The Third Letter

This third letter is dated August 13th and postmarked Saint Louis, MO on August 14, 1935 at 9:30 AM. It is addressed to:

 Miss Kathryn Krueger

Port Arthur, Texas

C/O Dr. Earst

From:

Mrs. W.N. Downs

7336 Ethel Avenue

St. Louis, MO

                                                                              August 13th

Dear little Honeybunch:

                          I haven't one thing to do this morning. I've read all the books and magazines I brought home. I've written to Ann, Bertha, Mrs. Arnold, Mrs. Rawley, Aunt May and Leila. Have a few more letters to write but don't want to do them now - just wrote notes to all those others. Got out the machine awhile ago to let out my blue voile that shrunk when I washed it, but something is wrong with it for it starts running and won't stop when I want it to. I could make number cards but don't want to. I'll make them this afternoon maybe.

                         My birthday presents are so pretty. You shouldn't have sent me a picture that I had already raved over so, for that leaves me no fresh ravings to write. I, too, felt as soon as I saw that picture that I was walking along by the side of that stream. I want you to go to Colorado some day because the streams there are just like that picture. Thank you for it.  The little dishes Leila sent are exquisite. I love that glassware. I asked Willis, also, not to get me a birthday present but he was disappointed so I told him to get me two little silhouettes I had seen in a little gift shop down town. They were a dollar each and so dainty, about 9 in X 3 in. The background is covered with silver milkweed thistles and on top of that gaily colored little pressed flowers. That is a background for the silhouettes painted on the glass. One is a little sailboat with trees on the bank, the other Romeo and Juliet on the balcony. I needed something so badly to put underneath the little high windows in the living room. I had a spot that was just waiting for your picture also.

                           You may use the white shoe polish as I had to buy me more as soon as I came home. Don't much like that I had down there anyway. If you do not like it either, just leave it till I come again, or you come up here and I'll use it on my everyday white shoes.

                           I do not remember the name of the roach cylinders. I expect Ann would remember. Got them once at Henke's out near the place at 2908 Main, another time at Weingartens on Texas, between Main and  Fannin. Be sure to phone Bertha as you come back thru, if you did not as you passed thru Houston.

                          I took the key to your case down in my purse and brought it back with me. I'll put it in a letter soon - not this one for you did not tell me where to address this, so I'll just sent it care of Dr. Earst.

                         I wish you were going to Colorado with us - that is if we go. I haven't energy enough to decide whether  I need any more clothes or not and if I don't decide soon we won't go. I have my dark blue knit boucle, the black and white suit, the all black suit with the brick colored knit blouse, white linen and white silk suits. I think I need some kind of little rough suit to climb the banks of the mountain streams. Kathryn, words can't describe how beautiful it is there, but I don't care a thing about going now. Willis says he has wanted all his life to stop there and there's nothing else to do with his vacation if we don't go there, so I suppose we might as well go as stay at home. How I wish you could have come home with us. I had planned so much for your summer. We'll plan for you and Leila to come here Christmas, because it will come on Wednesday and Willis will have used all his vacation, so we can't go down there. You make Leila save the rest of her vacation and ask for an extra day or so. You can leave there Saturday at 3:00 and get here Sunday morning at 8:30. They will surely giver her her pass on the sunshine. Christmas Eve afternoon will be holiday anyway.

                        I have started learning to drive the car. I've got to get out of the house and go places, so I have to learn to drive. I know how now, but it scares me nearly to death. I don't believe I will ever be willing to take it out by myself. I got excited the other afternoon, ran up on the curb and sidewalk and headed for a ditch twice as deep as the car, on a vacant lot. The harder Willis yelled for me to take my foot off the gas, the harder I mashed on it. He grabbed the emergency brake. When we stopped he was shaking all over and that scared me so I thought I would never take the wheel again. Mr. Britt, manager of the apartment, an old automobile man, took me to the park Sunday morning for a lesson and I did better for I thought that if I killed him it wouldn't be half so bad as killing Willis. If only everybody else would stay at home with their cars until I learn, I would do better.

                         Tell Janice to get her a job, save her money and come along with you and Leila Christmas. Part of us can sleep on Mrs. Erskine's roll-a-way bed. She and Tony will be back the 30th and Mr. Erskine has taken an apartment two doors from us. Our back doors are just a little way apart. It is an adorable apartment - much prettier than ours and only $1.50 a month more, but we can't do without our sleeping porch. It has been delightfully cool out there ever since we came home, while inside it is too hot to sleep without the fan. We bought us a new fan - got a $9.95 one for $5.00 since they had only one like it left. I'll be glad when Mrs. Erskine gets here for then when I feel like I can't stand it by myself any longer, I can run over there. Mrs. Green and I talk to each other every few days over the phone, but it's too far to walk and too much trouble to go on the car. They are going to move this fall and I'm hoping they will come here in this block. I helped Mr. Erskine to pick out the paper and decide on everything to be done, because he wants to get the furniture out of storage and have it fixed up when they get here.

                        As soon as you know you are going to leave Port Arthur let me know. I may come down for not more than two or three days. Willis had asked for passes for me and then had to get emergency passes, so these regular ones came on. If I do not use them the latter part of this month, I won't use them at all because I wouldn't come in September or October because of my hay fever. I may not use them at all, but then again, I might, so let me know.

                        It rained hard last night and the sun has not shone today, so it's just like a fall day. Aren't you tired reading this? But I hate to stop because as long as I write I feel like I have you with me and when I quit I have nothing to do. I've always felt so sorry for people who did not know what to do with their time and I've always had more things I wanted to do than I had time to do them in, but now I can't find anything I want to do. I guess it's because I'm just too tired to do anything, but most days it's all I can do to finish my work. Maybe if we go to Colorado I will feel better. I've never had my nerves before feel like they are sticking out with raw edges. I hope you feel better after your Port Arthur trip. Give my love to Janice. 

                                                           And a world for yourself.

                                                                                  Polly

I am so enjoying reading these letters again and had forgotten how wonderful they are.

I hope you are enjoying  them, too!