October 2, 1954 New Salem, Dickson Mounds and Smoking in the Tool Shed

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"I didn't get this written last night.  We and the Wattersons took another all-day trip today.  We first went to Springfield to see Lincoln's home and tomb.  The house was nothing out of the ordinary but the tomb is really impressive.  Then we drown out to New Salem State Park where the village of New Salem has been restored like it was in the days of Lincoln.

He owned a store there.  The cabins are all furnished as they were and there is only one that you can actually go into.  You have to look thru doors & windows into the rest.  They also had a covered wagon with a pair of white oxen hitched to it.  The children loved that.  There is a museum there too--full of Lincoln papers and museum pieces.  There is a lovely playground and picnic place.

David, Watty, Ann, Bobby & Bill at New Salem

From there we went to another state park called Dickson Mounds which is an old Indian burial ground.  The museum there is built around an excavated area where the Indian skeletons have been left in the ground as they were uncovered.

It was very interesting.  We ate supper there and then drove home in the dark.  Today was real hot but I hope it will be cooler tomorrow.

There is a tea at school tomorrow for new faculty people and I want to wear my brocade dress.  It will be plenty warm if the weather is like today.

I'll try to include a picture of the children.  We kept thinking we'd take some more and get better ones.  B wasn't very pleased with these.

I got my first Good Housekeeping last week.  They never did send me any notice about it but I guess that's because you subscribed to it for me.

Ann has learned several songs at school and can carry a tune now.  She comes home and sings them for me and Bob always had to be coaxed to sing anything for us.  He brings his school work home though and is real pleased about it.  There is to be a short meeting of kindergarten mothers on Monday and I want to go.

Tomorrow will be a busy day.  There is to be an extra speaker at church tomorrow while the Sunday School is going on and we want to go to that.  Then the tea in the afternoon and then we are invited to some friends' house for the evening.  B is showing his Japanese farming pictures to the University Agriculture boys on Monday night.

They have a party they call a "smoker" in the tool shed at the University farm.  All of them get corn cob pipes and they smoke & have fun.

This is such scribbling you may not be able to read it so I'd better just go to bed."

                  Love to you both,

                          Bonnie