit with all the folks I don’t see much. The boys and men spent most of the afternoon playing baseball while we women cheered and visited. They also held running races like the gunny sack and three-legged races for the younger kids.  As you know I am not so crazy about dances unless a certain someone is there with me too.  But I have to admit they had some mighty fine fiddlers. My toes were sure a tapping even if I did sit the dances out. 

So many of the folks at the dance kept asked why I didn’t I just up and take myself to Washington. Believe me I’m temptedbut I would hate to hurt my family that way and beside Roy made Papa that darn promise so I am sure he’d still wait until I was 21 before he asked for my hand in marriage.

We have had so much rain this month it is interfering with the haymaking. Before it gets quite dried out it ups and rains again.  After so many seasons of insufficient rain this year we have too much.

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July 31,

Dear Diary,

It’s been a very busy end to July, so busy with harvesting crops and canning. The men have been trying to get as much haymaking done as they can between rainstorms. Most of our alfalfa crops is laying spoiled in the fields due to the overly plentiful rain.

Papa has once again said he’s had enough of trying to farm out here. The Washington relatives keep writing to him saying he should come out there.  I have my fingers crossed I think he is considering it. I don’t have to tell you how much I’d prefer that to Belle Fourche.

I am sitting in my garden. My flowers have flourished, they don’t mind all the rain at all. I’m being cooled by a pleasant breeze and the sweet scent of fresh mowed hay drifts through the air. In the distance I hear the yowling of the coyotes. This year these parts are being overrun with them.

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China – coded letter written by Mae sometime in July or August it was included in the envelope for Roy’s letter dated July 17, 1915

Yes Roy I would like very much to be in Washington but you know I can’t as long as the folks are here. But everybody is asking me why I don’t go. But we must live in hope of being together I hope.

Vera and Hazel discovered the writing in the envelope, but it will be all right

I surely get lonesome sometimes if only I could see you once in a while I would feel so much better. But I hope and trust in God we will soon be together. It helps to look on the bright side of things you are just beautiful and I love you only

Mae

If you send any secret letters envelopes, don’t as they are looking

Mae