with flannel and got him some Dr. Denton's sleeping suits. He fell
down-stairs once but don't tell Sue- he rolled down and being chubby
and the stairs having rubber mats on he didn't hurt himself much.

We all had colds- Con a touch of laryngitis but soon got over it.

By now you know that Maria is coming over to see you-- Olga wrote me not to tell you as you might worry but I guess it's all right to tell you now-(I hope) Olga wrote me she is coming over on the Andrea Doria Mar. 15 or 16- will have to look up date as she asks me to meet her and bring her here for overnight-- and then Olga continues we could motor down to Washington. Well I had to write back that Con can't leave his job just like that to more motor down to Washington altho we were thinking of coming down to see you again this spring- but later. I think we will take Maria in to N.Y. after her visit and put her on train in N.Y. for Wash. I am waiting to hear more from Olga. I have got the sewing-room ready- that is I painted the walls and we'll take up the day-bed for her.

I sent two dolls and a tennis ball and a toy for the three, Patricia Barbara and Graziella and Walther- and addressed it to Sienna because as you know the italians steal things I send to Merano. at least once it happened.

I haven't heard about Bill lately-- there are so many things I ought to do like calling Florence up about him and Oh so many other things to do but I have to wait til the "spirit" moves it seems- this is the penalty of age I suppose. or is it my peculiar make-up.

Mr. Edwards wrote last month asking me if I could give, lend, sell
I can't remember what- some of your books-the idear. he said he had
not many- I saw that Directions was getting out one of your books so
sent him the notice-I don't know what his idea is. doesn't he want
to buy them or what.

Well Stalin is dead- long live another tyrant. as soon as the
Praesidium kill each other another thug will rise up.
I could rattle on and on and as soon as I hear that everything is
all right "on the Potomac" I suppose I will continue to bombard you
with my doings. much love as ever,

Viola

P.S. Sue is making Xmas cards for next year "on her own" and will send the designs to a list she has- she now has a critic, Linda- who, seeing one with what Sue meant to be colored balloons on some fir branches- said O, easter eggs. of course Sue had some of the branches covering the edges of the balloons and made them look eliptical. Linda makes finger drawings in school and we have framed one which looks like purple snakes in a pink sunset-in fact it is restful to look at and rouses one's curiosity continually.

LAROCHE AVENUE

HARRINGTON PARK, NEW JERSEY

Oct. 3-'53

Dear Ezra;

It was so good to hear from you - makes me feel human again- to be treated as an inferior altho one has a sense of humor can be stood if the hours had been better- I got thinner and found myself weeping at the least thing- yes I got $56 out of the whole thing - two weeks and a half~

few pence out for old age pension or something or other- to understand it is boring- Ezra I wouldn't mind standing still and washing dishes for a certain length of time if it stopped right there and I could leave- but this giving of one's strength and then asked to do overtime with no pay well that is one good thing the unions did-but this wanting more and more according to the boss's books I don't see. vide the longshoreman's strike right now.

A review of Carrel(he is the one who kept a heart beating, Lindbergh mixed up in it,remember?) Alexis Carrell's Reflections on Life, says: "No one will dispute them tho not everyone will accept the peculiar kind of spiritualism in which Carrel firmly believed or share his conviction that "the external environment contains diffused psychic energy, either free or united to inert matter." I suppose as usual I don't interpret this right, but I believe that there is energy in the body that we don't half make use of and where it comes from I don't know-one can use it

and call on this "psychic energy with the mind, but it would be dangerous for one would have to keep both energies working together. Do you see it this way?

Yes it was an experience, this seeing how

a hospital is run-- the day I left I was told to go down to the other mat. kitchen and get some tray papers- little old Katherine the little old welsh woman was there-I imagine she is 70, I put my hand on her shoulder and said I would tell her a secret- that I was leaving-- she sort of jerked herself away a bit but listened and then said, "it's a good job" in a tone that implied that I ought to think so too this showed me a lot of things-- it would be too long to tell you the different personalities I came up against- the whole idea seemed to be, "make the best of it- and of course there could be no union in a hospital because work goes on continually, but one of the nurses said the dietician had no "system"--

I was amazed at Mrs. Thatcher, a Maine nurse, that is she had the Maine accent- confiding to me that when she went in with a tray, the patient either wanted her bed up or down etc etc- said I, " sick people are not themselves." There was the "trouble-maker" too-- telling Mrs.-Thatcherme that Mrs. Thatcher

told her that I held her up 20 min. by not putting some cut banannas on the trays. When I asked Mrs. T. about it she said, "who told you--that woman is awful-the woman in question was a yellow-dressed one who empties the unmentionables etc- and so it went-I could write a book about it all but it would do no good. They can't keep anybody there- an ad in the paper continually for a "pantry worker". An Irish woman took the place of the nigger boy who left in the medical kitchen- she had worked in Holy Name Hosp. but I didn't ask her why she left or how long ago she had been there-- she seemed familiar with the work and asked me many questions- the last time I went up there to help her I said "hello slave" the Irish are nice to work with- the English say nothing but "get on with it" and that is the right attitude. There was an Irish woman doctor who would come in

3

the medical kitchen as we were working and she would look at me with questionable eyes and sort of smile-

I asked the irish woman just mentioned what nationality she was as I heard her say "cooked" with quite an ooo sound- and found out she was just irish-probably just over to learn our ways. Well I could go on and on-about the little german out-door worker in the "bread" line is what they called it when we lined up at the cafeteria-the men would let the women get their trays first-- but I hesitated about some salad one day and rather stopped him from getting his tray filled for a moment and he uttered some kind of exasperation, BUT the next day he smiled at me-- yes it was a great experience--one day a most beautiful blooming large blond german nurse came in to the med.kitchen- good to see-- and one morning a young nurse(I think she was a novice, about 18 came into the maternity kitchen and asked me where I kept the key of the cupboards-- she said it in such a funny way and said, looking at it on the shelf intently- but I told her I was not allowed to tell her where it was kept--this made me think about finger printing etc and perhaps she was a spy to find out if would tell her where the key was kept(at night I had to put it down on the shelf in the basement in a truck) because the nurses would come in at night and take dishes so they told me but I think it was the lousy silver coffee-pots and cream pitchers and silverware they probably were guarding. Who would want them? only someone who got in the hospital, just to steal I suppose.

