The Craft Clan

Letters to Dell from Cousins Ora and Mary March 22, 2012

Fredericktown, O. Sep 18, 1896
Miss Dell McDonald
Dear Cousin
I will try and answer your letter which was dated June 24. I expect your have given up ever hearing from me again.
When your wrote to me our summer school was not out yet and you talked about coming down and going with me to school. Our fall and winter school began today but I did not go. I will start after the fall work is done. I suppose Genius would tell you all about meeting me in the road or anything else that he thought would interest you. Well if he did see my mother I hope he did not do like that fellow did that was with Josie on Bicycles that Sunday that they went by here.
I suppose you will enjoy yourself at the Belleville Street Fair, I don’t expect to go for pa will be sowing wheat and if he can’t go and take us he will be using the horse so we can’t go by ourselves.
I am going to study Complete Algebra, Book Keeping, Orthography, Civil Government and General History, and I almost got through Higher Arithmetic last summer I want to finish that then I am going to let Arithmetic rest for a while.
Miss Culp and Laura went to Mt. Vernon to the Street Fair to night and it is beginning to rain I think they will have a nice time getting home after they get off the train.
The Street Fair at Mt. Vernon is today (Mon) Tuesday, and Wednesday. I would like to go to both Street Fairs but they had them in too busy times.
Ray went to school today, there were only thirteen scholars.
It has been a long time since I wrote to you last but I have done better than Mary Ellen so you must scold me lighter than you do her.
We had a rel nice time at the exercises last Monday, there was forty-six wagons and buggies in the parade that is those of the business men besides spectators, the estimation of the number of people in town that day was three thousand people, the man that jumped off the 75 ft. pole hurt himself, the paper says slightly and probably fatally injured, the ballon ascension was real nice, it went up so smooth and so high.
Well I will have to close for thistime it is bedtime. Remember me to Uncle Bill and Aunt Sal, Pa, ma and Ray are just through shelling beans and I must quit writing for this time. Write soon. Don’t wait as long as I did.
Your Cousin
Ora

Fredericktown, O
Dec 12, 1896
Miss Dell McDonald
Dear Cousin
I will try an answer your kind and most welcome letter which I received about three weeks ago.
I started to school three weeks ago next Monday, I only study four studies. Orthography , Physical Geography, History and Bookkeeping, but I am alone in all of my classes but History, so I can take pretty long lessons.
You wanted to know how the Bryan people were down here, I don’t know much about it for there are not very many only six in this school district. The Silver men have reorganized their Silver Club since the election. They are getting ready for 1900
I have got a yellow ribbon with McKinley’s name on it.
I forgot to tell you how many scholars we have, twenty-eight. I intended to study Civil Government but the teacher is just having us learn the constitution of the U.S. with our other History lesson.
Alice Ball is staying at grandmothers and is going to school this winter, she had the sore throat for the last week.
Ray has got the sick headache and ma has the rheumatism in her shoulder so I have both of them to wait on, they keep me on the go nearly all the time so I can’t have my mind to myself as I like to when I write letters.
It does not seem hardly possibly that it is almost Christmas, when we are having such nice weather, we only have one more week of school, then we will have two weeks vacation.
Charlie Culp and Belle Richards were married the night before Thanksgiving, Culps made a dinner for him. I guess there were about twenty-five invited but about half of them did not come. I think there was only thirteen there with Culps family and I know of thirteen that were invited and were not there. Alt Blacks family were all there.
Ma and pa were up to uncle Joseph McDonald’s about three weeks ago, they told them that Elwood McDonald was married and that they had an invitation to the wedding.
They say that this is going to be the coldest winter we have had since 1813. I don’t remember how cold it was then do you. If it is going to be so cold it had better be getting there, or it will be cold next spring when it ought to be getting warm.
I have not seen anything of Myrta Bigbee since she moved, and we have not heard why they left Gordon’s place. Mr. Gordon is over eighty years old, and we heard that he was married this fall but I guess it is untrue.
Uncle Alexanders were over to grandmothers last Sun. Grandmother was over to uncle Joshes on Thanksgiving day, she did not feel very well this morning but I guess she feels better now, she generally feels worse in the morning than any other time.
Well it is about 4 o’clock and Ray has not vomited since morning so I think he will get better now.
Well I will have to close for I will have all of the evenings work to do.
Write soon and excuse poor writing.
From your Cousin Ora
Come down whenever you can.

(A note from Terry In case you wanted to know
Orthography is the study of nature and use of symbosl in a writing system; correct or standardized spelling according to established usage in a given language…)

Belleville Ohio
Feb 23, 1897
Dear Friend,
I promised to write as soon as I got home but neglected it. It has been four weeks since we returned from your house.
We are both well as usual, but am sorry to say McGinty has lost his apetite which I am very sorry.
Mother and I did a large washing today, we would wash awhile, and act a dunce a while longer than we washed.
We ate four times today. We ate our breakfast, then in a little while we finished up a coffee cake, I intended to have baked beans for supper but they got done about two o’clock and we sat down and ate them. They were good because I baked then, first I ever tired.
Well that is enough on that subj. The M.E. Church is holding protracted meeting, I guess I will go done tonight have not been down yet. Mother can’t go and I dislike to leave her alone so I stay at home a great deal closer on that account. I am looking forward to the wk. you will spend with us in Belleville.
Tell your Father he need not worry about our gadding the streets, they have no charms for me, and if they had Mother would charm me.
When you write, please send me a picture of that __________________ and be particular in drawing the dimensions, that is to have them all on . I will be greatly obliged to you if you do. I will give the map to Clem Baker and he will make one.
Well it is calm this morning, last night the wind blew a perfect hurricane. I dislike to hear it blow as it makes me lonely.
Do you remember the night I wanted to yell. You can do everything but that. If we did the neighbors would flock in to lean the cause of the disturbance.
I suppose you have that dialog committed perfectly by this time. I have imagined dhow things will be that night and have you pictured out, of course I do not how what will be in the play, but I imagine the scenery and how things will be arranged.
High School had quite a program last Friday celebrating Washington’s birthday. I could not go over as I was expecting company that did not come, if I know then what I do now I should have gone. Bart is sick with lagrippe and I could not come.
I will bring this epistle to a close and hope to hear from you soon.
Yours lovingly,
Mary X