Poplar Grove, Sask.,
Feb. 24th, 1909
Dear Cousin May,
I have been waiting till I felt inspired and not tired to write to you, but the combination won’t come; this evening I am both tired and uninspired.
Thank you for your New Year’s wishes, and though I know it is rather late in the year for my New Year wishes to you, I hope they will be as effective as earlier ones. You are always so kind about writing at Xmas time, and I suppose you are as wildly hurried and busy as I, yet I really can’t get up extra energy at that time to write. This Xmas we did not have any English “boys”. F. Gravener frankly told me that there were more young ladies east (we live west of him) and he was going to Mr. and Mrs. Stokes because sometimes the widow McLean’s daughter was there (she is tall and slim, while F.G. is shorter than I, and somewhat heavier); however he did not go there and did not meet the young lady.
I gave the house as much of a cleaning as I could before Amy came home, she came on Thursday, I had scrubbed or rather washed up the whole house of four rooms since Monday and had finished with the kitchen and made some biscuits or scones for tea on Thursday when Mr. Marks came for two ducks I was exchanging with him for two roosters. He wanted the ducks for Xmas Winner, when he found them plucked and dressed he stayed to tea, just as we sat down a knock came to the door, and a cousin’s son of Mr. Cairns walked in, he had been in the west all the fall and was now attending the Normal School at Regina; we have a new station 2 miles away now, he had come on that line; then John and Amy came; Amy had come to Wapella 23 miles away, her friends at Parkin had gone in for her, So John had only twelve miles to go for her; that was our Xmas eve tea. Janet and Mr. Dickey could not come down on Xmas day, as it was mail-day, they have the post office. We invited a family this time, two McKillop boys homesteaded and sent for their two brothers and a sister to live with them; just young people, the eldest twenty-one, the sister fifteen. So with our boys, and Mr. Cairns cousin (nine teen years and six feet two) we had a merry party. I did not give them turkey, because I raised the turkeys myself. Amy’s friends at Parkin gave me the eggs, and the birds were such beauties I want to have a lot next year. I gave them chickens, we cooked four and one duck. I told Amy we need not have bread-sauce, as Billy Kinch was up north, but she has acquired at taste for that compound. I made more than I intended, Amy saved every bit, and warmed it up for one dinner, and burnt it up for the next. After dinner Maggie McKillop and Amy washed dishes, I was ordered off in the room to rest; the boys went out to shoot at a target with a Ross rifle. In the evening it was cold, dark and dismal so we persuaded our guests to stay all night; then we had two McKillop
boys, Maggie their sister and George McKay, with six of us in our house of four rooms, seven of the male kind and three of us females. Two boys volunteered to sleep on the room floor, we women-folks had one double bedded bedroom, and in the other bed room – double-bedded and a stretcher too – five slept.
Amy made her college gown besides doing nearly all the housework while she was home. She took back three loaves of home-made bread, sixteen eggs (that was all we could put in the can she packed them in) and some scotch short-bread, the latter delicacies to treat her college-mates during lesson hours! The scotch cakes were rather a failure they ran over the pan when baking, but they tasted nice. She is having “just the loveliest time” going to college, but for all that, she was well up in the Xmas exams. Whenever I get a photo of Mr. Dickey I will send you one. You will miss Amy and the little ones, and Ruth too! Why did not Ruth keep on with Amy?
I am afraid you are working too hard, and that made you faint at Hook Norton. I am ashamed to have you write to me when you are so busy. I am busy too, but am not so conscientious as you, I leave undone a great deal when I am tired. Jack’s arm will most likely come all right in spite of the Doctors, as Jack is so young. Boys are always getting hurt. Janet is making tiny garments, I hope she will have a girl, just fancy me being a grandmother! It may be the last of June. An English farm is very different from our Western homes, everything is wild and roomy here, most everybody’s’ machinery has all outdoors for room!
My mother is better now, she takes her walks too, like Uncle Ben; she keeps house by herself but there is another woman in another part of the house, she makes fancy work and reads, goes to parties, and has a happy time generally.
You say your paying guest pays 1 pound a week; board in this far away from everywhere, miserable accommodations, no taxes much, altogether “the simple life” is $4 a week – only one dollar less than in highly civilized Birkenhead.
I love to hear about all your doings, but I do not want to add to your tasks, and I like to write to you of our doings, and will do So whenever I can, SO I’ll excuse you if you are irregular in answering, and expect you to excuse me, we both have the same excuse, so busy and so tired. If we could only afford a private secretary and typewriter we might dictate as we washed dishes, scrubbed and swept!
With much love to all, I remain
your affectionate Cousin
Alice Cairns