4

Well, it's over now and Con said I did right to leave-- I went over there on a "hunch"-hadn't heard anything about conditions-didn't see ad in paper-long ago I had thoughts of working in the lower regions there but someone said they were all "spics" that is, spaniards-so I was discouraged at that time.

A queer coincidence was that Mia Slavenska's mother worked in the cafeteria and I used to take her home in my car tho she lived at the hospital- her daughter the famous Mia is not kind to her- told her to get out and get a job and called her a "fox"-- so she lives at the Hosp. and goes to her "home" at night and goes right back again- just to see her little grandchild she says. She sews for her daughter in her room at the Hosp. and took a large box with her one night-but, I never could make the right time-and she was sometimes late(she lives as I told you, about a block from Susan so I used to stop at Sue's some evenings for a very short time after I let Mrs. Curok(she said that means "horse" in Slav out at her house on Belmar Ave. This Mrs. Curok talks very brokenly and I could hardly understand her.

Soooooo- today Linda goes to a birthday party of one of her little friends living near her- this little friend and Mia Slavenska's little daughter locked Linda in their henhouse one day- Sue has her troubles all right.

Donnie is a perfect darling- when Sue phones I hear him murmuring so she puts him on and he laughs-he is just learning words-he goes to the end of the street and they say "go home" so he has learned those words. Last eve I went over for a short time to Sue's and he came rolling down the grass incline laughing-- Roy is having a garage and breeze-way built for $1890. a little cheaper by $100. than as if he didn't know the man who is doing the work at odd moments-that is he doesn't work every day and Roy helps with the cement work when he gets home.

5

I tremble to think in the future if Sue ever gets a
car-if she will make a good driver- God I hope so.
I went over there to stay with the children one day
last week while she went to N.Y. to get storm coats
for the children and she was also going to see some
Xmas cards at Jensen's where the cards are all hand done
for the rich people who want unusua, lones, but do
you know Sue didn't wear low shoes as I reminded her
to and walking miles and miles in the department
stores made her so tired she didn't go to Jensen's
after all-said she couldn't remember the address- such
is an artist-- but she is going again next week and I
hope with better luck-- she has her easel in her bed-
room now and manages to work at the cards during the
day, something she thought she could not do before what
with her housework etc- I do her ironing and clean up
when I go over-and do you know those little tykes want
to look at TV during their supper so one must put their
suppers on trays and there they sit trying to eat and
look at those foolish cartoons.

You ask me why I didn't go on TV- my dear--- what on
Earth would an old 'oman like me do? maybe I could get
on the program "Life begins at 80" good God what a bunch
of fools are on it- and I surely couldn't join the
"leaping people" which is what Garry Moore calls the
dancers. You won't believe me tho when I tell you there
are one or two women comedians that are simply "tops"
amazing creatures-if Barbara had more get up and get
she might work out something but it's too late now.

It is such a beautiful day-I adore October--mhope
you and Dorothy are enjoying it and not catching cold.
Con has just returned from somewhere, a walk I believe-
he didn't get in til the wee hours last night it being Fri.

Oct. 24-'53

Dear Ezra;

I will have to begin with a sad subject-
you remember Rachael don't you? up at Kenwood when
you went to Hamilton etc? and I think you met her-
oneida Community you know? my old friend Rachael-
well she was down at the Hotel Commodore with her
husband who was the advertising mgr. of the Oneida
Comm. Silver-- he had been suffering from several
heart attacks over the past years- but he went out
last week one day, stepped off the curb in front of
a truck or rather the truck came around the corner
knocked him down-- he got up, hailed a taxi and
went to some hospital where he got first aid-- then
signed his own release-- took another taxi when the
driver notice d he was vomitting blood and took
him to the police station- from there they took him
to Bellevue-- he was on operating table five hours
and when they got thru with him he was dead--

unrecognizable except his mustache-- I hate
to be facetious about these things but that is what
Dorothy, Ray's sister wrote me--

People don't realize that when the light turns
green- it also turns green for the main street and
so they start across only to find trucks coming
around the corner as you know-- Mr. Bedford wore a
hearing aid, but this would make no difference if
one didn't use one's eyes and know the rules of traffic.

Rachael had fallen and sprained her ankle and was
on crutches--ain't life ridiculous,? one never knows
do one?

And now Rachael is alone but I suppose she

will be well taken care of as to money-- we were talking this morning at breakfast about the many many old people who live alone everywhere these days-including Con said there is a play on Broadway on this subject a very uninteresting subject it seems to me-- and a sad one but it needn't of necessity be sad-- if old people have money- what to do with old people has been getting to be a problem--- there are lots of them working everywhere it seems to me-- even "checkers" in grocery stores-- Con says women live longer than men, alas-- what doctor was that, Dr. Osler I think, who said all old people should be chloroformed and I'm beginning to think he was right. (I'm taking time out to chuckle horrid chuckles)

Carlyle said, "the healthy know not of their health, only the sick--" I might say, "youth knows not of their youth, only the aged" but on analysis this doesn't mean much--- the most up-to-date knowledge of science seems to be that life came out of the oceans in form of protoplasm but this doesn't explain how it came alive. I'm reading "The Sea Around Us" by a woman, Carson- perhaps you could get it at a library- Dorothy could get it for you-very interesting.

I wonder if I told you about the corner of the sun that we saw on TV, photographed- molten stuff rising one knows not how many miles and falling -backwards again and it has been going on for billions of years- I've been wondering why photographs have not been shown us common people of the moon closer up than it has ever been shown-- why must astronomers keep this to themselves? when man develops lungs that can breathe without oxygen- then he can visit other planets-- 0 well--

Con has gone golfing and Barbara has gone to N.Y. to interview a woman at Best's who may have a job for Barbara at the Jersey branch of the Co. in Paramus.

Every now and then I blow my top about getting a job somewhere but I really don't want to-- I know I would perhaps have to live somewhere else and all sorts of problems then come up- there's no use borrowing trouble so I'll just wait til trouble comes.

