1890 From [maternal] Grandma Thomson to Frank & his mother Halie [Mahala] Hamblin

McPherson Iowa Oct 31st 90

Dear Grand Son

I rec your very welcome letter some time was not able to answer it then but will try to now

We are all well at this time of writing hoping this may find you all enjoying good health we have had a poor dry season have not raised very good crops and our hay crop was almost a failure.
We cut the grass from 40 arcres of meadow and had only about ten tons of hay so you see that was next thing to a failure we drove forty head of cattle to Union ? and got them pastured and the rest of our cattle and horses we have had to feed them corn for about two months we only had four bush of apples when we gathered them the corn crop is generally poor through I’a and else where it was the driest summer we have ever known in I’a stock water was very scarce

There is a considerable sickness around through the country. John Steel[,] Kate Cochrans husband has been very sick with Typoid Fever for over a month and as not considered out of danger yet. Frank Cochran has very poor health he has kidney disease is not able to labor any has been sick over a year I fear he will not get well his sickness was caused by a fall he is a nice boy

Emma [Frank B's sister b.1871] was over to your aunts ?? not long ago they were all well the rest of your relatives are well Frank it does seem so good to get a letter from you I often get that little letter that don’t
you remember printing one it was nice Grand Pa and me when you lived in Oswego I think it is awful nice I would not like to part with it I do hope that you will write often you and Emma. I would so well like to see you both in fact all of you I will have to draw my letter to a close by wishing you good night much love to you all write often

Your Grand Ma L C [Lydia Charlotte] Thomson

Dear Halie [Mahala, Frank B.'s mother] I thought I could not finish this letter without writing some to you concerning those nuts and roots owing to the late frost in the spring and the dry summer There was no mast [nuts?] we hunted every where and inquired of a gret many that came to the Office and others they all said there was no nuts in the country so we done the next best thing, those walnuts grew on the walnut trees that you and I [planted] east of the north orchard they were the only ones I knew of in the country and they were only a few. I commenced to wrap them up in the rags but pa thought they would be better to plant with the hulls on so we sent them that way we did not save any plum seed so we sent you some plum sprouts the weaver plum they are nice plum almost eaqual to a peach we sent you some [?] Black berries some red raspberries we fetched them from Sam Hemsted also some Black caps Rasberries and some currants a Peony a flowering almond, a Lilac Thre kind of lilies the ones that was in one end of the box looked like potatoes is a Lillie, that I got from Aunt Sarah Mamby all of these are perfectly hardy live out doors all winter with little protection I would mulch them some there was one Lillie had rather a long root it is a house plant it will grow out doors in

Halie I sent you two plums seeds that I had planted they are the weaver plum I think that they will grow for I plant plums [?] all and those little red berries in the package are asperagus seeds the girls say that you must name the rose bushes after them.