Chicago, May 3--
Brother Charley. I bet when you here what I &
Grace has made up our minds you & Mary will wisht you
was doing the same thing or may be you will follow our
exampel & do the same thing & I hope you will
because its the only way to live when you got childern.
Charley we made up our minds to
buy a place some wheres out in the subburbs & build a
house not a grate big house of corse but a house where a
man can move a round in with out bumping in to the walls
all the wile and have enough ground so the childern wont
half to be cooped up all the day like in a flat but can
run around & get some exxersise.
The other day the Walters come
to see us & stayed all p m & little Ed & the
baby both of them hollered all the wile they was there
& when the Walters had went I says to Grace its a
bout time you lerned them babys to shut there mouth when
we got Co. & says I can't do nothing with them
because there cooped up in the flat all day & dont
never get out & how can you expect them to be nothing
but cross & mean all the wile. She says you are
makeing good money now & I dont see why is it we cant
find a place out in the country some wheres & live
there & it wouldent take you no longer to get to work
then it does now with this rotten L servus.
So I says well when our lease
runs out in Oct. I will look a round in some of them
subburbs & see can we rent a house reasonible or may
be we can buy a little 1 on payments. Then Grace
says lets buy a lot some wheres & build our own house
& I says what do you think I am rockefellow & she
says no but you dont half to be rockefellow to build a
house now days because you can borry the money & pay
it back a little to a time & just like paying rent
only your getting more for your money. Then she
says and besides I got $500 in the bank that you can take
& how much you got in the bank your self. I had
got out my bank book & seen where I had a bout $300
& with her $500 that makes a bout $800 & we can
get a nice lot some wheres for that amt. & then pay
for the house by the mo. & build a bungello say
costing $1200 and have it all payed for in 1 yr. by
paying $25 per wk. & meen time we can live on $25 per
wk. & cut down on cloths & nickle shows &
groserys.
I am going to get off tomorrow p
m and Annies comeing over to look out for the babys while
I & Grace gos to 1 of the subburbs & we are going
to look them all over 1 to a time before we chose the 1
we want so it may be will be 2 or 3 mos. before I can
write & tell you where are we going to locat
at. But now I cant hardly wait till we got our lot
& started to build our bungello because a man aint
realy liveing when he is liveing in a flat &
espeshaly when youve got childern. You better get busy
Charley & get in to the game.
Kindest to
Mary.
Fred A. Gross.
Chicago, May
5--
Brother Charley. I dident think I would be
writeing you this news so quick but we got our lot all
ready & its out to Allison 16 mi. west of the Loop on
the c d & x & it dont only take 4O min. for the
trains to come in to town & it takes me 35 min. now
to go in on the L. We was going to look over all
the subburbs but Allison was the 1st. 1 on the list &
Grace got stuck on it right a way & so did I & we
went a round with the real estate man & he showed us
some swell lots & 1 that you couldent get a way from
because it was big & roomy & 3 big trees on it
that the real estate man says is maple & a real
bargun because its 100 ft. frontidge & 150 ft. deep
& only $1500 & we can pay for it when ever we get
ready provideing its in side of 2 yrs. & thats easy.
I had $100 a long with me when
we went out & when I seen what a bargun we was gettin
& the real estate man says we better hurry if we
wanted it because some body else was libel to see it
& cop it out so I give the real estate man the $100
to bind the bargun & he is going to get the papers
fixed up today & then I will give him the other $700
we got saved in the bank & then we can borry the
money to build the bungello & pay
that back a mo.
at a time & finnish up paying for the lot after
words. We figure that in 2 yrs. we will be all
cleaned up & have our own home & not be worring a
bout no rent onct a mo. & they'll be room for the
kids to play a round all day with out no danger of them
being ran over by a st. car or some thing.
I got a date with the real
estate man to get the papers fixed up & must hurry
down town. You better get busy Charley & get in to
the game.
Kindest to
Mary.
Fred A. Gross.
Chicago, May
7--
Dear Charley. Well Charley I guess I was in to
much of a hurry & it dont look now like we would
start building this summer but will half to wait till
later on. I dident know how they done them things
but found out that theys a lot of red tape & you cant
do them things in no hurry like I thot. The real
estate man dident have no papers fixed up the day before
yest. like he promused but had them fixed up yest. &
he give me the warranty deed or what ever it is they call
it & I give him my note for $700. for the rest of
what we owe on the lot & the notes for 2yrs with 6%
int. per annum & all so cost me $25. to get what they
call a garantee polisy from the title & trust Co.
which garantees that the title is o k & they cant no
body take the lot a way from me un less I dont pay up the
bal. which of corse I will pay up as soon is posable.
