Addressed to…
Mrs. Mary L. Buswell, R.F.D. #1, Sioux Falls, SD

Toppenish, Wash. • Aug. 9 – 08
Dear Mother,

I received your letter of the 2nd inst. on Sat. instead of Friday this time. I was working yesterday and 1/2 the day before on a grand stand for a ball park and will probably work there tomorrow. I have a chance to work at two different places. Both are waiting for material which will probably be here in a day or two.

There is another business block to be built in Zillah [Washington]. They say there will be a bank there. The Odd Fellows in Zillah have finished the foundation to their building and have begun on the walls which are concrete blocks.

They have already rented one of the store rooms down stairs — (there is one small one on the side street left) — and two of the four office rooms upstairs. There are two large school houses to be built in Toppenish as soon as the bids are made and the contracts are awarded. Also several residences.

A number of the people say that there will be considerable building as soon as the weather is cooler. From what I have seen of the summer here, I think it is very pleasant. There are only a few days so far when we don’t have a breeze and it is always cool when there is a breeze.

The mountains do not show up very well in the hot weather. There is a sort of haze something like we have at home in the indian summer. We cannot see much but a dim outline of the mts. and sometimes only of those near by.

Mr. R. is a good cook. He used to work in hotels and restaurants. I wash the dishes and clean up.

I heard that Jonas C. was going to marry Miss C. before I came away, but I did not place much confidence in the report. Probably it is the same old story revived.

I rather expected Buchanans to come back to the farm soon. Does Fred expect to have his oats threshed or will he feed them in the bundle? How many acres did he have?

I received the Building Estimator all right, also the C&B and the bundle of the Press. [Probably he means a S.D. local newspaper — maybe Yankton Press & Dakotan, if it was in regular publication at the time, another thing #needsresearch.]

Did you send the Review of Reviews? I did not get the McClures this month as I did not go after it until they were all gone. [This must have been a periodical publication. Just coincidence that we have distant relatives last name of McClure?]

I do not think that General Kuropatkin will tell anything that the Russian Govt does not want told unless he has left Russia.

Your loving son,
W.J. Buswell

I found another nickel last night. Did you have the last film developed that I sent home? Please put this paper away for me.

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Will seems to have been an avid news reader and followed the political issues of his day. fyi: Alexei N. Kuropatkin was the Russian Imperial Minister of War from 1898 to 1904. He was also involved in a Russian conflict with Japan, and a commander during WWI — which hasn’t started yet, as of 1908.

The recipient wrote “Shurtlef Shurtleff concert” on the back of the envelope. Random trivia: letter postage in the USA at the time was 2 cents for first class. That included the envelope, as the envelope was purchased from the Toppenish P.O. with postal imprint printed in red ink and embossed.