Emma's Letters

Maple Lane Farm Hampton 12th August 1923 My Dearest Joe, Your "dandy" letters home are the greatest comfort. Last Sunday's was only four days coming. I am glad you are in your new quarters and very relieved to learn you've had rain enough up there to dampen things a bit. We're still needing it here - though it rained twice since last Sunday but when things are so dry and a fine shower is followed by hot days with wind it soon looks as if it had never rained. Just now of course with harvest at its height some are not so anxious to see it start in real wet.  Our grain is all cut & stocked up - 17 loads in - the wheat is threshed (a fair crop not so plump as some and the heads were short - but nothing to discourage a fellow growing wheat). 'Bert Northcott and Jas. Stainton have a brand new outfit - Case tractor operating this season - but we had Ashton's this time - because he was in the immediate neighborhood at the right time.  Last Tuesda...

Maple Lane Hampton 14th May '23 My Dear Joe, Anymore it seems the better chance I have to write the more difficult it becomes for me to settle down to it. All week I think how many letters I will write on Sunday and when the time comes it seems harder than ever - I see I have written one letter since I wrote to you in March! And, some how the people I write to are growing fewer all the time. Well! we've seen some fine (and rare too) samples of Ontario weather since Easter haven't we? There was frost (white) again last night - last Wednesday it snowed for an hour or more, faster and bigger flakes than I ever saw before, and yet the grain is up, green and growing. The maples are almost leafed out. Things look fine - only it stays so cold. We have fire in the box stoves every evening if not all day, and Allen's wood and ashes job seems likely to last all summer. I managed to catch a first-prize cold in my journeying around. Doris told you I went to Berta...

Maple Lane Farm Hampton 11th March 1923 My Dear Boy,   Two good letters from you to reply to this time - and I know I am a week behind too. It was so spring like a week ago (and no letter from you got here till Tues) so we thought maybe you would be breaking camp before a letter could get in and I didn't write, then when your letter came I was sorry especially as you said you were not feeling quite well. I was not anxious - but I was awfully pleased when your second letter came to reassure me.  Since I wrote last Ted has had the Grip - was in the house a week - which seemed much longer to him. He is about again now. O.K. I guess, any way he has gone to take Emerson back to town again.  And still the Radio isn't much of a success. We have picked up concerts, reports of hockey matches, lectures, etc., occasionally quite plain for the operator, but too indistinct to those away from the machine. He admits now that he is baffled - doesn't know any thing more to do to...

Maple Lane Hampton 20th Feby '23 My Dear Son, I missed my letter-writing on Sunday. Emerson was here "fussing" with the radio and there didn't seem any chance - but if this is mailed in town tomorrow you will get it perhaps as soon as if it had gone via Hampton. Last week we had some weather - snow storms and then a big wind. It drifted for two days so that the mail man could not get around. That's the first time that has occurred since we lived here so you can judge the amount of snow there is piled up in spots. I am hoping to get to town (with the milk-man) tomorrow - second time this year - and if it isn't too cold we may jog along to Beulah's. She and "the kid" have been sick she writes, and it does seem about time we paid her a visit in her now home. We have not had any more Grip but they've all been down with it at Aunt Ella's - Last report Grandpa was still in bed. My! it sounds encouraging to hear you counting...

Maple Lane Farm Hampton 4th Feby 1923 My Dear Joe, Here it is Sunday again, my day to talk to you and I've been most all day busy trying to keep warm. We are having one of our frequent but brief cold snaps (It will probably rain before tomorrow this hour.)  There is a lot of sickness around "Grippe", I guess. Doris is trying it yesterday and today. I hope it does not get the whole bunch going! Any way not all at once. "Papa" and Ted (and I may as well admit, me too) are having the time of their lives teasing [testing?] the radio. Did I tell you Emerson was fixing us up one? He was out last week with it but it didn't work so he took it back and we got it again yesterday. He heard concerts all week over it but we can't seem to get it tuned up quite right for though we catch scraps of speeches, music, sermons, etc. we can't get anything plain. It's about as aggravating as a Ford engine. You'll think I'm long on promises if yo...