April 12, 1987

Dear Geneva,

Your pictures arrived here on Thursday at 1-P-M in good shape - believe me I was so glad to see you all - I looked at them in the morning in the evening & through the day & looked & looked at them & read you letter over many times - you say you will give me the one picture where you are standing in front of your 75th birthday cake - thanks so very much.  I just think, Geneva, it is 46 years since I was there - time changes are age & our looks we have to take it as it comes - one thing we have to be thankful for is that we can get out of bed go where we want to & walk around - your granddaughters & all the grandchildren are so nice - just look how Cora has changed now at her age at over 79 now - I was so happy & glad to see all that picture of gramma & Charlie & the family we had that picture here many years - But none of the rest of pictures I never seen.  You say that Myrtle was married three times & never had no kids & that she lives in Worthington, Minnesota in a nursing home - that picture I never seen before - they all look nice - Myrtle she is quite a attractive girl then - I'm going to write to her - this letter will be in answer to your pictures - I have two more pictures of me that I wanted to send with the & the other pictures & I forgot it - & you can see how I looked then in 1980 - then there is a picture of some steam engines I just got it - like to have these pictures back - I am going to fix up five pictures to send to you - that you can keep all framed.  I have to wait for 2 of them to come on the mail yet - yes you look so nice there in your apartment in 1965 - time changes us all as we grow old - Geneva, I just can't see why that Emil & his mother had to be so mean to you, it hurts me that they were so mean to you, it just seems that they had nother but evil on their mind - didn't Charlie ever try to shut them up - or taken your part at any time - you done a lot of work for them & you were a good girl & a good women - when I was there in 1941 in harvest & seen how you worked with a garden raised chickens & turkeys & cooked when we came home from the harvest field it was 9:30 & close to 10 & the supper was on the table & you were out in the barn milking - you never smoked or drank or run around - my heart goes out to you with all my sumpathy there's onething I want to tell you Geneva, I hate to be them two people when the day of judgement comes - because I know there is a God & a hereafter - I have my bible by my chair on the floor I read it & I pray a lot - I have been corresponding with Arol Roberts ever since my mother died it was very hard when she passed away - I have nobody to turn to but him - I got more letters from him then I got from anybody else in my whole life - I bought a new bible from hime, cost me $125.00 it has his name & my on it, in gold & also the name Holy Bible, in gold everytime he writes he speaks of the scripturs - chapters & verses & I mark them out in my old bible - yes on over the years & been reading the bible & the way world & the people are changing & everything is just like the bible says its all in there - even though they were my relatives I thought more of you that I did of them - I think  Charlie was a alright though - wasn't he the weather is nice but cooler - you take care now.

Sincerely,
Clarence Bodeen

I'll be sending another letter to you in answer to your problems & questions.