The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1923-12-21
UNCLE RUFUS WRITES
TO ISIS GAL-HUGGER"


Dear Sister Gal-hugger: (and Tom)
shure was pleezed to here from
you an Tom,-'' poor tom knOwcd
all along that you cOulden't find yer
pen, or ink, or suthin or mebby both
and them two dollars whitch you fell
lers sent will be mighty handy to help
fix up the little church. Everbuddy
is comm acrost Just fine, and tn ,
nearer it comes Christmas the finer
they are comm. Only jist tother day
George Shambacker sent in % plunks
from way down IN Oklahoma to the
Happy Hollow Ladies Society. You
recolleck George ust b member ov
this very important organization, and
George also ust to be our Sunday
School Superintendent and ust to be
jCnny on the spot when there was
bizneas to perform, too. 1t shure
makes fcllcr's eyes get pore when
we think of all them good ole scouts
that ust to help make things 90 Well
wherever they happen to be, / will bet
q hoss they will think of the Christ
masses we ust to have in the good old
homesteadin' days. There hain't no
sham about George only the front
end Of his last name.) and you
rec Heck Gus Kylcn, don t you? OF
course YOU do. none of us will ever
tergit Gus. He is the feller that
coined that GREAT household expression
that ust b so common in Happy Ilol-
low-F'Tain' t rite. " No, Gus, tam t
rite. You ort = B right here with US.
There's a fine road runnin' right be-
tween your place and Glad Feller S
and on over the hill past Turner 5.
Then on past Pete Petersen and
north into the Cody nelghborhood
They is big school bus that brings
the high school kids in every day from
Cody to White River. Some system
II bet. | wanta tell you that IS a
road anybuddy Good be proud ov-and
there is a rural free delivery three
times week and you kin Git yer st.
Louis paper brought rite to yer COR.
You'd axually think you was in a old
set>.>d country when you 60 bowlin
over these wonderful roads Just like
pavement (Here | am talkm to
Gus. i. forgot who was ritn to-
Well, as was sayin Gus sent in
dollar to help with this good cause in
Happy Hollow Whatta you think OF
that? Well, Gus got some OF his re-
ligious education in Happy Hollow
he still owns his land in Happy Hol-
low and mole'n that, he pays the
taxes, too, He will be back in another
year-when tn railroad comes
through. Ruthie Houseman handed
in a dollar, too. Seems funny to
think Ruthic is a growedup woman
bic as enybuddy, and can vote. Don I
seem long since sire and Naomi wa
runnin around with pigtails. | seen
Missus Tisdell tother night out to tn >
bio barn dance over to Barcal'S new
bic barn over in tn Cody naberhood.
She was laffin' about til Christmas
we had at Gallagher's that time when
she "got all kissed up by Tom, Vi
yene shure give Tom S eyes a good
scratchin that mite, didn't she? WE'LL
them was real good, old fashioned
times-now wasn't they? Don't you
wisht some fairy would wave wand
and make tn wheels ov time run
tother way and set tn calendar back
ten year and do it all over again! 1t
sure makes a feller's eyes GIT PORE
will haf to quit. Lots ov love to you
and remember me TO tn Little Min
lister and his folks, and wish them all
merry merry Christmas fer me.
Thanks to YOU and Tom both fer that
dollar. will see to it that Al gifts
them. Yours perspectlvely,
Uncle Rufus.
P. S. bet that before Christmas
gifts here we VIII hear from some more
ov tn old-timers.