I have wanted some peat moss in a bail I saw in Englewood the other day-so finally bought a bail-$3.75- the ground, loam, soil or whatever up here is very poor- well two men got the bale- finally spelled it right-- into my car- I took out the back seat- sooooo when I got it home - couldn't budge it out--so hacked at it-ti with ice chopper and knife and cut the gunny sack- but couldn't pry wires off- I let it fall into a large receptacle as I hacked and finally got the thing out of the car- put it around the fruit trees and raspberries and strawberry bed- and the rest I put in an ash can and leaving it out, also the rest of it in the bale covered with boards-- gave some to Sue for her roses.

it is good soil conditioner-keeps moisture in. the lack of rain is bad for the little animals and insects-- my few sun-flowers have seeds for the birds but the seeds are empty-- my ever-bearing raspberry bush failed to get pollinated and it is exasperating to see the berries on end of branches not developing--- but it has been the most beautiful fall I remember seeing-- our yard is covered with yellow leaves-like fairy-land. I have always loved fall the best of the year--

Linda wants to be scared this hallow-e'en-
she says-- well I could buy some horrid huge
rubber feet-bare feet and simply awful gnarled hands

Nov. 5- '53

Dear Ezra:

Well I'm certainly glad they found the
pen- perhaps I didn't put it inside the ribbon-
I hope it works for you a long time-mI have one
and of course with constant use the spring inside
will not work so well but mine goes in all right but
leaves a tiny bit out which I can push in- the ink
or whatever it is works a long time. they say 7,000
words.

They are sawing a tree just outside my window-an ol
a dead tree which Mr. Humphries says is his tho it is
about an inch from our driveway-anyway a large branch
fell down with a storm last year soooo- they are using
a gasoline saw which makes an jnholy noise-- well
it just went down after they had taken off some branches-
very neat job- two men- one a swede-

I don't think I understand about the A Johnson 17c.
perhaps it is another present you received.

It's getting a-cold now- this morning frost--
O, I must mention that Barbara has a job- raise the
flag-- she finally contacted a Miss Campbell at Best's
and found a place in the Jersey branch of Best & Co. in
the credit dept. same as before-- she has a rather hard
journey over there to Paramus on route 14 I think it is-
has to change busses-- but sometimes someone picks her
up- many of the employees are women and married at that
and have cars and sometimes their husbands drive them
to work etc. B. makes $40- but brings home $38 they
taking out for social security and whatnot-- Barbara
professes to hate the whole thing and thinks money is
nothing--- she is a very extravagant person and we'll
have to nag her to put money in the savings bank.

Saw the little fat brother of Ernest on TV
the other day- smilingly agreeable boy-- the title
of his book reminds me of a story I read the other
day about an author who couldn't think of a title
for his book and asked Barrie to help him. Barrie
asked him if there were any drums in his book and he
said no, any trumpets? no. then call it No drums,
no trumpets.

Now they are cutting up the bole of the tree and
its a tall one and the noise is like a dentist's
drill only a thousand times louder.

Egad I can't think of anything but that noise--
Mr. Humphries is a very interested onlooker- we have
so many trees around here that old man Humphries does
nothing but rake and carry leaves back in his yard to
burn them-- we haven't half raked our leaves yet--they
say it is not good for the grass to leave them on and
also one can take lawn-mower over them, cut them up
and maybe grass gets nourishment- but who wants to
do that? I'm putting some on what I laughingly call
a mulch pile which is full of old roots and one can
hardly lift it with a fork- of course it should be
turned over and water put on, also adco- but who wants
to do that?

In a short while I will be going out a-grocerying-- Sue generally wants to go Friday and we take Donnie who picks items off the shelves, stops in front of the mickey mouse cookies and altho he could sit in the seat of the carts he wont-so I think I'll go today and get mine over with and then take Sue tomorrow-we go to Englewood as a larger store has a larger turnover, see?

On hallow-e'en day Sue and I and Donnie went down
to the Demarest school to see the parade of children--
and I'm telling you Ezra I never saw so many very funny
costumes- one little child about 2 feet high as Jimmy
Durante- coat and pants cut off-looking like a gnome-

Linda wore her witch costume as last year with a funny little mad mask and a broom- there were many other witches too- two fairies in blue gauze and they were very pretty little girls-- one was dressed as a circus performer-almost naked-it was a warm day but very foolish I thought-- one boy rather tall had a mask on with two horrible teeth- he bent over and had a cane

well I couldn't possible describe 200 children-- the school band played Old Macdonald had a farm--

afterwards they went inside and had ice-cream-- there were donald ducks, humpty dumpties, farmers and whatnot-- I wanted to get two horrible rubber feet and gnarled hands that I saw in a store in Closter and scare Linda because she said she wanted to be scared-

Sue put on a white mask with a beard and did scare

Linda so that she cried-- I bought a rubber mask of a pirate with one eye closed- teeth and everything and put on an old overall-dressed myself in the garage and came in front door and scared Conrad who was peacefully reading his paper- but I didn't go down to Demarest as I don't like to drive at night.

Yes, that is an old "saw" about feeling as old as you look--- but it don't work out somehow-- the best thing to do is to cover all looking-glasses-never look into 'em. drink prune juice and orange juice and get to bed early and not smoke too much-

I have a half-sister who lives in Syracuse- she is ten years older than I- she has inherited the argumentative spirit of the Baxters-she is also very touchy about her catholic up-bringing-disliked my mother- and holds grudges- but she was on the stage

stage for a while with her comedian husband-- has four children and luckily didn't inherit

consumption that took off her irish mother-- but one
or two of her boys had a touch of it- she writes
to me but it is rather unpleasant to write her as she
is what we used to call "pig-headed" but she has a
funny sense of humor-- lately she has written me jokes
which aren't fajn funny-- after a disagreeable letter
reprimanding me for thinking she doesn't eat right-
so I think I'll send her two of my favorite jokes--
this oneI'm going to tell you is not quite so bad
as the other one-if you want the other one about
plums-just tell me-- well here goes:

A young woman was drowned and her body washed up on
shore- a man put his hat over her as she was quite
naked-- and knelt down to give last rites etc-
but a drunk came along and said, "shay, you can't
do that, get that man outa there."

well guess this is enough for today-hope
joke doesn't shock Dorothy--

I hear ffom Hilda that she is feeling restless and
wants to get back to her books and papers- she also
mentioned Callimacus-have I spelled it right- that you
sent her- she was very pleased.

so farewell for now
much love as ever--

Viola

P.S. when B. comes home at night the cars whiz by so
fast on route 4 or 17 I forget which that she can't
get across -but luckily there is a stop light about
100 feet down which pedestrians can use- the cars
have to stop of course-ain't that sumpin?

well Troast the rep. governor lost out in spite
of my vote--I didn't like him as he favored that
labor gangster- Meyner showed him up on TV- I knew
Philip would want to be Prince Regent or something more
than he is- saw the pomp of Queen going. Parl.

