Letter From William Cox Ewing to Edwin S. Martin II 10/2/1922

Monday morning Oct 2nd 1922

Dearest Bill: 

Grandmother and I got your fine letters and enjoyed them. We were glad you got home “in safety” and are having a nice time and got the machine and are doing some fancy sewing on it. We won’t be home until the last of this month as there is lots to do here yet and it will keep me busy until then to do it all. I bought 12 cords of dandy wood for the kitchen stone but it all has to be split and then I have to pile it in the kitchen wood shed. We use about 6 cords of kitchen wood each seaton and if I caught 2 seasons supply in now it will save me the trouble next season. I am glad you have been riding your bike there as well as here.Your chestnuts will get ripe after frost comes. 

I was telling Joe Griffin about your little Cedar last Friday. I am sorry the picture of us at the tent was not better as I wanted to send one of them to Mr. Costello and promised him. Grandmother and I enjoyed the joke you told us your papa got on you very much. I found one of Hiawathas around back of the ice house but the paint was all washed off and I also found the missing stick that you toast marshmallows with and put both away in their places. The Sheppards all left last Friday but Miss Young and Miss McKinnen are here yet and they say they will stay this month. 

You must get your papa to tell you how Billy climbed our big <flagpole> and the other things I told him in the long letter I wrote him Saturday eve. I had a dandy swim Saturday eve at 5 o’clock and wished you were with me. Everytime I look at your boat it makes me lonesome for you. I have the strip to put on her bow all ready to be put on and also have the broken stilts fixed and repainted and I made a new pair and used those corner blocks on them that we sawed off when Ive made the Lotus– you remember– they were knotty and cross grained but I used them. I hope the new pair are strong enough so Bettys beau won’t break those when he calls on her next season– that is if he recovers from his injuries and lives til then. I also repainted the blades of your sars and painted Bettys. Also I made a drinking cup for the well out of that cocoa nut shell we had. Also I planed the dirt off the 2 kitchen bread boards and the 2 boards that they set hot pans on and painted the latter and the next job in the kitchen for the firm of Bill and Bill is to put new oil cloth on kitchen tables. They have not had new oil clothes since I put it on 3 years ago and are very dirty. The cut on my left hand is healing up but will leave a bad scar but I use lots of <> plaster on it which makes it more better.

Grandmother still professes to pump the tank but I think I will soon have to keep her out on it as its getting low and she is washing today. I have been out hunting for <> <> every morning at 7 o’clock for 3 days but have not shot a bird yet. But I will get some before I quit. I saw the skunk in our back yard one morning but did not shot him. They are beautiful animals with a pure white stripe on their sides. John Sheppard saw 7 birds one morning sitting on the fence <> their cottage towns– before he left– and he shot one.