Midland Ont.,

c/o General Delivery,

May 23, 1944.

Dear Ma Pa Rub & Ruth:

Just a few lines to let you know that I am alright. Well to-morrow is the 24th of May and I have to work. I dont know whether I will have to work in the afternoon though. The people who invited us out to their camp were going to pick us up at 3.30 to-morrow but if we have to work all afternoon we might not be able to go. I hope we get off because it would be nice to go somewhere like that for a change. Oh well if I have to work I have to work thats all.

On the way up town afterwork to-day I mailed a registered letter with a money order in it for Forty-Five Dollars to you Ma. I thought you could put my twenty-five dollars that I sent for back in the bank, and I want you to have the ten dollars that I owe you Ruth, and the other ten I want you to keep for yourself Ma. It will at least help to pay a little on the phone calls that I have made to you all. I know the last two times I phoned must have cost you plenty. I got a cheque for One Hundred and Twenty Dollars yesterday so as far as money goes I am okay again. I opened an account here and put in fifty dollars. We both had to pay the lady here $18 and and if I am to stay here at all after this month I will have to pay her another $18 about the middle of next week. My laundry bill costs quite a bit too, I guess it runs from about 1 dollar to a dollar and a half a week. My shirts don’t stay clean very long, and neither do my collars. I believe there must be quite a lot of dye in my working uniform that makes them get dirty so quick. Anyway I put one of my working uniforms into the laundry yesterday and will have to wait a week to get it back. Money sure seems to go fast here, I often wonder where it goes. This hundred and twenty five dollars that I got was expense money only. It seems that when a person goes to a new place and have to live out, they figure that it costs quite a bit to get settled so for the first 15 days of the month the “Navy” pay P.O’s like myself $5 a day on top of my regular pay of $3.00 a day and for the last 14 days they allow $3 a day extra. So that is how I got the $120.00 At the end of the month I will get my monthly pay of around $95. So I will have made $215 this month. That sure is pretty good isnt it when you figure that I dont have to pay any Income Tax.

If I stay here after this month though my living out allowance drops to the regular and that is $1.25 a day. I don’t think a dollar and a quarter is very much though because if a person was to eat in a restaurant every day it would cost more than that to eat alone, and then to pay for a room it sure would amount up. Larson and myself sure are lucky to be getting both room and board for $9.50 a week. I will be sending sending some more money home to you when I get paid about the end of the month. I say about because I dont know whether we will be kept waiting like they made us wait this last time.

I was wondering with tomorrow being the 24th and if you were all having a holiday whether you would be going for a long ride. You really ought to go for a long drive seeing as how you have lots of gas this year, and I am not around just now to use it all up like I used to. It sure would be swell to be back and drive the car again. It seems so long since I drove now maybe I will have forgotten how.

How are you getting along at the Navy Rub. Are they giving you a lot of marching to do. I know that you wont like that any more than I did. The best way is to just do what they say and say nothing. Thats what I did. Anyways Rub, it wont be very long before you will be finished with the training and after you get working it is not too bad.

You said something about Laurie on the phone Ruth. I heard you say that he went away but I wasnt sure whether you said it was last Saturday the 14th or not.

The weather has been pretty swell here this week. It sure was hot to-day. How is the weather in Vancouver now. I havent heard anything yet about whether I will be staying here at Midland for a while yet or not. I will probably be here for a couple of weeks yet anyways. I sure hope so because I dont fancy being out on “Minnieoq Island” for a while yet anyways, that is if they send me out there. There seems to be quite a lot of work here at Midland so I will most likely be here for a while.

I received your papers to-day Ma, and it sure was swell of you to send them to me. I am sure glad that you got the cheque I sent last week for the twenty-five dollars. It was swell of you to send me the money so quick, because I sure was pretty flat.

Well I guess this is about all for this time, and I sure hope that you are all okay. If I go on this picnic to-morrow I will send you a card to-morrow. Well I guess I will have to stop for now.

Love to you all

Art.

PS. Drop me a few lines sometime Rub and let me know how you are getting along. I sure would like to hear from you.