Their garage is almost finished and they
have a breezeway between it and the
house--

The children had a great time in the snow
yesterday-Don kept running in to get dry
mittens-

I am trying to cover an old quilt with
some cut-out half circles of cloth that Sue
sent for to some N.C. mill-- and got discourage
when she found she couldn't by any possible
means avoid doing the quilt by hand--she
thought she could whisk it together on the
machine--alas it wouldn't look right- so she
threw them at me and I don't want them to
go to waste--

Barbara heard Mr. Willis, the once-actor
who tells fat homely women how to become
beautiful on TV say that if you have unruly
eye-brows, i.e. thick ones- a little mustache
wax would keep them in place and she wanted
me to get some-I went into our nice large new
drug-store in Closter but they didn't have
any-but across the street is a little barber
shop run by a wild-eyed hairy italian-I
went in there and asked him if he had any-
but got a fit of coughing(cig, cough) and I
think he thought I was crazy tho he said he
could send for it for me. O well--

It was St. Agnes eve and bitter cold, the
owl for all his feathers was a-cold--
must get busy now so farewell-if there is
anything of interest in Sunday papers will
enclose it-

love and regards to Dorothy
as ever

Vio.

Ed said he would go out and find the man-- I was too polite-I should have run like the devil the way the other kids did--

Well--it is raining now and wind a-blowin'---Con is in his room and I think he is "WRITING" something-has been these past weeks-I don't look at it-he says he is just practising-Barbara went off this morning to her job in Paramus -- Roy has a new place down in Fort Lee-he gets more money and has shorter hours- same old printing and has to stand and he is a heavy fellow and has small feet but he just doesn't like a white-collar job--

Sue has made a design for her Xmas cards- it is a conventionalized " tree with drawings of herself and Roy and Linda and Donnie in the corners- Roy will have it printed- She got a very nice letter from Rastcraft in Boston wanting to see more of her work- you know she sells dummies of her designs for $15 apiece.

Nov. 7- '53

Harrington Pk.N.J.

Dear Ezra:

Just to let you know, sent some New Yorkers and two Sat. Eve. Posts yesterday-and hope they don't get lost under someone's desk etc.

My what a nice stormy night- just like old UTK--I love storms-- and wind and sleet etc-I like to tell my children how we used to wear white and sometimes brown chiffon veils up in Utica--and how when I went to school I would meet men with icicles hanging on to their mustaches-- I never will forget how we went robogganing with our sleds down the incline into Rutgers street one evening and I had the luck to run into a man who got up and boxed my ears soundly--I ran home frightened to death and my brother

Nov. 12-'53

Dear Ezra:

Know what? I don't believe you liked
those peanut butter cookies- well never mind
soon I'll be sending you some fudge brownies-
I know you like them better-

Con has a cold so is staying home today-
Barbara also has a cold- I hope neither you nor
Dorothy have a cold- amen-- fact is I don't
know what to do with myself right now-it is a
lovely day and I washed a few clothes this A.M.
and then finished a quilt I'm making for Sue for
Xmas-told you about it-how she cut these stacks
of cloth in half moons and I sewed them together
on machine making circles and then put them on an
old bed-spread but, I didn't tell you how I lined
it with some pieces of printers cloth (these were
given to me by Roy-seems they used them (sort of
silk cloth) to print designs on before printing on
paper- so these squares have pictures of colored
fruit-- landscape, any old thing but are intact
and not messy- so I sewed them together and lined
the quilt-result- the whole thing didn't cost
anything but a lot of hard "WORK" on machine--

At lunch today Con and I looked at TV but when
the "Continental" came on, we decided he was too
much and went about our different ways-- Did you
ever hear the Continental on your radio? he used
to be on rather late- seems he is either an italian
or a frenchman and my is he homely-- he has been
made fun of by various people and comedians and I
thought he had taken the hint and disappeared but

2

not so -- here he was in a dressing gown--
pouring himself a glass of wine(I believe the
wine is real and he has to have it to get him-
self into the mood of his heart to heart talk
with "lonely" wimmen etc-- his voice is most
irritating-- and today he had a pair of glasses
that is spectacles and pretended to be talking
to some female who doesn't like to wear them etc
well- he is most pitiful and how anybody can
listen to him without puking I don't know.

Con is sitting in his room at his desk no
doubt "thinking" about his writing--

Did I tell you Barbara got a job at last?
over in Paramus at a branch of Best & Co.
the other day a woman came in to exchange some
goods-she lived at 98 Ridge Road, Rutherford, so
B. asked her if she knew Bill Williams and asked
how he was- the lady said she did and that his son
tho a doctor didn't seem to have the popularity
among patients that his father had-- she also said
Bill was much better.

Our old crochety neighbor, old man Humphries-
was out doing his eternal raking of leaves- and said
to me- why don't you rake the leaves, they blow
over here, and then he added, "nice day"-- as a
sort of millification I suppose-- I could have told
him that the leaves under his dogwood tree are the
ones that blow back on the rest of his ground but
didn't-- he can't get at them because the tree is so
old and the branches so low to the ground he can't
even get his rake under-- but I went out and raked
all the leaves that bordered on his dam old place-
calling him dam fool under my breath all the time-

It is such a lovely day-I could do a lot of
things but every time I think of going anywhere in
car I think of buying gasoline etc-- the car has
stopped leaking but I'm not sure of it and will

have to have my "honest" garage man in Closter look
at it before I put in Freezone for the winter.
my brown and red chrysanthemums don't seem to have
been hurt by the frost and snow we had last week-

Sue and Linda and Donnie were over yesterday- Donnie is now putting two words together-- Sue said he gets up behind her on the stool when she is sewing on the machine and sits with his arms around her- she said out loud, wonder what time it is and he said, "howdedoody time". You may not know that there is a puppet on TV to which kids listen and its silly name is Howdedoody--

Well we are all elated that little old Harry
Truman is at last getting his comeuppance-- all
along he has been so cock sure of himself that it
is rather satisfying that he is going to be taken
down a peg or two-- even tho he can deny everything
the stigma will go down on the books-- perhaps
you don't know about the names he has been calling
republicans etc etc --was-mus

I was much amused watching the goings on at
the UN to see my boy Henry Cabot Lodge get down
off the stand and walk away even while the president
sister of Nehru) was talking--seems he was about
to answer something that nasty Vise Vischinsky
had said, when she reprimanded him(Lodge) by
saying she had already called Vishinsky for being
out of order on something-- Lodge is a match for
them all and I admire him.

