August 22, ’61

Dear Dick and Dad:-

Just a line to let you know we are among the living. The weather here has been so cold it seems like fall instead of summer, I imagine your weather has been unusually cold to. How is the guest house progressing? Or is it a “Bomb Shelter”.

Edw. Shepard was down last week for a couple to days, he seem to be O.K. says he is so busy cutting his grass that he hasn’t had time to go anywhere. He drove down in his Chev. Corvair, he bought it from a private owner and still has his Buick which he is trying to sell. He said if he gets it sold he may go up to your place, but don’t hold your breath.

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cars are hard to sell especially a big car such as a Buick. He’ll probably have to give it away. He likes his Corsair just fine. It seems like I always have to mess him up some how or another when he is here. Last time Ruth had to go away and left “Strogenoff” for me to serve. Well I served it all right but I forgot the rice. I thought it tasted funny but didn’t know what was wrong and Edw. didn’t know any better than I did, so we just ate it as it.

Well this time I took it upon myself to turn his bed down and remove the spred. I didn’t know Ruth had taken the pillow cases off to wash and she didn’t check me so Edw. slept on those

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plastic pillow cases. Next morning Ruth noticed what had happened and just about flipped her lid. Edw. said he thought she must have had a lot of starch in her pillow cases. Ruth ask him if they didn’t smell funny and Edw. said yes they did but he thought it was some kind of soap that she was using. We all got a big laugh out of it.

While Edw. was here we all went over to Johnie Gates for a grilled steak cook out. Had a good meal and afterward I showed 2 color movie films that I borrowed from

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the Cols. Library, one was “Waterway Holiday” and the other was “Hawaii The Nw 50th Sate”. I borrowed the company projector, we had color, sound and all, just like downtown. Johnnie & Juanita took the kids and his dad on a cruise down the Ohio River to the Mississippi and then back up the Ohio and up the Tenn. River. It took them 10 days and they traveled a distance of 1700 miles all by water. I guess they had a wonderful time.

We got the siding on the north side of our cottage and the pine paneling up on the north wall inside. Would like to get the siding

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on the front yet this year. We still haven’t used the new boat very much only got 27 hours on it altogether and I think I had about 18 on it when you and Dad were with us that Sunday. Last weekend was a dandy the wind blowed from the time we got there till we left on Sunday night. I didn’t even take the cover off. Mary Michell invited Ruth and I over for supper Sunday evening, She has the cottage just east of Leobluns[?] “Red Brick” She really had a meal fried chicken, sweet corn, browned potatoes and

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home made bread just hot out of the oven. I ate till it ran out my ears. I might just add here that her bread was good but not as good as yours. She is a widow, her daughter and two children live with her in Cleveland. You should meet her I know you would like her and have a lot of fun with her. She was born in Scotland and still has some of the Scotch habits. Well I’ve rambled on enough here so guess I’ll have to sign off for now.

We received a letter from Lois the other day saying they had bought an old house 150 years old and on 12 acres of land [this would be Sugar Hill].

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I would just love to see it. She said Evelyn and her husband were going to go up about the 22 or 23 of August and were going to stop here for the kids liquor. You know the good kind we had a drink of.

We have been real busy at the shop, most of the time I’m so tired when I get home I just crap out, no good for anything and I mean anything.

Hope this letter finds you guys O.K. write and let us know what you’re doing.

Love H. O. & Ruth