Sunday, Dec 01
My day on. I took the Meteors OK at 05:30 then slept in till 09:45. I had made a date with Resolution for 10:00 so got the fire going upstairs and came down. He had a bunch for me and I cleared his stuff by 10:30 but could not raise VED or CFD. I got VED at noon and cleared to him. Jack came over while I was at it.W. was on at the other end and was dumber than usual today. Jack had a got at it and cleared. When he was ready to go home he asked us how the bread was holding out and we loaned him a half a loaf then when we came to get dinner found we had none left. Just about that time Burstall came along. He had the dogs out for exercise and I asked him if he would go up to Lanouettes and get us a couple of loaves of bread. He brought two loaves and a mince pie. We had dinner of baked beans that Mrs Pearson baked for us and bread and coffee and mince pie. Burstall had a cup of tea with us but had just got up from dinner so couldn't eat more. From 15:00 to 17:00 I worked on the motor generator. One of the communicators needed the carbon removed from between the segments and that took a long time. The communicator was slightly discoloured and I had to clean it with crocus cloth. It was very near to 17:00 when I finished then I read the weather and cleared Resolution. Then cleared with Edmonton. It was 18:30 when I finished. After that I read a couple of short stories and listened to the radio until time to go to bed.
Monday, Dec 02
This is my day off. I slept, unintentionally, until 11:30 then I went home and got the fires going to do some printing that was hanging. There are 2 big bunches yet to go down river. I finished up one bunch for Cost. Hutchinson and posted them OK then developed 5 rolls for Pearson at Herschel Island. The Ryans arrived with the Slave River today about 14:30. They had no trouble with it they said. The SL is a Motorboat or I should say tug, to be used on the Lower part of the river. It is 75 feel long and weighs 38 tons. It is a twin screw all steel boat powered with Fairbanks Morse Diesel engines. When it was coming into Smith, I took 5 pictures of it then discovered that I had not taken out the tin plate in front of the pack. I managed to get two more but there were not good. I developed them right away. It was about 20:00 when I finished and I stopped at Pearsons on my way home and as they were just sitting down to supper, Jack had worked late, and they said that Joe was uptown having supper, I stayed and ate with them. They were having pancakes for supper. I got home about 22:00 and turned on the radio. It was fine tonight. Joe came in about 23:00 and we had a lunch then listened to the radio till 01:30 and went to bed.
Tuesday, Dec 03
I worked on the books all day and tried to get them UTD but didn't finish. I was going to work after supper but there was a few other things that needed doing so I didn't get at them. I didn't feel much like work anyway tonight so read most of the time. Punch Dickens arrived at Smith this afternoon. This is the first winter plane to arrive. He did not bring any mail but brought quite a lot of freight. The landing was poor at Fitz with so much snow but will be better after a few landing are made. Radio was poor tonight. I went to bed at 23:30.
Wednesday, Dec 04
Up at 09:15 and on the books. I worked at them till dinner time then cooked dinner. During the afternoon I worked under the building putting in a line from the set to the battery room. I am going to keep the filament batteries out in the engine room so that they can be changed from the one set to the other by simply throwing a switch and the charging panel can be put on without moving the batteries at all. I went uptown about 16:00 with the Press and what messages there were and when I got back it was after 18:00. Joe thought I was not coming back and was just going uptown for supper. I went with him and we ate at Lanouettes. From there I went home and tried out the new speaker that Punch brought in for me. It is for the Westinghouse that I have it is sold to Callaghan. The speaker was shipped from Taylor and Pearsons in Edm and was not properly packed and not labeled with a care label. It was badly crushed but as it was too cold in the house to monkey with it I left it there. I told Leggo about it however as he is the agent of the Western Canada Airways. I came back home at 20:30.
Thursday, Dec 05
This is my day off so I went home about 09:30 and got the fires going. It was after dinner before the house was real warm. The temperature today was the lowest of the year. It was 32 below with a south wind. The tug boat, Slave River, was at the top of the hill this morning when I was on my way home so I stuck around and watched them and took some pictures of it. [photo] I took 13 all together and when I developed them there were 10 that were food. I printed a bunch of snaps today. I had dinner and supper at Lanouettes. it was after 22:00 when I returned to the station. I met Joe at Lanouettes just before I came down. We were kidding Dora. She was making some moccasins for her brother for Xmas. She promised to make me a pair of gloves for Xmas. We listened to the radio for a couple of hours then went to bed.
