Dear Aunt Jane --
This is Mother’s Day. Legally and sentimentally and practically, you have been my "mother" for some thirty four years, so I am writing to you.
We were very glad to hear that you had such a good trip to Mexico, but are very sad over your kidney trouble, and hope that Chicago Spring climate will help you. What kind of a diet are you on? It is tough to be on a diet, but honestly not so bad as I thought it would be. Imagine me absolutely cutting out candy, potatoes, pastry and all starch except four pieces of graham bread a day? And yet for a month that is what I have done. To be sure I have lost 15 lbs. in one month, but I feel O.K. and still weigh 140. In baseball at the [N. J. C] 146 was my best weight, so you can see that the years have not added greatly to my weight. My Dr. says that I should have six months rest from sugars etc. and that after that any reasonable diet will do. Tests all month have shown not even a trace of sugar, so I seem to be O.K. Never did feel bad, and only submit because of my family and not wanting to reach older age as a drag on them. Hating vegetables as I do, and only being able to make myself eat a certain amount each day like medicine, I have an inner feeling of eating too much meat and eggs. Has Dr. Hamilton anything to say on that subject?
My Dr. leaves tomorrow for 3 months of clinics in Canada, [page 2] England, France & Germany with a bunch of 300 Drs. from all over the U. S. -- headed by one of the Mayos. He should know more when he returns. I myself have read what I could find in our library on diabetes, and feel that I know a little about it myself now. When I say that I can still at least equal any of the youngsters on a so called “All Star” baseball team in Corona and can beat most any of my Mexicans and Whites at any ranch job, you will know that I am not wasting away. To add to my joys, I last week fell off a fruit wagon backwards and landed on my ribs and jarred one partly loose from my breastbone I am bound up like a medieval knight and am coming along fine. Did not lose a day of work. When I add up diabetes, eye trouble and a cracked rib all at once, I feel that my share of fun has been had in that line, but everything is now O.K. and I would not tell you of it until it was, so don’t worry. I send a picture to prove it.
Did I say I was going to write you a letter, or a treatise on disease?
You may be surprised to hear that Myra and I have in our house the finest collection of girls ever produced on this earth. In order to write this even on Sunday, I had to wait until all were taking a nap, and they certainly keep one busy. My only kick against Hull-House is that its life left me a Father with so few of the boy stunts for the country at my fingers ends. Yesterday for the first time, [page 3] I was able to produce a kite that really flew in a manner satisfactory to Jane, -- and that one was purchased. Isn't that a [disgrace] to any boy? By the time they all grow up, I imagine that I will know all the stunts, for the outdoor desires of three girls are surprisingly like those of three boys, when young.
Our ranch is fine. So far this year we have produced the same amount of fruit as last year. Last year, Jan. Feb. & March, gave us net from the packing house $73. (The most disastrous lemon price year in twenty years). This year the same amount of fruit and number of months has given us net from the packing house over $600. By September, we will have paid off our debts of last year and have clear sailing, -- from the present outlook. Until we were in the clear like we are now, I did not dare say to you, what I can now say. To bring up a grove from infancy to a paying basis, and to bring up a family at the same time, has taken guts, determination and a doing without, that Myra and I would not again go through for all the groves in Christendom. For eight years, I have taken a salary of $125 to 140 a month and run my own house, when my two best workmen were given $95 plus a house free, plus telephone water etc. Each year, I have refused twice to three times as much salary as I have here -- all in order to live in the place and be where we knew it was doing what we wanted it to do. Without your dresses for Myra, and help otherwise, so that to the world we could put up a good looking front, I would not have felt justified in doing it. Without a wonderful girl like Myra to help and to back me up, I [page 4] would not have lasted a year. Our living and our grove expense has come out of our salary. For two years, our grove income has nearly equaled our grove expense, and this year our grove expense of about $1000, will be more than doubled. On the other side of the fence is our place, costing originally $325 an acre & house $1800, for which I would not take $3000 an acre -- why -- because this year I shall get nearly 10% on that valuation, and for the next fifteen years, the grove will get better each year. We see our freedom in sight and just around the corner. As I said, we would not again go through it for the world with a fence around it -- and on the other hand, we would not now give it all up -- including our babies -- for several worlds surrounded by fences.
I can honestly now say that I pretty much know the value of money and have developed considerably more valuable character assets than I ever had before. Myra was perfect at the beginning, but even her perfection has added an extra polish & shine. We have the three finest babies in the world and for it's size as good a producing and looking ranch as there is in this state of fine places. Therefore you can say to yourself, that when you started us out here, you did the best thing for your boy and his wife that you could have done. What more could a mother want?
This is nearly my 42nd birthday, and this is Mothers’ day. Therefore one baby having waked up, after this summary of our lives -– the end.
All send a world of love and affection to the finest and most understanding aunt that ever inhabited this earth.
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