December 21, 1917 -- Christmas Greetings, Prohibition, Sam & Daisy Spooner from WA

Spring Brook Farm

December 21, 1917

Dearest Brother ‘O Mine,

            A Merry, Merry Christmas and a Happy New year from each of us, Herman included as he asked me to say it for him though perhaps he will get around to send his New Year wishes himself  We hope that this letter will arrive on Christmas day to give you its message of Good Will then as I suppose that the Christmas boxes and gifts from various sources, or at least most of them, will be received before Christmas and probably opened as soon as received unless you all plan to have some kind of a “grand opening” Christmas day. 

            So much, much love for the day from each of us and remember that we will be thinking of you especially even though we may be doing for others.  Papa and Mama will either have Aunt Nellie and the girls up here or they will go down there. I don’t know for sure what I will do but, as I told you last Sunday, Mrs. Julius Weber wanted me to go over there with Herman and perhaps I will do so as they surely need all the cheering up possible.  I do hope she will change her mind about the Christmas tree as the little children will miss it so.

            Telephone messages comprise a big share of my news lately.  Had a call from Wonewoc today, man’s voice wants to know if it is “Sherwood” and then if it is “Ella.”   I say no that it is Susan but he says he can’t hear.  Woman’s voice asks if it is Susan.  When I said “yes” voice says that it is Aunt Daisy and that Uncle Sam will be up on the afternoon train.  I ask if she is coming but she says that she will come later but her father is not well just at present.  (Uncle Sam says that he “don’t think he will last long.”)

            Was cleaning out and rearranging the bureau drawers for the mittens, string and so forth when they called from Wonewoc.  Expected to clean the pantry as soon as I had finished that but “the best laid plans” etc. 

            A soon as dinner was over I started in to do the sweeping and dusting but had barely started when I saw a woman coming up the path.  Consternation and exclamation to Mother about “It never rains but it pours,” but open the door with bright smile and cordial welcome to a perfect stranger.  Proves to be one of the workers of the “Forward Press” activities (The Prohibition Press at Madison).  She is renewing subscriptions to the “Campaigner” and working up sentiment for a dry state and nation.  If only the “Prohibition Amendment” would be ratified immediately so that the U.S might go into the war as the “cleanest” nation in the world for the country will be physically, mentally, and morally clean when “booze” is no more and it would be a fine thing for our soldier boys to be able to remember such a country and to be able to come back to such a country when the war is over, for in spite of what has been done and is being done in Europe, moral conditions are terrible in many places and none too good in any, although I understand that the U.S. is going to try to make an agreement with England and France where by they may have “dry” and “vice less” gone around each of their camps there as they do here in this country.

            Well, Uncle Sam arrived (Papa went to the train for him) and we have all visited and visited until time for us all to be in bed.  (I had the sweeping and wiping up of floors all done when they arrived home but no dusting or other work done because of our visitor.) 

            Uncle Sam says that before Washington went dry that people said that Prohibition wouldn’t prohibit but he says that it is most certainly dry, dry as a bone.

            Did you ever expect to see or hear of your family eating oleomargarine in place of butter?  That is what we did last night and all thought that it was about as good as butter in taste and the price, well, butter at 50 cents per pound and Troco (oleomargine)[1] at 35 cents a lb stood side by side on the table and as one can hardly tell the difference in taste I rather believe that two third or more of our “butter” will be “Troco” from now on, for awhile at least.  Perhaps you have seen “Troco” or seen it advertised.  It is supposed to be made of Coconut Oil and is pure white on the packages but color comes with it so you can color it if you wish.

            We have been visiting with Uncle Sam as hard as we could all the evening for he must go tomorrow morning he says as he only has two weeks off and the trains are all so late that he will have to start back a day earlier than he expected.  They were 26 hours late into Elroy he said, that is 26 hours later than they would have been if they had been able to come straight through from the Coast.  Owing to a rock on the track on one road and a wreck on the other and so forth they had to be transferred to other roads when they were just starting. Reached St. Paul 16 hours behind their schedule and had to wait 8 hours for a train and then lost 2 hours from St. Paul to Elroy.  He will visit with the folks at Elroy for a few hours tomorrow then get a rig to Mauston.  I don’t know whether he will go form Mauston to Beaver Dam or not but he wants to go to Beaver Dam, Milwaukee, Chicago and I don’t know where else but he says that he don’t believe he can get around to all the places under the circumstances.  Aunt Daisy will stay with her folks six or eight weeks and will make us a visit of a few days when it is possible, but from what Uncle Sam says of her father’s health I doubt if she will visit around much.

            A Merry, Merry Christmas dear and though we can not have “peace on earth” at this Christmas tide we can have “good will toward men” whether friend or enemy.

            So much, much love and all the hugs and kisses that I would give you if you were here.  Our love and prayers for a Happy Christmas. 

                        Mispah[2].  Your loving little sister

                                                            Susan R. Sherwood.

