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From Edith Cole addressed from P.O. Box 135, Sprague River, OR to Mrs Henry Hall, Star Rt. 2 Box 62, Porterville CA.
Post dated 09 July 1940.

Transcribed by Susan Ferguson from origional letter provided by Viola Boydstun.

NOTE: After careful consideration and feed back from family members, I have chosen not to include the letter in it's entirety.
A section has been removed.
Joplin MO
Dec. 1 - 1939

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Dear Florence,
   I think I’ll get down right now and answer your letter. If I put it off now, I just keep putting it off. It is so easy to think to-day it can be done to-morrow. Alta Rose has written to Viola & she says I usually wait until she has to write again. But having Ruth & Michael here has been the greatest thing. We have enjoyed her visit so much. And we have surely loved Michael. He’s so cute. Ruth says you have such lovely children. And yours and ours resemble each other so much. But - why shouldn’t they. I do hope you all getting along O.K. and are feeling O.K. I know how hurt you are Florence and Im at a loss for words to tell you how much I sympathize with you. But Florence if you could of seen your mother the last time I believe you would have been glad that you didn’t now. She didn’t look at all like herself. She was so large & you know how small she was. And her face thin. Of course you could see her features but is just didn’t seem to be her at all. Was to bad Georgie misunderstood the message. A letter come for mother from her & it was sent up here & Harry opened it & we seen then, that she didn’t know. I hated it so bad. So I wrote her then & returned her letter. But so far we haven’t

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heard from her. Harry brought all the things up here & theres Georgias box & machine with them. While Mother was here she was telling me that soon as she got home she was sending Georgia her big box and mail Rosa's a little box she had ready to send and that if any thing happened to her that was all Rosa was to have. And it was a little cup & sauser here father had given Rosa when a little girl. So that box is here. Gracin can mail it to her. *****************************************************

This section removed
************************************************************************* He sent the insurance policies to Gracin & he & Joe have left it all in Harrys hands before the Prudential could send in the claim that undertaker in Pineville had to sigh a paper, you know, something like a doctors certificate, & as there was no Dr. present at death, the coroner

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Signs it. And he’s been in the hospital every since the next day after her death with heart trouble & he didn’t sign it & send it back until yesterday. So we wont know how much there will be. Until it comes. One policy was for $36 & the other $126 The undertaker down there charged $50 for embalming. Mr. Hurlbut pd. It so the body could be released and brought to Joplin. The casket, a very light grey with metal trimming & satin lined was $100 and some. I think $120 or $130 I am not sure just which. She had made her some new white under wear, so I washed & ironed them nice and with white hose. Her dress was a soft white silk, with long sleeves & tiny lace at the wrists & neck. We tried to do it as much as we could & as we thot she would of liked it. There was nothing showy or fussy. But was nice. The family spray covered the casket, and the words Mother & Grandmother in gold letters on the ribbon that was on the flowers. The flowers were large white chrysanthemums & small ones with tiny pink rose buds among the fern & flowers. It was mighty nicely made up. And for the occasion was so pretty. But there were so many lovely flowers. The Baptist

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Church where Gracin goes sent a lovely big spray, so did the Joplin Street Dept. and the Hunter Printing Co. where Fred works. Then there was one from Evelyns boy friend & his family One from Elsie’s folks & one from mama Mabel & Alta. One from the girls in Evelyn’s shop. Then one of our neighbors who lives across the street took up money among the neighbors here for a neighbor hood spray. It was a large one too. I thot once of sending some to you, But thot it might make you feel much worse, so I didn’t. Rev. Sutter of the Baptist church preached the funeral services. Your mother was very much apposed to the Baptist church, but as Gracin wanted to have him & to get the singers, I believe, and I think if you could of heard it, that it couldn’t of been nicer other wise. I will send you the chapters he took it from, We couldn’t think of enough men who knew her for pall bearers, so I suggested the grandchildren. There was Ruth & Alta Rose, Fred & Morris, Evelyn & Richard. Every one said they thot it nice her grandchildren were over, Mr. Hurlbut went to their car & told them how nice they done, & that in all the time he has had charge of funerals that was the first time

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He had seem boys & girls to gether act as pall-bearers. Usually its all of one or the other. The funeral was at 2 o’clock Wed. afternoon Nov. 8. Burial was in Forest Park cemetery only a few graves from Guy. It was a warm Nov. day. The sun was warm. You know she loved every thing in its natural beauty so , and as the children sat the casket down a gentle breeze rocked the casket slowly as tho Mother Nature had took her in her arms & after all her hard years of toil & trouble we left her, her casket banked with flowers, mid green grass and falling leaves, warm sunshine & gentle breeze, and a silent prayer from all of us. That her life & her love had not been in vain. I wish very much you could have been here. But mabe you can see it from what Ive told you. I hope so. Im so sorry I didn’t get the wire sent you. But there was so much confusion, so many here & much to see after, I forgot it until I was about ready for bed Tues. nite. I didn’t know if you would of got it in time if Id sent it Wed. morning.    No we have found nothing what ever yet, where she had left directions for to divide her things. Nothing has yet been disturbed or destroyed. We

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Will go thru them again and look. She had several quarts of fruit. But most of it she has had several years & isn’t good., There is 2 trunks one large & a small one. I will send you & Georgia all her clothes & I hope I do as you would each like. I will try. She has 2 or 3 rugs she made & was making a punched rug. Did she send you the lone star quilt she was piecing. She showed it to me the last time I was there. And one she had for Leroy I wondered if she had sent them. She said she was going to. She had pieces to make Fred a lone star & Ruth a “brides stair-way”. She only got a block or so of it finished tho. No she didn’t have on any ring, but I think I know the one you spoke of. She wore it all the time. But it’s a wonder it hadn’t got lost in moving up here. I went out to see about the things the other day to see if the mice were bothering them, and that ring she wore, it has some cut designs on it, was in a box of seeds, and the box had tumbled over. But I’ll send it to you or any other one I find. Yes the gypsies took some new sheets & pillow cases & table clothes & towels. She told us what all. Was to bad she lost them & her money.
   Yester-day was our Thanksgiving, Missouri celebrated their Thanksgiving last Thursday but

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That wasn’t our Thanksgiving. So I fixed a big supper last nite & had Gracin & Ester, Alta & Earl & mom & Fred & Mickey & 2 neighbor boys and all of us, 22 of us. We really enjoyed being to gether. The evening of Mothers funeral, I had them all stay for supper here. All of Joes folks too.
   Well Rurh is leaving Mon. & will be home Sat. and Harry is about ready to go along with her. So if you see us coming over the mountain Don’t be surprised. Now that Mother is gone he don’t want to stay here.
   So with Love to all of you , Ill stop hoping this finds you well as we are.
Yours as ever Edith.

Can you discribe the little picher you spoke of. Ive heard her speak of one, but I don’t remember just off-hand which one it was.

This was the ministers text.
Revelations 21: 1-4
St. John 14: 1-3
Corinthians 2: 5: 1
(The songs)
No dissappointment in Heaven
The city Four Square
going down the valley one by one.
Im sending you one of the cards of Thanks. Fred printed these.