Easthampton, Mass.,
Oct. 20, 1907.Dear Lucy:-
Your letter was received Friday. If I could have sent word to you before Saturday, I would have met you somewhere yesterday. As it is, I am afraid I shan't be able to see you now. If I was in the village, it would be more convenient for me to meet anyone after school.
Mrs. Kingsley has company now. Her sister, Nellie Dickinson, who works in Southampton, has been having trouble with her back. She fell on the ice several years ago and injured her back, so now when she overworks, it troubles her. She has been working very hard the past summer, so Wednesday she came up here to rest for a week or more.
I had a letter from Bertha yesterday. Grandma is very much better. The doctor thinks she may be around again. A fatty heart is what ails her. For a while I expected to hear any day that she was dead. A week ago they thought she would go any minute. I suppose there is danger now. The folks at home are pretty well. Mamma got very tired, when Grandma was so ill, as she went down every afternoon and had to do the housework in the forenoon. Bertha is studying harder than ever, but the twins consider their work so far, easier than the ninth grade work. There is a Scarlet Fever epidemic in Milford and Harriet Burtt, Bernice's chum has it. I hope the folks at home won't have it.
I was very glad to hear from you, for I had not heard from you or Mary for a long time. I did not know whether she had gone to College or not. I was very, very sorry to learn of your mother's death. It must have been a great shock to you. You and Mary have my sympathy.
I hope to be in South Hadley two weeks from now, if nothing happens. If Grandma shouldn't live, I might not be able to carry out my plans. I shall let Mary know before I go. Tell Ruth that I shall go to see her and all the others whom I know. I am looking forward to the "Mount Holyoke" and hope they'll send it before many days. Has Helen Laws called upon Mary yet? She is from Milford and was a [sic] have a room on the top floor of Brigham, although she was going to change, if she could, the folks at home told her about Mary.
I am looking forward to the Institute, as I shall perhaps see some of the girls there.
To-day is rainy, so we did not go to Church. If it clears off, we are going over to the Dickinsons: Mrs. Kingsley's folks, who live about two miles away. I have never been over there. We were going to Church last Sunday and then go over there after dinner, but a telephone message came from Northampton that Mr. Kingsley's cousins with their friends, Dr. and Mrs. Hager were coming early in the afternoon, so we remained at home. Before her marriage, Mrs. Hager was a kindergarten teacher in Boston, or rather in Cambridge. She knew Annie Tracy and Marion Lansing, Mount Holyoke 1903. Julia Metcalf, who attended College a little while and who was in the class of 1904 lives next door.
We have just had a week of delightful weather. I have been wondering whether you would bring your usual rain, or not. I have been chestnutting the past week after school. I have found more chestnuts in the road than anywhere else. Mrs. Kingsley, Joseph, and I went out in the fields one night and only found a handful, although we looked under several trees. They say chestnuts are very plentiful around here, but we haven't found it so.
Why is it, I wonder, that the stoves in country school houses smoke. Ours at home does. Here there is a large stove in the front of the room with a friend running to the back. They burn coal in it during the cold weather. Lately it has been smoking when the fire is built in the morning, so I have to open all the windows.
Did I tell you that I teach Music and Drawing? The teachers of those branches come once in two weeks, but I do the teaching between times. The small amount of Music I studied during my last year in High School is much appreciated now.
I hope you will feel able to go back to school after Christmas, but don't try to do too much before you regain your full strength. Please remember me to the girls and to your uncle and aunt. I must write home now.
With love,
Addie B. Fitch