March 4, 1964

Dear Frances & Family:

Received your letter and enjoyed very much.  Sure sorry to hear that you was sick, and having to go through with so much.  Sure glad your tests showed up so good.  Take real good care of yourself, and we are hoping you will be feeling fine in a little while.  We was glad you told us about your family.  It's hard for us to realize you with a family & grandchildren.  It seems to us you ought to still be the little yellow curly headed girl that visited us with your mama in 1920.  Your Uncle Charley still remembers your little kid sayings, when you was here.  We saw you one time after that, you was here.  We believe you was about 14 years old.

Was you married when your mother passed away?  She died in 1936 in February if I remember right, but I don't know the day of the month.  It seems that you have a nice family.  We never met your husband.

You spoke of your dad's people.  We saw Ned in Crofton just a short time back.  He said he and Rhett was doing pretty good.  He looked like he was doing pretty well for his age.

Your Uncle Amos Kestner was buried last Sunday (pictured right).  We are sending you the clipping of his death that came out in our paper.  His mind hasn't been good for quite a while, but they kept him at home.

You spoke of their children.  The oldest girl, Lucy, she married L. J. McGinley.  He has been dead one or two years.  The second girl, Gwendolyn, she married Ewing Wilkins.  They live close to Crofton, Route #1.  Their youngest girl, Dorothy she married Clinton Clark.  They live at Crofton and the Mrs. Crick is Dorothy's girl, the other two girls didn't have any children, and your Aunt Florence Lander's children was Lenora and Clementine.  I don't know what became of Lenora.  Clementine married Hanson Petch, had one boy, her and her husband separated, she teaches in the Crofton school, lives thereabouts Crofton.  Your Aunt Myrtle married Will Fox, they separated and she married again.  I don't know his name.  We think he lived in Arizona, she had a baby it died and she died and was buried in Arizona.  I guess you know about your Aunt Addie.  I don't know where she is still living or not, your Aunt Carrie and Aunt Sudie both died single.  You know Willis and Ned never married.  Ret married J. L. Lindsey, they separated and I reckon that was all of your dad's brother's and sister's except their little brother (I think his name was John), he fell off of a wagon when he was small and it killed him.

Well, this is Friday the 6th, since I started your letter we have had five inches of rain and a hail storm.  The largest rain we have had in over a year, in fact, we had such a little amount of rain during last year everyone so short to using water.  We sure was glad to get some water but the hail was rough, it ruined the roof on two of our rooms, your Uncle Charley had roofing sent out from Hopkinsville yesterday morning and he and another man sure did work yesterday to get a roof back on and he sure wasn't able to do that kind of work. 

He has an ulcerated stomach and was just getting over a real rough spell.  The third bad time he has had with his stomach.  You know, you can be doing pretty good and those ulcers will flare up and you don't know the cause.  The Doctor gives him shots and a lot of medicine but he just doesn't have too much strength, he is on a diet & has been for three years, so many things he isn't allowed to eat.

You ask about his work, yes, he still makes his Burley Tobacco, he made over five hundred dollars in Burley last year and we made a lot off gardening.  He has corn in the soil bank.  He sure isn't able to do the work he loves, but you know anyone that has always worked so hard, they just can't hardly bare the thoughts of quitting but some times it sure would be best.

You ask about your Uncle George's children.  Jettie and her husband lives two or three miles from Mannington, on their farm.  Roy and family or wife, I should have said, their children all married they live at Isley, Kentucky.  Robert and wife live out from Madisonville a little ways.

Well Frances, I hope you can get something from this letter, I have wrote in such a hurry, it's close to mail time.

Its a real mess but thought it better than to not get it in the mail.  Yes, poor Vera sure has done so much hard work _________ that her health is so bad, won't she be 65 in May?  I don't remember your birth month.  I think Bill had a Birthday yesterday, March the 5th.  Well sure hope you get along fine.  Let us hear from you some time when you feel like writing, so bye for now.

With Love,

Aunt Bessie & Uncle Charley