Well after this was fixed up I
went a round to the bank where I had my saveings at &
went to the real estate dept. & seen the man there
and asked him did they make building lones & the man
says yes. Well I says I want to borry $1200 to
build a bungello out to Allison & he says do you own
a lot & I says yes & he says let me take a look
at your papers so I show him my papers & he says yes
you own a lot all but paying $700 more on it. I
says yes but I own it because there is the deed & the
garantee polisy & when I get threw paying you back
what you lone me to build the house I will pay off the
bal. on the lot & he says o no you wont because we
dont do no busness that way & 1st. you got to pay off
what you owe on the lot & then may be we can fix it
up a bout a building lone but I wont promus nothing. Well
I argude with him but nothing doing & when I come
home & told Grace I thot shed cry her eyes
out but finely
we seen they wasent no use in that so all we can do now
is save up & pay off the $700 we still owe on the lot
& then we can start building & meen time we can
be planing the bungello & we figure that we can save
$30 per wk. in sted of $25 if we live pretty clost &
can have the lot payed for in less than 6 mos. & that
will be in Nov. & we can be all ready to start
building & get the foundashun layed before real cold
weather & then the carpenters can finnish up dureing
the winter & we can be in the house next spring &
we will half to renew our lease for 6 mos. but we dont
care nothing a bout that because it aint so bad liveing
in a flat dureing winter when the kids couldent be out
much any way.
Kindest rgds.
to Mary.
F. A. Gross.
Chicago, Nov.
2--
Brother Charley. Well Charley we got our lot payed
for sooner then we figured & its all payed for now
because Graces old man come acrost on her berth day &
give her $100 & says it was for her to buy cloths
with but she says we would stick it right in to the lot
& the old man wouldent never know the dffrence &
I says all right thats fine. But the man that owned
the lot before we got it stuck us up for $20 int. & I
dident see how they could be int. when we dident yet have
the lot no where near a yr. but the real estate man says
it was right & what could I do.
But we aint going to build no
bungello after all because Grace lerned from her brothers
wife Gus Walters that bungellos was all out of date &
no good & they wasent no room in them & if you
was going to build a house why not build a good 1.
So we been talking to & young archateck & he says
we can put up a swell 2 story house for $2000 & he
will draw up the plans & see that the house is built
o k & all we half to give him is 5% of what the house
cost or $100 & he will over look the hole busness
& hes a good archateck all right because he graduated
out of the univ. & got his office way up on pretty
near the top flr. of the Jackson bldg. Him and
Grace has been figureing out plans for the house all
yest. & today & I am going down to the bank as
soon as they get there plans all fixed up & the
contrack let & fix up a bout the lone & they wont
be no trouble a bout it now because I got the rec. in
full for the lot & dont owe nothing. The
archateck says he will have the plans drawed up in a day
or 2 & the contrack let before the end of the wk.
& he says it should ought to be easy to get a
contrackter cheap now because its the dull season &
if the work is huryed a long they can get the foundashun
in before real cold weather & the house finnished by
the middle of march & our lease is till the 1 of May
but may be I can get rid of it the 1 of march by sub
leaseing it to some body else.
Well Charley we wont be able to
do no high flying for the next couple yrs. because we got
to keep on puting a way $30. per wk. & if we can do
that we should ought to have the hole thing payed for
archateck & all in less then lyr. & 1/2 int.
incluseive & I figure the hole thing includeing the
lot will amt. to a bout $3700 & thats a lot of money
but look what wear geting a nice home of our own where
decent people lives & a big yd. where we can let the
kids run a raund & may be raise chickens & have a
garden. I guess thats better than paying $25 per
mo. rent & being cooped up in a 4 room flat eh
Charley.
Kindest to
Mary.
Fred A. Gross.
Chicago, Nov.
15--
Dear Charley. Charley wear going to have some
house. The plans is drawed & the contrack let
& there going to begin building tommorrow that is
brakeing ground for the foundashun if I can get things
fixed up down to the bank this p m. Ive gave thie
archateck $25 as 1st payment for his work & I dont
half to give him the other $75 till 30 days after the
house is done next march.
I will tell you a bout the house
Charley & you can see how swell wear going to be
fixed up. The house is going to have 7 rms. 3 down
stares & 4 up stares. Down stares they will be
the parler & the dining rm. & kichen & up
stares a rm. for I & Grace & a rm. for the kids
& a rm. where you & Mary can sleep when you come
to vissit us & a rm. for the hired girl if we ever
have 1. Then of corse they will be a bath rm. The
house is 2 storys besides the cellar & the house is
going to be wood painted green & a frt. & back
porch. It will be het with hot water from the
boiler down cellar & besides we will have a fire
place in the parlor. They will be gas & electrick
lts. & all moderate conveenyenses. Its going to
be set bk. 50 ft. off the st. & that will give us a
big lawn beside a big bk. yd. where we can have chickens
& a garden.
Its all in the contrack &
the contracker cant get a way from it because if he does
he wont get no money & the $2000 includs evry thing
& hes got to be all done with the house by the 1 of
march & the archateck over looks evry thing &
sees that all the work is o k so I dont half to do no
worring but all I half to do is to pay so much per wk.
down to the bank. If Id knew how easy it was Id of
build a house long a go but I thot a man should ought to
know some thing a bout building him self before he
tackeld it but a man dont half to know nothing because
the archateck takes it all off of his hands & does
all the worring for $100. Well Charley I got to
shave & go down to the bank. You better get
busy & get in to the game Charley & dont stay
cooped up in a flat all your life.
Best rgds. to
Mary.
F. A. Gross.
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