Allison, Ill. March 1.
Bro. Charley. Well Charley I wisht you could of
been a long with us last night you and Mary the both of
you but I dont know if Mary would of liked to went a long
or not because we was over to the Martins and when your
in the same house with a lady that dresses like Mrs.
Martin a womman must feel pretty slopy a long the side of
them close Mrs. Martin wares and of corse I aint sane
that Mary cant look good when she wants to but this here
Mrs. Martin has got them all beat when it comes to close
but at that shes all ways talking a bout she wisht she
could get a hold of some close like Grace wares and only
last night she was after Grace to leave her borry 1 of
her dresses and ware it to a mask raid.
Well Charley Martin give us some
cock tales that he made them up him self and if a man
drunk 3 of them you would start down the dranege cannel
in a finger bold but he give us 2 of them and a few
bottles of beer and beffore the evening was over Mrs.
Martin was lerning Grace the ballad dance and you ought
to see Mrs. Martin dance Charley and its better than any
thing I ever seen down to the columbia but if Grace had
to make a liveing ballad danceing she would starv her
self to deth for lack of nothing to eat and they wasent
nothing in Martins house that she dident run in to it and
I bet if the chairs and tables could talk they would of
hollered murder.
Well we dident play no cards but
we fooled a round and done this in that and they turned
on the phonegraf and I and Mrs. Martin danced to gather
and I thot I had a arm full of flowers and then we set
down and talked and Martin ast me hadent I did nothing to
Hamilton for sending me that valentine and I says no I
hadent because I and Grace talked it over to gather and
Id told her all a bout it and I and her had made it up in
our mind to not do nothing more a bout it but just leave
the Hamiltons a lone and act like they wasent no such
peopl and then Mr. and Mrs. Martin both says they thot we
was suckers to leave Hamilton get off so easy when hed
inselted I and Grace so I says well I cant think of
nothing to do only go over there and bust him in the jaw
and Martin says well may be he could think up
some thing him
self and if he could think up a good 1 he would tell me
because he was my frend and dont like to see a man get
the worst of it and thats the kind of a friend to have
hey Charley. Martins entirely diffrent from a big
stiff which is to cheap to light up the lights in his
house when hes giveing a party.
Well Charley I wisht you and
Mary could see the Martins and I bet they aint no body
liveing near you thats as good Co. as them and I and
Grace is pretty lucky to have them liveing the next door
to us only we dont no more then brake even on neighbors
with the Hamiltons on the other side.
Best rgds. to Mary.
Your Bro.
Fred A. Gross.
Allison, Ill.
March 9.
Dear Charley. Well Charley I put 1 over on
Hamilton and of corse he wont never know who done it but
still in all it made him good and sore and this time I
seen him when he found out a bout it and I was laughing
at him only he couldent see me because I was where he
couldent see me.
Well Charley I will tell you
what I done and it was Martins idear and I will give him
creddit for it. Hamiltons got a automobile and they
been running it all winter because they got 1 of these
here tops on it thats just like a room you might say air
tight and glass insted of just curtins so they can run it
in the winter with out geting cold and then in the summer
they take the top part off of it and have a reglar
automobile. Well theys lots of evenings when
Hamilton leaves the automobile out side there house on
the st. in front of the house wile there in side the
house enjoin them self in the evening so Martin says why
dident I go after Hamiltons automobile and I ast him what
did he mean and he says take a knife over there some
night when the automobile was standing out the side by
the curb and cut the tires and if I cut the tires the air
would all come out of them and Hamilton would half to put
on some new tires so I says no I wouldent do that because
that would be destroying a mans property and I wouldent
mix up in nothing like that and take a chanct of geting
in bad down town so then Martin says Well if you dont
want to cut the tires theys still an other way yet that
you can let the air out of them and thats unscrew the
valves thats on the tires and the wind would come out but
they wouldent be no property destroyed because the air be
longs to me just as much is Hamilton only it would make
him awfull sore if he was in a hurry to go some wheres.
