November 25, 1943

My dearest Hal,

I take it all back. I mailed you a letter yesterday accusing you of not writing because I had not had any mail from you for several weeks. Yesterday I had two letters from you, one enclosing four pictures of you duck hunting. I am so pleased that you some times have a chance to relax like that. I know you must enjoy it quite a lot.

I feel so sorry for the man who lost his little boy. That would be so hard for him to bear when he was so far from home. I can only try to imagine what it would mean to you and me if we should lose our own little boy and I know what a terrible blow it must be.

Today is Thanksgiving and Mother and Peggy have gone to the service at the Baptist Church. The churches unite in having a joint service at a different church each year. Sambo and I stayed here to cook the turkey. John M. and his family are coming to eat turkey with us this afternoon. Darling, I wish you could be here with us. As I was stuffing this bird I was dreaming of the home we are going to have. The Thanksgiving dinners we will have together.

Yesterday, two more rugs came. One was a small one to match my two large ones and the other the big red one. I love the small one it is exactly the size I wanted and goes beauti fully with the ones I have. The big red one is very pretty and I think I’m wonder fully lucky to have a husband who goes to so much trouble to send me all these lovely things. I haven’t forgotten how you have always hated to tie up a package and when I noticed how much trouble you have to go to in sending these things home I can appreciate it all the more.

You said in your letter that you had gotten the pen. I‘m afraid you don’t have very much even now. It isn’t much good but it was all I could find. I think I would have hesitated to send a more expensive one if even if I could have found it because they it might not ever get there.

I am afraid my opals have been lost though they were mailed after the pen, they were both sent air mail but judging by the time it took for you to get the pen it could not have gone that way.

Yesterday morning the whole village was shocked by a terrible accident. A house caught fire on the by Mae East [property] just below John F. We have hunted down there I think. The County fire truck was called and it came through the Draft and ran head on into the engine of the early morning passenger train bound for Roanoke. Miller B. from Middle brooke was driving the truck and he was killed instantly. One man was hurt and was taken to the hospital and one man was not hurt. Though no one can under stand how he escaped.

Everyone who knew Miller B. says he was as fine a man as they ever knew and his death saddened so many people. The train was very late and was running on a seventy mile schedule. The truck was driving quite fast too and I suppose they never even saw the train as there was no evidence that the brakes had been applied.

In the mean time the house burned to the ground and the H. [family] who lived in it lost every thing in the world they had. I believe the house was too far gone to do anything but there was danger of the barn and straw stack going too and that is why the fire truck was called. I wasn’t there for any of it, but only I know what I have heard.

The H. [family], who lost their ho were burned out in the fire, had another serious accident about ten days ago when two of the boys were out hunting. They were evidently not familiar with guns because one boy shot his brother. The bullet went between his eyes and entered the brain and everyone thought he would die.

Dr. Lyle B., who preformed such a wonderful operation on Charles F., when he was hit in the head with a hammer, finally said an operation to save remove the bullet was his only chance so he tried it and the operation was successful much to everyone’s surprise including Dr. B’s.

I know you wonder why I write you all these things but they are what goes on here and all I know to write about. I am interested in every thing that touches your life in any way and I feel that you are that way about us.

I am so thankful you are safe and well, that you picked me to love, that we have a future to look forward to, that we have so many happy memories of the past, that we have Sam, I know of nothing else that I need to make me completely happy except to have all our loved ones safely home again.

All my love,

Page.