Paterson November 12 1925.

 

Dear Tj[amme] and A[tje]

 

Finally, it comes to it, to write you. We we were allowed to recieve your letter and also the packet in good health. For that we want to express our thanks. Also for that nice postcard we also received. We are pleased with that we can see how it all was, when we left. Soon it will be a year ago when we left, we hardly can image. How time flies. We read in your letter that as is well with you over there. That is a great priviledge what we also may share due the Grace of the Lord.

I has been a while sincewe came to it  to write you, but you have to forgive us for that. We should start, and then again another evening, but there is always something going on. En now we come to ask what all that stuff is what you sent us. We have looked closely at everything, but we failed to find anything else than something for aunt Pietje and something for Sydny. An that had nothing attached, it was just floating amongs other stuff [in the box]. So we would like, that you would write for who is was, for everything is in sister P[ietje's] closet. On the picture we that Petrus [the butcher's hand] is still with you, to satisfaction it seems. You have to write back one soon, and if there is any news from the Old [Bildt]dike [Needs a picture: houses build on the seaside slope of a sleeper dike, the Oude Bildtdijk is the street where Tjammes parents live and below Tjamme's butchery is], don't forget to mention that!

 

We have celebrated all our birthdays here too, for the first time. Jan's sister Pietje's and mine. But we never have had such good one's. I will tell you wat we all got. From sister P[ietje] I got a nice dress, brown wool cloth with nice embroided flowers below at the rim. And a piece of fabric for a dress from aunt Jeltje [who is she?] From Sydny and his girl [wife] a nice silver fruit platter. From Trina and her boy [husband] Jan and me each got an umbrella. And Jan also got a silk shirt from sister P[ietje] and I a set of gloves. And from Willemina I got a box of handkerchiefs. Now that was a nice birthday wasn't it. You may have heart from father and mother that we attend school four nights a week. That suits us very well, for one never learns that good at home. Learn to pronounce words is undoable from a book, as compared to how the school-mistress says them. It is all foreigners at school. A lot of German, Italians, Polish, and yes what have you not. We both are the only Dutchman in our class. Now my paper is full so I'll end. We hope to get a message back soon. Receive this letters by the Lord's blessing and in health. Jan T.[rijntje] M.[achiela].

 

and also from P[iet] P[ietje] and children.