Friday, Dec 06
Edmonton sent us a Traffic check for November and we don't balance. I went over my books and had Jack check them with me and found a couple of small mistakes but still the checks are about $5 out in each column. Resolution and Simpson and Stoney Rapids check OK first shot. After supper tonight while Joe was uptown I fixed up the sounder and key that we have here and when he came back he gave me an hour and a half practice at receiving, I can peg along at 10 words/minute. I sent some Press at a maximum speed of 17 wpm, but have to come down to about 14 to keep it accurate. We went to bed at 01:30.
Saturday, Dec 07
I worked on books all morning then cooked dinner. We had a pork roast on all morning. After dinner I took the set while Joe cut wood for the kitchen stove and carried it upstairs. It was Press time when he finished so he took over and I brought in wood for the big stoves and filled the barrel with snow for soft water. After supper Joe and I started a cribbage tournament. We play 5 games and the looser pays a cent a point to the winner, to be paid at the end of the month. I came out second best tonight owing Joe 2 cents. We had an hour and ten minutes practice on the key then listened to the radio till 01:00 then went to bed.
Sunday, Dec 08
Joe and I slept till 11:00 then after breakfast I went around to the house and got the fires going and the tank full for a bath. Joe is coming up after supper for a bath. His tub is now on the blink. It was one of those rubber gadgets. I printed pictures all day and at last have caught up. There is only one more roll and the owner of it will not be in till spring. I did a large bunch for myself, too. I had supper at Lanouettes but Joe had supper at Pearsons. He came up about 19:00 and said that they were bot to go back there for a game of bridge. We arrived there about 21:30. Joe and I played the Pearsons and won by a score of about 500. We got home about 01:30.
Monday, Dec 09 Temp -38
I got up at 09:00 and was just calling VED when Jack came in. He took the call while I finished breakfast. I worked on the books all day and made out a summary of next year requisition. Jack took the messages uptown this afternoon while I looked after the set. I had everything cleared when he returned and the Meteors read and coded. I was just waiting for VED to call so that I could clear that too. After supper we listened to CKY on the radio till about 20:30 then went over to Pearsons to help him move the kitchen stove. We got back home at midnight and listened to the radio till the place got warm then went to bed.
Tuesday, Dec 10 Temp -42
Paul phoned and said that 3 planes had passed over the 30 baseline but later called to say that there was an error in the report. It was only one plane- Punch. He landed at Fitz at noon and said that the Mail Planes would likely be here this afternoon or tomorrow at the latest. He is on his way to Good Hope. I worked on books for a while this morning then filled the wood bin in the office. After dinner while Joe washed the dishes I carried some in for the engine room stove and filled the barrel with snow. Expected the mail today but it didn't get here. After supper I read a while and after listening to the radio decided to go to bed early but Const. Brown of the RCMP came in and we played bridge till about 01:30. It was after 02:00 when we did get to bed.
Wednesday, Dec 11 Temp -42
We had invited the Pearsons over for supper tonight so as this was my day off I clicked the job of cook. I had the alarm set to go off at 09:00 and was going up to Vics to get a couple of ducks (not the wild ones) but Vic brought them down at 08:45. So I reset the alarm for 11:00 and turned over. When I got up I spent a couple of hours cleaning up the place and then the rest of the day cooking, etc. For supper we had roast duck with dressing and cranberry jelly, mashed potatoes, peas, bread, coffee and tea, plum pudding and cold ham. After supper Mrs Pearson and Joe played Jack and I 3 rubbers of bridge and Jack and I won by a majority of 2000. Mrs Pearson was wild bidding tonight and was peeved about loosing. They went about 01:30 and I think it was a very successful party so they all ate so much that they were uncomfortable. For lunch we had ham sandwiches, macaroons ( some that I made out of our special recipe Reindeer milk and coconut).
