Aug 7, 1943 [Probably Sep. 7 because it is in an envelope
with a Sep 8 postmark]
Topaz,
Utah
Dear Mother,
I do hope Willard got home safely,
and I’m glad you & Edna didn’t come with us, because it was a long
trip. Betty & Alvin were both
exhausted when we got here. They are
feeling fine now and are having a lot of fun.
These big rooms are just the thing for children to play in and they play
together as good as gold.
It is quite a set up here. The thing we object to most is the dust. Its fine white dust & gets into
everything. Then there is the water
& bathroom situation. Other than
that it is very nice here. Everyone is
very friendly, and try to help us all they can.
Harold was home yesterday all day except for 2 hrs, & he was home
again this morning so we’ve got things pretty well settled. There is still a lot of cleaning to do. The baby’s beds are very dirty & I was
going to scrub them this afternoon then decided I’d better write. We take our dishes over to the laundry &
wash them rather than pack the water.
There is always plenty of hot water.
It is so hot we made Jello with it after we brought some home in the
jug. Every morning 2 Japanese women come
in & make the bed, & shake all the rugs, & sweep & mop the
floors. I was surely surprised when they
came in at 8:30 this morning. I was just
giving Betty her breakfast because she slept so late. Harold has to be to work at 8 AM so we eat
early.
It is so hot here in the afternoons
we nearly wilt about 3 A.M. it starts cooling off & by six AM you would
think you were in Alaska. The sun on the
white dust glares like on snow. I’ve got
to get an umbrella & hats with shades on them. We haven’t tried going outside between 12
& 3 P.M. It’s too hot.
Apparently there are quite a few
things we forgot. The large cardboard
box in the basement we intended to bring & forgot about it altho we didn’t
have room for it. Nor the box of books
& fruit. There is a large Physiology
book in the wooden box with the rug over it & Harold will need it. I wonder if you will mail it. I also forgot my vitamins. Were you able to get my dress from the
cleaners?
It is so hot I can’t think what I
want to write. We live about a block
from Fern [Rees Barrows]. I haven’t been
over there yet but I’ve seen her in the laundry room.
We are invited to a tea tomorrow
for all the high school teachers & their wives. Harold is on a committee to ship all the
Alien Japanese to Tule Lake California.
There will be over 2,000 from here going.
I hope you have decided to remain
home. I think that is the wisest thing.
With love,
Laura
Salt Lake City, Utah
Sunday afternoon
Sept. 12. 43.
Do you want me to send your dress,
Dear Laura,
Helen left for
California Friday evening, or really Sat. morning at 2: a.m. Friday was her birthday and we went to town
after she washed her hair and did some packing.
She was very tired when she left, so was I. I felt bad because I didn’t get any supper
for her nor a cake nor anything. She was
going at seven o’clock and it seemed as if we couldn’t get anywhere with the
packing to get her ready on time. Sis. Toronto
said it was a good thing that she didn’t go up at seven as she couldn’t have
gone anyway as there were a lot of Draftees going and people had to just wait
in the waiting room for the next Bus. Bro. & Sis. Toronto came about 12:p.m. and took her to the depot
and waited until she left at 2. I bet
they were very tired next day. Mont was
to meet her at Oakland. I am sorry you
left your things. Hope you are not needing them too bad. I guess I ought to have sent your pills but I
have been so busy and tired that it just slipped up. Hope Harold got the books all right.
Yesterday I put up plums and cleaned the front rooms then went to Bell
Blazard’s Robertson’s funeral. I still
have a few plums to put up. Pearl will
be home Tuesday, as she wants to start Mutual.
I am going over to take care of Edna’s children in the morning. She is going to work tomorrow for another two
weeks as it is someone else’s vacation.
Then Pearl can go when she comes home.
I haven’t any Peaches put up
yet. I got 6 qts. Of Pears out of them
Harold took off the tree. Sister
Brienholt brought me over 6 cans of corn.
Some of our tomatoes are ripe and Willard had a mess of corn for dinner
today out of our garden, and we had some before Helen left. I went to Willard’s today for dinner. I have not heard any more from any of them
away except Jennette. They are all
well. The weather here is lovely. I went over to see Mrs. Barrows one day. She seemed tickled over it. This house seems so quiet. I find myself tiptoeing for fear I will wake
some of the children. I don’t know what happened to those books that Harold got
from England. They were on the small
table in the front room, and they are not there any more. Do you think some one opened the door and
took them. Maybe Helen moved them. Does these Jap women come in all the time and
do your floors. I am glad the rooms are
large enough for the children to play.
