LETTERS FROM THE PAST

This blog is to honor those who have come before us. These are family letters that I have had for years and wanted to be able to share them with family. It's an interesting way of knowing how life was in the past.

Myron F Taylor with 3 of his buddies in 1952. Over the last 20 years I've been working on our family letters. Letters that have been passed down. Including letters from my parents to my great-grandmother. Every letter was saved by my great grandmother and grandmother. I hope someday to either print them or give them to a museum. I am copying the letters–not being able to photocopy all of them. Each letter is in script. I know today very few can read them. I hope you enjoy them.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Albert Hackerott, Jr. April 4, 1946

Thursday April 4, 1946

Hello Shirley

I wish you could have made the plane trip with me, it was swell.

Dear Archie Mable & Shirley:

I got home yesterday at 5 o’clock it was windy and quite a bit of dirt in the air but has been grand today.

I was lucky enough to get reservation on a plane from Portland to Denver. I left Portland at midnight Mon night & got into Denver at 8:50 Tuesday morning. I stayed over in Denver that day & night & left at 7:00 o’clock Wed morning hitch hiking home. I could have waited until 1 o’clock and taken the train but it was so windy & nasty in Denver that I was ready to leave. Anyway it took me longer to get from Denver home than it did from Portland to Denver. I saw bonnie & Del. He had to go to a union meeting so only got to talk to him for a few min. I was down to the rubber pant where Bonnie works  & had talked to her in the afternoon.

Dad has been painting & cleaning up the house & we are going to have one room papered Sat. I helped paint today so I got off to a good start on my first day home. The farm work is all caught up for a while but a lot of fixing up to do.


Grandma saved me a piece of the wedding cake so I got in on part of the wedding anyway.   We have to go to town tomorrow after more paint & wall paper & I guess we will paint the outside of the house if we get around to it. The wheat looks grand here but wasn’t so good in eastern Colo & edge of western Kansas. There was a lot of dust blowing in places out there when I came thru. I will write more in a few days about my fishing in Portland & goig up on Mt. Hood. It’s getting late so will close. Lots of Love, Albert. 

Mrs. R. J. Bell, 1927

Dear Mabel


I got to john all rite only my eye has Been pretty bad cannot hardly see I will not try to rite to your grand ma and grand pa tell I will rite them some time later when my eye get beter I hope the pictures are all rite much love to all from your aunte Rj Bell

Mrs. R J Bell
4215 Berkely Ave
Chcago Ill

Note: letter was hard to read. Written in pencil. Believe this is part of the Moorhead family. 

Frank & Velma Kirk 12-29-64

12-29-64
Mead Wash
Box 183 99021

Dear Bro & Sis:

Received your nice letter & Xmas card. Was sure glad to hear from you. I have not been able to answer any letters & cards till now. Since my operation I have had so much trouble with my right arm & shoulder that I couldn’t control it some of the time. I am much better now & feel as if they have my cancer coming their way. I had such pains in my side below my rib cage and in my shoulder that I went to the Dr to find out what caused the pain and in xraying to find what caused my shoulder to hurt they got a picture of my right long, then found that there was something there, so the Dr. referred me to a heart & long specialist.

He put me in the hospital & tried to prove whether or not it was malignant But every test that he made didn’t prove anything. So he said that he would have to operate to find out. So operate they did. To the tune of between $1200.00 & $1400.00 to prove whether or not we were in trouble. Well it was, he didn’t remove by surgery as he felt he or we had a better chance by treatments. Then we had to wait for 2 weeks because of surgery to start treatments. Then he gave me this new drug call Fluorouracil. But my pain below my rib cage had continually got worse & my shoulder hadn’t improved, So after 5 full shots & 2 half shots. He said that he had been in hopes of pain relief. 7 hrs left me 3 half shots to go yet. He told me to take a series of xray treatments (12 in all for now) well I am over or thought with that series of xray treatments as of last Monday and my severe pain under my rib cage is almost gone. Have to go back to the Dr to-day. I don’t know if he will continue the Fluorouracil more or not.

So much for all this malarkey

Archie Bro John said that you had retired also Mable said that you were having trouble with your arm. What is it?

Must be pretty nice not to have anything to do. Ha.

Surely hope that the kids got to come home from the holidays, I suppose that they will be gone by the time you get this. If not give them a big Hello for us. Sure would like to see the kids. Mother & Bro George & Hazel W here for about 2 weeks. Before their last weekend we tried calling you to see if ya could fly over that weekend but couldn’t get any answer. S gave it up. Sure would like to have the rest of the family meet you.

We are having some winter we now have around 18” of snow on the ground. Not very cold thank heaven.

After reading this much of this letter I should have said that mother is still here and that if you get this letter  translated you will have to come over & let me try!!

