Ina writes to Vance on February 16, 1936:
Well, I wish you were here right now. The hill east is a marvelous pink and the shadows fall blue to its top. We have about three feet of snow and it is cold. It began piling up week before last and we have had sub-zero weather off and on ever since. Week ago Friday at 9:30 p.m. it was 12 degrees below. That is the coldest we have noted. The last few days are colder – yesterday a.m. it was 8 degrees below, this a.m. 6 degrees below and the highest today we noted was 4 degrees above. Dad keeps a lantern in the cellar “of a nite” and nothing has frozen. At Musser’s it registered 19 degrees below. Reports from Saskatchewan are as low as 55 degrees below, Montana 40 degrees below. I dread to think of Pearl [living the farm life in Alberta] . . . The front door is corked up. We have been using the dining room evenings this cold weather. It is so much warmer, but I’m going back to the other room as soon as possible. I make a little fire in the bedroom every evening now and then the bed is warm. I hang up some things by the stove so keep comfortable. . . Now I must go and build the fire in the bedroom and wash my late dinner dishes and do all the little things to make the evening comfortable. . . . Monday, a.m., and 4 degrees below but clear as a bell. Dad has Earl Plank here and they are sawing down a tree by the pond for wood. We have plenty of limbs but snow too deep to get to them.
Imagining myself in Ina’s house, I can hardly fathom the inconvenience! In a world where hot and cold running water and indoor plumbing are standard, this lady never had such convenience in her own home. The difficulties of carrying water for everyday use and keeping it from freezing she doesn’t mention. Having grown up on the farm, Vance undoubtedly understands the winter routine. Also, Ina’s house wasn’t insulated, and it was cold and drafty no matter how many rooms they closed off. As Ina grew older, she would leave the farm in the winter, visiting family in Idaho Falls, Seattle, Portland, and Drain (OR).
Well, I wish you were here right now. The hill east is a marvelous pink and the shadows fall blue to its top. We have about three feet of snow and it is cold. It began piling up week before last and we have had sub-zero weather off and on ever since. Week ago Friday at 9:30 p.m. it was 12 degrees below. That is the coldest we have noted. The last few days are colder – yesterday a.m. it was 8 degrees below, this a.m. 6 degrees below and the highest today we noted was 4 degrees above. Dad keeps a lantern in the cellar “of a nite” and nothing has frozen. At Musser’s it registered 19 degrees below. Reports from Saskatchewan are as low as 55 degrees below, Montana 40 degrees below. I dread to think of Pearl [living the farm life in Alberta] . . . The front door is corked up. We have been using the dining room evenings this cold weather. It is so much warmer, but I’m going back to the other room as soon as possible. I make a little fire in the bedroom every evening now and then the bed is warm. I hang up some things by the stove so keep comfortable. . . Now I must go and build the fire in the bedroom and wash my late dinner dishes and do all the little things to make the evening comfortable. . . . Monday, a.m., and 4 degrees below but clear as a bell. Dad has Earl Plank here and they are sawing down a tree by the pond for wood. We have plenty of limbs but snow too deep to get to them.
Imagining myself in Ina’s house, I can hardly fathom the inconvenience! In a world where hot and cold running water and indoor plumbing are standard, this lady never had such convenience in her own home. The difficulties of carrying water for everyday use and keeping it from freezing she doesn’t mention. Having grown up on the farm, Vance undoubtedly understands the winter routine. Also, Ina’s house wasn’t insulated, and it was cold and drafty no matter how many rooms they closed off. As Ina grew older, she would leave the farm in the winter, visiting family in Idaho Falls, Seattle, Portland, and Drain (OR).
(This picture of Grandpa Jack and Dick was taken by Ina in February 1936.)
7 comments:
Was Ina using the living room downstairs as a bedroom? She talks of making a fire in the bedroom--I think that's where I would be sleeping if it were that cold and I didn't have an electric blanket!
Ina is speaking of the master bedroom upstairs. There was a wood stove sorta behind the door where the closet is now. The chimney hooked into the cookstove chimney now removed. They closed off the livingroom and corked up the front door. You can tell she finds living in two rooms a bit confining. KW
I remember winters with 3 feet of snow, not as cold as she states. There was also a wood heater put into the dining room, and when I was up there, we had a fire there and moved a bed into the dining room. Later, a propane stove replaced the wood heater. That and the kitchen weren't too confining. Getting in and out were major efforts, taking stuff to the top of the Plank hill with the tractor, then taking the tractor back and walking out. CPW
Chuck, I'm wondering if the wood stove that heats my shop in town is the one you remember. It's a side loader encased in an enameled sheet metal two tone brown case. It's a Gamble-Skogmo about 21" deep by 27" wide. It was in the upstairs bedroom when we remodeled but I don't think it was hooked up. It does a good job of heating the shop. M/W
I sent Mike's inquiry regarding the wood stove in our shop to Chuck by email to be sure he saw it. Chuck responded as follows: "That sounds like the stove. It did a good job of heating the dining room and kitchen (plus the kitchen range after we got up)." It's fun to have this information from one who had first-hand experience. KW
Where is this house located?
It's the farmhouse at "Foggy Farm." Ina's house is now Kathy & Mike's place. That's what makes the old letters with their comments about the house and environment so much fun to read. KW
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