May 4, 1968 The Big Boys, The Old Fashioned Melodrama, The Good Job and The Party

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"We're still having pretty days but it's getting dry and we need rain. I set out 4 tomato plants yesterday--early big boys--so maybe we'll have some of our own.  The iris bed was such a mess of grass I just dug it all up. I thought I'd save some of the iris but they were full of bores so I saved only a few. None of them were big enough to bloom. That's where I made my garden of tomatoes. There's a bloom on one of them & buds on another so they must be early ones.

Things are sure popping around here. There is so much to do I don't know where to start. Every chance I get I look for a dress for the wedding but still haven't found anything. Maybe I told you I had bought a piece of beautiful pink dacron crepe in case I can't find a dress already made. I bought a pattern too & tried it out on a piece of rayon this week. It's a pretty pattern but it won't look right for the wedding so that's out. The dress isn't quite finished but I can tell how it looks. Ann's cotton print is almost done. She sews a bit on things then I usually have to finish them. She has as much to do as I do, though.

We went to the high school play last night and she is in that. It is an old fashioned melodrama with a villain. Ann and her music teacher provide music all thru the thing. He plays the violin & she has the piano fixed so it sounds like an old fashioned player. They play old music & the whole thing is so funny I laughed till I cried. When Ann got dressed up she looked like Kitty on Gunsmoke. We put her hair in curls & she really looked cute.

Toni has gone to work as a bookkeeper for a dry goods store in Bloomington. The man who owns it lives across the street from her & when his bookkeeper left he asked Toni to help out. It's a good job and I'm real happy for her.

I enjoyed the church paper but I don't know whether I'd know any of the people mentioned or not. I never did know Mary Lou Murphy--have seen her with Clara but wouldn't recognize her. Does Jimmy come to church regularly now? We didn't see any of his family when we were home.

A missionary we knew in Japan is to speak at Wesleyan this week and I'd like to go but don't know whether we can or not. He was one of the first ones to go into Korea after the war and left his family in Japan until they were all permitted to go to Korea. They have been there ever since. They are Illinois people & have been back to visit several times but we've never seen them. They are Methodists.

I'm so glad Daddy is getting new glasses and really hope they help. I have to use mine to read all of the time now but still can't see things at a distance with them.

What kind & size button do you want? I'll probably be able to find some.

I'm anxious to see my quilt top but wouldn't be able to even sew a stitch on it until fall so I'll get it sometime this summer, maybe. Bob said they might try to stop in Richland at the end of their trip & maybe we could meet them there. We'll just have to wait & see.

The clipping was on a page about prom dresses. The reporter wanted to show that a dress could be made at home and be as nice as what the girls buy. This is Ann's last year's dress but the reporter didn't care & didn't mention it.

She has gone to a party this morning for senior girls and there is another performance of the play tonight. She wants to wash her hair & do it up again in curls this afternoon. It does fine in rags but that is hard to do. I wish I had some of those old kind of curlers.

Hope both of you are feeling real fine."

                  Lots of love,

                        Bonnie


NOTE:  In the news, James Earl Ray.

3rd Grade, hiding his face, left side of the polka dot dress