1945 Road Trip V

After Dick got out of university a few years after this trip, he more or less settled in at my grandfather’s manufacturing company, where he worked the rest of his career in an industrial environment. All his life he remained fond of travel. It was only at the far end of his biography that fate found him once again farming hay, this time involved with his brothers in setting up a series of alfalfa fields, in the U.S.

Unmarked white envelope with four green 1¢ Canada stamps.

Addressed in pencil to: Doug E. DeWitt, 3482 Knollcrest Ave, Los Angeles 43, California, United States of America.

Saturday July 14, 1945

from
Dick DeWitt
℅ Bill Ferguson
RR#1
Kincardine
Ontario

Doug—

How are you? Is everything OK? I haven’t heard from anybody yet and I have wondered how everybody is. Maybe the lack of mail is due to the fact that I haven’t been in one place too long!

We got up here to the farm last Wednesday. The hay was ready to bring in and we started to work on it. There is Bill (Bruce’s cousin), Bruce, John (Bill’s brother), and myself working on the Hay. John helps Bill with his haying, and then Bill goes over and helps out at John’s farm, etc. with all the crops.

Bill’s farm has 100 acres and it keeps him busy. He has pigs, a few chickens, a few calves, sows and 7 cows. Bruce and I milk 2 each and Bill milks three every morning and night.

Last night we went down to Lake Huron, which is about three miles away, and did a bit of swimming. The air is pretty cool and so is the lake. When you go in swimming and come out you are warm, because of the cool air. The lake sure is a change from the ocean. It is nice and clean. There are no waves and the bottom slopes out slowly, thus making it possible to walk a long way out.

How is your job? We are getting up about the same time you do. How is the beach? Is the weather getting warmer.

Up to last night we have brought in about 20 loads of hay. He has one now which is 19' x 40' and the rafter is 18 feet high which is filled a little bit above the rafter. Yesterday we started pitching hay in a loft. We have a few loads in it also.

Many thing[s] are much cheaper up here. The exchange on an American dollar is ten cents. You can go in a store, buy a hamburger which costs ten cents, hand them an American dollar, an[d] they will give you the hamburger and an Canadian dollar. That’s pretty good!

When we came across the border we got our ration books. They ration sugar & preserves, & butter. Now they have started to ration meat. There is no shortage up here, and we can buy plenty to eat.

It is raining and storming right now, so there isn’t much to do. The rain up here isn’t like California rain. It most likely will rain for a few hours and then blow over. Anyway I hope so!

I guess that’s about all now. If you have time, drop me a line. Say hello to everyone for me. Thanks

Dick.