Editor's Notes
The “convention dates” Marion is referring to is the Osborne Company Annual Convention, usually held in Atlantic City. She has referenced wanting attend this before. It is a different culture than today. I’d think the adult children of any sales team would not be welcome of feel comfortable at a company convention today.
She refers to her brother Frank, a high school senior, who must be doing well on the Earlville High School football team.
Lady Margaret’s
8 P.M.
November 6, 1921
Dear Mother,
Everybody seems to think they haven't been getting any mail. I'm sure no one has been hurting themselves directing mail to Millville. I didn't even get mail by Wednesday this week and when I went home from school Wednesday night and there wasn't any mail from home, I was ready to pass out.
Our old exam is over with Miss Hudson and I went to Bridgeton yesterday to take it and it was so fiendishly long. Wrote fast and hard from 9:00 to 12:20. Don't know whether I passed or not.
I had a grand time last weekend, but that hasn't made this week any better. Went to church this AM and got to thinking how awfully I did hate this place and the realization came over me as it never did before. Got so worked up thinking about it that I just dove into that brown suit skirt, ripped up the hem, turned and hemmed it up darned 2 pairs of stockings, washed four pairs, washed a half dozen handkerchiefs, cleaned up my room, planned for my two biology classes two weeks ahead and then when Miss Mayhew started playing the Edison, it sounded so much like jazz in a tombstone would sound that I fled out of the house and have been down at Lady Margaret's ever since.
They're so stingy and unpatriotic down here, that they don't give us a holiday on Armistice Day. Hilda has one, however, and is coming over to see me Thursday.
You're surely going around the country so fast that I can't keep track of you. I'm glad you're not staying home. What did you do about your suit? I'm anxious to know. Don't ever try to make one-it’s too much work, energy and strain. Hope you didn't get the one with the circular flare part on the coat. It must be an old model because everything seems to be long, straight and plain lines this winter.
I'd love a new suit, but if I got one I'd have to have a fur piece of some kind too I guess and I ain't got so much money. What are the convention dates and what day would the thing come on that I would want to come for? I'm going to try maybe and have my school visiting day off in Atlantic City that day, if I can fix it up so I can come.
So far for our gift shop, we have only four doll dresses made, two pairs of garters and four glove purses started. Now that my exam is gone, I'll have a chance to work quite a bit. Stayed all night here last night. We sewed and talked so late that I didn't want to go home alone that late. Aunt Lil sent us the darlingist little pink wool crocheted set yesterday for a 12 inch doll. It is so cute-tam, scarf and booties.
We're trying to find out how to get some different kinds of small white boxes at wholesale for our things. Do you know how we could get them? Please send me the pictures I asked for to be framed right away. A milliner friend has gotten garter ribbon for us, at wholesale price and it makes quite a bit of difference.
Ain't I proud of my Buster[brother Frank] hero? Give anything to see him play. Football is junk down here along with everything else.
What happened to the Dell Porter Hotel man scandal?
Had a letter from Gertrude B the other day and she sent a picture of Marion B, Betty and me that she took the day we went to the fair, and it was awfully good. Some pictures, those were that we took the AM I left.
I want a good picture of you.
Much love,
Marion
If you're new to this project, please consider going to our site and catching up with a few letters from the 1900-1910 era. The letters only take 3-5 minutes to read and you'll find the characters more fully develop if you read the letters chronologically.
John has excellent handwriting. However, in some instances, I cant decipher it. If I can't, I simply mark the spot with "xxx"s to signify thank the word isn't decipherable.
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