May 6, 1956 The Barberry Bushes, The Violet Patch, The Recital and The Cub Scouts

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"This has been quite a day and I'm beginning to feel it.  I painted most of the day, then did some cleaning and after supper we moved some barberry bushes.  The boys volunteered to build us a sidewalk when they pour the garage floor so we jumped at the chance to get it done.  The bushes were right in the way so had to be moved.  There were six of them and we had a hard time finding places to put them.  B spent much of the afternoon looking for shingles to match the ones on the house.  It looks like we won't find them.  They were a special order in the first place and are 4 in 1 shingles and no one in town has them, much less the color.  It's a green blend so we'll look a little more before we give up.

We've had a few nice days and our tulips are beginning to bloom at last. 

The kids spend hours picking violets and dandelions on a vacant lot near here.  There are some old apple trees there too so we get apple blossom bouquets, too.

I'm so sorry about Dona.  It must have been a real big funeral if all their family came.  Did Francis Jr. have to go to Kansas City to get Roger?  I never did hear from Ruth after I sent the gifts to the babies.  I hope she got them.  Their address is so long that I always wonder if it's right.

Bob's recital was real nice.  B didn't get to go because there was a meeting to try to organize Bob's class into Cub Scouts.  One parent had to be there.  They hold their first meeting tomorrow.  Bob is real interested now but I don't know how long it will last.

The children don't say much about school being out.  Bob signed up for summer school and Ann wants to go but we haven't heard yet whether there will be room for her or not.  They take only a few kindergarten children in the summer.

Pretzel is fine again.  He's just like one of the kids--sick one day and well the next.  He was sort of droopy for a few days afterward.

Toni and Watty bought a lot and are planning to build.  Toni didn't want to but wanted a house so badly she said she'd go along with anything.  They are going to learn the hard way.  Toni said Watty will be a nervous wreck by the time they're finished.  They hope to begin building by mid-summer but it depends on the settlement of the estate.  It supposedly is to be done in June but Granny told me the children were suing to break the will and that will take longer.

Did you get another Hudson?  You didn't say.

Hope you both are fine.  Take care of yourselves."

        Lots of love,

              Bonnie


NOTES:  When I found this obituary, I realized that I had been writing Dona's name as "Dana" all along.  I never knew who she was but know now that she was our Aunt Bessie's mother--Bessie was my mother's sister-in-law, the wife of her brother, Francis. 

The barberry bushes were moved to the back corner of the yard, under a grove a trees.  I had plenty of thorns removed from my back side and knees, climbing and falling from the trees.  The vacant lot was referred to as the "violet patch" and was a wonderful place to play.  It was solid purple during the spring.

As for scouting,  Bobby stuck with it and reached the rank of Eagle.