[Headlines from The New York Times (page 1, above the fold) to place the letters in context of the world around them.]
1/9/21 MRS. W.K. VANDERBILT TO LIVE IN AVENUE A
Quitting 5th Av., Buys Home in Sutton Place, at Foot of East 57th Street. JOINS THE NEW COLONY East Side Section to Become a Centre for New York Society Leaders.
Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt plans to lead an exodus of society from Fifth Avenue and elsewhere to Avenue A
FINDS WIFE REWED AFTER 13 YEARS
Husband Supposed to Be Dead Reappears, Chats a Few Moments and Departs. SHE LOVES HIM NO MORE
The National Hotel
John Bertram, Proprietor
Bath, New York., Jan 9, 1921
European Plan Only
My Darling,
I have just come to my room from morning preaching service and will start a letter to you so it will go out at four o'clock this afternoon. I am enclosing a church calendar. It was communion service here and I wonder if you had communion at home church. You are just about this time having your opening Sunday school exercises and my thoughts are with all the dear ones at home on this perfectly wonderful day. It is quite a cool bracing air, but bright and beautiful with hardly a trace of snow to be seen. The people at church were
very cordial and urged me to stay for Sunday school but I have some writing I want to do and I want to get out for a walk this afternoon. May walk up to the Soldiers Home, or I may go in another direction and visit a fine Holstein farm. Which do you think I'll do? My mind goes back to the Sunday I spent in Bath. It must have been 12 years ago. At that time I visited the Old Soldiers Home and I watched the big army of old men file into the dining room and also attended their service. It must be that their members are pretty well reduced by this time. I attended same church as this morning and remained for S.S. The man who was Sup at that time died about four years ago. It is one of the most elegant churches I've ever been in. I imagine a big part of the cost of the building was borne by the Davenport family as I noticed a beautiful bronze tablet to their memory. There is a splendid orphans home here for girls and there are about 150 girls being cared for at present time. The entire expense is cared for by this Davenport family. Isn't it a wonderful work, and doesn't it show the wonderful good that can be accomplished by wealth in the right people's hands?
You see, I didn't get to my town I gave you for Sunday, so I have no mail from you. Couldn't see Cohn the clothier yesterday, so I'm staying over to see him tomorrow morning. It really seems as though I had been on the road a month or more. It seems sort of like a dream, but the disappointments have been rather real to seem much like a dream. Yesterday I was not by any means 100% right, but I stood it out. Went to bed at 10:30 and got up just in time to get a very light breakfast and hurry over to church. I'm feeling better today. I wanted to go home from Corning yesterday, but it's best to stay out. It costs about 4 per mile to travel these days. It doesn't please me too well to think that I’m to get a smaller commission this year, while my travelling expenses are higher than ever. It is certainly up to me to be careful with expenses. One of the things that made me feel down the mouth yesterday was when I went into a store in Corning yesterday morning to buy some collars to find out that I had lost my pocketbook. I must have laid it down somewhere in Dickinson Hotel when making some purchase for I didn't have an occasion to use it anywhere else. I made thorough search and enquiry but no one had seen it. It was picked up by someone. Fortunately I didn't have a big sum of money, but losing it made me feel pretty sore for someone simply picked it up and made no effort to find owner. It's the first time I've ever lost any money since I've been on the road and I hope it will be the last.
Forgive me for scolding dear Louise about her gloves.
I can hardly understand why my sales are falling off so terribly from last year. Last year it seemed to be my fortune in the first two or three weeks to get just about everywhere at the right time, and this year at the wrong time. This year, most buyers are sore and displeased to think that prices are not lower than last year and some are going to wait till later in spite of all I can say about guaranteed price. If Frank [John’s brother who is also a salesman for the Osbourne Company] is having a good business, I congratulate him most heartily. If he isn't, I pity him. It must be an awful hard game this year to go up against entirely new people with the feeling about prices, as I find it in my territory.
Despite my bad sales, please don't, Sue, get the impression that I am disgruntled and unhappy. I am just trying every day to be smiling and happy and I go in to see my customers in that spirit, although I know at times I am not buoyant and 100% right. There are thousands of men without jobs at this time. My dear family and their love give me courage and happiness. Send me on the girl's letters and tell them I'm sorry I scolded them. I ought to write to them, but you can tell them that I'm all right.
My sales the past week were about $1251. I ought to write to Bro Frank today, but I guess I won't for I fear I would write something that would not encourage him. I'll wait until I hear from him
Your loving,
John
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