Carolyn Gay Taft Farm Letter - March 7, 1927

Old Mission, Mich Mar 7th 1927

My Dear Miss Taft: - We are having a lovely rainy day so I can't do my washing. Thot' I would improve my time by writing you a letter. I helped Joseph sort corn for a while but thot' I better not stay out too long on account of the dampness. I have coughed all winter. Something I never did before in my life.

I hope your cough & cold is much better by now if your cough is still troubling you. Got a bottle of [Creo-] Terpin that is what I am using & I am getting better. Some times pneumonia comes on in just a few hours time & but a very little warning. Thats what it did to my sister Angeline. Roger was very miserable for two week carried a temp every day & lost nearly 3 weeks of school. The weather is either dreadfully cold or else raining it is very uncomforable here most of the time. The snow is nearly gone & the ice is melting in the bays.

I hope it doesn't do like last Spring be warm now & freeze us all Summer. The fruit buds are lovely so far will mail some to you later on.

The corn is a bad mess Joseph keeps sorting it over but the cobs are moulding & spoils the corn. If the Fall hadn't been so wet it would have been all right but no weather to dry any thing & now the damp winter only tends to make bad matters worse. I didn't want to tell you about the corn unless I had to. Joseph hopes to save quite a lot of it. That he spread on the barn floor did the same as in the crib. Every one has the same trouble. Harry Lang poisoned one of his horses with mouldy corn & Frank Stevens lost a cow. A number of the neighbors hogs have died off from feeding this junk.

The cow had her calf & every thing is fine there. The calf was small and as long as you didn't wish to save it I am going to try to keep it six weeeks & feed it corn meal & calf meal & then cover it over in brine for Spring meat. Will remember you when you come. Hope it is better than the peas I saved for you a year ago. I never try to do something nice bewhat it turns out to be a fake after all. It may cost more to keep the calf six weeks than it is worth but will try it any way. Joseph says I will have to take care of it myself.

Joseph hired Charlie a month ago when there was very little to do here & spent a few days putting a floor up stairs & sheet rock on the walls of the house. Now if you sell our house is ready. Joseph knew you wouldn't care as long as your work was done here. We have never neglected a thing here & done our own first. We hope when we are through here you won't feel dissatisfied with our work. If so tell us any time. It is hard to always please any one but we try so hard & that is about all any one can do.

Every one is looking for a booming Summer & by what I hear from some of our California friends the Summers on Michigan are more beautiful & more natural than else where. While talking with different people in T.C. I hear that in the course of a few years the larger farms will be divided into smaller resort farms & Summer homes. So lets all hope for the best & try & look forward to what is in store. Please don't worry about the farm as every thing will be all right. People are asking us a lot of questions & wonder what we are going to do. Joseph intends to stay here as long as we can manage to work our cherry orchard. It is hard to get any one to do a days work up that way with a team. The orchard up by the house is small & would require very lttle time spent on it. We must get our spray materials early. Do you still buy off M. Lardie? Some people are going to use dust spray but not for mine good old lime & sulphur is what we will use.

I must stop writing or you will tire out reading this. Hope you are better by now. And thanks for funnies. The children enjoy them so much.

With love, Essie Lang's best horse is dead some loss to a farmer this time of year. Nothing they did could save it. Pratts had a drunken party over to the Stutsman's dear old home today. Joseph & I was coming home from delivering Mrs. Thompkin's butter & the men were out in Murray's cherry orchard with their car so drunk that when they got out to push they wobbled around like a new born calf. It is some wild joint by what I hear. I feel like reporting the bunch to the federal officers it disgusts me so. I have had nothing but pleasant memories of that dear place until of late. Some example to set before our business men of Traverse City. But maybe that is what the majority of them consist of. I must give Hazel her bath now as it is her bed time.

Lovingly E.K.

Old Mission Mich March 1, 1927

Dear Miss Taft

How are you [ ] mother and i are feeling fine i have a bad cold and i have a cough. Thanks for the funnies Roger and i went to school to day I am lonesome for you. and i wish to see you soon i must close now with love Hazel