To: Lucy May and Julia Briggs
From: Hattie Buckland, Gardner, Dakota, Tuesday evening, December 1, '84

My Dear Sister May

I received your most welcome letter in due time was very glad to hear from you. it had been a long time since I had had a letter and I was beginning to be quite anxious to hear from home. We are all well hope you are the same. I suppose you have heard that Cousin Marie and Fred Thrall were married, or I expect they are they were going to be married thanksgiving evening at seven oclock "sharp." so I guess it is a sure thing this time. wish I could have been down there to danced at her wedding. where did you all go to eat the turkey. we stayed at home Uncle Germ was here. our family wasent big enough to eat a turkey, so I baked a chicken, and fixed up other good things. it would have tasted lots better if some of you had been here to help eat it. I am going to bake a turkey Chrismas cant you all come over. I think you are to bad to fool me so about your party. "Orang blossom" said there was going to be a wedding down there pretty soon, so I supposed of corrse it must be you, "or has Etta made a mash on Susan" what is poor William going to do, keep batch all winter. if I were in his place I would send for Granny. Is El as sweet as ever on Hannah. write me all about everybody.

Well I must tell you how we have been fixing up. we have plastered our bed room, and setting room, and painted the wood work all up nice, and got us a brand new parlor stove. so you can see we are going to be as warm as you please this winter. I have made new window curtains all trimed with lace, "they look just grand," and a new loung cover and a curtain for the mantle shelf. Oh yes, Ma was wishing for a scrap bag like mine last winter so I made her one like my new loung cover and will send it to her done up in a news paper. wish I could fill it full of gold. "maybee then she would come and see me" or get her picture taken and send me.

How did you like Nennies new pictures you dident say anything about them. tell Willie I think he is a "bad little pill" as Nennie said, for he haint wrote to his old sister since we come home. we haint had any cold weather to speak of yet, have had a number of snow squalls but it melted off about as fast as it came. what kind of weather are you haveing. wish your big lot of oats were out here, you could get a good price for them before spring. oats were a short crop here this year. timothy is $2.00 a bushell. I would like to be down there to attend your literary. I expect you have lots of fun. well I done a great big washing today besides lots of other work so I guess I had better stop writting and go to bed. did you get those charm blocks I sent. write often and good long ones too for you know how much I love you all, and want to know how you are and what you are doing. I will call on you for a pattern when I get a new dress.

from sister Hattie


Wednesday morning. Dear Ma, this is a lovely day for this time of year warm and nice as can be. folks are talking about an open winter. I think we are going to have one. I hope we will for last winter was cold enough to last for a long time. I should like very much to come home this winter, but dont see how I can. we are milking two cows, I make quite a lot of butter, it is worth 30 to 35 cts a pound. John couldent keep hitch and feed the little calf and take care of the milk so I will have to stay home this winter. we have got our house fixed up good and warm so we wont feel the cold if it gets ever so cold. we keep fire all night with our new stove. It seems a long time to wait until next year this time before I come home, but if we are all well I guess I will stand it. you must come up and see us in the spring, wont you. Write me a good long letter. love to you all. from your Hattie