The schools & shows are all closed here to children 17 years old
& under. No Deacons at Sacrament
meeting. I didn’t get to our ward
reunion with Helen going away. Hope you are feeling rested and that the
children are well and happy. I do hope
Harold will enjoy his work, and do have a good time both of you together. Laugh & sing and play with the
children. Give Alvin a hug from Grandma
also Betty and lots of love to you Both from Mother.
Sept
13, 1943
Topaz,
Utah
Dear Mother,
We got your letter this evening and
were glad to hear from you. We are at
present living about half a mile from the post office & have to make a
special trip for mail. Harold’s school
is half a mile in the opposite direction.
If you ever saw flat country its out here. The books came Friday ok & Harold had his
first day of School today & it went very well he said.
We’ve had one week of it here,
& it has been good & bad. When I
stop to think how Jennette has it I know it is much easier for us than
her. We have to carry water yes, but we
have hot water day or night just by going after it a short distance. The bathroom situation is the worst, but we
are getting used to it. When I bath the
children I take them to the wash house & they have 4 bath tubs & 2 doz.
wash basins and it is always well heated.
I take their clean clothes with me & dress them there. It is much easier than carrying the water
here to bathe them. I’ve decided to do
my washing in the evening after Harold gets home so he can watch the children,
& it works out very well. Last Wed
we bought a bu of peaches from a fellow who trucked them in to Topaz &
Thurs. I went into Delta & bought 2 doz bottles & Fri eve we bottled
them. I got 22 quarts & 1 qt of
jam. Don’t worry about the things I
left, because I haven’t missed anything too much. I have 6 sheets with me, & that is
plenty. Don’t send the dress either. The dust is so thick you wear one dress till
you can’t stand it any longer then wash it out.
So as yet I’m wearing washables.
The only thing I really miss is my vitamins & it was silly of me to
go off without them.
With the move, I completely forgot
Helen’s birthday until I read your letter.
Yes, the women still come in every morning & make my bed because
they get here usually before I have a chance to make it & give the
furniture a once over with a duster & swap the floors & go over it with
a damp mop to take the dust off. It
helps no end. We really should have
different shoes for the house from the ones we wear out.
Betty & Alvin both like it here
& adjusted quickly to it. We have
army blankets & comforts & they are so light & soft yet so warm it
is wonderful. The mattress is the best
I’ve ever slept on. It is like air. We are cooking on a 3 burner kerosene stove
& it is very satisfactory. We have
large army heaters & Harold puts them on in the morning & that is all
we need yet. It has warmed up since I
called you. It is quite a problem to get
in to Delta for food. But we get bread
& milk here at the dining hall & occasionally can get other things at
the (Japanese) resident canteen. We are
out of touch with the world completely.
No newspaper or radio. When our
check comes we’re going to get the paper tho.
A little over a week & Jesse will be home. Perhaps we can come up for a day. With Love, Laura
[Postmarked: Delta, Utah Sep 21]
W.R.A.
Topaz,
Utah
Sept.
20, 1943
Dear Mother,
It seems that I have a minute to
write this morning. We’ve been very busy
for the past week. Harold has been on a
committee to help get all these people going to Tule Lake. Sat. night 441 people came from Tule, a day
before expected & they had to put up beds for them in the school
house. Then yesterday 500 left here for
Tule. These people coming in are all
American Japanese and we are glad to see the Alien Japanese leave.
I guess you are getting ready to
welcome Jesse home. Is he still coming
this Thurs. Harold will be able to get
Sat. & Sun. off in about 2 weeks so we hope we can come in for a day to see
Jesse.
I had a letter from Helen yesterday
and she is surely happy to be with Mont.
It is one o clock now. Fern has gone into Delta & I have her 3
children. Lauana is in school. The bus
to Delta leaves at 1:00 P.M. & gets back at 4:30, and that is the only way
we can get in to do shopping. I went in
last Friday but this is the first time Fern has gone in. Fri I was the only white person on the bus
and it takes half an hr. to get to Delta.