Thursday, Dec 12
Word came thru this morning that the mail was on the way. Three planes arrived here at noon and the three were loaded with nothing but Smith and Fitz mail. It was not sorted until just before supper. I got a bunch letters from Nona and pleased that she is having such a dandy time at the coast. It made me even more lonesome to read them. I read her letters first and read some of them about 4 times. I answered them in a short letter to let her know that they had arrived and posted them as they were closing tonight and the mail is going over to Fitz and will go out in the morning. I got about 2 months papers, Leader, a letter from Nona's mother and dad with a Xmas present and a bunch of lodge dope. It was after 02:00 when Joe and I got to bed. In one of Freda's letters to Joe she said that she had met McDowell in Ottawa and he told her that I would have to come out in the spring to complete my course.
Friday, Dec 13
Another mail got here today but there were no letters for me other than cards. There were a bunch of papers and 2 National Geographics and a couple of Radio News magazines. I collected some of the accounts today but as usual have to wait on a few. After supper Billy Berens came down to haul wood for us then stayed till after 01:00 listening to the radio. I was perfect tonight. We listened to it and read till 01:30 then went to bed.
Saturday, Dec 14
I went uptown after dinner and started the fires at home. The thermometer inside read 20 below when I got in. Still more mail arrived today. The Commercial Airways are finishing up each post as they go along. They carried all Chipewyan mail then made 2 trips with 3 planes with Smith and Fitz mail. They will be taking the mail from Resolution to Providence next. I printed a bunch of my snaps today and before going back to the station, I put them into the album. I have 400 done now and about 200 more to do. I had supper at Lanouettes and Joe came in for his too. We got back to the station at 22:30 and listened to the radio till bed time, went to bed at 02:00.
Sunday, Dec 15
Up for Meteors. I was busy on the set till 07:30 and as I had a date with Resolution at 08:00, I waited for him. He was on time but missed mine. He sent me the Aero Wix report that the Commercial Airways were waiting for. When he finished I gave him R and said SEC then phoned the report to Becker and came back to send him a black that I had but he was gone. I should of told him I had it but again he should have waited for me when I said SEC. He thought I gave him a VA, the close down and went off to bed. I got him again at 11:00 but had to cancel the message as the planes were there an hour by then. The message I had for him was to the Post Master telling him to have the mail ready as the planes would be there at 09:00. We were busy all day and at 16:00 Res started to send a 1500 word Press thru to Edmonton. We finished at 21:30 then Joe and I went up and listened to the radio. Joe's new dynamic speaker came today. It is a Rola and the best I've ever heard. Went to bed at 01:00.
Monday, Dec 16
Sent some services to VEC re the mag yesterday that was undelivered and the answer came back. Nothing done about it as Hale notified that it had not gone and could not get there until after he arrived. It would be of no use then. I was busy all day around the booking and Joe hardly left the Key all day. Press came in from Resolution at 18:00 and had to be relayed on to Edmonton. It was 19:45 when Joe finished up and went for supper. I had my supper at 19:00 and came and relieved him while he ate. I sent about 300 words but we are having interference with a new station VAK and VAI who are working together and are on our and Edmonton's wave. They only get about half of it so when Joe came down he sent it all again rather than ask for their correction as we could hardly read them anyway. it was about 21:30 when we finished. We listened to the radio for a while but it was not very good tonight. Went to bed about 01:00.
Tuesday, Dec 17
I got up at noon today and worked on books and ledgers all day. As tomorrow is Mother's birthday, I sent a wire to her but it should not be delivered till the morning. After dinner I went uptown for the first time in a week and did some shopping. I got my laundry too while I was at it. More Press came in from Resolution this afternoon late and there was 997 words of it. Joe finished at 20:30. After 21:00 I took the ledger and equipment book and went over to Jack and he and I worked out the requisitions for next year. It was 01:00 when we finished. Evelyn made some coffee. It was about 01:30 when I got home. There was another mail today. That is 3 this week. There was a lot of papers for me but no letters. I got to bed at 02:00.
