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| Bham Aug 10 - 36 Dear Oma;- I have Re- ceived 3 cards from you This is ans. to your reques I went home as usual Sat. weather good but hot The boys came in Fri. night had a big time but it did not Seem like home and you gone I don't know any thing to write every thing a bout as you left it I am well and Still on the Job we hauld in Some Sills Sat. for house [page 2] Old man Swats had a Stroke and is bout to die the Old woman over on the rad was found dead I may have to go to Six days a wek Some time Soon I signed a contrack for my Shack at a Dller per month and hope to Stay there quite a while I hope you will have a big time but dont for get me I will close with much Love Oakley | In 1936, modern interstate highway travel did not exist. Traveling the U.S by rail was common since 1870 . As an employee of the railroad, Oakley's family had free passage. Oma enjoyed going to New York, California, even Canada for free. She sold her crafts to help pay for other expenses. While on this particular trip to California, she wrote home to ask how things were going. In his reply, Oakley told her the local news then mentioned that he and sons "hauld in Some Sills Sat. for house." He built his home out of logs and finished it with mill sawn lumber. My father recalls surfacing those logs, floor joists, with what he called a "foot adze", a sort of axe shaped like a hoe or mattock for chipping away wood. My father, Wilburn Glenwood Vincent, used the tool to get the logs level enough to nail down floor boards. Oakely also mentions his "shack" at work which he rented for $1 a month. My father said it wasn't much more than a crude shelter but Oakley slept there all week while at work then returned home on weekends. |