[Route] 1 Centreville Pa
July 16 1916

Dear daughter and family

I will try to answer your good long letter received a few days ago was real glad to hear from you once more & glad you [are] so well We had a very hot dry week last week & it nearly played me out & your pa too but it is raining again to day your pa went to Sunday School but I did not feel able to go twice & we have preaching at 3 this after noon & I want to go to it for I do like to hear him preach yes your pa knew several of those Balls in Enterprise I should think he was an old man to take up a [honest] stead but [if] he has lots of money he can stand it Oh Minnie dear how I do wish you could come home this fall I do want to see you so bad

we will have some frost of all kinds last week was so very warm from 90 to 95 but it made [every] thing grow the corn was so very small but it is growing real fast now our garden look [fairly] good I [can't] work in it much for it makes me so lame in my knees I [can't] get up & down but I do try to weed out the beets & such things I had one mess of beets [greens] they [were] fine our peas [are] sitting fool[sic] I will [be] glad when we have green food for I [don't] have a very good [appetite] & the hot weather nearly wilted me but it is cooler today it [seems] like dog [days] & that was [always] hard on me We have our calf fatted & sold it [brought] nearly 15 [dollars] I think the [heifer] is going to make a fine cow Ellis was [here] for dinner he said he will stay home a week in haying I am glad for you pa [can't] stand to do much hard work he is failing

2 fast he starts off for the cows he takes his cane Well it is [evening] & chores all [done] I went to church had a good sermon Mrs Maynard was [there] the hot weather made her [most] sick She doesn't [seem] to gain Skie takes some kind of bear Mattie [don't] gain much the [abcess] discharges all the time the Dr [says] it is her age working off that way. I haven't had [any] letter from Edie for some time but had a card I will try to write to her this week & I must write to Eiffel soon she [seems] very happy on a big [ranch] she has chickens turkeys & cows she is working real hard. Well I have run out [of] [news] so will say good night & pleasant dreams. Well it is monday [eve] again it has been a good hayday Ellis run the [machine] & H mowed by hand over to the other place but it has clouded up over the sun & looks like rain the hay is very leavy & [if] it is [catching] weather

it will make it bad. Our [raspberries] are well loaded the black ones are getting ripe. We have the paper on the roof so now Nolia will come some of those [days] & paper the kitchen for it does [need] it bad she has so much to do she has lots of [cherries] ripe now I [canned] 5 qts [of] our old tree I [don't] think I will do up so much fruit as I do some years the early streaked apples are well loaded I mean to dry a lot [of] them [if] I am able to It is nice your bees does so well will you have [any] sweet potatoes this year [it's] nice you can raise melons Dine could not get work to [suit] her so she went to Erie & [settled] in a rooming house has three rooms furnished & filled with roomers & that is all I can think of this time write when you can & may the lord [keep] us till we [meet] again love to all your loving Mother