La Grande Feb 10 (envelope stamped 1947 OR)

Dearest Mable and Family,

I have kept thinking you would write, but after reading Forests letter yesterday, guess you are waiting for me to write. I rode home with Jr. & Della Friday night, then Delmer & I came home on the bus last night. its the first time the bus made me sick, but I was so nervous & shaky when I got home I could be off the bus I could hardly stand. did any of us send you Jr. & Dellas address or tell you they are expecting the stork the last of March. Ethyl had a shower on her last Friday.
their address is
Jay Reeder, Jr. 416 SW.
Hailey. & 5th
Pendleton Oregon. he works nights from 10 am till 6 pm. why dont you come down after school is out. I would love to have you come. & how is Shirley. she never writes any more. Mable I told Forest to write to you about Orville I dont know what he has told you, so, if they is any more you want to know, write & ill answer it. & what is yourtelephone no? & what pictures do you have of Orville? he was in Aberdeen, but got sick, so came home. he always wanted to stay here with us, he said where Mother was was his home to. its warm here now been trying to snow a little so is rather muddy out again. Well Mable I don't know much to write about so will close now, oodles of love
                                                                                                                Mother & all
write real soon remember to send telephon no. I tried to call you but couldent   there is a note on the envelope by the address to Mable asking "do you want my wedding ring)

This is Minnie True Matheson Reeder with her second husband Jay Reeder. Thought you would like to see names with faces. 

Another photo, later in life. The first one is believed to have been a wedding photo. This is the grandparents I remember. 

This is Mable and Archie Wineland. She was always a true lady. Never talked bad about anyone and if she had family she was upset with and did not talk about or to, they were "dead" in her eyes. Her sister didn't exist until I met her when Minnie passed away. Margie became her sister again when I was 19 years old. Before that, Mable didn't have a sister. I believed her till I looked Margie in the eye and asked who she was, when she told me she was grandmother's sister, I turned to grandmother and said, "you told me you didn't have a sister." She replied, "oh, well, I do."

Budget

This is a budget or income/expenses from my grandmother's ledger (Mabel C. Wineland)

"Week starting July 20 to 27-1940"

"Shells"   Sat.                                                       "Safeway"                   Sat.

Lard - 2 lbs                .20 (cents sign)                     Coffee                       .20
Allsweed - 2 lbs.        .45                                       Fels Naphva (?)        .10
Flour                     $ 1.89                                      Cheese  2 lbs             .49
                               $ 2.56                                     10# sugar                  .60
                                                                              Milk 10 can               .73
                                                                              Shoulder Meat           .98
                                                                              Tang                          .20
                                                                                                            $3.30
Sun.

Bead -                       .11
rolls                           .15
yeast                            5
                                 .26

eggs -                        .30
salt -                          .10
                                                                          paste                            .10
                                                                          envelopes                     .10



Week beginning July 27 - Aug 3  1940

Sat 29   "Safeway"                  
Vinegar 1 gal               .23                               Insurance                      $2.40
Coffee  1 lb - 20 -       .20                               gas
eggs 2 doz                  .45                                milk                                3.00
Kerr flats 3 boxes 45  .45                                Tape                                .20
Syrup 1 qt                  .29                                Loose Leaf Potatoes         .10
soap                         1.35                                Story Books                     .10
Ham                           .19                                Ballon                               .05
White Magic               .06
                                 3.22

"Shells"
Sat 27 Black Raspberries            1.85           "Mend it"                           .10
sugar - 10 lbs                                .57            ice cream                          .25
allsweet - 2 lbs                              .45
Tabacco  1 lb P.A>                      .85
                                                   3.72           Lagrande
                                                                      Eats                                    .35
                                                                      P.-chips                              .15
                                                                                                                 .50
31st   Muskmellons                              .25
zo      Bread                                         .14

I have more I will post latter on, just thought this would be fun to add in between the letters so you can get an idea of what prices where like back in the 1940's.  The "Lagrande" above I believe is La Grande, OR and thinking they took a trip to visit family or just shopped in La Grande. Grandmother seemed to know where her money went.

