Rev. Dr. William M. Nesbit
15 Frederick Street
Naugatuck, ConnecticutDear little girl;--
Received your very welcome letter this morning. I am glad that you liked Dan's letter too. Papa is out getting the last reports for Quarterly Conference. It comes to-morrow after Church. Then we drive Dr. Worley up here and I will have his meal all ready for him and he will swallow it as fast as he can and then off for the next Conference. If I ever wished for anybody I wished for you to help me to-day. I suppose I will have to go to the John Wesley Meeting and I don't know how I will get done. Luckily, I have no solo to-morrow. We will give Dr. Worley his meal first. Brownie is sitting right by me on the desk and is giving little grunts of love. Before i [sic] forget, Mary Davis did not fail on her Scholastic Aptitude test -- I wonder if she even took it --. She failed on the personality test --- whatever that is --- and as I understand it, if you fail on that you are out. DO you know anything about this test? Secret gossip --- Dr. and Mrs. Shinn want to go to Watertown -- they want a new Church. They have been in their Church for over twenty years. I am wondering if we will hear any Conference gossip to-morrow. There seem to be rumors of quite a few changes -- but nothing definite.
The show was last night -- I believe I said it was to be on Thursday but that was wrong. It was a great success.
You would have been proud of Brownie. I dressed in my costume as usual. The cheap wig worked very well. I wore the little Dutch Shoes for luck and they sure were lucky. Papa dressed in his Tuck. I made up very heavily as they used the footlights. When my act opened, they brought out a table. Papa fixed it. We took the two hat stands with a red rope tied between them for a slack wire act. Then we took the copper lard pail for a dancing floor for the second flea. Then we took the candle stick and red candle that Dr. W. gave us for Christmas to keep Scarlet O8Hara [sic] in. We took the black scottie that you won to keep the other two fleas on. When the curtains parted, Papa was standing there with the cat valise and lifted Brownie out. He was so glad to see us that he slid right over Papa's arm and let me pick out the fleas at my leisure. He paid no attention to anybody. We had over a hundred in the audience.
I put Scarlet on the wick of the candle and the two others Tarzan because he is so big and strong I put on the Scottie's head together with Gunga_Din (the other flea) Tarzan walked the slack wire and Gunga_din did his dance and then I looked for Scarlet and she was gone. Mr. Johnson was in fine trim. He came up and I described Scarlet. He asked me the color of her hair and eyes --- what she had on -- and what she smelled of. I said "Violets". He went on his search --- giving Mr. Calvert a thorough razzing and at last found Scarlet in Mr. Noyes head. He brought her up and I told him he had the wrong flea.
He took her back and parted Mr. Noyes' hair and put the flea back in the part. Then he started out on the search and found her and brought her back -- dropping her on the way on Stan Bottorf. At last he had her on the candle wick and we put the fleas back on Bronie. He just sat in Papa's arm as good as gold. It went off without any hitch and the audience liked it. I was tired when I got home, but glad that we had showed what we can do. The only thing that made me feel bad was that you were not here. If I didn8t [sic] miss you and so did Papa. We have such fun when the three of us do things together. I understand how the people in Vaudeville feel -- when a family goes on together, and then when they have to get a substitute in their act.
It is seven-fifteen and Papa is not home. He had to go to Dr. W. and to Mrs. Gibbud and some other folks. Maybe I won't have to go to the meeting after all. I certainly could use this evening to better advantage. He will have to have his supper. There has been very little war news. To-day Bremen has just had a black out of their radios. The Germans say that the radio black out will prevent the bombing planes from finding their locations. Papa has just come home. He will go to the meeting in my place. Ha! Ha!
Love,
Mamma.April 6, 1940.