Free Dancing In a Jar by Poynter Adele Page A

Everything we bought there will be put to good use when we finally get our own house. It all seems like an extravagance now—especially the bathroom fittings since there is no pipe to go with it. My biggest debt, of course, is for the transit and I have let them know it will be paid in full in due course.
    Insurance and taxes at Wayne Place will have to wait, I’m afraid. I have asked Edith to send me the details on the City Opera and I am committed to helping her when I can.
    This is the situation for now. Urla wants to order some seeds and we cannot even do that. So we all have to be patient and hope that Siebert comes through soon.
    As ever,
Donald
    St. Lawrence Corporation Ltd.
St. Lawrence, Newfoundland
    March 31, 1934
    Dear Mom, Pop and all the crew,
    I’m writing much earlier than I expected but it’s been a banner day in St. Lawrence. The steamer has made it through to pick up 1,840 tons of fluorspar for Nova Scotia. It’s been one hell of an effort, but here we are. The men are proud and Doc and I are proud. We are all exhausted.
    It’s been fascinating to watch the piles of spar grow on the wharf. People come down just to pick it up and look at the beauty of each piece. There is every shade from pale pink and yellow, right through to bright green. We all come home from the mine so wet and dirty it seems inconceivable that we could be mining something so beautiful. I picked a particularly brilliant piece I hope to have made into a pendant for Urla.
    The town turned out en masse to watch the loading operation. We laid down rails for the little cars to haul the fluorspar right into the hull. Now keep your fingers crossed that DOSCO will be happy.
    That’s it from my corner of the world today.
    As ever,
Donald
    TELEGRAPH
TO DA POYNTER
APRIL 3 1934
ST LAWRENCE NEWFOUNDLAND
    MONEY HAS BEEN WIRED TO BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA
WATER STREET STOP DOSCO HAPPY STOP GOOD TO GO
STOP BEST WALTER FULL STOP
    St. Lawrence, Newfoundland
    April 6, 1934
    Dear Mother,
    What a delight to receive your package yesterday. Our mail boats have been very irregular all winter. Sometimes we get two a week and sometimes none for several weeks. We all watch the Cape to see her come around and then the telegraph office gets word that the vessel is storm bound ten miles east of here and won’t be in until the morning. Waiting for the mail boat can preoccupy the whole town!
    Anyway, it made it in yesterday morning and your timing was perfect. I was feeling a little lonely as Don has gone into St. John’s, our first time away from each other since we arrived. It’s a business trip and he left in good spirits as things are going well at the mine.
    I am waiting for the Farrell sisters to visit this afternoon and watch their faces as I show them real hair curlers. All the women here use bobby pins and rags to tie up their hair at night, so you can be sure that your package will cause a sensation.
    Tonight is a meeting of my reading circle. I’ve just loved getting to know this little group of young women. We meet at the Etchegary place, mostly because Don comes along to play cribbage with Mr. Louis, the head of the house. The family is Basque and came to Newfoundland from the south of France via Saint Pierre. Theophilus is the oldest boy. (Most of the children here are named for saints. Funny, I’ve yet to meet another Urla!) He has qualified as a teacher and walks eight miles in the morning to the next town and home again in the evening. The whole family is bursting with energy, intensity, and good humor.
    The two girls are so lovely and I’m thrilled to be able to expose them to more language and literature. I think I told you that when their mother died they were expected to leave school and take care of their father and brothers, Louis and little Gus (named for St. Augustine). Despite that, they have maintained a love of learning and love of life that I find inspirational. When I first arrived, I was concerned no one seemed to be thinking about