Shullsburg Wis.
June 26, 1944.
Dear Howard,
I guess I won’t need to write any more after today, you will be home after a day or two. I hope you are not having as bad storms down there as we are up here. We went to Belmont yesterday afternoon to see the wreck and I never saw such a jam in my life, the cars were lined up for 2 miles out on all roads and only a few cars could move at a time. Soldiers have charge of things up there and the worst of it was there were 2 storms brewing by the time we got almost there. One went around, but we got caught in the other one, there was nothing anyone could do but stay in the line of traffic and take it. I thought there wouldn’t be a gear left in Willie’s car. He got so nervous moving along by a few feet at a time in that storm.
And then it started to hail, they were the largest hails I ever saw in my life. When they hit the top of the car, they sounded just like baseballs. Some of them were as large as small hens eggs. It was very fortunate that there wasn’t so much of it. We could just crawl in there, go around the block with the procession and crawl out again, no one was allowed to stop or they would have had a terrible traffic jam. Junior said they had broadcast on the radio and asked people not to come there Sunday but we didn’t hear that. Junior & Genalda didn’t know there had been a tornado at Belmont, until 1 o’clock in the, he was called out to do something to it with a truck they needed. He said there wasn’t much of anything left at Rate’s but the house and barn. Charlie was in the barn stripping out a cow that had a calf and he saw the barn raise up on the fondation and settle down again but across the road it took that big barn, so they had a very narrow escape.
There was a bad sounding storm out in the North last evening, it roared out there for more than an hour. Junior & Genalda didn’t leave for home until 10 o’clock and it seemed to be over by then. I told them if their house was gone they may get home to come back again. Junior said one man up there said, he was in the basement when he saw his house go right straight up in the air about 90 ft. and then seem to explode and fly all to pieces but he didn’t get hurt. Some of those people up there couldn’t even divide the boards of their homes. They couldn’t tell which was which and at that farm place where all were killed but a 14 year old boy, there is nothing left except the silo, not even the trees. Well I don’t think I know any news except weather again. Jimmy said tell Howard to come up when he comes home and I will see his suit. Bob is a great bug killer, he is not afraid of them and goes right after them but is afraid of thunder. Runs to Daddy every time he hears it thunder. The little chickens are all fine. There was something after them again last night. I think it was a skunk. Don’t fix your mouth to much for straw-berries. They are gone now and were very scarce when in season but there is plenty beef steak. Well I must close.
Love,
Mom
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