 

 

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[1] Troco oleomargine was created by mixing pureed coconut meat with pasteurized milk.  It apparently had some of the taste of butter but it was mostly coconut oil.   http://www.amazon.com/1918-Troco-Oleomargarine-Butter-Coconut/dp/B005DH5CJ4

[2] “The Lord watch between you and me while we are apart one from the other.”

December 3, 1917 - Birthday Greetings from Dear Ones at Home

Spring Brook Farm, Kendall, Wisconsin in Winter.  The large 14 room farmhouse is hidden behind the large tree to the west of the barn.

  Spring Brook Farm



December 1, 1917

A.M.

Dear, Dear Little Brother
            This will have to be my birthday letter to you since I was so busy frosting the cake and getting the box ready for you this morning that I only had time to write a few lines so tore it off and sent you only the “letter of ye olden times” which was intended only as a part of your birthday greeting from me.
            Now first as to your birthday box which we sent in today’s mail. We hope that the contents prove acceptable. The big cake of course is your birthday cake and we all had a hand in the making.  Mama made the cake Papa and Herman cracked the nuts and I frosted it. The small piece of cake was intended for you just a “bite” to see what we had for Herman and his sister and Mrs. Staade on their birthdays [Herman's birthday was November 25].  The nuts and chocolate frosting that were left I combined to make the few pieces of candy which we sent. Perhaps you would rather we would not have sent such a little sample since there are so many to share with, but it seemed so good that I wanted you to have it and we needed to fill up the box also as there were only a few cookies since mama did not get around to do the oatmeal cookies because of her work at Elroy for the Christian Home. And last but not least is the wrist watch which we so hope will be all right though it is not exactly as I wished. You asked for one with the luminous figures and hands and wide tan strap fastened to the watch instead of having the watch in a case.  This answers all of those requirements too but would have been better I believe if the dial plate had been black as with the Ingersoll’s, and some others.  This one doesn’t show up well until after it has been worn several minutes but seems to me all right then so since it was the only one that I could get track of just at present and it seemed all right (except the black face would have been better) we decided to take it.  One thing I liked about it was that it is quite a little smaller than some and another is that it has an “unbreakable” crystal, at least that is what the jeweler said.  It is stem wind and stem set. Of course we do not know enough about watches to be able to say how good it is but Mrs. Frederick said that the jeweler at Sparta said it was just about as good as some $18 watches of a different kind that he had and that this kind was the one that was proving the most popular of any of the wrist watches he was selling.  (Of course I think the price had something to do with it as $18 or $20 would be quite a price to pay for anything of this kind.) I have been debating in my mind as I have written the above as to whether I should tell you the price so you would know what to ask in case it is not just what you want and you should have a chance to sell it.  It was $12.50 exclusive of the strap (It had a narrow black strap but we thought the wide would be better).  We surely hope that it proves just what you want but if it don’t show up as it should in the dark or if for any other reason it does not prove satisfactory, don’t be afraid of hurting us by exchanging it for something better. We wanted to have it a gift from us but our love will be there just the same even if the gift can not be accepted in its present form.
            And now a few more lines about the watch.  think Herman and Mrs. Frederick have helped so much that they might be considered part of the givers. When I could not seem to find anything better, Herman took me to Elroy in the car one night to look at what they had there and it is probable that if the jeweler had not taken off the secondhand to fix another watch that you would have had that watch before this. I had asked Mrs. Frederick if they knew where we could get a wrist watch with both the “unbreakable” crystal and luminous dial but she did not know. Then one day she phoned that she had been in Sparta and had found a watch that she thought was what I wanted so we had it sent down and have sent it on to you. So I hope you will find time to write to both and thank them, for I don’t know when you would have gotten it otherwise.
            And here is something which I wish I could say instead of write as I don’t know as I can exactly explain what I mean, but I wish you would write to Herman sometimes even if he don’t write to you (he says that I write so much that there is nothing left to say).  It has seemed to me sometimes this fall that he has taken on a “don’t care” attitude toward life and he is not living up to the best in himself.  I don’t know how to help him and I think perhaps he needs a man’s help more than a woman’s just now anyhow.  Perhaps I am unnecessarily worrying, I hope so, but so many little things have happened that have suggested this attitude that I fear something is wrong.
            We received your letter with the list of things that you could use or needed and noticed that you had “eats” the first on the list, so perhaps we will send you a cookie or two sometime! I heard that some of the boys at Waco did not care to have “eats” sent so we were not sure whether you would want much in that line or not. Of course part of the boys at Waco are like you and cry “more”  and probably one reason some objected was because some tried to send fried chicken and things that do not keep well.  Let us know if we send anything that it would be best not to try to send again.
            Goodnight dear heart, or rather Good morning as it was really morning before I started even.  Love and love and prayers always.  Mizpah[1].
                                                            Your little sister, Susan

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[1] “The Lord watch between you and me while we are absent one from the other.”