Anna V. Blough letter to Ida, Sept. 4, 1918

              Ping Ting Hsien, Shansi, China
September 4, 1918

Dear Ida,

Your letter of changes has come, and with a sort of shock too. I was expecting it, for with the trend of things these days I did not see how it could be otherwise. When I hear how little some other folks are writing to their sisters here and leaving them in suspense, I think what a good sister you are to tell me so much detail of the things that so vitally concern you. I do very much appreciate it. I am so glad you told me so much about his last week before going to camp. And how brave you are to leave out of it the heart aches that I know you suffered. 

You have had an experience and are having one all the time Everett is away, that I can not know what it means. But I do want you to understand that I have an imagination enough to know that there are some things for you to bear that you do not speak out to the folks around you. And even tho you have the blessing of having the best of brothers with you, yet there is another who is the head of your house, of your table and then when the twilight hour draws on and the lights are lit, and confidences of the days work and of all that is dear to you in life, these things are discuss and you have felt that sympathy and manly helpfulness, I know that at this time your heart feels the aching void. How much those few days must have meant to you even tho they were filled with work, yet it was working with him and precious the memory of those days be as the winter goes by. 

I am glad you have had these few months together, am glad you were married in March. You have both worked hard, but it was sharing together the working out of your home ideals. You will be a better woman for making your own way for a year or two and he will be a better man for the place he is now to fill. And now you must be the best of wives to him while he is gone. You must be such a woman that for your sake he will fill his place as good as it is possible for anyone to fill it, that when he comes back to you he will be a more noble and a bigger man than he could ever be without you. Let one of your first duties be to write to him several times a week, for even tho it is all censored and you have not much new to write, your constant love will brighten many hard dreary days. There are many efforts put forth to help our men, to keep up their spirits, to keep them pure, but there is nothing that will keep them manly men and make them bigger men thru the experience like the little wife at home who shares with him her part of responsibility. But then, I am not saying this to you as tho you had never thot [sic]of it all before, for I know that the months that have gone by before this reaches you will have taught you more of these things than I shall ever know. You do not desire us to pity you, neither am I pitying you, I only want to be a big sister to you and understand your part and then help you to stand up strong and brave with all the courage needed for your part. How I wish I had known him personally that I too might be a sister to him. When he has an address that may be somewhat permanent I wish you would send it to me. 

In the part that he shall choose will he likely go to France? In what camp has he been? All these things will be of interest to me,