Dear folks,
Your letters of May 16 and 20 received and will try to do a little writing this find Sunday morning, being we can't go to church anyhow. It's 10 o'clock here so suppose you are about ready to eat your dinner. I have mine all prepared. I'll tell you what we are going to have. Onions, lettuce, potatoes, bread & butter and a raisin pie. It's the first pie I've made so it will taste pretty good to pa. Ha! Ha! I can't bake in the gas stove I have in my rooms, but Mrs. Bonney said I could just as well bake some while she was doing her baking. So I went and got me 2 lbs. of flour which cost me 15 cents. Then I took rice for substitute and that cost 35 cents. We girls just found out where to buy our vegetables so I'm going to have my fill of lettuce believe me. There are some Japs going around pedding [sic] vegetables. Of course we thought they were like all peddlers and turned them down but the other day the lady I wash for on Tuesdays told me that we were foolish not to buy from them as we could get lots more for our money. So yesterday I watched for one and halted him as he came by. They have a spring wagon and drive one horse. I got 5 bunches of radish for a dime and 2 bunches onions for a nickel. In the store they are 3 bunches for a dime and 1 bunch onions for a nickel so you see the dif.
Got a letter from Julia yesterday. I wanted to write you yesterday but you wrote of getting a snapshot of us and we were to get these I am sending you, a week ago. But I guess they are all like Dinsmore [a local photographer back in Iowa], never have them ready when they tell you they will be, so I put this letter off a day or so in order to send you one of the pictures. You don't need to say anything over the phone about them as we only got a few and the folks did not get any of Herbert's before so I'll send them one of these. You can tell that if you want to because all the others got one of Herbert's before.
Well we have a telephone here now so the boys can talk to us every day if they want to. It cost us $5.25 to have it put in. That makes $1.30 each as we 4 women have it together and darn the money anyway.
Well I don't think Herbert will be transferred to the 69th and I trust the Lord will help us at all times.
Am sending you some edging you can use for some of the baby's everyday clothes. Suppose she is growing like a weed and you are preparing to get her christened. Wish I could see her. Does Eleonora get jealous when you hold the baby.
Tell Lizzie hello for me. And I hope Lena gets over her sick spell alright. Perhaps Fred will have a chance someday to get Herbert's overcoat from Faga's. It would be better off hung up. Did you get the spuds out of our cave. Don't suppose there is any water in the cave this spring being it's so dry out there.
George sent us The Kansas City Star, Homestead & News the other day and I see where the Lawyers are going to help harvest this summer. Well they will find out something and anyhow they better wait and see if there will be any harvesting.
Well I haven't seen any snow since I came here but it gets awfully cold. The other day when the parade was at Worden we nearly all froze blue. It don't get cold enough to freeze things but when the wind blows we get that damp chilly air from the water and it just goes through a person.
So John Ernst's are on the list. Well it will perhaps travel a little futher [sic] west to B. Ernst's and then there will be quite a row of them.
How is John Immel and Mrs. Scheeler. She perhaps is no more. How is your little colt. Is Flora the mother to it.
The garden truck sure grows slow here. I thought it would be ready to use a month ago but it's not ready yet. Well the nights are so cold - don't blame it for not growing. The bean look yellow. I mean the ones growing in the gardens. I never saw a bean patch like that in Ia. but I sure would like to get out and show some of these people how tomake garden. Well you will have to make liberty cabbage instead of sour kraut after this.
So Gus & Willie are called. Which camp were they called to. Well army life is no snap. One can hear all kinds of things when the boys get together. Frank Evison a chum of Herbert's was here at the house last evening.
Well it isn't dark yet at 9 o'clock here. I have not had a cold since I've been here. Herbert has a cold now and had the headache last night.
Well I'm running out of something to write aobut, and am getting hungry for that lettuce, so will close for this time. Give our Love & Best Wishes to all. As ever, your sister, Emma
That F, Evison used to be at Flagler but has been transferred to Worden to the 63rd.
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Transcribed by Cheryl Siebrass. Contributed July, 2017
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