Wednesday, Dec 18
This morning I made out a wire to the bank to send Nona $50 for a Xmas present. I hope it gets there in time she might want some of it to get some things there for others. I worked on accounting most of the day and did a little booking to keep them UTD. I had to go uptown twice and that broke the work up a bit. The radio was poor tonight so I wrote a letter to Nona while Joe wrote one to Freda. Then we read newspapers till about 01:00 and I made a lunch and went to bed.
Thursday, Dec 19
We expected the planes in today with the mail as they are scheduled to arrive about noon. We were disappointed however as they went on thru to Resolution. They had mail from Resolution to Aklavik and left word at Fitz that they would return tomorrow. After supper Billy came down and piled up some wood at the door and filled the wood boxes. He stayed to listen to the radio and we had to almost throw him out at 01:00. I finished all the mail and reports for November today but didn't get the draft as Syd was on the drunk. He and York have a permit each and were all day on one of them and it looks like a long session.
Friday, Dec 20
Still no mail. Were pretty busy all day and after supper I read papers till bed time. There was some good radio but not much. Billy was back again tonight to listen to the radio. I went to be at 01:00. The was my day off but I had to do some work on the batteries. I started right in after dinner and worked until supper time without a letup.
Saturday, Dec 21
Holy smoke time flies. It will be Xmas before we know it and I haven't bought a present yet excepting the one Joe and I got for Pearsons. It is a Pyrex casserole dish. I cooked supper tonight and after the dishes were done Joe went uptown while I read papers. Freda's sister sent Joe some fowl, 2 turkeys and four chickens. Punch brought them today and Billy Berens brought them down about 21:30. Joe came in a few minutes later. The radio was very good tonight. The mail has not yet arrived. Punch had made 3 trips here since the last mail plane stopped. There are 3 of them passing over nearly everyday yet it is about 10 days since they stopped.
Sunday, Dec 22
I ran into some bum luck today. Joe is on the early morning Meteors this week so I have to take the Aero weather at 08:00. It was going onto 09:00 when I finished so I lit the fire and made breakfast then went around the trap line. This is the first time I have gone in 3 weeks. There was an ermine in one of the traps but he had been there a long time and was half eaten away. What was left was of no use. Then while coming back along the bank I ran into my boat. I asked Calaghan last October before there was any snow to haul it up by the Police boat with his team. He said OK but I found it had never been touched. It was down on the bank where I left it but the river had raised about 6 feet and it is frozen in. About a foot of the bow is showing and the rest is under the ice. I see that one of the planks is cracked about a yard long but can't see any more of it. I am going down tomorrow morning and chop it out and see if I can save it. It was upside down, so there won't be any water and ice inside of it but it might be crushed in although it doesn't look to be from what can be seen thruout the ice. The ice at the stern is about 6 inches over the boat. Damnit. The busier you are the less time you have, the less you can depend on anyone else doing things for you.
I ordered 2 loads of wood cut to fit the furnace and Vic brought 2 loads of 4 foot stuff. When I asked him about it he said he forgot but would have the saw up there and cut it for me Monday for sure. That was last Monday. Well, today when I went up there he hadn't been so I looked him up. He said the engine was over at the Halfway being overhauled and he would get it this week for sure. I finished printing my small pictures today and managed to get them dried and all in the album before coming home. I had supper with Mr & Mrs Conibear. They told me that Cele had a daughter night before last. I returned to the station about 21:30 and found no one home. I turned on the radio then read some more papers. Radio poor so I shut it off. Joe came in about 23:00 and we turned on the radio. The speaker Joe has now, a Rola dynamic, is capable of terrific volume but it squeals long before that limit is reached. While looking it over I found that the Output transformer was squealing, sounding very much as if the core was loose. I took it out of the set and took it to pieces and found that was the trouble and tightened it as much as I thought the bolts would stand and put it back in the set. It can deliver enough volume without distortion to be heard over at Pearsons, however. Went to bed at 02:00.
