kate & bud: 1937 letter

G.R. Duncan
Casper Wyo.
Nov. 11, 1937

Mr. C.M. Steele,

Dear Father-in-Law,
Will drop a few lines and wish you a Happy Birthday. Have been shifting here and there all summer. Will be here about two months.
We just finished a job at Laramie, Wyo. Have five piling bridges to put in here. Have been getting 70 cents per hour since we left Maybell. We bought and paid cash for a 3-room house and lot 50 x 200 ft at Tabernash. We bought a good supply of groceries before I left so I guess Kate and kids are doing O.K. Would like to live on the Homestead next summer and prove up next fall. And will if I can save enough this winter to feed us through the summer.
There is a big project to start next spring over near Tabernash. I think it will last about three years. May get on there. Wont save much here as board and room is high.
We didn’t work today. Armistice day and there was a football game between Casper & Sheradun, and over 6,000 to see it. Sure hope I can get home Xmas.
With Love and Best Wishes to you and yours.

1904-2000

Kate was born April 24, 1904 in Kirkland, New Mexico to Charles Milton Steele and Harriet Virginia Roberts a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. Brothers Alvin, Milton, Don.. Sisters Jenny, Daphne, Edith, Ione.. Married to Frank Wilson, Gus Duncan and Ernie Sawyer. She had seven children, Edith (toots), Charles (john), Gus, Robert, Dorothy, Eva, Stan. She loved to ride horseback, and quilting. She was very attractive but not "prissy". She felt she got along better with men. She could fend for herself but never did anything wrong. She always remembered our birthdays with rare currency. She was sealed to our grandfather, Bud, with my dad, Stan, as proxy, in the Salt Lake Temple, 1978. She wrote her personal history here in fascinating detail. She valued the standards she was raised with and enjoyed remarkable protection through out her life that could be made into a major motion picture. She is a character. These are her stories. (note her favorite color)

1900-1954

Bud was born 1900 in Wimberly, Texas to Isaac Preston Duncan and Eva Wood. Married Katherine Steele in 1927. When a boy he ran away to join the circus, then the army, and chase Pancho Via across the border. He walked on his hands over bridges and performed acrobats on horseback. He was a very athletic racer, boxer, and a competitive worker. A quiet stregnth, he did not boast or threaten. But if he warned you he followed through. From texas he always carried a pistol that someone once grabbed in a bar fight. During the great depression he was always working and on the move. He worked for the railroad and President Rosavelts CCC to preserve many of our national parks including many Colorado trails. He loved to read to his children and carve wooden toys like his father, Preston. (note bdate, color, bro, sis, state married)

2 comments:

mollyNovember 6, 2009 at 4:53 AM
'post toasties', that's a dated detail. I get a lump in my throat thinking of charles affection for you. You are pretty special.
mollyNovember 8, 2009 at 4:56 AM
I see Bud announcing to his father-in-law, Charels, the purchase of there first home, and a good supply of groceries after ten years of marriage. He remembers Charels Birthday. I see how adaptable Bud must be as he "shifts" from job to job. He is away from home a lot and longs to be home for Christmas. Granny must be very lonely too. They would rarely have time to communicate during the great depression. That can't be good for a relationship. I imagine lots of hurts. Dad said their were conflicts over the meager pay sent home. I see but explaining that room and board is high away from home. What a dilemma. Neither granny or grandad would feel valued. But he wants to be home for Christmas.

kate & bud

1937 letter

2 comments:

1904-2000

1900-1954

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