To Florence & family Jan 4th 1939
Well here I come at last to ans your letter & thank you for the oranges they come to the express office Friday & Mr. Moore our rural man went to the express & got the box & took it to his house he lives on the road to noel & I had already told him that Harry was coming after me to take me to Joplin to spend x-mas so he said we could pick the box up & take it on to Joplin with us so that’s whats we done Dick sent me a basket of oranges & grape fruits & delicious appels then he sent a box of mixed nuts & a fruit cake & a box of cherrie chocklets & a sack of candy by parsal post got them Saturday morning

Then some one got put a dust pan on the x-mas tree for me & altas man got 2 twists of tobbaco & they was on the tree to oh I enjoyed my visit fine styed a week & ive been as buissy as a bee every minit since I come home georgie sent me a large silk handkerchief like the women & girls ware on their heads I got it Saturday morning & I just tied it on my head & wore it to Joplin & every one that seen it wanted me to give it to them I told them I couldent do it for it was given to me it is heavy & warm I cant ware a wool cap I tried to get one of those handkerchiefs here in noel but they were small thin & slazy & dident want them I have 2 bobnet caps that’s lined with heavy silk & they are warm & comfortable to ware but I wanted something els for a change well dear I was suffering

so much with my ear when I rote you before I don’t know what I rote I do no I never ans eny of the questions you asked so I will try to ans this time the best I can Dick belongs to the Dokeys [ Possibly spelt Dakeys ] that’s a branch of the Masons of course he never rites to me eny more but he remembers me on x-mas & mothers day & about the Huckelberris there isent eny vines clost here eny more there is a man lives clost here I can see his house from here & place joines mine on the south & he wants my little rock patch & him & another man tried to burn up every thing had the woods hadent been burned off for 2 years & it was the middle of april & the wind was high & strong just blowing a gale & the timber was all out in leaf but there was lots of leaves & dry grass & it burned don’t think it dident

I never seen but one other fire that equaled it & that was in the pine timber in Arkansas that when I was a girl it burnt & killed 12 nice young peach trees that was baring age was just loaded with peaches burned half rick of wood I had just hired a man to cut hadent burnt a stick it yet & the fire killed all the young timber north of me on the ridge above my house & several of the big treese oh it was fearse just cleaned every thing killed all the Huckelberry vines & there hasent been eny berries for over 2 years not clost enough for me to get out & pick eny but ive still got a few cans that I put up 3 years ago you no I don’t eat much canned stuff onley tomatoes & put up 64 pints this last fall & I am eating them to but the weather is warm & cant eat a pint till

Part of the pint spoils but the chickens eat them they are not intirly wasted I thought when I was coming Georgie would be here to help eat them but she filed to come so that’s that the last letter she rote me she said sandy & another man had gone to California to look for work & she said if they were luckey they would move out to California so that spells that she isent coming oh well I cant be bothered I will just have to look elsewhere for some one to come & live with me & if they stay with me as long as I live my little home & all ive got will be theirs so I don’t intend to worry about it I would rather it had been different but will abide by circumstances well I am about to run out of something to say so guess I will stop pretty soon I done a lot of work since I

Started this letter I cant sit down & finish a letter ive got jump up & move around cant set still long enough to sew guess I am nervious I no I am sometimes oh yes I would sent Leroys quilt top so he could of got it x-mas but dident have money for postage I spent most all my 2 last checks for lumber mabe I will have some building done if they don’t stop the old age asistende checks they are talking of stoping it for the want of money to pay them this pension buissness is just a racket the sales tax off every body & they colect millions of dollors every year but the white colored man gets it us old people don’t get it well I hope this finds you all well I am as well as usual able to work a little & eat sleep but if I dident & raise something eat would go hungry with love & best wishes from Mother