April 22, 1974
Dear Mom, Dad, John and Mary,
Hi! Well, it's been a year today since we came to Sanford. Kind of hard to believe. The weather is very similar -- it's 80º and humid, the hottest day yet this year.
April 23, (same year)
I didn't get too far yesterday, but I suppose it's just as well. Your letter and one from Mary came yesterday afternoon. We've been very busy as we finally have the land. Saturday and Sunday we spent all day clearing the house site and the driveway. Mike Gallo came over with his chain saw and cut down the bigger stuff for us. Somebody was supposed to bulldoze the basement/foundation this morning but he never showed up. X has gone up tox the land now to see if he was there this afternoon. He just got back. Evidently the guy's machinery broke down this morning so he's going to do it tomorrow.
I was amazed that Wilmington didn't have ASeparate [sic] Peace. [A novel about WW2 set at Exeter Academy in NH] I'd consider that almost a must for a public library and even a high school library since it deals with that age group. Did you try the college library?
April 24
Today it's 30º and snowing, quite a difference from two days ago. Tom (Walkley) came over for lunch yesterday. He started working at the printing place last week. Evidently Mary Ellen and their two boys will be coming up the first week in June. They have bought a house in a new subdivision in Kennebunk. He says it's more like the house they have in Pittsburg [sic]. They are selling there the end of May. He says he is working much harder now than he did as a stockbroker. His hours have increased since he used to work 9-4 and now it's 7-5 and until noon on Saturday. But the difference is that he is now working for himself.
It's National Library Week so we've been having special films and story hours for the children. They were well publicized but the turn out has been very poor. Next week X has organized a "public information forum" between Gibbs Oil Co and FOIL (a group opposed to an oil refinery in Sanford). It's going to be on Cable TV and there may be radio coverage although that is uncertain since the local radio station, WSME goes off the air at sundown. At any rate we're trying to get as much coverage as possible since we figure the library can hold a absolute maximum of about 150 people.
This week Gibbs Oil Co. is taking about 25 local people out to Puget Sound to see a "clean, modern refinery operating in a community similar to Sanford." I think right now most of Sanford is pro-refinery for economical reasons but there are some quite vocal articulate opponents. The tax evaluation on the refinery would be four times higher than all of Sanford together at the present time.
I'll save the news on the puppies for a letter to Mary Virginia.
[Love, Catherine]
April 24, 1974
Dear Mary Virginia,
Thanks for your latest letter. It's always nice to hear your personal version of the latest news.
We decided not to keep any of the puppies. The next time we hope to breed her with another Irish Setter and then we might keep one of those puppies. All our puppies have now been given away, the last two to go, "Mary" and "Virginia" (guess who we named them after?) left the day before yesterday. They sure made a mess out of the basement. It will take me a couple of days to finish cleaning it up again.
In your letter that your wrote on Easter you said we might be getting a package pretty soon. Well, we haven't gotten one. Did whoever was going to send it change their mind?
Tell Grandma hello for me since she will probably be in New Vienna by the time you get this.
How many more days of school do you have? Are you going to go to Lakeside? What else are you going to do this summer? Have you been swimming yet? When are you going to come visit us?
Do you ever hear from Serena? She never write to us. I supsose she suppose she's real busy in college.
I hope everything went allright [sic] when you had Mrs. Hildebrant for supper.
Write again soon!
[Love, Catherine]
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