Linda is learning to read words- funny way they
teach her- she looks at a word that the teacher
tells them and when the word is repeated in the book

Conrad said and pretty good for a bachelor, exquisite baby- such bright eyes and chubby pink cheeks and altogether a picture baby- Roy also showed some movies of Donnie in the bath-tub and he also was a picture baby- then he showed a crazy cat cartoon for the children who were racing around and generally making havoc-- I wonder how Linda felt at five to see herself as a baby--of course we were all in the picture too-- Con holding her, and Barbara and myself looking like an old hag but this was only five years ago. why is it that when one gets old one moves and gestures like the old-- darn it-- and I went out the other day- raking leaves and now my left knee has got the rheumatiz and I go up and downstairs a step at a time darn it again.

It is Barbara's day off so she went to N.Y. I suppose spending a lot of her hard earned money-- she went to the fifth ave.five and dime and saw a very pretty transparent gold mesh net for the hair and got one for Sue who is going to a ball at the Armory Dec. 5-- Incidentally Roy has been made a Captain in the Nat(l Guard about which he is very happy and proud.

Roy's two brothers are married now and Bob, the one who was given the alternative to marry and stop boozing or get out-poor fellow- he is a tall good-looking fellow handy with mechanics but can't seem to find what he wants to do-- was just made a father for the second time Friday-- he married a catholic so he's got to hustle to scratch a living for babies that will keep coming I suppose unless he does something about it- he has already borrowed some money from Roy and is not paying it back which makes Sue sore and she is hardly civil to his wife-- the other brother Bill married a scotch girl who works and no children as yet-- Bill is an artist(commercial) he is the youngest.

It is about suppertime-expect Con any minute- I was over to Englewood grocerying this morning and

as I came out of the P.O. here in Harrington Pk. after mailing you some fudge brownies I saw a 1913 Buick parked there- wish you might have seen it-- high seat, all open- wooden spokes to wheels and all epic and span- people said it cost more to fix it up than a new one today-- the man who owned it got in and drove away without cranking it as he had the motor running- and one couldn't hear the motor which was unusual-I think he must have had some new parts put in---he's going to be awfully cold this winter but maybe he only uses it on warm days. Con just came in and when I told him about the Buick said he had also seen it around and thought the man had an electric starter put in.

Of course if you don't like to read the New Yorker and the Sat. eve. post- all you have to do is **TELL ME**.

must go down and get supper now-
now don't catch cold in your legs and knees that
the way I did by sitting out-I remember you had
heavy rubbers on when we were down in Wash; but a
dampness comes up from the ground y'kno--

best love to you and Dorothy

as ever
Viola

Nov. 29-'53

Dear Ezra:

Ah, now it is explained, how little
Walther is a philatelist-- and would like stamps
of our presidents 1911 etc etc well whenever I
buy stamps hereafter I will ask for our unusual stamps-
I enclose two pages from a magazine I was talked into
subscribing for-it being the less nauseus of the list
the one-legged fellow showed me-- it is called "Nature"
magazine and isn't at all bad-rather interesting-all
about plants and birds etc etc these pages show
different stamps of animals etc but I suppose Walter
would think these too childish..

I used to keep stamps and have a box of them some
where but mostly foreign ones-- I never could under-
stand why stamp collectors don't collect OLD ones but
want new ones-- one can buy stamps at department stores
now-I don't know what they sell but they sell albums
to put them in also-- Jean Hord's sister Edna is a great
collector of stamps-she showed me her neat book and she
has very unusual ones-perhaps I could write and ask
if she has what Walter wants BUT I believe they
(the philatelists) do not like to part with them eh?

I am enclosing you quite a few clippings of
interest I know, to you-have been saving them-
of course if you won't tell me if you look at the
Sunday papers, Tribune and N.Y.Times I don't know whether
you've seen them or not.

It's late and I must stop typing as Con is
in the next room about to go to bed tho he says it
doesn't bother him.

farewell for now,, as ever,

LAROCHE AVENUE
HARRINGTON PARK, NEW JERSEY Dec. 4-'53

Dear Ezra:

Well, bless his little-- as Allan Young
would say. You say Walther wants
Tyler
Polk
Pierce
Fillmore
Lincoln
Andrew Johnson

to complete his presidential series?

The only sure and quick way to get these is
to write to Gimbels or Macys and I believe
they're pretty expensive.

This morning I talked with our postmaster
who said when he orders stamps he only gets what
he thinks he'll need. He did not have any of the
presidents-- the postmistress in Closter had
a James Madison. When I go to Englewood next will
inquire there. But how about Dorothy going to
your Washington postoffice--I'm sure she could
get what he wants right off the bat.

I used to keep a collection and have

Taft, Cleveland, Harrison Monroe, Madison
McKinley, Harding, Hayes, Garfield, Teddy Roosevelt
the other Roosevelt, AND two Lincolns, one of
which I enclose.

I have a Geo. Washington of 1888 which of course
I will hold until it's worth a million or so.

I have a box full of foreign and U.S. fancy
stamps which I'm going to paste in a book SOME DAY.

I have quite a few letters from Bill when he called me "miss Baxter" but don't worry I shall not let the wold see 'em. RFlossie wouldn't like some-- one where he asks me if we couldn't have a love affair (this was after we were both married, wha'd'y'kno. and another where he calls me the quince of his despondency-- O well.

Guess we're going to get some snow pretty soon-- I got a very nice calendar of views of the northwest for you tother day and when Con saw it he said he wanted one too as he had been in many of those spots.

And now the old Xmas season is upon us-- it's only for children really but us older folk do horn-in don't we? much to the damage of our pocket-books-- but this year everybody is a-going to get things from the five and dime you-beyouso the Barbara is making hay with her salary and the fact that she gets 25% off any purchase she makes at Best's where she now works as I've told you. She got a cute outfit for Donnie and sent away to Boston for a cloth house that can be put on any card table-- so that kiddies can crawl under and pretend it is their house.

Have lots to do right now so will say farewell

Viola

Dec. 10-'53

Dear Ezra:

We don't seem to be getting together about the stamps little Walther wants.

