Ellsworth American., 1922-12-20
Monroe, Oregon, Dec. 4, 1922.

Dear Aunt Madge and the rest of the
Clan:
| have been thinking ! would write
wishing you all good cheer and lots of
love and happiness. / feel this win
ter as if l was in the farther end of
the world.
May 81, at night, we left FIT Lauder
dale, Florida, for Jacksonville Next
night we left there for Ft Scott, Kan
sas; from there to Moran, Kan to
visit Lees sister. We were there
three weeks. In the meantime we Wis
tied his brother at Mound City, Kan:
then we left Moran for Kansas City;
stayed one day and night with a sis
ter there, and from there to Clifton,
Col, to visit another brother One
week with them, and then we went to
Provo, Utah, to visit another brother.
This brother was in poor health. and
wrote Lee to come and help get ready
for a family reunion. which was to be
the third of August and last ten days.
Lee has five sisters and five brothers
eleven of them. the oldest seventy.
the youngest fifty-one. Some of the
family had not met for forty four
years. Well they were all at the re-
union and they had a grand time.
There were some children and sisters
in-law, some twenty three l think al
together
This brother is a nurseryman, so
had very large building which ac-
commodated us all. These people came
al; ;rh
came the greatest distance.
That reunion is why we are out
West. One brother lives at Corvalles,
Ore, and we came home with him.
stayed there ten days, then came out
here eighteen miles south of there.
This place is an orchard of 26,000 fruit
trees-pear, peach, plum, prune, ap-
ple-also gooseberries and grapes.
There are more apples than anything
else, / believe; there are 400 acres in
apples. We are four miles up on hills
from the Willamette river.
It's been a very nice fall here so far.
This company wanted a man to drive
a large team, so Lee got job and
they wanted a woman to run the
boarding house. so l took the job.
Haven't had many boarders, but once
or twice had sixteen and nineteen to
dinner, so have got along pretty well.
This last month very few are work =
ing here. We get house rent, stove,
table and chairs free, all the fruit we
need or want, and part of our fire.
wood all sawed and ready to split.
What we pay for is about $4 per cord,
and big junks less than that.
This dining room has a fireplace. The
dirt is red on this hill. ! canned 100
quarts of peaches, about sixty quarts
OF pears. lot of prunes and plums.
They dry the prunes here on the
farm, and l think they brought to the
house about 180 pounds of dried
prunes. We have peeled several boxes
of apples, and l have them drying, and
we have lot of apples for winter. I
have apples canned ready for mince
meat, and some for sauce,
Well, / have worked some since l
came here. but when spring comes
there will be plenty to do. We sold
our household goods out at FIT.
Lauderdale. Don't think we shall ever
go back there. | like Miami best.
My daughter is still at Okeechobee,
Fla. l think | shall visit California
before l go anywhere to settle down.
| think we were very lucky to get this
job but l don't like cooking very well,
so don't think, after we leave here, l
will try much boarding house busi-
ness again. ! had an offer of $50 per
month to help cook, but when Lee got
this job, it seemed better to be to-
gether than so far apart.
We shall not settle here in oregon.
Too much rain winters. and fog. My
throat bothers me here very much, SO
far.
Well, Aunt Fannie. sorry you are
laid up. Hope you will soon be all
right and write the column often.
used to write often. but since I left
my old home, have been rather slow
| in writing. Aunt Maria, we will soon
have our birthdays-mine January a
yours, l think. January 1s. Are you