The jap people here are very friendly and very appreciative of anything
you do for them. I gave the ladies that
come to clean some peaches once & pudding another time. And it seems they can’t do enough to try to
repay you. They don’t get much fruit
& they are hungry for it.
This evening we are going into
Delta with Dave Evans and his wife from Murray.
He was in the Southern States on a mission while Jennette was there only
he was in Florida. They have a boy
3. Well, I’m going to do a little
ironing for Fern while she is gone. I’m
able to keep up with mine fine, but she gets pretty far behind with hers. I’m surprized how nice she keeps her children
and she surely tries to keep herself & house looking nice.
We went to Sunday School a week ago
& it is held in one of the small apts in the Staff housing it is the home
of Cornwall a brother to J. Spencer, but I’ve not spent such a miserable
morning in a long time. Alvin didn’t
make a sound all the time but Betty wanted to move around altho she wasn’t
noisy. Every time she touched anything
Mrs. Cornwall would turn & look at her, and she finally asked me to take
them into the next apt to a Jr. class. I
couldn’t take them in and leave them and I felt that I wanted to listen to the
lesson too. So I took Betty on my lap again & amused her with my
hankie. That was alright for a time but
she would set & talk to herself as she so often does. Bro Cornwall was giving the lesson and every
time Betty made a sound he would pause.
I was getting madder all the time I guess, anyway He paused again and
then reread his sentence & as he reread it Betty squelled & he made
note that he would reread it again. The
room was small & there were 20 people in it all sitting close enough
together that there was no need for him to repeat because we could all hear
& I was the farthest from him. Well
anyway I got up & walked out with Alvin & Betty. They used to have their meetings in the
Recreation hall and there is no reason why they still can’t have them there
because there is a piano there & everything & we wouldn’t be worried
about the children soiling someone elses furniture. The Cornwalls are odd. They don’t recognize anyone on the project
and speak only when they feel like it.
Consequently they are not very well liked by anyone. But I know I’ll have to try to treat them
decent anyway. There are a lot of lovely
LDS people here and we should have a good branch. Must stop for no[w] . May God bless you Mother
With Love Laura
W.R.A.
Topaz,
Utah
Sept
26, 1943
Dear Mother,
Yesterday was Sunday, & we got
your letter in the morning. Sometimes it
is hard for us to get the mail every day.
We wanted to come in some time & see Jesse, and when the Evens’ said
they were going it and gave us the opportunity to go with them we took it. But we can’t leave here until 3 P.M. Friday
and it is a 4 or 5 hr. drive. Then we
will have to return sometime Sunday afternoon.
I had planned on staying 2 or 3 days longer but I’ve told a woman I’d
take care of her little boy 19 mo. Starting Oct 4th. They are so hard up for high school teachers
that she is going to teach. Her husband
Leon Westover is also a teacher and they are L.D.S. He is first counselor to the branch
president. By the way they started
holding church in the Recreation hall yesterday & it is every so much
better.
Harold can’t think where he put the
pins for the bookcase. The vitamins came
ok. It was surely good to hear Jesse
yesterday. And we would be glad to have him come back with us for a while. We’ve plenty of room and we’ve got an army
cot he could sleep on & its pretty comfortable too. We’ve got stacks of bedding too, 3 comforts
& 8 wool blankets. Yesterday we
finally found out that we’re in line for an apartment but it may be one month
or 2 months before they are finished.
We got ½ bu of tomatoes Sat &
we’ve eaten a lot of them but I’ll put the rest up & we’ll get a few more
qts. Thayer finally got more gas for his
car so he can go after our groceries once a week now. The washer is ok now but we had to put new
oil in it. Furn is using it too &
paying me 50¢ a week. She wouldn’t use
it without paying me & the project washer is as hard to use as doing it by
hand. Mrs. Westover is going to pay me
$1.00 a day which with be $25. A month and we don’t have to buy wood or coal so
we ought to be able to pay off our ins. Loan & save some money. We are buying a bond every month anyway.
I’m going to take care of Ferns
children this morning. She is going up
to the offices & see if they can expect an apt. in the near future.
I do hope you have a good trip to
Roland’s and that all goes well. We wish
you were going to be home when we come, but perhaps you can come down to visit
us when you get back. Praying that the
Lord will watch over you
With
Love Laura
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