In one letter you say A. Johnson is missing.

In next letter you say he needs Polk, Pierce, Filmore or even a Lincoln.

You also give the amount of some of them like 17c. etc how do you know the price if you haven't seen them or gotten them?

This would lead me to believe he has all of them except the ones you mention., and yet in yesterday's letter you say he wants Washington, Adams and Jefferson.

I have told you there is a series of presidential stamps--so I called up Macy's just now to find out and the salesgirl said they didn't have them now but would after Xmas.

It would be quite a job to go to all the post offices or write to far away ones to get the series-they do not have all of them-each post office has different ones and the three post offices I have enquired at have the same ones-no Polk or Pierce or Filmore.

If you want him to have unused stamps of the presidents from Washington on the only way to get them is to contact the big department stores. I will inquire at Macy's and Gimbels after Xmas and if the series is not too expensive will get them for Walther.

The 2 cent stamps they are selling now for people who don't seal their Xmas cards has 4s

two councilmen from Closter made us a visit
and gossip said Mr. Jovine would have to appear
in court Monday- I'm waiting for the Bergen News
to see if this is all true- anyway it was fun
while it lasted-- get there at 8 1-2 hr. for
lunch which we brought and coffee-- then out at
4:30-- too good to be true as I live only a short
mile away. but my car isn't in good condition-have
to have front brakes fixed so I didn't look for-
ward to the icy roads without having them fixed.

However I'm rather glad it didn't continue--
probably if nothing happens to them and someone
drops out they will call for me again. I made
$32.85 which came in handy for Xmas.

Perhaps you have heard from Mary Barnard-
she sent me a letter from Athens, and I could hardly
read the address but have written her. She expects
to stay there until Feb. But I expect you received
a letter from her also.

My dear Ezra you are spared the hullabaloo
of Xmas these days-- every street, business street
is decorated with lights and greens and radios
blaring Xmas carols-- Con says it is getting to be
like a roman holiday- perfectly ridiculous--
people of the lower classes think nothing of
spending $70 -- we have spent quite a bit too
gone are the days of a quiet Xmas.

Hope you have fun with the stamps.
O perhaps you might be interested to know that we have
all had the "virus"- it happened to me about
2 weeks ago--I didn't know what was the matter with me-
it is supposed to last only one day with vomiting
and diahoera (can't spell it) but I felt rocky for
about a week-- then Barbara got it-- Con had to go
over to Best's one Sat. noon and bring her home--
Con said "I'm ready for it" and sure enough last
week he felt squeamish and came home on the way

3

vomitting in the bus terminal at 125th St. He
feels all well now- stayed home the rest of the
week. It is a peculiar thing-- and I suppose if
anyone gets it harder they call it "flu".

Well, we're all right now thank heaven--

you know there was an old saying we used up in
Utica where if it didn't snow it was queer.

"Green Christmas, fat graveyard."

I took Sue shopping in Bergenfield Fri. A.M.
with Donnie and left her there while I took Don
home and she was to come back by bus for lunch.
Well after lunch we started for Demarest and
there was Linda curled up on the out-door chaise-
 longe (can't spell it) in the breeze-way between
the house and garage-- and it was 14 deg. and windy.
You can imagine how we felt-- and when she stopped
crying and we could hear her-she said the school
furnace had broken down and they were sent home--
they had their recess of milk and cookies and were
given a lollypop-this must have been at 11 or there-
abouts and she was out-doors for 2 hours. It must never
happen again and I told Sue to leave her back door
open and tell Linda it's always open. She could have
gone to a neighbor but didn't. She is all right now
but that was an awful thing to happen wasn't it?

Such is life.

and now I will close with
love, as ever,

Viola

LaRoche Avenue • Harrington Park, New Jersey

Dec. 28-'53

Dear Ezra:

I'm so glad you liked the candy etc and I hope you gave some to Dorothy. I'm talking like a fond mother to her perverse children-- because of the happening this morning. Egad I have a couple of ugly, hold-a-grudge, childish daughters. Here is Barbara who has Monday's off and doesn't want a second of it spent on anything outside herself-- we go to Englewood for groceries and stop at Sue's for a moment and B. sits in the car and won't go in-- Sue blows her top--too long and silly to repeat-- but sometimes I almost give up; wondering what I can do to make Sue see how she appears to other people-- she is an introvert of course and while B. is not an extravert she comes pretty near it-- and between them I just don't know where I am at fault-- I fear for the time when Sue sees what she is doing--she shouts like a virago before the children-- spits, hisses and won't listen to anything. There that's enuff.

My friend Marj.Fletcher came over the other day with a bottle of apple brandy and on it John had written the recipe for the mixture he gave us when they had us to dinner last week. It contained lemon juice, vermuth, maple syrup and bitters. Well Con got busy buying the ingredients but forgot the bitters and when anybody came he retired to the kitchen, mixing the stuff in a pitcher and of course while it was good it didn't have that bouquet that John got-- Con became so engrossed in his baccanianalia that, having to use his handkerchief he hung it on the towel-rack, going on with his mixing. We had more wine this Xmas

than we ever had, but don't worry--John Fletcher
who is quite an experienced wine-bibber, I think
that's the word- told us about Grandjo a very nice
light wine which we have when company comes and
this Xmas Con gave bottles of it to several people.

We had a merry Xmas with the children. B.
sent away for things-one of which was "slimky"
a coil of wires that comes down-stairs in a
frightening way making Donnie scream with delight.
Linda got a bicycle(she is too young for it I think)
my my, the things they give children nowadays
too too much-they are all spoiled.

I have been invited to have tea with an old
neighbor of ours in Tenafly, Mrs. Griffin and Barbara
won't go with me this afternoo n. It is two
o'clock and presently I will have to change my
dress to the one B. gave me for Xmas- a tannish
wool-jersey, put on some earrings and take my
battered car out and hie me down there. Mr. G.
used to make us a lovely wreath every year-he is the
one who had part of the land for his garden and
grew such lovely strawberries and flowers and had
ever-bearing raspberries etc. Mrs. G. lives alone
altho her daughter comes to see her often-- I loathe
going but have to-- this is the difference between
youth and age-- we learn as we age to do things
for others-something youth won't do.

