The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-01-18
Letter From Kansas.
Haddam, Kans., Jan. z, 1912.

Editor Reporter I have not
! written letter to be put in your pa
per for a long time, l will now pro-
coed to do so, as they have most all
of them gone to church and things
are quiet.
l see by Mrs. Strong's letter she
lis wondering what has become of me
and few others. Well, We have
been doing. a considerable lot of NOV
| ing around since we moved to this
state. | guess we are like an old
hen with her flock of little chicks
we are looking for the best place to
scratch. l tell you these failures and
hard times that have visited this
country for the last 16 months is
enough to make most anyone move
around. We just lived in Beloit one
year, then out at Stockton, Kans,
then moved here at Haddam two
years ago this coming March, but
have moved several times since COM
ing here. l, for my part, don't like
to move. but do it anyway Orr got
in a big notion this fall to move to
Oregon where his two half brothers,
Will and Jack, are. But when he
got down to our place in Missouri,
112 miles east of Kansas City, he
intended to sell off 40 acres and then
would have $50 acres left of big tim
Der land. But he got fooled-he
didn't find a buyer so we are here
yet and l, for my part, am glad of it
for l didn't want to go all the time
l was getting ready. We had a sale,
of course, and sold most everything,
except some things that were given
to us as wedding presents and we
would not part with them. One
among the things We would not part
with is a kitchen table that mother
Stone had when she first commenced
housekeeping, so you see we are
commencing over in the new where
she left off. Think of the moneys
worth that has been eaten off this
table and no telling how many more.
l am writing my letter on it now.
1t is made of black walnut.
Well, I must say something about
my family. Orr wears a mustach
now. l think it makes him better
looking. But you wouldn't know
him if you should see him I don't
expect. Irene, Birchem and Edgar,
all three, go to school every day.
Irene is almost ready for the seventh
grade and Birchem almost ready for
the fourth, and Edgar almost ready
for the first. ] mean the teacher has
been telling them they must get their
books right away. Then Marie comes
next She will be five the 18th of
this month and l am intending to
send her this fall ! am getting up
a birthday shower of post cards on
h nd P,1hy h1iv irf1 Id
come so closely together. Ruby's is
the 18th. Ruby will be two years
old. l weaned her the goth of No.
vember. She is little and delicate,
never has been large and robust like
the other children always were. She
is the only one that has blue eyes,
and the rest all favor the Stones. The
children and everybody else all make
over her because she looks so much
like a doll-brown hair and blue
eyes and SO delicate. She has found
out that we give her everything she
wants and she makes the other
children stand around. ,>
Oh, yes, was going to say while
ago, about going to Oregon. Orr
and Irene, we'll in fact all of the
older children, were just crazy about
going, but | am not quite ready yet,
as my parents are getting old and l
want to be with them as long as they
live. l was out home this fall and ]
found it so lonesome since little Leo
died, l could hardly enjoy my stay.
Ma and Pa, as l always called them,
are pretty we'll. They have farm of
100 acres and run it themselves.
They had burn out this year, too.
They live south Of Osborne, Kans.,
20 miles in a nice level country. But
Orr is by Oregon like breechy cow
is by getting out; he will keep coax
ing and begging at me until he gets
me there. But did you know Elmer
and Eta Brown live there too? They
like it fine. Oh, we'll, there isn't
any need of me telling about them
for Elmer had "a letter in the paper
last week, I think it was.
Well talk about snow in Oklaho
ma. I guess Kansas has snow and
cold is thrown in to boot. 1t seems
to me as though l have to mention
Iowa most every day to some one
that has always lived here. They
say it hasn't been this cold for a
long time. l mean to stay cold so
long. I must tell you, we didn't sell
old Tuck at the sale. He will be "a
years old this May. Orr says he in
tends to keep him as long as he lives.
Well, we didn't get very many
Xmas presents this year but what we
did get were valuable ones. But we
are glad we have good health. My
health has been so much better than
it was in Iowa. l have catarrh in
my head and that is one reason why
Orr wants to take me across the
mountains.
Well they have come home from
church and the first thing they asked
when they came in was, "Is dinner
read?" And I had to say no, as
was too busy writing this letter. l
want to go tonight myself. We all
helped in the Xmas program but Orr
and baby, so he stayed home, and
kept her. I sang alto in the choir
and the other children helped as they
were needed. Well I expect l had
better quit and get that dinner or
the children will be calling for din
ner again. Now I will say I do love
fo rood The RonOrter and could not