February 4, 1944

2/4/44

Dear folks,
Here I am again. My letters don’t get off to such a good start as they used to. They have quit going down with the mail in the afternoon and so the only trip is in the morning about 9:30 and I get your letters then and answer them in the afternoon and they don’t go out till the next day. I used to get them out in the afternoon mail. They quit the afternoon mail trip on account of the gass siruation. The guys above our boss have been trying to get us to use less but hadn’t made much impression and then the rationing department or something or other cut the O & C’s gas in half for Jan. Well the project supt. got all excited about it and is trying to cut down. But they try mostly on things that benefit us COs. The big shot from Portland still drives down and they drive all around to the side camps in his car and don’t worry about gas. That’s the Gov’t men for you. We aren’t worrying about it. We figure that they have us to get work out of and if it takes gas they will get the gas when they find out they can’t bluff us into cutting down any more. That’s enough gass.
I got a letter from Harry today. He seems to be feeling better about loosing Norma since he has been running around a bit with some other girls. He has probably told you about it.
I’d like to see Mom with her stylish glasses and wine colored chai covers.
I’m figuring on coming home next May again. I will have 30 days by then. I scared stiff that they will shut off furloughs about that time like they did last April. That’s one bad thing about saving up so much furlough. If CPS should collapse and they might take a notion to let us all work in the ship yards or something that I wouldn’t want to do. They are getting a little hard up for men now. If somebody would happen to notice all of us nice ablebodied guys just fooling around doing work of national importance they might get somebody to revise the meaning of national importance. Don’t worry about that, I don’t.
Is you weather more like it should be by now? We are having a little Oregon weather this week but it isn’t too steady tho.
Dad sure wrote me a farm letter last time. All the pigs and what he is feeding them. I had forgotten how much they could eat. I think that ‘Nedra’s Calf” having a calf is good news, I thought that there never were going to be any cows out of that deal. Now maybe you will get some milk production in the heard. A little milk wouldn’t hurt. That’s a heck of a note about the baled straw. But save it then you can combine the oats and have some good bedding left from this year.
When does Harry have to come home and go to work? I wonder if he will want to.
Well, so long for another week,

Love,
Bernard