There has been a very fine TV picture, made in
Checkoslavický of the story of the Emperor and the
Nightingale-you remember it no doubt-- the puppets
are animated-it runs 2 hours and is the most de-
lightful thing you can imagine- the only crit.
I have with it is that the song of the nightingale
is made by violin and I wish they had put in a
record of a real nightingale- never heard one--
and wonder what it is about it's song that is so

famous-- it only sings at night I have heard--
anyway-- this little story is done with tiny
chinese like puppets-they walk, clap their hands-
and tears roll down the little emperor's round
face--- Linda cried about it-- you know the
emperor is about to die, but the nightingale comes
back for love and sits in the window and sings.
It has been on TV all week, beginning at 7:30
We told Anne(Sue's ma-in-law who is a Check)to
listen or rather turn to channel 11 and see it-
She has a sister in the old country and hears
from her but I haven't enquired much about it.
There are so many Fairfields now, the two other
boys have married and the girl also- so that things
get complicated-we have to go visit them it seems-
one of them comes and camps on one with her 6 wks
old baby and one year old, which Sue can't stand--
besides Roy has given this brother some money which
he hasn't repaid, also getting Sue's goat-- this
brother Bob, also was about to go downhill with
drink until his New England father told him to get
married or get out and now he is trying to be decent.
The other brother Bill married a scotch girl, no
children as yet-but poor Anne, the mother is now
alone and has always had a houseful and doesn't
know what to do with herself-- she is a typical
pleasant I should say- I like her-her voice is rather
unpleasant at times-well there's no use going into
details-- all good people when you have to know
them-- she is full of fun-that is laughs easily
and so good-hearted and can't understand Sue of
course-- She is rather thick at times, for instance
she must have a goldfish because I have them- she
put a small, what she called "carp" in a bowl
and of course it died- I told her it was lonely
but didn't give her any of my young ones because

I knew she wouldn't take care of them. She told us it took the carp a long time to die-- see what I mean about peasant? or was it her nature not to understand such things. or was I at fault for not giving her some of my over-crowded fish and drumming it into her head that they have to have oxygen and the right temp. of water and to feed them ant eggs, wafers, daphnia lettuce and goldfish food-- alas the poor little carp.

It is now 2:30 and I must get ready for my visit to Mrs. Griffin which I had much rather not-I am taking her some blackberry julep.

This week end expect a visit from Mme. Inga Wank-you met her long ago at an N&D N.A.D. dance-she works at Carnegie or rather at some group that-- well she is entrepeneur for singers- and every year she sends me a card and says "we must get together" and never comes-- she has a grandchild and boasts about him as don't we all-- her brother Siegfried has never married-waiting for me I suppose. Ho Hum. Did you like the stamps I sent? want some more? do you get Sunday papers? do you have TV? did you hear from Mary Barnard.? did you get an airline card from the Finleys? did you get a card from Bill Williams? we didn't. hope he is all right.

so now I'll close but will write again of course- and be sure and keep those engagements best to Dorothy-- as ever

V.

January 8, 1954

[A.D.]

Dear Viola,

Thank you for the beautiful scarf, it was just sent on to me;
the card is exquisite and I was touched to find the beautiful
spray of tasseled evergreen, still fresh in the Xmas
box or/and boxes. I wrote Bryher who is in London, that
there were two of these presents; I had a card saying that
two had come together and was sent on my own, by a friend of
Bryher's who has charge of the Kenwin mail. I seem to
owe you a letter or letters; I was interested in your last but
it came in the midst of Xmas doings and confusion and I can
not lay my hands on it. Here, we are deep in snow. I have a
glassed-in balcony room and each window gives a scene out of
Jap prints; I can not get over it and keep jumping up, I feel
that it may vanish. This room has beamed ceiling,
rather Japanese too, looking out on lake and opposite shore.
There are white swans like lumps of snow AND the snow and all

June 7

Dear Viola,

I am sorry not to have written. You sent me such a beautiful rose-pink embroidered handkerchief; I have carried it, but especially like it in bed, under my pillow, as it is easy to find. Then, thank you for the magazine; I have had so many press-cuttings that I am at a loss to pronounce-but thank you. I have got bogged down here, as I had a very trying cyst on upper jaw, and the bridge that I was waiting for, has had to be posponed for two months anyway; so I will go away now, as soon as the dentist lets me, in about ten days, I imagine, to <u>Hotel Bristol</u>, Lugano.

This address will always reach me, however, if in doubt.

Bryher has gone to England, then a short trip to the islands, off north of Scotland-name escapes me, not Hebrees-she wants some material for her next novel, I gather. But she is due back in a short time and plans to join me at Lugano.

-3-

LAROCHE AVENUE

HARRINGTON PARK, NEW JERSEY

still a bachelor lives and I was glad to see that
Gretchen the other sister was there when I called up
to find out Inga's number in Jackson Hgts.-- they are
rallying to Norma's help(she is Inga's daughter by a
very aesthetic little german who left Inga years ago
and now Norma's husband, the son of the owner of the
apt. house where they lived, has left Norma after
beginning to drink and he went to Korea and they can't
find him-- such is life--there are thousands of such
people in this confused world- and just as long as the
male treats fatherhood as a pastime it will continue-
Con and I have talks about these things-he is writing
a novel--and is re-reading Of Human Bondage and The
Way of all Flesh-- telling me how old-fashioned they
seem-- and anent the "meaning" of life which of course
you aren't saying what you think about, or perhaps you
think you have said enough about it-- I said that
women seem to have the meaning which is having children
but that to man- this is not the meaning. Of course,
women do not stop there-- but there is a trend, women
competing with men etc in almost everything-- and so men
are going to try to contact other planets where they
think they will find, what? the meaning?

There was a very very interesting thing on TV
to other evening- can't remember the author of a book
on the superiority of women and another professor of
Columbia talked about life from charts from the 14th
cent. comprising everything they could think of and
going to continue next week--- they expect people
to send cards of encouragement-- this it seems is what
keeps a program going-- but how can they keep going
when they get up to TODAY-can they go any farther?

I rec'd the italian brochure of the Accademy at
Sienna

Xliot #ugent

sonny off the cliff to make him brave etc--
and the unrequited damsel waiting for her lover-
and the orchestra and the other dancers- if we had
had color TV it would have been gorgeous but don't
think we will have one right away.

The play by Schulberg was pretty dull--
Am sending you big display, pictures etc about
T.S.Eliot from Life. twaddle eh? he sounds to me
like a spinster- and this Confidential thingamabob
according to many criticisms is DULL.

