Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-03-29

On the day that "Uncle Henry" Wallace
died. a boy on a farm in the corn belt
wrote him a letter. Uncle Henry" never
saw this letter. 1t came the day after ne
went away. But it is a letter in which
he would have been greatly interested
And 1t is a letter in which every man who
stands for the things that are really
worth while on the farm, should be In
tercstcd We shall not tell the boys
name. nor where he lives. But we think
he has expressed the thoughts and the
troubles OF many other boys Here is his
letter:
Dear Uncle Henry: / have been neg
Letting to write to you for about TOUR
weeks; we'll, in fact, ever since we, Or
rather my father. received your book.
Letters to the Farm Folk i have read
the most of this book. and l think the
letters have done me lots of good. L am
writing you for advice for one in my
condition. am discouraged almost to
the last point. Several years ago. my
father gave me some young stock. L gave
1t the very best care l could, and 1t grew
well. but when 1T was sold. my father kept
the money. and nearly broke my heart.
Then. two years aftcrward, my father
gave me some more stock. L took good
care of this. but when it was sold. he kept
the money again. And this has happened
every year. My father buys my clothes.
stIIu WUfI j SO " u, nv v 'iS ~
or 20 cents as spending money; but l get
to go to town only four or five times a
year. and my clothes do not cost very
much. for they last a long time. Truly.
/ am not lazy. l work in the fields IN
the summer. and l help with the chores
and in the house in the winter. Now /
want your advice, Uncle Henry. Is it
right for me to consider as mine. the stock
my father gives me? What shall 1 dog"
This is the letter as the boy wrote 1t,
except that we have omitted his age. his
mention of the kind of stock, and his ref
erence to other members of the family,
which might reveal his identity. This boy
may be any one of a hundred, yes of a
thousand. boys in the corn belt. In fact,
he may be your boy, dear reader, and we
wish you may have this thought in mind
when reading further.
Do you remember the happy days when
you were counting the girl who became
your wife? And do you remember, as the
day for the wedding approached, what
your thoughts were as you went home
after spending the evening with her? Do
you remember how you felt when for the
first time the thought came to you hat
after while you might become the father
of a boy: and the castles you built as
that thought grew on you?
And then. do you remember when your
dreams came true. and you actually were
Tue HAPPY l6Silc VI q OOy what n OTlSuI
world it was as the boy grew Inc thrived.
h a satisfaction 1t was to take him in
your arms in the evening. and let him pull
your hair. and wrap his little fingers
around your big ones. The long days in
the fields were shortened by the happy
thoughts of the time when that little fell
low in the house would be big enough to
come out and help. And how proud you
both felt that evening when he ran to
meet YOU as you came from the barn.
dressed in a pair Of little o~veralls that his
mother had made for him. You thoughts
were full of the boy in those earlier days
when he was a little shaver, and was
learning to help with the chores. And you
guarded him carefully while teaching him
to be fearless about the stock. And as
he grew. you taught him to hitch and drive
a team. and finally the eventful day came
when o hitched UP your team and ne
hitched up his, and together you made
your way to the field. How well the
work went that day. and how proud the
mother was that night when her 1.-TWO
men, drew up to the table.
We know that you love that boy just as
much today as you ever did. You don't
show It as much now, but the love is
there. AS the boys grow up and take
their natural part in the activities of the
home and farm. gradually we take them
as a matter of course. The days are full
of work in which each much do his part,
and when evening comes, the tired