Olivet, Michigan
September 21, 1926.

Dear Lillian,

Yesterday Dad and I spent the whole day in Battle Creek. He called on Arthur Donelly and investigated several businss opportunities while I took Helen’s sleeveless coat and your jacket to the cleaner’s and bought cloth to make waists for both of them. I searched for two hours or more for the skirt piece you ripped off the jacket and couldn’t find it tho’ Henry¹ helped.

After shopping for two hours we drove to Slout’s – Lew was home – returned the book and visited awhile. Then we went to Leah’s. Edd had his tonsils out on Sunday, looked pretty sick. He bled so badly they took some stitches to stop the hemorrhage.

This forenoon I saw Milliard Spencer² in the library. He says he got hazed the most of any man here. I told him I heard him pray for rain and propose to a girl. He said they threw three pails of water on him. That was Wednesday night. Thurs. at 2 A.M. (Friday morn) they dumped him out of a car in Bellvue. He didn’t know the way home so he slept what he could in an old auto without any blankets until people were up to tell him which way to walk back. Some one of the fellows kept punching him below the belt and he was sick all day Friday as a consequence. Friday night the whole freshman class were strewn over the countryside. He was left in the sand hills three miles S. W. of Pine Lake but fortunately struck the right road back. He is coming over on Friday evening to tell you all about it. He looks badly, kind of pale and puffy.

Gladys Jackson is back. I met her down town this morning as I was after a morning paper with latest knews of the Florida hurricane. She wants a job in Western Montana. I told her she would need to be a confirmed old maid to stay single out there. The reason there is a shortage of teachers is because they marry off so quickly. First she said she wouldn’t marry for four years then qualified it to two. She said she’d be over to see you.

We bought a bushel of peaches yesterday. I must can part of them this evening. We also got some bottle-green paint to trim the house and Henry has been painting steadily all day. This P. M. I painted a rose and forgetmenot design on Statie’s new silk dress sleeves.

Patty brought her sewing and we worked on the porch until five o’clock. Andy is doing plastering in Bellevue. He plans to have his teeth reset by some other dentist, hoping to get a better-fitting plate.

I want a new dress for Muskegan next week. Came near buying a lovely moire’ silk in Copenhagen blue yesterday but thought I could order from a catalog more cheaply and neither of them have it. Let us know which train to meet and where.

Lovingly

Mother