Jaci Dawn

Dale’s summer jobs seem to dry up quickly in the summer of 1916, an unfortunate situation as he’s trying to earn enough to stay in school!

Newberg, Ore. July 16, ’16

Dear Folks,

      Well, we have moved and are nearly ready to run the rack through, but a rain came up yesterday and stopped us. That kind of business eats up the profit but it cannot be helped, I guess.

     I haven’t had a letter from you for a long time, but there must be one in Eugene for me. I hope you are all well in this hot weather that I read about back there.

     I am thinking of going to eastern Oregon, because I have only about fifteen dollars to my credit since school is out and I have only a month and a half more to make my pill pile.

    Oswald Best is going east in a week or so to a job which will pay $2.50 and $3.00 and board for common labor. He wants Andy and I to go with him but I am afraid that we cannot get any money from Hanson before the first of next month. Of course, it is not what one makes, but what one saves that counts. However when we are laid off a day now and then for breakage, or moving, and still have to eat, it eats up the savings.

     If Andy and I were not college studes (sic), we would go up where he was last fall in Canada when he got $3.50 and board for three or four months. I heard through Andy that Buster is going up there this fall. He is still sore at me, by the way.

     The rain seems to be over, so I guess we will work to-morrow. There is not much of interest to write so I will close hoping that you folks are as well as the hot weather will allow.

  Your son

Dale

I am curious as to what he meant by “ready to run the rack through”.  He is apparently working for Hanson, he of the missed pay-checks and much griping about in 1915. Hanson was a contractor for the State or County, and was dependent on being paid by them first (or so he said). In 1915, paving employed something called a sack bundling rack (I don’t know if the link will work or not; it’s an item in an online 1915 Engineering book I found by googling: “1915 rack road construction”) That’s definitely something for an engineering type to research!