Tidbits from Letters

The summer of 1959 was a most interesting one on the farm. While Mother was in Laramie finishing her degree, Dad, Judy, Steve and me were home trying to keep things going. The letters that went back and forth are full of little tidbits that seem like a fun thing to share. The quotes are in order of when the letters were written between Dad and Mother, and Mother often included the three of us kids in hers. Here are just some snippets.
June 9, 1959
Dear Family,
What a joke: come clear down to Laramie to read pottery!
The trip down was without mishap tho I began to wonder a couple of times. Climbing a long rather steep grade on the Me. Bow road and again climbing a rise on Highway 30 the car began to jerk as if a tire were so flat it was ready to fall off. By that route it is 395 miles, and I was here about 4 o'clock. . . .
This doesn't bear much resemblance to any other rural week I've attended; only 13 hours in class plus about 2 hrs a day of outside reading. I can't say it's my choice but it certainly has correspondence beat for easy.
I never did really answer Stephen about going to the Dr., but if he's having trouble, he'd better see what he can do.
June 10, 1959
I'll probably see Dwight and Velna this week end. They expect to come up here Fri - Dwight to go to Cheyenne that P.M. and stay here Fri. night then I'll go to Ft. C. Sat. a.m. Maybe so -
Friday, June 12
Dear Minnie,
We had a big day Sun. Also I got stuck with the Gospel Doctrine class and came through the ordeal fairly well without any preparation. Our Sun. nite program also was fairly successful so thats over with.
This week has gone fairly fast. If the others do as well maybe we'll survive, the girls have been cleaning house, and Steve and I have been building fence and milking cows, got our milk check yesterday 25% surplus. Fred is already to quit, our check was $523. It should have been ordinarily about $625.
Dear Russell,
How are you surviving this operation? Time really is moving right along; Today was Mon., tomorrow-Tues, next is Wed., almost the end of the week and that makes half of this job done.
I've been wondering at odd moments how things were behaving for you at home, and I hope it's at least good enough. Probably will be too good. Then I'll have to find another boarding place when I get thru here.
Sunday Afternoon June 28
Dear Minnie,
Thanks for the papa's day letter, it sounds like you are being taken care of by the Blacks in pretty good fashion. We have had almost unbearably hot weather up until the middle of last week. The last three days have been quite cool. We even got desperate and built a fire in the kitchen stove this noon to keep from freezing while we ate dinner.
Well, the ordeal is half over. It seems to be going quite fast at times, but as Steve said the other day it sure has been a long June. We have kept busy goodness knows. I've had quite a session with your old friend the garden tractor, but we have the garden under pretty good control, the corn is excellent, tomatoes, you wouldn't know them, but those goofy kids must have planted the potatoes too deep, or as I tell them, they didn't put the eyes up, because just a few of them came. Tuesday Evening June 30
Dear Family,
It no longer is at the half way mark, but there are only 2 weeks and 3 days left. I think we're doing pretty good. Along with Pop's letter today I got a letter from Liz and all my correspondence lessons. She had been to the dentist and had another tooth pulled and is going to get 2 wisdom teeth pulled. Then she has 26 cavities to be filled!
Dwight came over from Cheyenne last night and stayed here. He is sure fired up about his job. I think he will really enjoy it, he'll be in contact with so many kinds of people.
Wed. Evening (postmarked July 9)
Dear Russell, and Judy, and Ann, and Steve,
Know what? One week and one day after tomorrow and we'll have the job whipped! Then we'll be ready for another one (T.V. set?) I hope it will prove worthwhile to everyone. I know I've surely got a lot of good out of the deal. . . . And Judy, there's about a dozen flour sacks in the closet you could have for dish towels, if you get them hemmed and washed. . . .
With love to you all -
Mother
Yippee! No more
Correspondence
Courses!