Page 27 - voices-2024-04
P. 27
working for the O.R. & N Railroad. Google tells me S.D Dodson. The letter is dated January 12, 1892.
this is the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Com- It starts “Dear Son and Family.” It states that their
pany which later became part of the Union Pacific card was received and that they were pleased to
Railroad. At the back, are two hand copied poems know that Oliver had found work. My internet
oddly juxtapositioned with the monthly work sleuthing reveals that Oliver Dodson was born
tallies. The poems by Bryant and Anna Letitia Bar- in Oregon. He was the son of Mcminn and Sarah
bauld are both about death. It is a reminder that Drusilla Dodson who came out on the Oregon
these pioneers lived a rough life, and I am sure trail.
experienced losses. I imagine the man taking a
break from hard labor and finding solace in these On the internet I read that Julia’s maiden name
poems. was Wells. In the box is a letter from Frank Wells
dated April 20, 1898. It has a salutation of “Dear
The letters in the box are mainly written in pencil Brothers, Sisters, Nieces and Nephews, Uncles and
and faded with time. The paper of a couple is be- Aunts.” Frank Wells proudly proclaims he has ar-
ginning to decompose. These take me back to the rived in 8 to 10 feet of snow in Copper City, Alaska.
days of my youth, the seventies and eighties be- He was in the thick of the Klondike gold rush.
fore instant messaging, texts, Facebook updates,
and email existed. In my day, long distance calls Google says that Rose Lodge got its name from
were expensive and only made as a special treat the roses that Julia’s father had sent from Califor-
or in urgent circumstances. This left us waiting nia for her to plant. The roses prospered and the
for the mail for assurance that our loved ones far climbing roses created an arch over the entrance
away were still doing well. to the post office. In the box I discovered a letter
from Fresno California dated May 16, 1911, to
In the box I find a letter oddly signed by Mc and Dearest Aunt Julia. The letter from a niece de-
scribes the last breaths of grandpa who I assume
TO THE LEFT
Fresno Calif May 16, 1911
Written at top “Please send back”
Dearest Aunt Jullia
Grandpa passed away this morning at two
twenty o’clock. He has only been sick since
Thursday. morning at half past two. He looked
just as he did at Aunt Clara’s two years ago.
We called in a doctor. Grandpa seemed to be
getting on alright until Sunday night at seven
o’clock when death struck him. The Dr said he
had a stroke but mama doesn’t think so.
VOICES! SPRING 2024 27
