Words From The Past

Today, I received a letter in the mail that I have been waiting for in anticipation. I thank my cousin, Dr. Roy Baker in Lincoln, Nebraska for returning the original letter to our family after sixty three years. His brother, Don Baker was going through some old papers and discovered it. The letter is from my father to his Uncle Wayne Baker. The envelope is postmarked, "Montrose, December 12, 5 PM, 1945, Colo." Attached is a three (.03) cent stamp with the picture of Thomas Jefferson. As you can see, there are no street addresses, just name of city and state. As a sign of inflation, this letter was mailed at the cost of three cents. Sixty three years later it was mailed to me at the cost of forty two cents.

This advertisement, I am assuming was clipped from a newspaper as it is to large for a business card. It was also enclosed with the letter from Roy Baker. This is when my father was in the guiding business in the Soap Creek Creek area. Soap Creek is located in the high country east of Montrose. Sapinero is a small community on the Gunnison River which has now been dammed to form the Blue Mesa Reservoir. Sapinero was a point of entry into the high country of Soap Creek. The fees for guided big game hunts have increased over the years. This advertisement is most likely in the 1947 - 1950 time frame based on the telephone number. The first phone number that I can recall consisted of four numbers.

Although appearing similar this is a different advertisement that was also included in the letter. This advertisement also includes "hunting and fishing parties in Alaska" so it was printed after my fathers and brother Tad's first trip to Alaska. The address, Route 4, is the address that we had when we lived on the place east of Montrose, when my younger sister and brother were born. The telephone number is unique in that it is my birthday. When this ad appeared, I was most likely 6 to 8 years old. The name of the business has also been changed to read "Vern Harrington & Sons". The two advertisements would not have been included in the original letter as each of them are in a later time frame than 1945.

The letter is written on line 5" x 8" lined tablet in pencil. It is difficult to get a clear scan from it so I will post it in it's entirety as written and uncorrected. The letter was written on December 12, 1945, 6 months and 24 days after I was born. World War II had just concluded in Germany with their surrender to the allied forces on May 7, 1945. The war would conclude with the surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945. The letter from my father was written to his Uncle Wayne Baker, the brother of my grandmother Ella Belle Baker Harrington who was married to Henry Philo "Ten" Harrington. Uncle Wayne had just returned from World War II in the European Theater. The letter reads as follows:

"Montrose, Colo
Dec.12, 1945

"Dear Uncle:
Have owed you a letter since shortly after you went to the Army. Long time no see - or write either. To kind of catch you up with things in our family, we have an irrigated 80 acres here (paid for)in this valley within 1 hours ride of where you can kill a deer. Like it here fine good climate never down to zero last winter nor up to 90 last summer. Lots of fruit etc and plent hunting & trout fishing. I work on Thursday at the Delta sales yard and hope to sell my place and buy a sales yard of my own this winter- maybe - if I can get my price and buy the same way."

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"We now have a grand total of five - four boys &1 girl. Dorothy never did forget you. She is in the sixth grade now and realy getting big. Tad is in the third grade and is a tough little hombre.

I am contemplating following papa Diones example - divorced his wife because she was overbearing. Ran a hunting camp this fall and took out some dudes. Every one done very well. I brot home a big bull elk for myself and a cow elk for Lena besides my deer. Canned 160 qts elk meat besides keeping a hind quarter fresh and giving some away. To me elk hunting is the greatest sport in the world. I use a 30-06 Savage super sporter. What do you think of the army

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guns as big game rifles?
Havn't saw Ralph or heard much from him. Thought he would be out. Lenas brother Marshall hopes to be home from Germany by xmas. He has been a guard at Goerings castle. Write that he killed 2 deer near there. Dave is in the far east and also expects to be home soon.
Hank Mills - world famous rodeo clown is a neighbor of mine. Also Jack Dempsay lived near here and went to the same school my kids do.
While our house is of logs it is finished nicely inside and we have electricity in house, barn, granery, yard light and have most of the electrical appliances. Has been snowing off and on the past (over)

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two days but not so very cold. Have possibility of 8 inches snow is a beautiful thing here as there is no wind to drift it.
What do you returned combat soldiers think of the things labor is doing? Are you going back to farming the home place? Is the corn all picked and how was it?
Before you get all settled down again, better come out and visit us -
We'll treat you so many different ways you would have to like one of them. This neighborhood is mostly young couples and we go in for house dances & card parties in a big way. Write soon, come see us or both.

Yours,
Vern Harrington (Signature)

Wish you the best of everything for hollidays"

The log house that he speaks of is the house where I was born of which my children and family have pictures of me standing in front. His idea about a sales yard become reality because when we left this location, we moved to Nucla, Colorado where he was assigned as a County Deputy Sheriff and Town Marshall. He opened a "sales yard" or "sales barn" in that location. The one thing that I did learn from the letter, is that we owned the property that he describes in the letter, I never knew but assumed that we rented that property but of course I was just a baby back then. When he mentioned that within a hour from the place and kill a deer, ride refers to horseback not by vehicle. What a great letter and I thank the Baker family.