Monday, Dec 23 National Geographic
Up at 08:00 and sent the Aero Wix to Resolution then built the fire and put breakfast on while dressing. I called Joe at 08:45 and we ate together. I let at 09:15 and went down to the boat. I chopped it out of the ice. I worked like a Trojan and never stopped till it was loose and I had it out on the ice. The ice was about 24 inches thick and there was 12-18 inches in the boat at the stern.The boat is badly damaged but not as bad as it could be. The keel is twisted and one side is stove in completely and the other side had one plank broken in. the ribs are all in good condition yet, but will need truing up slightly. The ice twisted the whole boat a bit. The deck is still sound. It was nearly noon when I finished and I was wringing wet from perspiration. I went up to the Bay and phoned Walt and told him all about it. He said he would be busy for about a month but to send it over on the first team going to the Halfway and he would take it to pieces and true it up and rebuild it. He has some lumber left over from the boats he was building that will be the clear rig. He said he would be over tomorrow night and is coming out to see me and we will both go and take a look at it. I ate dinner at Lanouettes today, Joe was there too. I fixed up the rest of the National Geographics into the binders today. While reading the November 1929 edition I see in the article titled "Gentlemen Adventurers of the Air" is a mention of the Aeroplane propeller that Walt made at Simpson for Gorman when his plane broke its propeller in landing. At that time Walt had never seen a plane before at close quarters and there was only the hub left for a pattern. That was in 1921 during the Imperial Oil rush to Norman. Syd is quite OK again today. he got his seat back on the water wagon, but it was only after there was no more O-Be-Joyful left. York is still feeling tough and Lanouette was wandering out around the slaughter house. Vic brought him back to the restaurant and he said it took him an hour and a half to get him back. I stopped while uptown to enquire how Mrs Frank was. She and baby are fine. Frank (Conibear) got back in town last night. He got 11 pelts, 2 foxes and the rest mink and marten. After supper Browne came down for the evening. The radio was fair tonight. At times it was VG. We went to bed at 02:30.
Tuesday, Dec 24
Up at 08:00 and as there was no weather reports to send I cleared what traffic I had with Resolution. It was going on to 09:00 when I finished so I didn't bother going back to bed. I lit the fire and dressed and while waiting for the kettle to boil, I went down and worked Edm till Jack came over. I worked on books all morning while Jack worked the set. He was busy all the time. I relieved him at noon. Joe went uptown and I didn't see him again till late. We finished up at 20:10. We sent 58 and received 12 to and from VED-Edm alone. The traffic with Stoney and Resolution were very heavy too. After we finished I went over to Jacks with him and waited for them to go uptown. He and I had a small drink of rum, then went up to deliver the messages that came in. I met Walt at Lanouettes and he and I sat and talked till nearly midnight. About midnight Conrad Burscholtz came in and wanted to go to church but wanted someone to go with him. He had never seen inside a Catholic church before and wanted to see the Xmas ceremony. Walt said he would take him if I would go, so I cleaned up and the 3 of us went. It was 02:00 when I got home. Joe was in bed asleep and the radio still going strong. He went to bed listening to it and dropped off to sleep.
Wednesday, Dec 25 Two Xmas Pictures
Up at 08:00 but there was no traffic. I went down at 10:00 but there was nothing doing and Joe took the 11:00 call. I fell back to sleep again and Jack came and woke me at 12:00. We all went to Lanouettes for dinner. I didn't like it very much. Lanouette had been drunk and I don't think the turkey was cooked enough. It wasn't for me anyway. After dinner I went up and wished everyone the Season's Greetings and came back to the station at 16:30. Joe was already here. After the 17:00 call we got ready and went over to Pearsons. We took the present for them. It was a square casserole dish about 8 inches square (Pyrex). I took a bunch of empty boxes with it that Mrs Pearson wanted and let some of them fall 'accidentally' to prove the point, then later while he and Jack were busy slipped the one that contained the present in under the tree. Just before supper Jack told us that Santa had left a present there for us and proceeded to dig it out It was a Tiny Tot Telegraph Station. While rooting in under the tree for them he discovered the on I put there. There was a box of cigarettes for us each too. He took some flashlight of the table and the tree, the table was taken down before supper. After supper we played bridge. Evelyn and Joe played Jack and I. We were in the lead until the last when the last rubber gave them the lead. Evelyn was very enthusiastic and pleased about the game then. We came back home about 01:30 and went to bed soon afterwards.