So the night beffore last I
pulled it off Charley and I had quiet a time doing it
because theys some fancy kind of valve on the tires thats
hard to get off and leave the air come out but I finely
done it while Hamilton and his wife and who ever was
there vissiting them was in the house and I was scarred
all the wile some body would see me on acct. of the
automobile bean lit up but no body seen me and when Id
pulled it off I snuck back over to my house and watched
out the window for Hamilton and his friends to come out
and finely they come and I wisht you could of herd him
Charley when he found out what had came off and he swore
right in front of his wife and a lady that was with them
and says it must be some of the kids in the neighbors
hood that done it because they wouldent no groan up man
pull some thing like that and thats where Mr. Hamilton
got fooled hey Charley because if I aint groan up yet I
guess I will be a gient when I get my groth hey Charley.
Well it took them over ½ a hour
to get there tires
blowed up again
and they sent the wommen folks in the house wile they
done the work and its a good thing the wommen wasent
where they could hear Hamilton talking all the wile or
theyd of thot he was trying to see how many wds. could he
make up and I will half to slip it to him Charley he can
cuss as good is the chief when the news papers gets after
the dept.
I guess that will hold Mr.
Hamilton a wile Charley and I bet he would of cust some
more if he could of saw me seting behind the window
lissining to him and I had the window part of the way
open and pretty near froze to deth but it was worth
freezeing to deth to lissen to the cheap stiff
rave. Well Charley him and Mrs. Hamilton and there
friends may be high socitey and so 4th but that dont stop
the air from runing out of there tires onct in a wile hey
Charley.
Well I guess I aint told you a
bout I and Grace is
going to give a
party and I thot we was all threw with partys for a wile
but Grace says that Mrs. Martin told her we ought to give
a hole lot of partys on acct. of us bean new peopl in
town and if we wanted to stand in good we should ought to
enter tane a good eel so wear going to give a party next
Fri. night only it wont be none of these here stew partys
or no ruff stuff but evry thing the best and up to the
date and Mrs. Martin has gave Grace a lot of tips a bout
how should a party be ran and I guess the peopl will
think wear as good is the Hamiltons or any of them swell
heads before wear threw but of corse we aint going to ast
the Hamiltons because I wouldent have them in the house.
This here partys going to cost
us some money but its like Mrs. Martin told Grace if you
want to live right you got to pay for it and they cant no
cheap skates get by with the right peopl in a place like
this here. Grace is going to serve them with sand
witchs and ice cream and coffee and cake only not no
cheap home made ice cream but get it from the drug store
and they will be 16 of us all to gather the Martins and
the Curtis and Carrys and some other nice peopl we met a
round here and you might say its the cream of Allison
socitey and of corse we got to play auction bridge whist
on acct. of that bean the swell game a round here tho it
aint near the game like cinch is.
Well Charley I wisht you and
Mary could be here for the party even if it would leave 1
couple out of the card game because with you here they
would be 18 of us includeing I and Grace but any way take
care of your self and regards to Mary.
Your Brother,
F. A. Gross.
Allison, Ill.
March 14
Brother Charley. Well Charley I guess I would be
better off if I was a cheap skate like some peopl and if
I was a cheap skate they wouldent of never nothing came
off like last night. Well Charley I been so sore
sense it come off that I was a bout to pull my gun on
some body with out naming no names but a man can be drove
so far Charley and not no father and if it wasent for
what would happen to Grace I would shoot this here
Hamilton full of led and take my medison only I dont
believe theys a jury in the world that would convict me
when I told them what he pulled off.
Well Charley theys a big
diffrunts between a joke and not a joke and if Hamilton
thinks that what he done was funny I feel sorry for him
but he dident do it because he thot it was funny Charley
but because he dont know how to do nothing but play mean
rotten tricks like sending me that valentine.
Grace wont never give no more
partys Charley and I dont never want to here the word
party so dont never tell me a bout no party Charley.
Well Charley we was seting in
the parlor I and Grace and waiting for Mr. and Mrs.
