We will end the Ina Sessions where we began. Where Ina’s memories begin. And one final gift. The Letter.
OMG – what a letter – written by Margaret Lowther Webb (Ina & Louise’s Mom) to her mother Ellice in Cavendish. Lyrically written, full of fun stories, love and life. We would lose her two weeks later. We celebrate and find her again today eighty years later.
{anything in brackets are my explanations}
{Please leave a comment and enjoy the holidays}
North Carleton
November 23, 1940
Dear Mums,
Well, there’s a thousand and one things I should be doing , but heck a feller can’t always keep doing things can they? The girls and I have just been cleaning out the hen house, nests, etc. The girls are a wonderful help lots of times and it does them good to learn how & why & all. Keith is still ploughing but the end is nicely in sight now thank goodness. What an open fall it has been although the wet weather did manage to intervene many times.
Had Anne over for a while yesterday afternoon, its always a “bright lining” to hear of all her doings & so on. Mrs. MacFarlane had the grippe early in the week, but is much better. Monday she was determined she would have to get up to wash the separator. After awhile Anne convinced her that she could wash a separator. Anyhow, while Anne was doing the dishes, preparing her tray, getting the wash water on , wasn’t poor Mr. MacFarlane struggling over the separator. Anne scolded him a bit & then he asked “ Oh, do you suppose you’d find time to bake me a little cake today?” Anne just thought it a joke, but in the middle of the afternoon it was mentioned again. It turned out that the Orangemen were entertaining that evening, so the little cake got baked & he was on his way rejoicing. {Sister Anne in Fernwood where she lives with her husband Charles and his parents}
I kept Marion yesterday afternoon while Wilbert and Martha went to S’side. She was as good as gold so I didn’t mind a bit. It’s sort of nice to get the chance to repay a bit as they have kept our children so often. They got their car going Monday & have kept it busy ever since. They plan to go to New Glasgow again tomorrow & are away to Mrs. Johnston’s funeral this afternoon. Ethel plans to stay down with her mother for a while. {Close friends and neighbours Wilbert and Martha Wright – and daughter Marion – to the family they are fondly known as Uncle Wilbert and Aunt Martha}
Wednesday Evening
Where do the days go anyway? Thought surely I’d get a chance to finish this up Sunday, but we went out to church in the morning. Just got home & dinner and children off to bed when in drove Fred & Doris & family. They stayed for supper & by the time we got our own work done & Wrights, twas bed time. Fred & Leslie Hooper had gone over to Sydney last week looking for work but couldn’t get any to suit them so came home. Fred could have got in with M F Schurmans Monday morning but decided he’d go in & see Hall & Staverts first. They are surely restless roamers & whether they will ever settle down again remains to be seen. They never saw a soul in Toronto they knew, not even Mayme Mathews or William Montgomery, they liked it very much there though& could have got work but thought it time to come home again. Fred’s course cost him $125.00 clear of board & other expenses. They sure do well to manage to keep going. Wilfred , so they tell me, has a new job down in Rhode Island, some new invention of his. His salary is to be $1000 a month believe it or not. {Fred and Doris Lowther – Fred is the son of Leigh Lowther – who you will meet in just a second. Wilfred is Fred’s brother in Rhode Island – wonder what what his invention was?}
Aunt Sue called up Saturday night wanting a couple of geese for Monday. Don’t just know what big party she is pulling off but will probably hear about it eventually. Uncle Leigh had had a touch of lumbago but is better again. He is getting new glasses & new lower teeth. “ That’s what it is to be getting old” says he. Aunt Sue and he put in most of the turnips down at Fred’s place. To hear Aunt Sue tell it would make you split your sides. Uncle Leigh says “Stand up Sue & tell it, you can work your words better.” They were both pitching & Aunt Sue had heartburn quite badly, but she kept on determined not to give in. After awhile Uncle L became winded. “Come over here Sue & I’ll show you how to top” “And be golly’s says Aunt S. “If I couldn’t just about trim him at it” She vows she topped until the moon was high in the sky. {Uncle Leigh Lowther and Aunt Sue – Leigh was a brother of Margaret’s father – Harry Lowther}
Courtenay pulled up stakes one morning this week and went off somewheres over across to try and find work. (Maybe preaching) They have Earl Rogers hired for a month. {believe she is talking about Mr. Courtenay McKay of North Carleton}
The measles are in full swing at North Carleton School. Wish in one way our children would get them over with although guess we won’t try to run into them. Hope Martha doesn’t catch them, she has never had them. Just now she has a very nasty cold & seems to be all in but the shoe string. She misses Ethel too, believe me.
Basil has left Sadie & Calvin is installed in his place. He surely gets around early in the morning for the cream anyway.
Knitting party at Edith’s tonight, but guess it will be a small affair when its snowing so hard. {Believe Edith Gardiner – her husband Waldo is away in the war at this time – I think – you met him earlier in the Ina Sessions}
The girls will be expecting Santa for sure in the morning unless the snow disappears ere that. They are having a fine time these days making “letters.” I have a bit more time to help them & they are in so much more too. {you can see those letters at the end of this letter}
Did you get the order off to Eatons? I was wishing I had told you to send for a couple of pairs of pyjamas ready made. I could make their old ones do for wash days very nicely. Louise had a few nasty days with tooth ache but it is better & now she has a nasty pimple on her leg. Guess it won’t amount to much though.