Thursday, Dec 26
I got up at noon and cooked dinner then went up to the house. I got the fires going and warmed up the place then did some printing and developed the pictures we took last night. They were all perfect. Joe came up after supper and I was nearly finished. We went from there to Lanouettes to get a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. Walt was there reading so I sat and talked with him for a while. While we were having lunch Dora came and sat down at the table and chewed the fat with us. She is making me a pair of gloves for Xmas, but didn't get them finished yet owing to the lateness of getting the moosehide tanned. We came home about 01:00 and listened to the radio for a while before going to bed. It was real good.
Friday, Dec 27
The winter or should I say the Xmas mail arrived here at noon today. I got a letter from Nona written on the 11 and one small parcel containing an Egyptian Incense burner. I took it home and put it on the radio table. It is a dandy little ornament and will have a place in making our home more attractive. Business was heavy today and kept us all pretty busy. I was on the books nearly all day. Right after supper I wrote a letter to Nona telling her that the statue came. Joe and I went to bed early tonight. That is 23:00. We looked over some papers and listened to the radio for a while. It was good tonight.
Saturday, Dec 28
Joe was on Meteors and Resolution wanted a weather report for the Western Canada Airways at 08:00. I was supposed to give it to them. Joe's alarm didn't go off and mine eventually did but instead of waking me up, I reached up and shut it off in my sleep, at least I had not recollection of ever hearing it when I did wake put. I woke up at 09:30 and the first thing I thought of was that Joe hadn't reset my alarm at 05:30 for 08:00 call. I called and woke him up and told him it was 09:15 and that I had missed Wix for Resolution. At the mention of Wix he began to think and said he didn't remember sending the weather this morning. We both got dressed in record time and while I was getting the coffee, he read the weather and sent the two messages. We both figured that there would be a service about it during the day but nothing happened. I took some mail uptown this morning and got it away OK. there was only 2 letters one to Nona and one of Joes to Freda. After supper Joe and I played crib for a cent a point. Joe won back $1.50 of the $3.00 that I took away from him last time. We went to bed early tonight. 23:00.
Sunday, Dec 29
I was up at 05:30 OK and got the Meteors off on time. Resolution didn't want Wix, so I slept from 06:00 on till 10:30 when I got up and lit the fire. Joe got up a few minutes later and while I was working on Resolution, Edmonton and trying to get Simpson, he made breakfast. As usual our first meal of the day is a slim one. Usually a cup of coffee alone but on Sundays we spread ourselves and have toast with it. I was busy on the set till about 11:30 then again at 12:00 with Simpson. finished with him at 12:15 and spent the most of the afternoon cleaning upstairs and getting in wood. After supper I went uptown for a while but as the place seemed dead, I soon came back and read the Cosmo and some Regina papers. We went to bed about midnight tonight. The radio was VG.
Monday, Dec 30
Still no word about our being late on Saturday so I guess it blew over on account of the spirit of the season. i was working on the 24 business today and started at 09:30 and didn't finish till 16:45. that was the largest business that we ever did in one day since the station was up. the total business for the day, that is business that this station is credited with and not counting relay or service traffic, was $176.31. the total of all of Novembers business was only twice that. while checking up stores today I discovered that the increased business of the past year is going to leave us very short of supplies. there is only 270 gallons of fuel oil left in the warehouse. At the present rate of consumption this will only last us till March at the very latest and the new supplies will not reach here till July sometime. We will have to beg, borrow or steal some here. Jack phoned Syd Leggo, Manager of the HBC about it and Syd stated that they had enough to let us have some to carry us on till the supplies get in next summer. My batteries were getting pretty low tonight so I filled the tank and got everything ready to start up at 05:30 in the morning. After supper I went uptown for a few minutes and came back and read till time to go to bed. Joe took his output transformer uptown and drilled some holes thru the core to see if he couldn't fix it up. The core is loose and some of the laminations vibrate in synchronism with the audio frequencies producing an audio frequency not corresponding to the loud speaker. This prevents us from getting the full volume from the set as the core produces distortion on the loud signals. I tried to fix it once