Guide to Reading Letter Transcriptions
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| Textual Feature | Appearance |
|---|---|
| passage deleted with a strikethrough mark | |
| passage deleted by overwritten added letters | |
| passage added above the line | passage with added text above |
| passage added on the line | passage with added text inline |
| passage added in the margin | passage with text added in margin |
| handwritten addition to a typewritten letter | typed passage with added handwritten text |
| missing or unreadable text | missing text noted with "[illegible]" |
| uncertain transcriptions | word[?] |
| notes written by someone other than Willa Cather | Note in another's hand |
| printed letterhead text | printed text |
| text printed on postcards, envelopes, etc. | printed text |
| text of date and place stamps | stamped text |
| passage written by Cather on separate enclosure. | written text |
I want to tell you with my own hand how precious your letter was and is to me. You
must not worry about me anymore. The
worst3 is all behind me. I weigh only 111
one hundred and eleven pounds (a drop from one hundred twenty-six in eight weeks)
so
I am still pretty weak,.
but But the 2nausea and
distaste for all food which hung over me for five weeks after the operation is gone
now, and I think I shall gain fast.
I thought so lovingly of all my early friends when I was in bed so long and could not read—all my early friends, dear Mrs Case4 among them. They all seemed to come close to me, 3all those “whom I have loved long since, and lost awhile.” You remember the beautiful hymn5?
Information about this letter:
- Source File:
- cat.let1591.xml
- Letter identifier
- 1591
- Contents
- Document is one leaf, handwritten on recto and verso.
- Person to whom letter was written
- Carrie Miner Sherwood1
- Date letter was written
- [September 18, 1942]
- Explanation of conjectured date
-
This letter was written shortly after #1588, dated on September 9, 1942. As Cather dated this letter Friday, it was likely written on September 18, 1942.
- Place letter was written
- New York, New York, United States2
- Location of original letter
- WCPM Collection, National Willa Cather Center, Red Cloud, NE
Individual Annotations
Cather struggled with illness throughout the spring of 1942, and her gall-bladder and appendix were removed on 24 July 1942 by Dr. Allen Whipple at the Presbyterian Hospital (#2375).
Person Annotations
Sherwood, Carrie Miner (1869-1971). Sherwood, Carrie Belle
Miner (1869-1972) Civic leader; Cather's friend. Born in Waukon,
IA, to James L. Miner and Julia Erickson Miner, Carrie Miner was the eldest
of their children. The family moved to Red Cloud, NE, in 1878, where the
Miner Brothers store became the largest in town. Cather remembered meeting
Carrie there. In 1884, Carrie, her mother, and siblings were confirmed in
the Catholic church. In 1888, she studied music at St. Mary’s Academy at
Notre Dame, IN. She married bank clerk Walter Sherwood in late 1889; they
had two sons. The Sherwoods travelled often in the West, and visited Europe
in 1930. They built a new house at 3rd and Seward streets in Red Cloud in
1908; Cather sometimes sent materials for Carrie to keep in its spacious
attics. Carrie Miner Sherwood led local Red Cross work during the two World
Wars, served on the Red Cloud school board and park commission, and was
active in the League of Women Voters and in the Ladies Guild of Grace
Episcopal Church. Cather corresponded with Carrie Miner Sherwood throughout
her life and dedicated My Ántonia to Carrie, model
for Frances Harling in the novel, and her sister Irene. Carrie was one of
Mildred Bennett’s chief sources for The World of Willa
Cather (1951), and was instrumental in setting up what is now the
Willa Cather Foundation in Red Cloud.
Case, Eva King (1860-1907). American teacher and school
administrator. Born in Vermont, Eva King and her family came to
Webster County, NE, around 1877. In 1880 she earned the highest teaching
certificate possible. In 1884 she became assistant principal of the Red
Cloud School. As principal in early 1885, she interviewed and placed Willa
Cather as a new student. Replaced as high school principal by a man, she
became principal of Red Cloud’s first separate elementary school, which
Cather also attended. In 1887 she was elected county superintendent,
resigning in 1890 to marry attorney Oliver C. Case. She returned to teaching
in 1892 but was placed in subordinate positions until 1898, when she was
again elected county superintendent. After losing to a Populist candidate in
1901, she was appointed the city superintendent of schools, resigning after
the death of her husband in 1904. She then became a “preceptress” at the
Kearney Normal School until her death. Cather remembered her warmly all her
life, portraying her as the understanding school superintendent in “The Best
Years” (1948).
Place Annotations
Work Annotations
Lead, Kindly Light (1845) by John Henry Newman
