A Tale Of Two Falls – One Active, Another Not
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Hill Country Living
By Coulter Fussell
It’s a Wagner Week and here we have two different letters to Eugene. One from his dad who is having a very active and brag-worthy Fall and one from a college buddy who is…not. Count on a man to write a letter casually mentioning a huge Thanksgiving family meal and not describe each dish in full detail. This is bad reporting.
Wagner Company
Water Valley
Nov 29, 1902
My Dear Son, Sorry that you got beat in Football but I am glad the season is over, you will have more time for other things.
We all had Thanksgiving dinner. Had Aunt Marie and Hiram, John and family, Aunt Mary and Charley R. and family. Had a good dinner and thought of you. I know you will have enjoyed it.
Dap will be down tomorrow and leave in the evening. He is very busy and works hard. He will sell 48 or 50 this month. We had 180 orders yesterday, some businesses that have been in business 10 years do not do as much as we do now. We have only 2 men traveling and no local agents. Most of our business comes through the mail and in the store. We have in the office 3 type writers, 1 book keeper and one assistant to Dap and in the house 1 shipping clerk, 1 head porter and 3 other porters and 3 or 4 Drag men. We do lots of letter writing and get open orders. We are well pleased with Carter. He is the best man in our Grocery Department. We are still on the merger – we will know in a week if we will get into it. We are all well and send love to you.
Be a good boy and write soon to your affectionate father,
D.R. Wagner
608 E. Grace St
Dear Wag,
I pull up a chair, take a seat and likewise a pen, dip the aforesaid pen in ink, and apply the ink to paper, for the purpose of answering your letter. Egad, by the troth that letter deserved a speedier reply, but I have been where excitement was scarcer than money so there was nothing to write about.
I certainly am tired of loafing. After spending three weeks at Warm Springs, I went back to the Blue Ridge Mountains and spent ten of the most lonesome days of my life. There was nothing to break the peaceful monotony of the tranquil stillness except the lowing of the ancestral cows and the automatic laugh of an old maid on the place.
I haven’t heard from Ben or Bud for some time but suppose they are still kicking. Ben said in his last letter that Bud was a bank runner and was losing flesh rapidly. You certainly struck it lucky this summer.
I came home last Saturday and will be here until time to leave for college. Don’t know but that I will be a few days late getting back, as there is no “occasion” for my speedy return.
There is not much doing so will close. Write soon to,
Yours sincerely,
John C. Cecil