Post Card and letter

I found a lot of post cards my grandmother kept. This is one I found without a date on it:

The writing on the back:

Reads:

hello mable how are you I am going to school and am in the second room have you thought about Santa clause I hope grandma will take us to the Exmas trees good by annie to mable

Letter from S. E. White (Silas White) Natoma Kans

Monday Dec 28, 1925.

Dear Archie, 

I am sending you a book as a little christmas gift. I was down to Netties and Joes for over a week and did not get home untill Sat afternoon. We expect to thrush our cane and Kafe this afternoon if nothing happens. Hoping you are both well and wishing you a happy New Year. I am your loving

                                                                                                   Grandfather White

Our Letter Box

The following was copied (as he wrote it) from a handwritten letter that I believe was written to the Natoma Independent. Solon True was a Civil War Vet who served in the Mid West fighting Indians. One of the family compiled all his letters and put it into a book that was passed around to all relatives of Solon True. It goes into detail about all the fights he had and who was killed or wounded at the time. The letters during that time where written to my grandmother, Sarah Birge True. Here is the letter I found today while working on family history:

Our Letter Box

Friend A. B. Brown, I saw the article in the Natoma Independent about the first Soldiers coming to the Saline, it is badly off, it was Company H 7t Iowa Cavalry according to my record which I have. Part of the Company was at F. Riley, we had 15 men at Saline and 15 at men at P Ellsworth or what was known then as the Freemont Bridge Crossing the Smoky Hill river. We built a black house there and had to escort the stage from Saline to Fort Lanard, always once and sometimes twice a week.

Besides the other escort duty we had to do, it was Sargent Renolds and 10 men that went up where the Moffit Boys were killed. It was Company G 7^th Iowa Cavalory that was stationed at Topeka Kans that relieved the Boys of Company H 7^th Iowa Cavalry after the Indians stampeded and after 8 of our company was killed between clear creek and Kenero. Company H, 2^nd Colored Cavalry came up to Fort Ellsworth and camped with us at the winter.

In the winter company I 3^rd U.S. one year men were stationed with us and some of H, Kansas Cavalry was there. Kit Carson camped with with us a while.

There was no Fort Dodge till the summer of 1865 it was called the Simeron crossing.

Fort Hays was established when the Butterfield line went up the Smoky Hill river and that was in Aug 1863.

The 2^nd Nebraska Cavalry camped at Fort Hays in the Spring of 1865, the 13^th and 14^th Misoura Cavalry came up to Fort Ellsworth and the rest of the 2^nd Colored Cavalry came up to walnut creek and established Fort Fero 3 miles east of where Great Bend now is.

It was the First of January 1864 that our company H 7^th Iowa Cavalry built Fort Ellisworth, when Company G 7^th Iowa Cavalry came up from Topeka Kansas, where we were stationed.

Our company all moved to Fort Ellisworth and stayed there till October 1865. My Captin was fort commander where our company left Fort Karmew. I was with Company B 16^th Kansas Cavalry at Fort Larmey, Wyoming we were ordered back to Fort Leavenworth. We left Farmie the 30^th day of May 1864 from Fort Leavenworth. I came up to Topeka and took 4 recuits for  company G 7^th Cavalry I came on up to Fort Riley, got there the 27^th day of June 1864, stayed there until the 10^th day of July and came on up to Fort Ellisworth with a squad of men to reinfore Fort Ellisworth I hadent been there 2 weeks until the Indians came to tired to take my rcalp they diddent get it but I got an arrow stuck into me, I was the first one of my company to get wounded, it was Sargent Renolds and Elmer and Silas Freeman that brought the dispatch to us that Presendant Lincoln had been assassinated. Curter 7^th was sent out here until we left, they were in Oct 1865 doing, prevost duty for I saw them there. I dont want, some other troop to get the honor for what our troop did I want to say when my camp got to Salina the Indians were all around the west side of twon. I have a record of my service from the time we left Davenport, Iowa, until I was discharged the records at Washington D.C. shows that 7^th Iowa Cavalry did more hard riding and fighting and held mor teritorythan any other regiment of the Frontier from 1863 untill 1866, during the Indian trick that was stationed from the Indian Territory to the Dakotas,

Written by, Solon True.