Martin and the rest of our guests to come and it was
geting kind a late and Grace kept sane a bout how late it
was geting and all of a sudden the telephone rung and I
went and ansered the bell and ast who was it and it was
Mrs. Martin and she saps to excuse her for calling up but
she couldent wait no longer to find out weather she
couldent do some thing for us and find out who was it and
I ast her what she ment who was it and she says she ment
who was it the krape was hanging on the front door for
and I says they wasent no krape on the front door and she
says Id better go and look and I went out there and sure
enough they was krape on the door like they was some body
dead. Charley come to find out the Curtis and the
Carrys and 2 or 3 other peopl was comeing to the party to
gather and just beffore they start it to ring the door
bell they noticed this here krape on the door and a
couple of the wommen pretty near fainted a way and finely
Curtis says lets ring the bell and find out whats
happened but Carry says no he dident feel like comeing in
to a house where they was krape on the door when he was
all drest up gay for a party so finely they decide it to
go over and ast the Martins if they knowed any thing a
bout it on acct. of them liveing next door.
Mrs. Martin screamed when they
told her a bout it and when her and Martin and the rest
of them come back and seen the krape again and Mrs.
Martin was pretty near haveing histericks so Martin took
her home and Martin says to the other peopl that it
looked like some thing awfull had happened and says evry
body had better go home and after a wile when Mrs. Martin
got back her nerve she would ring us up and find out what
could of happened and then she would call the rest of
them up and tell them a bout it. Well it wasent
till pretty near 10 a clock that she got her nerve up and
called up on the phone and then of corse we explained
that it was 1 of Hamiltons dirty tricks and Grace wanted
Mrs. Martin to come over and have the party and Grace
would call up the rest of the peopl and tell them a bout
it and we could have the party any way and better have
it late then
never but Mrs. Martin says her party close was all off
and hung up and it would be 2 hrs. beffore she could get
drest again so she was sorry that it had happened but
they wasent nothing she could do accept tell me that if
she was me and any body had put some thing like that over
on her she would of shot them full of holes so Grace
called up the Curtis and the Carrys and told them about
the miss take but some of them was like Mrs. Martin with
there party close off of them and hung up all ready and
they all says they was so worried a bout seen the krape
that they couldent come now even if they was drest and
they says theyd been seting up to hear from Mrs. Martin a
bout what had happened and they wouldent of never been
able to sleep if some thing had of relay happened but now
they was so releived that they thot they would try and go
to sleep and forget it and so 4th.
Well Charley that was all right
and nice of them to feel so sorry for us but what a bout
the refreshmunts and the 3 qts. of ice cream from the
drug store and it was there best stuff 40 cts. a qt. and
how a bout the 2 new decks of cards we had boughten for
the party and how a bout I and Grace going to all that
trubble and dressing up swell and so 4th. Well
Charley Mrs. Martin says we should ought to posepone the
party and have it some other night but Grace says she was
threw with partys and I says the next 1 that says some
thing to me a bout a party would get a crack in the jaw.
Thats what a man gets for not
bean no cheap skate Charley and if I had of been a cheap
skate and left the light off on the front porch like
Hamilton done the cheap stiff the 1st. peopl that got
there wouldent of saw the krape and would of rang the
door bell and then ether I or Grace would of went to the
door and they wouldent of been no trubble.
Well Charley Im trying my best
to hold on to my temper so as I wont go over to Hamiltons
house and shoot him up but as Grace says it probly wasent
Mrs. Hamiltons falt but just Hamilton him self and I
wouldent have no right to make a widow out of her just
because her husband aint no good and a speshuly when I
dont know weather hes going to leave his wife enough to
live on.
But I guess you know me well
enough to know that he aint going to get by with out no
come back and I will pull off some thing on him that will
make him wisht he had treated I and Grace with respect
and I feel like going right over to there house and
hanging the krape on there own door and see how they like
it only Grace says whats the use of giveing them back
there krape because I and her cant live for ever and it
dont do no harm keeping some a round the house.
Well Charley wait till I get
back at him and regards to Mary.
Your Bro. F.
A. Gross.
 
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