3 Apr 1927 From Babe [Lois]

Return address is: LMB 2 cent stamp
328 Mill St
Apt 21 Portland Oregon

3 Apr 1927
Portland Oregon

My dear little sister,

I hope you will forgive me for not writing sooner but you know how hard it is to settle down to write a letter.
Listen honey, you said you needed a good housekeeper. Could I qualify? My age is sixteen years, I am in good health and I could give the best recommendations I have been working at housework for about four years now and I have taken cooking up at the school. I also know how to sew nicely and could do all the sewing and mending. Also I could take in a little sewing or take care of some kids in the afternoon, How about it? Just think it over and if you say the word I’ll come this summer after school is out. How are you and Don making now? I can imagine how terrible it is to come home and find the dirty apartment with dirty dishes laying around waiting to be washed for starting dinner and dirty some more. Just imagine how nice it would be come home at night to a nice clean apartment with the little floor lamp lit and a nice piping hot dinner ready to be served? With me little Babe ready and willing to serve it. Waiting for you to come and anxiously opening the door for you just to ask you if you are tired or hungry. Pipe dreams? I must say. But then what would you do without dreams? Life wouldn’t be worth living if we couldn’t hope and dream. Wouldn’t it, dear?
Say honey, have you heard the song, “I’m looking over a Four Leaf Clover”. It certainly is pretty. We have that on the Victrola have you heard the one “Get away old man get away”? (I can’t seem to write, the music is going and you know me) this song we go for mamma’s benefit and Paynes. The verse says “Now listen all you maidens about to choose a man don’t take one when is ancient. Get a young man if you can. (Impossible to write) for a aged man he is old, for a aged man he is gray and a young man’s heart is full of love. Get away old man get away.
Don’t ever marry an old man and I’ll tell you the reason why. His lips are all tabucker (tobacco Sp?) juice and all his chin is never dry and old man he is old for an old man he is gray. But a you man’s heart is full of love. Get away old man get away. Rather in tune to mammas feeling of Payne. She is always complaining that he chew tobacco and it gets on his chin rather clever eh? Sorry you’ll excuse all this silly running on and this terrible writing.
Oh honey, my class play went off swell. I did fine and I wasn’t even scared. Imagine me getting up there and talking silly stuff. O it was great. You ought to have seen dad and Pearl. They certainly were pleased and proud. Dad gave me $2.00. I tood it and some of my own money and got the cutest little red hat to go with my coat. The top is frosted felt. All of it is felt. O certainly look cute. Am sending you a picture taken at the Hollywood Studion Tads. It isn’t very good of my face but you can see something of my coat and hat. I would send you some f me in my costume and my coat and hat but we haven’t any money to get them developed yet. We certainly will have next time. Inviet (?). also a picture of the kid I am going with. Edith and I met him at a dance and have know him for a long time. Just before my class play came off I tried to sell him a ticket. Edith was going to have to come alone so he brought her. I took her out a couple of times after that one being Sunday to make it four. We didn’t have a very good time. We went on the Swan Boat that nite. Well, Edith had to go to a shower in Miss King last Wed. and so Al took tat as an excuse to take me out. We went to the Cotillion and Edith came up after the shower. Al is 18 and a very nice kid. I said something to him about him being very good at stringing both of us along. He said that I was the first one he took out alone and that he has been waiting to see which one of us like him the best. Edith is going with another Al. The boy that was the instructor over at the skating rink. You know how darned fickle she is. It made me mad at first because she seems to monopolize Al Schuller, (the boy I am going with now) at first. Last nite (Sat) a bunch of us were going to Blue Lake and Al was to get a boy for Edith and the kid didn’t show up. (This other Al, hers, doesn’t dance but we’re certainly going to show him). We took her along anyhow and she had a perfectly terrible time. She got mad at Al for not having this boy. It wasn’t his fault. Anyway he chose me in the end. He calls me “the little devil” because I’m always full of pep and singing. He says he likes me that way and you know Edith doesn’t act that way at all. We are as different as day and night but we get along fine together. I hope Al calls up today and takes me to a show. It certainly is terrible when Sunday comes around and we have to sit around the house. Al doesn’t drink or smoke. Jimmy just quit calling me up so I used to call him once-in-a-while and just decided that I would not do it any more. I still like him and admire him but I guess he is too busy to have a steady girl altho’ I never went with anyone else since I met. Even tho’ he came over only about once in every 2 or 3 weeks. It gets too monotonous this to sit around and wait for him to call at his leisure. Al is a keen dancer and I certainly can dance with him. He says I am the first one he has met that can follow good. He very seldom fools me in a step and when he does its because I’m not paying attention to my dancing. I lead Edith in the Slow Drags and do the nine step keen too. Al says he is jealous of me in that he can’t lead in the nine. We are going to go to the cotillion now because our gang is going there. We like the floor and the music better. We never dance with strangers any more. If they want to dance with us they have to get someone whom we know to introduce us and if they are real good dancers we dance with them. We don’t waste our time on poor dancers because we know plenty who are good. We have lots of fun too.
We are having the funniest weather. It rains and the sunshines rather spasmodically all the time. April showers I guess. We have our class pins now and they certainly are darling.
Say honey I am trying to find time to reline me last summers coat and just as soon as I have it done I am going to send it post hast to you. I’ll try to get it done this next week. I’ll have Betty help me with it.
Edith and Al Hultburge (I don’t know how to spell his name) and me and my Al are going to Betty’s Tuesday nite to have some fun probably play cards or something like that. Edith’s Al is 21 and more her age don’t you think? My Al said last nite that I am the first girl he has gone with who is nearer his age but he said he wished I were older as then I wouldn’t be fickle. I told him I wasn’t but that Edith has gone with about 4 different kids since I have been going with Jimmy. I’m not fickle, am I? I don’t like to go with more than one boy at the same time. Would you? Edith dos tho’. She certainly is a funny girl isn’t she?
We were talking of going in training together but we can’t get in () because we haven’t had 4 years high school. Edith may be able to get into one in Spokane and if I come down here we will be pretty well settled for a few years any how. Momma and Payne will probably break up because they do every time he comes to town. She still has his ring but I don’t think they will get married. She and Kerns had a fight lately but before he has been taking her to lunch and bringing her home. Momma denied all this but Kerns come and tells us himself. He is coming to California soon maybe or going to Arizona. Well dear I suppose I would like to go on like this forever and I know that wouldn’t do because I have to sure something to tell you. Will close hoping everything is all right with you and you are well.
Love to both,
Babe [Anne's Sister]