Sunday September

(Postmarked September 23rd, 1918)

My dear Myron:-

I wonder what I’ve got to write about tonight that can possibly interest you. Life is just the same old round of “little things” — all of them important at the time but they look so foolish on paper. Never mind, maybe it will seem like a relief from all the “big things” that must be doing over there.

We have our threshing finished AT LAST — so much for one week’s work. They commenced here on Sat. and didn’t finish until the next Thursday. The engine broke down and it RAINED and RAINED so that I thought they’d never finish. They were here to dinner every day but one. Well its’ done now and I’m more than glad. Ransom had something over 950 bu. of oats besides some the man failed to tally. It’s the most oats we’ve ever had. We have the silo foundation built but haven’t the solo up yet. Will get it up as soon as we can now so as to get to filling.

The children are all excited over an entertainment they are planning to give down at the school for the benefit of the Junior Red Cross. They want to have it next Friday night and I hope it’s a success but am a little fearful for this neighborhood are not much hands to go out nights.

Well, Myron, I’m glad you are not at Camp Devens now. The camp is full of “Spanish Influenza” (you must have heard of the new disease). Yesterday’s paper said there were more than six thousand cases there. I’m sure you’d have to take it if you were there. Milton Deming has been stationed at New London Conn. ever since he got out of the hospital and now he is back in the hospital again with S. Influenza and Pneumonia. He has been sick enough so that the hospital authorities telegraphed his folks that he was “seriously ill” but he is better now. Wesley went down to see him

It has been so cold here today that we have had a fire in the furnace all day. It has cleared off so cold that I’m almost afraid we’ll have a frost tonight.

I wish I could know that you are “some where” where it is warm and dry these cold damp days but we’ll just have faith that everything is all right — it’s all we can do. I do hope they can but I’m afraid I’ll be just a little jealous – I want to go too.

I haven’t heard from Aunt Jennie in quite some time — in fact I owe her a letter – but I’d like to know how Howard has stood it this last month with hay fever. Mine hasn’t bothered very much as yet and think the time of it is nearly by.

Well I guess you must be tired of all my ramblings by this time so I will say “good night.”

I guess I’m getting too sleepy to write much more, don’t know as you can read what I have written. Talk about poor writers – what do you think of this?

Write when you can and we sure we are all thinking of “our soldier boy.”

Ever your loving sister
Minnie

Note: The Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918 has been cited as one of the most devastating epidemics in recorded history. An estimated 675,000 Americans died during the pandemic, ten times as many as in the Great War. Of the U.S. soldiers who died in Europe, half of them died as a result of the flu. It arrived in Boston and Camp Devens in Sept of 1918. Obviously Myron was “Over there” by that time.