I will change some spelling and some grammar as I transcribe. Kingston, New York is in Ulster County.
'Beatrice'
Rose Camp wrote this letter when she was 12-years old to her sister, 'Florence'
Rose Lawler. 'Olive'
Rose Schnack was their sister and 'Clifton' Rose was their brother. 'Papa' is their father, Elbert Rose. Elbert's sister, 'Aunt Lin' is Malinda
Rose Townsend. 'Aunt Addie' is Ada
Rose Woolheater, another sister of Elbert's. 'Eva' Woolheater and Bessie
Woolheater Winfield are Ada's daughters. 'Margie' Winfield is Bessie's daughter Marjorie. 'Grandma' is Alice
Clayton More. 'Aunt Ella' is Ella
Baker More, Alice's daughter-in-law. 'Uncle Will' is Elbert's brother William Rose.
72 Clinton Ave.
Kingston, N.Y.
Jan. 24, 1919
Dear Florence;
There is no school this afternoon as there are commencement exercises down to the High School.
We didn't have any examinations down here. Our everyday work counted for promotions. All of the sixth grade got promoted and we will go in another room tomorrow. I got promoted although I didn't pass in geography. I got 66 2/3 and 2/3 counts one or 67. My class standings I counted out to be
60. When I told the teacher, she said she didn't believe me; that I would have to figure it over again but I didn't.
I have just got my dishes done and Olive dried them and now Olive is taking the carpet off the stairs.
Say Florence, did you think that we were not going to write at all? I will tell you how it happened. Last Sunday, Olive wrote a letter to you and Clifton and Aunt Lin. And, of course, I thought they had been sent. Last night Papa was here and he asked if we had got a letter from you. And then, Olive happened to
think that she had not sent them. Every day through the week, I kept asking Aunt Addie if we had any mail and wondering why you didn't write. When I heard her say that last night, I was mad to think that we hadn't written.
Eva, Jeanette and Al, Jean's beau, went to Poughkeepsie on Tuesday. Eva bought Jimmie a bag of chocolate; and, Aunt Addie and Olive and I, a great big bag of hard candy. Jeanette bought herself a dandy new spring hat; black straw with a little blue feather on each point. It was a shape of a triangle. It was beautiful.
Perhaps you saw Eva's shoes that I think were in the closet in your bedroom. Anyway, they had low heels, brown cloth tops and brown leather bottoms. Eva gave them to Olive and Papa had them taped and the heels straightened. They make her a dandy pair of shoes to wear for best but Eva said for her to wear them to school.
I haven't had my teeth fixed yet and they need it pretty bad. I am not going to have that double tooth crowned because it is too far gone but the two front ones I am going to have filled with gold.
Don't you think that will be alright?
I have not heard from Grandma yet, have you? When I do, I will thank them for the things. It was very nice of them.
I suppose you will be glad to get a letter written on good paper, although, the writing isn't very good. Florence, if you knew how nervous I get when I try to write a letter, you wouldn't expect me to write at all. I have written so much over to school in a hurry and it simply spoils my writing. Now when I try to write a letter good, my arm aches so. But I will have to
get used to it.
Bessie and Margie, Bessie's little girl, are coming up here to stay quite a long time. Bessie's husband, Jim, is going out west and work.
Oh say! While I think of it. How long is Grandma and the rest of them going to stay out there?
We, I mean Papa, got a letter from Clifton yesterday. He said that they butchered Murray's pig and Kate cried. He said that he laughed right in front of her. And, he said that the chimney caught on fire up on the farm and the house came near to burning up. He told Papa to get his furniture insured. And, some boards came near burning into (we don't know exactly what he means by that) and that Obed cut his leg down to the bone. And, Papa said, "I wouldn't have cared if he had cut it way off." Clifton told you about the boy staying at Obed's by the name of John Lasher. He told Clifton that when the chimney was on fire, that the bricks were red hot. And, that John Lasher drove the team all over and that they came near to running away from him.
Of course I don't believe in dreams but, it was just a few days, or nights, I mean, that I dreamt that the house came near burning up.
And you know, when I read that letter it made me awful homesick and I don't know why. I didn't get to sleep till about twelve o'clock.
I think maybe that Olive and I are going to the moving pictures tonight. I think maybe that Papa will be over tonight and take us all. Or, if he doesn't come, then Eva is going to take us.
We just got a letter from Aunt Ella today (this afternoon). She said it was storming up there.
It rained very hard here last night but today it is funny. The sun
will shine for a minute and then go under the clouds. It snowed just a
little this morning but all it's doing now is the wind is blowing quite hard.
Uncle Will isn't working now. He has been quite sick. It is his kidneys now. The doctors say he'll be alright if he doesn't have the
Dropsy.
Since you went away, Aunt Addie has got herself a dandy new coat. It is something like Jeanette's coat only it has black seal fur collar and cuffs. And, Eva has a new suit with a black seal collar. It is wine colored. She paid $39.00 for it.
And, Jean has got her a new blue serge dress and a new $10.00 pair of brown
shoes. And, I forgot to tell you that Eva got her a new pair of shoes with kid tops and patent leather bottoms. And, Olive has gotten a new blue velvet hat with streamers on it. It was on sale. It was a two dollars and 87 ($2.87) hat and they got it for a dollar ninety-eight ($1.98). I didn't get anything new. Isn't that a shame?
Jimmy gave Olive and I each a stick of gum this noon.
I think if I can get Aunt Ella's letter in with this, in an envelope, I will send it to you and let you read it if you will send it back. I think you will like to read it.
None of us have been uptown since we got your letter so we couldn't get the dye, but we'll try and send it the fore part of the week.
I forgot to tell you that Eva got her a dandy black seal muff to match Aunt Addie's and her coat. I mean the fur on their coats. It is Hudson seal.
You know, while we were washing dishes, Olive thought of a plan. She said that if anyone slapped faces or pulled hair or quarreled, that they would get shut up in the clothes press and locked in for 15 minutes. I wouldn't do it
and she got mad and undressed and went to bed. She went upstairs and we didn't know where she was. I went upstairs to see where she was. She had made the bed and was in her night gown, and the window up a little ways. I told Aunt Addie and she told me to shut the window. I covered her up and shut the window and it was just two minutes after I was down, that she came down and said she wasn't asleep at all. Well, will close with love. If you write just as long a letter as I do, you will do good.
Beatrice
