Mother has been ill since September 1. Has been keeping house and cooking. Has a dear servant [ Marjorie ] who helps but doesn't cook. Has finally learned to make good pastry. Will go to Arizona in two weeks. Glad to hear she went to Walnut Canyon. Has read her "French Perspectives" and found it very pleasing. Still distressed about poor proofreading in Lark. Maybe they will see each other in New York after Christmas. W. S. C. [Stout #372]
...Now just parents and one nephew. It has been a wonderful Christmas. May go to Tucson, back to New York by March. Probably will not live there again. Going skating on the river. Willa [Stout #662]
Sorry to hear about her tonsils. Off to Arizona soon. Hopes she will like the new book to be published in September [ My Mortal Enemy ]. An experimental form. Willa Cather [Stout #828]
Thought she said legend, not folklore. A very different thing. The two priests' lives were like works of art. Hopes to go out to Arizona soon. Glad to autograph copy. A very gracious review. Willa Cather [Stout #896]
Letter gave her great pleasure. Writing [ Archbishop ] was the greatest pleasure she ever had. Is receiving and treasuring many letters from missionary priests. Rector in Denver says he is still using Joseph Machebeuf's chalice and vestments. Misses the book now that it has gone from her. Also, is homeless at present. Will probably spend winter in Arizona. Willa Cather [Stout #905]
What a splendid Christmas box! Children delighted by everything. Brothers Roscoe and Douglass there for a few days. Lovely snowy weather. Parents well. Feels like a farm person at heart. Will probably leave New York for good. Will go on to Arizona in a couple of weeks. Going skating on the river this afternoon. Happy New Year. W. S. C. [Stout #916]
Alone with parents and one nephew. Has enjoyed Christmas. Going to Arizona for a little quiet. Will be in New York in March, but may never live there again. Going skating this afternoon. Willa [Stout #919]
Has been here since early December and is off to Arizona. Miss Lewis not along. Refuses to praise any book for print. W. S. C. [Stout #924]
Yes, several of her books show admiration for Catholic missionary priests. Has known and personally admired several—Father Connelly in Winslow, Arizona, Father Haltermann in Santa Cruz, N.M., and a Belgian priest who died in World War I while serving as a chaplain in the Belgian army. Enclosing a reprint of her letter to the Commonweal about sources for Death Comes for the Archbishop. Willa Cather [Stout #1505]
Sorry not to have written in so long. The world is all in distress, everyone's lives disrupted. All the young people in her family caught up in the war. Mary Virginia and husband, Dick Mellen, at Camp Carson in Colorado, and her brother at a camp in Arizona, one of the least attractive spots in the state. Enjoyed having Mary Virginia in town for a visit recently. Another niece's husband is commander of an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. Everyone lives in suspense. Will paste their Christmas card with picture of Beacon Street into Annie Fields's Memories of a Hostess. Doesn't understand why Boston has messed up the area around Trinity Church. Spent last summer in Maine; very comfortable in spite of poor food. Wishing them a happy new year. Willa Cather. P.S.: Has sprained right hand again and is back in Dr. Ober's brace. [Stout #1657]