Keith got the ploughing fairly well finished up & got the wood in today so alls well that ends well. In the evening he’s very busy taking about 1 ½ inches of varnish off a new oval table he bought at “Wee Willies” sale. It’s a swell table, all joking aside & we can use it nicely here in the kitchen that’s if he doesn’t get it too stylish looking. If he does maybe he’ll try selling it to you – the leaves come up easy. {I assume Ellice hosts tourists in Cavendish in the summer – in what is now the Marco Polo Inn – so might like a stylish table}
He got me a bed at the sale too to fit Anne’s old spring & mattress. Guess he doesn’t like sleeping on the dining room couch! We’ll have to put it in the storeroom. Got two new geese too from Platte Cameron’s. One is smaller. They look a great deal like our own old ones. Little pigs are doing fine. Gave them a dose of reduced iron Monday morning. Should put a bit more color in their nose and ears. Pullets still holding up well swell 23 dozen 3 last week $10.59 for them . they are 43 cents a dozen now. They generally drop a couple of weeks before Xmas but tell Uncle A I still prefer to have them laying now than in the summer. Already I have $105.00 in good eggs which I consider some good. The first bunch of roasters we took out to Ralph 59 of them – 55 graded A.M.F & 4 went down to B.M.F. As a whole they averaged $1.61. Beat that Uncle! They have led out there so far. The last 7 we took out all graded A.M.F and brought in $1.59 each. The 66 gave us returns of $105.05 Keith got a pig check and his seed check the same day & says he saved $2.00 besides cause I couldn’t eat any dinner or any supper. Foolish enough says you. But it may never happen again. {a lot of math, competitiveness and agricultural business to follow here – Margaret graduated from Prince of Wales College with a Business Degree. Reminder that Margaret is pregnant at this time – maybe why she couldn’t eat dinner ? }
We believe that the four that graded down were the yellow New Hampshire ones you remember we had a few of them. The crushed buckwheat I do believe helped to make the other ones look very white. See in todays Herald where an old western poultry man used oats & buckwheat to fatten poultry.
Well, Edd, I suppose you are all set for the big potato subsidy, perhaps Uncle A will be able to get a new pair of overalls then. {is Well Edd an expression? Or is she addressing her brother Edward here ? Who I assume is working with their Uncle Austin in Cavendish?}
Horace Wright shipped a bunch of capons ( by the way he says they are only the only cockerels to purchase lazy & fatten so easily) to Sydney. Anyhow they graded old roasters, & he just got 12 lb for them. In town one day he slipped a note on the Dept of Agricultures paper to them & got returns of $1.75 each. I laughingly told Keith that if ours graded down I was writing into Stewart for a leaf out of his pad. {note – friend Stewart Wright works for the PEI Dept of Agriculture – brother of Wilbert. Horace Wright – next door neighbour in Chelton is the local member of PEI legislature so would also have easy access to Dept of Agriculture paper. Margaret, being the President of the local Women’s Institute that runs from Albany and Carleton down to Borden, is well connected.}
Must get the bread set now this is horribly written but my pen won’t keep up to my thoughts fast as I push it. Speaking of letters – after waiting weeks & weeks & weeks for a letter from Anita one came the other day and to crown it all & what hurt my Scotch to the core was 6 cents due please. Guess she had forgotten to stamp it altogether. The day the card came saying 6 cents due K came in from the mail box wondering which one of my relations was too poor to buy a stamp. Wasn’t that a huge joke on him? {Keith’s sister Anita – also a close friend of Margaret’s – has sent a letter from Toronto}
Wrights have had no more word on Arthur wonder if Mrs Webb has. {Arthur Wright – another brother of Wilbert’s – and also a friend of Keith’s sister Lorraine – is in the war – and no one has heard from him – or knows where he is. There is more to this story – but others know it better than I do – so I am hoping they might leave a comment}
Austin Murphy married one of Swithen McKenna’s daughters yesterday. Guess there wouldn’t be much confetti left on them by the time they would get to Cape Tormentine. Such a wind.
Keith didn’t get the old sow killed yet j?ust too bad – but there may be good car roads yet. { the penmanship is amazing in this letter – but couldn’t figure out exactly why Keith hasn’t gotten around to killing the sow yet – must be related to the weather somehow }
Thurs –Quite a storm – Guess we’ll go over & see Anne & Chas this morning that’s if Keith ever ever gets ready. It’s just about eleven o’clock & he is still puttering. Green’s just came for a couple of more pigs that’s the last of them.
Keith says to tell his Dad that he’ll take Mischief to Emerald Saturday morning & will try to be at Emerald at 11 oclock. If that doesn’t suit him he better phone us. {Emerald PEI at this point is an important train station – Mischief I assume is a horse? }
