To Florence and family Tuesday Nov 9th 1937

Dear girl will try to ans your ever welcome letter rec’d a few days ago. Very glad to get your letter & hear you was all up. I am feeling very well I am not working so hard I don’t get out & get my wood now got a man to get my wood but takes money to pay for it I got a rick & a half & I paid a dollor & 85cts for it was good wood most all green wood but I have got a good cook stove it burns eny kind & it is getting cool enough to have a little fire most all the time it has gone to raining & it’s a cold rain almost freezing I look for a sleet or a snow oh well let it come I havent got any heating stove but I cant be bothered ive lived by my little cook stove 6 winters

& Ive not froze yet although I have suffered with the cold a few times but I survived & still here but Harry wants me to get a heating stove said it would be more comfortable for me yes if I had a heater in my front room I could quilt some & the lord knows ive got a stack of tops if had them quilted I would have quite a stack of quilts & ive got enough good warm quilts to last me as long as I live if I live to be real old now ive pieced most all those tops since ive lived here besides we pieced tops for women here in town & I pieced 2 for Elsie & 2 for Harry & Edith & I pieced 2 for a neighbor woman & gave them to her I furnished everything the material & thread & the time there was several around here that wanted me to make quilts to give to them but they didn’t

apreciate it so I quit they was on relief relief (word was in twice) & the more you gave them; the more they wanted you to give them the more they wanted you to give the man that taking care of the relief here in Noel tried to force me to except relief & I caught him in the drugstore one day I was in town & it was during holidays there was quite a croud in there & I told him what I of him & that damnd relief business I told him it was nothing but damnd graft from start to finish & I wouldn’t have nothing to do with it what ever now girlie that word damn is not a curse word but just a slang word so that’s that will you no I believe it going to snow to night the clouds looks like snow & its just cold enough to come a good snow well it dont rain & a good snow would be better then no moisture & we sure need some moisture every thing is awfuly dry I know for ive

Been burning off some weeds cleaning all my place & I’am not quite done got one more patch to burn them I’ll have my place clean the leaves has most all fell off the last week we been having lots of strong winds lately & its striped the leaves off fast well you said you hated to rite letters I would rather take a beating then sit down & rite a letter & I cant sit sill long enough I can think of lots of things I want to say but after a little while I cant think of anything & I leave out lots of words & misspell a lot my mind isent on ritting letters its away off yonder on something els & I am so forgetful when I went to Oklahoma in july I met most all the people I got acquainted with the fifteen months I lived there they all knew me but I had forgoten most all of them the children

had all grown up dident none of them look like they selves & lots ove the older people I dident no well this is next day it rained all night & was just 2 degrees above freezing its still cloudy & looks threatening it may snow yet before it clears well it will soon be thanksgiving I guess if the weather isent too bad I’ll have a croud here that day they do gang up on me sometimes but I manage to entertain them I have always had several chickens but this time I wont have but one I dident raiz eny chickens this summer I had 50 baby chicks I bought but the owls & fox & other varmints got them all but 7 & I sold 3 young roosters killed one & Ive just got one hen & one rooster & ive got the rooster up in a coop to fatten for thanksgiving I havent got but eleven chickens 9 hens & 2 roosters I havent got eny stock only the little bunch of chickens well I guess that’s all I need

I tried get a pig or two to feed the peaches to I had so miny I couldn’t take care of them I could of sold some of them but I wouldn’t I gave some away & sure put up lots of them I made 7 galons of peach butter ive got rid of 3 galons of it I sold one galon & gave 2 galons away it was awful hard on me to get all my wood to cook & cann the fruits ive got put up & ive got a lot of it to but I got by & I am still here & feeling pretty good I am not working so hard got the fall work about all done just taking my time to finish up well you no the sun is shining I guess the clouds is going to clear away & come a big front to night mabe freeze a little its pritty cold I caught a lot of nice clean rain water that’s a big help to me I wont have to carry water for to wash & for my chickens

Its up hill all the way from the spring with a bucket of water well this is Thursday morning & its clear the sun is shining & its not very cold there wasent a bit of frost the thurmomiter is standing at 50 degrees today is the 11th & I must finish this before the mailman comes then I am going to wash a few pieces if ever get caught up with my outdoor work I sit down a little while every day piece some on my quilt blocks I h ave got one started got half done it wont take long to finish it if I can get the time to work on it then I would like to make 2 or three ruggs I want to make some of those hooked ruggs they are pretty if I lived clost to Joplin I could get the pateren already stamped on burlap ready

To work but I don’t get the chance to go to Joplin hardly onc a year the last time I was up there was last xmas soon be a year & I was brok dident have eny money so couldn’t buy eny thing well I must stop & get this letter in the box so hoping this finds you all well I am as ever with love & best wishes for all from Mother Cole

P.S. Harry & family come down Sunday fred drove the car Harry has to get around on cruches I am afraid he will always be a cripple he cant bare eny weight on that ankel & it hurts him all thetime I feel so sorry for thim he wants to go to work & it worries him because he cant