by taking it to pieces and reassembling it and drawing the core as tight as the screw clamps would permit. I was afraid to tighten them any more for fear of stripping the threads on the bolts. It helped a lot but not enough. We haven't put it back together yet so we don't know how it will work this new way. It was an idea of mine to bore holes thru the core between the points where the clamps fit and insert small bolts. The mail arrived today and I got 3 parcels from Nona but no letter. In one there were 3 pictures of herself. They were wonderful pictures too and very like her. Two of them are large and I am going to have them framed, I will send outside and get the frames in this winter. The other is smaller and is in an easel folder. I will keep it on my dresser. I will keep them all with me here at the station for the rest of the winter. In another was a white elephant, I think it is made of china, but resembles ivory very much. it is about 4 inches high and 6 inches long altogether. In another box was 2 pictures, "The Lone Wolf" and one of an Indian on horseback with his back to the storm that I do not know the title of. There were also some smaller things in it such as a cigarette light from Paul Westland in Seattle, a book of the Rocky Mountains with pictures about 8X12, all hand painted. There are 25 of them. At some future dat I think I will have them framed too. They would all make a very fine print to hang up. They are more prized by me because in my travels I have visited practically every one of the scenes in the book and many of them I have prints of in my snapshot album that I took when there and some of them I took from the same place as these were taken from. I also got a hand made pull over sleeveless sweater ( vest) from Freda. It came on this mail too. Joe and I went to Lanouettes for supper tonight then came hame and wrote a letter. Joe took them up as the mail was to close at 1:00 and I went to Pearsons. Joe came in there on his way home and we played 3 rubbers of bridge. Evelyn and Joe played Jack and I. We were a little behind in the score when we finished at 01:30. We came home and lit a fire in the kitchen and put on doff. It was so late that we wouldn't let Evelyn got to the trouble of it and then while it was getting hot we carried in wood and lit the fires downstairs. They were both out. It was 03:00 by the time we got to bed.
Tuesday, Dec 31
I got the Meteors off OK and sent a NL that was too late to go out last night. Joe got up at 08:00 and sent an Aero Wix to Resolution then put on the coffee and called me at 08:45, but I was so darned tired that I turned over, after resetting the alarm for 09:15 and went to sleep again. At 09:15 that alarm woke me up again and I reset it for 10:00 and repeat the performance. I did get up at ten but my gosh I was tired. I came downstairs and carried wood in and did some small jobs till 11:00 then went upstairs and cooked dinner. We had beefsteak, fried spuds, bread, tea and plenty of it. After dinner I worked on the books and although I had intended getting four day business entered, I only got thru with one and that was the 25. Campbell came in just about Press time and stayed and talked quite a time and that kind of broke the spell. Before it got too dark out, Joe and I went out and carried in enough wood to last over the Holiday tomorrow and as we are having Pearsons over tomorrow night for a goose supper we had to carry in a lot of wood for the kitchen stove too. I cooked supper and we had poached eggs on toast and rhubarb preservatives that Freda made. The eggs were fresh from Mrs Conibear. While I was waiting for Joe to finish Edm and Simpson for the night I cleaned up upstairs a bit. He was thru for the night at 18:00 and that is all for this year. There is a dance on tonight at Lanouettes but I do not think this time ( 20:00) that either one of us will go. We both have some arising to do and this is a good chance. I forgot to mention that in one of the parcels that came from Nona yesterday had a tapestry in it. It is the best that I have ever seen. It is 5 feet long and 2 feet wide. I am going to take it home and put it away and later when Nona comes back or if I go out in the spring, I am going to have it framed. It is too good to put anywhere other than in a frame. Nona sent me a watch too.
Well, this is the end of 1929 and as I look back over it now to sum things up, I see a varied quality of things and happenings. To be sure, I can say that thru this year I have advanced one step in promotion, made a little more money than last year, but saved less. Nona and I have know many very, very happy days this year and again we went thru our first real sorrow. I guess it was the first real sorrow that either on of us ever had, but it brought us even close than ever. I will now close this year and spend the rest of the evening writing etc and as the year passes on into the past, quietly for Joe and I, I will bid it farewell and Adieu.