Please try & come over if you can. If you fly over some one will meet you at the airport. Anytime. Just let us know when.

Well folks I must close as my arm doesn’t want to work very good.

 Bye Bye with Love to all.


From Frank & Velma

Note: Frank Kirk is the half brother of Archie Wineland. Archie and Frank's father changed his name to Kirk. 

Jere S. Bogg, Feb. 22 1947 - Alaska

Note: On a personal note, I post letters that have been received in my family. I do not agree with what is written, but this is HISTORY. This letter was written as I typed it. It was typed on a typewriter and there are spelling errors. The last paragraph was hand written. 

Post Engineers, APO 942, %P.M. Seattle, Wash
Feb. 22, 1947, (Washington’s Birthday)

Dear Archie E, & All:

How are you all perking these days, hope that you are sitting on the top of the world, and beating Solitare once and awhile.  I think I have a record on this solitare as I kept track of my games while Inez was coming up here and I now have a record of about 4,000 games, and I can talk this language to you and give you all the dope and tell you how many cards you can get out each time etc.  When I get a little more experience I am going to twrite a book on my findings, or am I. I have your letter before me and note what you said about the cold weather in the far north, or the Artic Circle, boy it did get a little frosty up here for about 30 days hand run, in fact it was so damn cold that you had to keep your 100 proof bottle in the sun or it would freeze up on you. You know it broke a few records here in Anchorage, for the longest cold spell but think it only got down to about 44 below, but over at Skag, and that is back towards you it broke the records for cold being registered in the U.S.A and her possessions, but t that it only got down to 83.3% Below zero. When you took a leak so they say you had to back away from the Icicles, and when you would spit, it would fly out and pop and never hit the ground, but that don’t mean anything to us old sourdoughs, just another cold snap.

As far as Seattle and I am concerned they can bury it any time in fact I might come back some time and help you with your job it would be a pleasure. How are you and the Jews making out down there. Up here the people feel very friendly towards Seattle, yes, just like one of those Brown Bears and a moose coming together, how they do love each other. I have not been hung yet, as I was not a sourdough, but have my Moose and what have you all staked out for next fall and I am going to get him. I do not believe there is any place in the World today that uiversaly hates another town like Alaska hates Seattle and that is no Joke. Seems they have done all that was in their power  and more to, I mean Seattle, to handicap this new country from trying to get along. We have an air line now direct to Minneapolis and St. Paul, and we Alskan’s re going to try and route most of our trade from Inland. When you have those strikes down there and every body was needing a lot of supplies badly, when they finallyid come, Seattle Charged Dock storage on the supplies, and who paid that, the Anchorage Merchants, They sure pulled some of the lowest tricks I ever heard of I could go on and on telling you about your Shister Jews in Seattle and Alaska, after a person has been up here awhile he hates to think of getting off an aeroplane or ship there, I personally would rather land at Everett, and walk around Seattle to get into gods country, anyplace but Seattle. Pardon Me Arch you are a resident of SEATTLE, but I was just mentioning these things in passing and hope you do not take any offense at what I have said, in fact I have just hit a couple of high spots.

Next Monday is the stating of the Fur Rondevu, here in Anchorage and Inez and I are figuring on helping them make the fur fly.  It is quiet an affair, everybody has to wear whiskers, they have Dog Races skieing and about everything you can think of in the line of Northern Sports. The days are getting longer now and the sun is shining and it really is nice out, however we had sunshine through all this cold weather we had, you know it is dry cold and does not harm you, like your mist and fog and rain, I’ve got to pour it on a little.

Notice your P.S. about the Gillet Deal, look Sharp, Feel sharp, Be Sharp, that does not mean anything in my young life, for believe it or I am enclosing herewith one Photgraph taken in our room to prove my Statements henchforth and so on. This was taken about 20 days ago, and you should see the fur that I have accumulated by now. Don’t tell Gillette about this or he might take away my razor.
Well Arch it is about time to take off for the tall uncut and I have to cut this short.
Best of regards and luck to you all, and hope by now you have seen the light.
As Ever, yours as B/4, 100 Proof Bottled in Bond.

Jere S. Boggs, Post Engineers,
APO 942, %P.M. Seattle, Wash.

P.S. Say what happended I dropped alst all I won on the ROSEBALL Game, but couldn’t get all my money up on U.C.L.A. and how Lucky I was There. Something happened there, UCLA Had a better team than that, However I always did think Sou. Calif had the best Pacific Ball racket, I am thinking the N.W. Division win, will end them up. anyway I would not bet they’d beat the California team, but I do not know anything about any of them, but that is just a hunch of mine we will see how they come out.

Thanks for the clipping on your Dual Murder. Inez & June Jervett sure got a kick out of them. Kick is not a good word there but you know what I mean. Whats your Price now adays on 100 Prood Old Crow Bottled in Bond 1/5