June 1943 - A Letter from Janet McAdam Waning

By May of 1943 Jim, Margaret, and Barbara Waning had moved from Eugene to Portland, Oregon.  The elder Uptons and Wanings sorely missed their children and their Grand-daughter.  Here is a letter from Jim's mother, Janet Waning.  It contains a most charming description of how a letter from the Portland Waning family is received by the Dexter Waning family.

Letter - Page 1

"Dexter, Oregon

June 9th, 1942

Dear Children -

Your letter came Saturday & every thing stops while I read it - & that isn't enough - each will find it later on & get their glasses cleaned & read it for themselves - so it really looks like they are greatly interested.  

We are so glad you are enjoying your new home & work - & you should like it better when it has been home longer. 

Sunday Billy & I went to your home on Fall Creek - met your mother & father there.  Your mother said she's hoed 5 rows across the garden - It is so nice to hoe in - The hoe doesn't bounce back at you like here & Mr. was playing round with his little tractor he has a disc that straddles the row & does a good job of cultivating.  He has a one section harrow - but Billy said it was hardly able to handle it when he rode - It tips the front part up & it loses traction - It was OK when he was walking - He said he'd weight down the front -  There had been a new garden tractor in Elliot's before you wrote about one & when the men went in next time after hearing from you it was gone - & they looked around town but couldn't find any..."

Letter - Page 2

"...I see there's one advertised in Sunday's paper - out by Elmira - but it expect it will be gone before the men could get out there for Billy took 3 of his fat pigs in Mon - & had two cooled for us - & will take 3 more today - & bring home our meat & he won't take time to run around.  Then the meat will have to be put away.  I'll suggest they sell their pigs & leave the trailer & go look at the tractor I don't know now far Elmira is - & it may be gone - It is a riding one - but I don't imagine Billy will be in for that - It's cloudy & cool & the pigs could stay in cooler till he came back.  He isn't feeling too good this morning either didn't eat his usual breakfast & I see he took salts - So might not be in the humor to drive around - He usually dreads taking the hogs in - & this time he said he got them loaded & never got mad.  That was something out of the ordinary.  The hogs he took in weighed 706 I think.  The one he sold was 260 - 13 cents - but even down like that we can't buy a wiener pig for less than $10.00 - Billy has put down all feed for these & he will make round a hundred dollars on them - milk & labor thrown in.  He'll try & get 4 wieners for we will have quite a bit of milk all summer.  Daisy & Peggy (your red heifer) will freshen before very long & all but Lily haven't been..."

Letter to be continued...