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Hagen family; Solem, Andrew P. / Papers, 1879-1899 [Translations]
Call Number, Eau Claire Mss CC Box 1 Folder 1 ([unpublished])
Eau Claire, October 11th 1881
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Eau Claire, October 11th 1881 Dear Grandfather! Your very welcome letter dated the very last of August, I actually received 2 weeks ago, for which you are thanked! I see by it that you are healthy as usual and the same for me also. I have for the most part been in the woods lately and will also be staying there this winter and possibly until next summer, as I have just now recently talked with two Norwegian fellows who are in partnership with each other, that I would be with them one year. I have now been with them for a month and like it and am thriving there. The reason I am now in town, is that Knud Aspeggen has now definitely decided to go back to the old home Soknedalen. When I received the letter that he was going to leave, I wanted to make a trip down and meet him before he left, even though I have nothing of importance I wanted of him. I felt nevertheless, that I wanted to see and take leave of him as perhaps it could be the last time I have opportunity to see him here in this world. It may not be impossible that I also could come to Norway some time on a short trip,-if I should live that long, but when it could be is not good to determine yet. I mut tell you a little more concerning my job and situation. I went, as you already know, to the woods the first part of July, but I wasn't there over a month because it developed that he didn't have work for us any longer as he had this time been fooled on the woods in that there wasn't much woods there where he was going to cut, as the company had said there was. So he didn't think that it paid him to bother with this business; and, so when we were finished with the haying we went down,(to Eau Claire area presumably) Then I immediately got work with a farmer I knew well and worked there for one month. Then I met these two fellows I now work for, which I knew well, especially one of them. These boys aren't actually in woods management, but they maintain a stopping place, which is such a place where the woods people and others stay over night and for dinner, and my responsibility is to keep everything in the stables in order, which sometimes can be hard and other times not so hard, according as the activity (movement) is large or small. As regards this year's crop, I can report that it was an average year to being with, but on account of the constantly continuing rain which began the first of last month much grain and hay has been ruined. The latter is ruined because of the rivers which nearly always go over their banks. And you see, that as soon as the water goes over its normal boundaries in this country so low and flat, that it goes over its normal boundaries in this country so low and flat, that it goes over large areas and causes great damage. This will have to be enough as you can hear more from Knud about the situation here. You with everyone in the house are greeted with the best from you devoted grandson Andrew P. Solem
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