Of course From Here to Eternity which got a
Reward or something is just stuff to me also.

'Tis after supper-- and I showed your note to Con-
Ah, Richard is himself again. So you want to
help Con get an education. Well, Con says, ask
him what books I should read to get an education
like his. The truth is, Con doesn't seem to be
in sympathy with our generation--he says if he were
43 instead of 33 he would know more about it.

I'm sending you a rather nice little
pampblet or magazine called "The Reporter". Was
much interested to see who is behind McCarthy- always
thought McC. had too much confidence to continue
all by his little self. And you see who and what it is-
Mr. Hunt. "murder will out" won't it? the great
thing about americanism is Ez- that we do not allow
anyone to get much power for LONG.

Barbara bought herself a lovely cotton dress-
a lovely blue with white raised flowers on it- V-back
and up to neck in front-short-sleeved-circular skirt-
she got it for $13. it was $17.95-- I gave her 1-8 lb
of tea that Shelby gets out- at 95c. one can make 120
cups of tea with it-she is trying it out now-it has
spices and orange flavor- I don't care much for tea but
she does.

Con gave her some-- a box of milk choc

candy--and Sue a fine book for photographs-- each
page enclosed in cellophane-- and Donnie gave her
some earrings.

While eating supper we saw as per usual on
Tuesday-- scenes of the last World War called Victory
at Sea-- tonight was the demolishment of Austria and
Sebastopol- while Hitler was committing suicide in
his Berlin hide-out-- the scenes showing St.
Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt (an already dying man)
at Yalta.

well, guess this is enough for tonite--
hope you like The Lonely Crowd--

am enclosing more about Mr. Eliot.

The maple sugar came in 8 little boxes like the one
I sent you--if you'd like to know the prices I
enclose price list etc.

Best and everything and love to
you and Dorothy. V.

P.S. From 68 deg. today weather man says it will
drop 30 deg. tonight.

the program with, and now you have seen Shakespeare
as presented at Yale University -- etc etc

In this day and age it does seem
rather insipid to think that those words
"Good friend for Jesus sake forbear to dig the
dust enclosed here" should keep out prying to find
out more about this fellow Shakspare-- perhaps
there would be MSS in the grave who knows?

I wonder who will dare dig the dust- will eh-
the english ever permit it?

Sue greatly interested in a TV program I
think Swiss in origin where a phial of water taken
from muddy water showed the animals in it, even their
alimentary tracts- some had noses etc etc of course
infinitesimal-- I didn't happen to see it but there
is another program on Saturdays by a man named
SwSchwartz who is showing all kinds of little animals
like frogs, guppies etc-- the Chicago Zoo yesterday
showed snakes---very poisonous ones and the man who
talked had boots on when he got into their cages-
cobras, baby ones and other poisonous ones and some
not-- he knew the exact length they would strike-not
more than 2 feet--every Sunday we see this Chicago zoo.

Well I ought to get busy at something but don't
feel like doing anything-- Con went off somewhere sayin'
he had things to tend to--I think he went to N.Y. to
get a tube for our Philco radio-can't get that parti-
cular tube wnywhere around here--I wish he would also
get some lumber so either he or I can saw it and dove-
tail it into cellar doors- the outside cellar door
is all busted and it has simply got to be fixed.
Donnie and Linda both have bad coughs--I wish I could
go over and get Linda for the day but as it is a
holiday- Barbara would not like it-Oh me when one
gets old one can't rather one has to, bow to the wishes
of the young etc.

whenever I am at a loss what to do I do that.
I have many old dresses of one kind or another up
attic that can be made into dresses for Linda and
I do that also--
Well

Tuesday A.M.

Off grocerying to Englewood

tottle-oo
as ever,
Violer

Feb. 8-'54

Dear Ezra;

Began to snow about an hour ago after the nice almost spring weather-- Sue telephoned that she sent Linda to school in her new shoes, no rubber boots and now has to go down at 3 .M. and get her and

Donnie about to take his nap at 2 so she'll have to go before he wakes up- my my, what a problem- I asked her if she didn't like a nice walk in the snow but evidently she does not--

This morning I suppose you heard about the murder of Bodenheim and his wife-isn't he the one who stayed out his welcome at Bill's and then said on leaving that he hoped Bill had benefitted by his visit. Well I guess Body had been drinking and in and out of gutters for quite a while-- surprising to me as I thought jews didn't drink to excess.

I suppose also you have followed the luck of Hemingway-I enclose a pic. or two out of papers because you never tell me if you read 'em.

Received a nice long letter from Maria- she was about to go to Rome to stay with her husband a while- she says she is translating your cantos into italian- what a task -- tho she is clever enough to do it I think.

Prof. Edwards wrote me about the Poundnewsletter he is getting out and I asked him if he would like some articles that you wrote long ago- let's see, 1906 in the Book News Monthly about Raphelite latin- and other articles e- in other magazines I had saved. He said send them so I did- and that was good, the time was good and I hope you feel good(Hemingway)

Con and I over to Sue's yesterday afternoon to get some of their firewood

P.S. The other evening we watched the little operetta of the Beauty in the Wood by Resphighi, music while not monotonous wasn't very distinctive-- here we grown-ups sit watching fairy tales set to music while the teen-agers are out holding up garages killing people etc we spoke of Perleman's wayward son of 17 who was caught doing these things etc- Perleman as you may remember writes amusing articles for the New Yorker--

It tickled me no end to see that Dulles told Molotov to end his fool chatter-- O New England you'll tame the tartar for sure.

Well it's still snowing
and pretty soon must go round
the corner for the mail- this is B's day
off and she may go.. so farewell for now. V.

P.S.I suppose you are or are you following the
irish McCarthy in his "bid for power and maybe
the presidency." as Con thinks. I have faith
that a catholic will never become president--
but Con thinks that or this is the way Hitler
started etc etc-- well they are putting McCarthy
gradually in his place- talking about whether or
not a senator can be impeached- and it can be done.
Very amusing to hear reactions of different people-
one senator I think it was from Vermont saying
McCarthy has been the object of quiet mirth.
This morning we had Earl Godfrey, that grand old
man of the old school reporting from Washington-
I like him-- and we also saw the henchman of
McCarthy- 27 yr.old Cohn lying his way out of
questions. Thank heaven there are still some
americans left who can see clearly in this
mess McCarthy has tried to stir up.

V.