Abbott "Pete" Smith D.V.M.: June 16, 1938 - February 22, 2010 Virginia Joyann "Jody" Haley Smith: April 2, 1938 - May 9, 2021 |
Welcome to Milliron Monday where every Monday we celebrate the legacy of Milliron Farm and Clinic, Dr. Pete and Jody Smith.
"I continue to be truly amazed that married life could be so wonderful."
― Jody Smith
October 26, 1959, Jody's letter home to Mansfield, Ohio. Backstory: A senior at Colorado State University, the newlyweds are setting up house, Simmy is Jody's best friend from college and her maid-of-honor, Jess is Jody's maternal grandmother, Gary Franklin is her nephew, and her beloved gelding Starboy she broke to drive a cart.
917 Remington
Fort Collins, Colorado
Monday, October 26, 1959
Hi All,
Sorry it's taking me so long to answer your letters which we've certainly appreciated. The Stratford slides arrived in plenty of time and in good shape. I spent nine hours Saturday night working on that darn lesson plan and yet have to have it okayed and mimeographed (including a two-page test) for all members of the class. I'm also going to use that historical map of England which you gave me, Jess. It works in quite nicely.
I surely don't know what I'd do without that typewriter, Jess. It's surely a lifesaver with all these lesson plans, yearly outlines, unit outlines, etc. and a thousand words of creative writing every week. I have to make a stencil copy of each page of my lesson plan and test this evening, so I can imagine the poor typewriter will get another workout.
Thank you very much for the addresses, Mom. That vase from Mrs. Matthews sounds very pretty. Have you ever sent me Ward's address? I can't seem to find it. Uncle George and Inez did give us ten dollars in a wedding card. Jeanne Lunt, as I might have written you, sent us a very nice metal butter dish which has a gold trim that will go nicely with the bronze dishes you gave us, Jess! Mr. and Mrs. Knoxburger, a couple Pete used to milk cows for, gave us a Pyrex quart juice server, which has gold stars and should also look nice with those dishes. I'm slowly but surely getting through with all the thank you notes as the gifts (and addresses) come in, but I'm afraid I've surely neglected the most important ones. We surely appreciate all the many things you all have given us. It's really made housekeeping at least possible in a much better way than it would have been otherwise. It's still taking me lots of time to get little things done but so far, so good.
Thank you very much for the wedding (newspaper) clipping. Pete nearly had convulsions when he read about the Milliron Land and Cattle Co., etc. At the moment the bank is practically the sole owner of that company! Did Smucker's pictures of the wedding turn out alright? The one in the paper seemed nice. Did you send one to the Smiths? Simmy seemed to appreciate hers.
That was surely nice, Mom, of you to send Pete that note and money. I'm sure it will come in handy to say the least. We're planning on really splurging one of these Sunday evenings and going over to the Student Union buffet supper and show.
I'm glad you made the mistake of sending me my slides of London instead of the Stratford ones since I'm now including some slides of London and Warwick along with the Stratford slides in my demonstration.
Sounds as though Gary Franklin must be keeping you all busy with his walking adventures. Guess he'd be about old enough to learn to ride someday soon. I took our little neighbor, Johnnie Sparks (his dad is a sophomore vet also) cart riding and he really liked it. He's about 3 years old and he wasn't a bit afraid of Starboy and never wanted to get off after I'd set him on Starboy's back.
Thank you very much for the letter, Dad. It was great to hear from you. You'll probably never believe this, but I even helped skin out a cow. I still can't bring myself to be around when they're killed, though. Fortunately - or perhaps unfortunately - as far as the meat situation is concerned, Pete hasn't shot a deer yet. He hasn't had much time for hunting but hopes to go next weekend.
Guess I'd better motivate to class now. It surely is handy being only a few minutes walk from campus.
Everything is still fine. I continue to be truly amazed that married life could be so wonderful.
Love,
Jody
~ ~
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Through captivating, powerful, and emotional anecdotes, we celebrate the life of Dr. Abbott P. Smith. His biography takes the reader from smiles to laughter to empathy and tears. