Dear Bess: May 5, 1914 (postmarked)
Transcript
Welcome to the Dear Bess, Dear Harry podcast for May 5, 2022, brought to you by Harry S Truman National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service.
An intriguing letter for you today, postmarked on this date in 1914, likely written the day before. In this letter, Harry S Truman, farmer, describes some life and work on the family farm. He also talks about an opportunity to invest in some land speculation. Truman was keen on improving his situation, if only to show himself worthy to Miss Bess Wallace and, likely, her mother. Most guys do that…we want to make sure that we are worthy. He was determined to win Miss Wallace’s heart.
Here's the letter.
Postmarked May 5, 1914
Grandview Dear Bess: I am going to get your letter off on time even if I am a sleepyhead this evening. I have to go to the city in the morning after the hired man's daughter and I know very well I won't get a chance to do another thing. I almost did a day's work today! Put away all the meat. We have ten hams and three shoulders and some bacon. Here's hoping it lasts till hogs are ripe again, because gasoline is spot cash.
I got home before the rain and only thirty minutes after Mary did. It was just ten minutes after twelve when I came into the front gate. It rained like the mischief at about 12:45. If I'd had to take the K.C.S. I'd have gotten soaked. It will be an awful comedown if that old machine ever refuses to go. I don't know how I could manage to walk from Grandview. The tires are standing up fine. (I have my hand on wood.)
Almost I went to Montana tomorrow. Mr. Hall is going and was very anxious for me to go. But on account of our picnic Saturday and for reasons of expense I have decided not to go until two weeks from today. My claim doesn't come up until June 3, and I don't want to pay over two weeks' board if it can be helped. I haven't much hope of getting a good claim. I've heard a lot of adverse criticism on Ft. Peck in the last month. I'm not going to be bluffed out by conversation though. I'll have to be shown. I think every real estate man in Montana has written me a letter to offer his services in locating me—for fifty dollars. They are very liberal and they all know every foot of the reservation. You know it is only fifty miles by a hundred, and there are only 1,200,000 acres to be homesteaded. So, you see, these men are exceptionally bright and capable and their services ought to be cheap at the price. Think of holding a platte of Jackson County in your head. Ft. Peck is some six times as big. I doubt very much whether it can be done. Anyway I'm not going to part with my fifty dollars until I'm absolutely certain it's a safe proposition. I've an idea that a person will have as good luck just to shut his eyes and put his finger down on the map. One of our hired men (the other one) is off on a toot. He's been gone since Saturday. He's drawn all that's coming to him too. Also it's all he'll ever draw I guess. No boozers for mine. Our hand of help is almost equal to Luke. First one and then the other has a tantrum. No man that's any good would be a farmhand, though, so it's not to be expected that good ones can be found. One good thing, they are plentiful and are not hard to break in.
The paper said this morning that the land was at $10,000,000.00. So there must be about fifteen poor men in it or a hundred and five I don't know which. They're out to land the Shrine Convention for Frisco in 1915. They're welcome to it as far as I'm concerned. I know that if I had $57,000.00 I wouldn't spend it to get a Shrine Convention.
Papa is very much put out at the defection of this second hired man. He was so very pleased with him that he'd take his advice in preference to mine. I've had a good time rubbing him the wrong way all day. I've told him two or three times to wait till Charlie comes and ask his advice. He finally got so mad that I fear Charlie would have gotten his head smashed if he'd shown up at all.
Our picnic is not injured by the rain. If there is not any more after today the roads will still be fine. Anyway if we can't do anything else we'll go as far as we can and have a picnic any way. Uncle Harrison says it's bound to rain two more days this week because it rained on Monday. Lets hope it sprinkles on Tuesday and Wednesday and satisfies the supersition [sic] anyway. You know it might be so perverse as to wait until Friday night to satisfy it and then put in two days hand running.
I shall look for a letter early this week as there's not much chance of my getting in. I'll have to work! (Maybe!) Please send the letter anyway.
Sincerely, Harry
This is a nifty letter from May 4/5, 1914. Harry Truman, farmer, describes more work on the family farm in Grandview, talks about the trouble with hired hands, and describes an opportunity he has to make some money. He is trying to make himself worthy in the eyes of Miss Wallace and her family.
You can see a copy here: https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/truman-papers/correspondence-harry-s-truman-bess-wallace-1910-1919/may-5-1914-postmark?documentid=NA&pagenumber=6