Osborne, KS March 20th, 1962

Osborne, Kansas

March 20^th, 1962

Dear Archie and Mable:

I am sending you the obituary of Bess. She passed away March 7^th and was buried at Hoxie on the 12^th.

I was there and all the kids except Harold and he was at her funeral at Silverton but had to get back to Mexico where he works.

All the kids look fine except Rool and he looked pale puny I suppose because he has had so much sickness and been inside so much.

I hadn’t seen little Alice or Cliddords Sylvia since Freds funeral Clifford looked better than I had ever seen him. You know he had a very bad appendix operation in August and they thought he wouldn’t live for several days.

Well we have had the Damdest winter cold and lots of snow. 24 below one night and lots of night ten below and not over ten above in the day time. They say today is the first day of spring, ad a couple days of good weather and then an inch of rain last night and windy as hell today.

Walter Pfortmiller was here a few days ago wanting your Address and Cliffs at Portland, Guess he is going to take a trip up in that country this summer.

Saw Melvin a month or so ago and he said that he was up to Stocton and saw Roxie and some of the Wineland kids and I think he said he saw a couple of the Kirk boys, Looks like they would change their name to Wineland.

Johnnie lOckes BB teamwent to State again but put out in their first game. I am wating anxiously for Base Ball to start. A little less than a month now and I will be stuck fast to TV.

Looks like the Dogers or Giants in the National don’t think the reds can do it again and of course it will be the Yanks in the American but I wish some other team would get in there and beat the sox off them.

Havent seen Stella since Joes funeral but one when we were we were in Salina Ila called her and she said if she sold her house she was going to move to Colo Springs where her daughter lives.

Last fall when Lucille and CB and four other couples went Elk hunting down in South western Colo Lucille was the only one to get an Elk. She felt pretty big about it.

Havent been over to Natoma for several months. Don’t know if Ralp took his annual trip or not.

Love to both and write,

Uncle Geo.

Osborne Kansas - Oct 19, 1963

Dear Archie and Mabel,

Sure Glad to get your letter. I had been thinking of writing to you for several months but I guess it is just laziness.

Well Kansas had one of the best wheat crops this year. We had plenty of moisture when even we needed it and every thing is lovely.

October has been one of the finest months I have ever seen. Mornings are around fifty and afternoons are around eighty and no wind.

No I havent seen Laura only a few times at store since you were here and never her Mother.

I only see shortly about once a year and Marvin not very often. I was out to Calif in Febuary and Helen and I went down to see Irvin. Thought I would surprise him but he knew me before I could get near.

He puts me in mind of your Unclr Marshall. Gosh he has a nice place there and he is as busy as he can be. He interduced us as some buyers for wood carvings and Mariom didnt recognize me.

We sure had a nice time. Got there about one oclock as Helen and I had ate lunch at Duke Snyers Bowling in town.

He wanted me to send dhim some Hedge wood for carving but is hard to find anything around here as the hedge has all been cut for posts

No I haven't seen Bowlby or Don Chrystler for a couple years. Dont get over to Natoma very often.

I did see Albert Hackerott a while back in Dr office. Suppose you knew that Lew and Bill both died in the last year.

What was your trouble Archie? Gosh I never knew about that new Grandson, his name sounds like he might be Irish.

Archie what did you think of the World Series? wasn't that dandy the only thing I didn't like about it was that the Yankees got any score.

Had a light frost last night our first. Ila has some of the nicest flowers that she ever raised. The finest Cock Combs and Dahlias. And we had a nice crop of tomatoes.

Ila does all the work around here while I play golf and read and watch TV. My right as kind of gone on the blink and I had to buy a mobile cart to play golf. I can only walk about two blocks and then stop and rest a couple minutes before I can go on for a few more blocks. Surely cant be my age Ha.

Wm and Katie live in Boulder now. They bought a home there. Wm had to have another operation on his hip but finally Dr told him that he can put one half of his weight on his leg and walk a lot.

The pins got lose a few months ago and he had to have new bone grafted and had a hell of a time.

Yes I hear from Bob McEldowney ever couple months. Seems he bought a bunch of land in the mountains and is nwo building a cabin up there.

See in paper that Bob Whites last girl is engaged to get married soon.

Bernices daughter Oma is getting up a Family tree of the Whites. She wrote to some House of Records in New Jersey and got a lot of dope. It seems that Fathers grandmother lives to be One hundred and five and died while playing the fiddle. It seems that the Whites came to Americe in the middle of the 16th century and onr of the Whites was an officer in the Revolutionary War and his sword is in a Museum in Francis Town NH. And that Grandfather Benjaman Lovell White had ten children five boys and five girls. The first boy named Silas Ebenezer died in 1844 and then Ann was born the next year and father in 1847.

E.A. Ford that used to be Banker a Waldo died here a couple months ago. Dont know if you ever met him or not. He was a dandy fellow. Funny thing that forst time I ever met him over fifty years ago he said he came from Ambia Indiana and Mothers sister Aunt Alice Moorhead lived there and I asked him if he knew the Buck girls and said he sure he did and went to school with them Bessie and Nettie Buck.

They are both gone nwow Bessie just a couple years ago. Bessie used to write to me quite of ten. They were out to see Uncle Will Moorhead in about forty I think it was and Bessie who was a widow and Nettie an old maid.

Bessie a girl of fifteen when Grandmother Moorhead died went to school where Grandad lived and kept house for him and he was hard to get along with. It seemed that when the civil war broke out he wanted to go but he had about three kids and his mother to take of and it soured him on the whole world. He lost three brothers in the last battle.

Father used to say that Louie was a lot like him hard to get along with. And I guess Grandmother White was like that also. When Father and Mother were first married they had to live with Fathers folks for a few months and when they would get up in the motornin Grandfather would say Looks like a nice day and she would snap at him and say Nobody did say it wasnt. Guess GRANDFFATHER WAS A BIG FAT GOOD NATURED FELLOW.

Well I guess you will get tired of all this so I will ring off.

Oma says that she will have a book published and I sure want to buy one.

Love to both of you from both of us.
Uncle Geo.

NOTE: I copied this letter as it was written. This letter was typed on a typewritter. The misspelling of words was his misspellings. Uncle Geo. is Uncle George White. Archie had two Uncle George's from both sides of the family. This George White raised my grandfather after the death of my great grandmother.

Letters from the Past

Over the next few weeks, I am going to start copying letters from my family. They are letters I received after the passing of my grandmother, Mabel Matheson Wineland and her mother, Minnie True Matheson Reeder. They are letters from family members to other family members. Each has interesting information in them, and makes life seem different then today. I'm going to put these letters together into a document and then one day publish what I have. So, these letters are under my copyright. I also have diaries from my grandmothers - three of them. I will try and include old pictures as I get them into my family history program.

I started working on my family history fresh out of High School. Since I grew up in the military, I was not able to enjoy my family as many of you did. I wanted to know who I was and where I came from. As the years went on, I married and had two wonderful children. family history became a hit and miss job. In the last 3 months I have started to organized my information. Since both Mabel and Minnie kept everything that belonged to family, I have boxes and boxes of family history waiting for attention. I decided since I'm copying the information into a word document, I would share what I am copying so others can enjoy this letters as well.

The photo at the top of the page is of my father and three of his "buddies" from Tripoli when he was stationed there in 1953. If one looks familiar to you, I'd love to know the names.

I hope you enjoy these letters as much as I do. Till the next publishing of a letter - Happy Hunting.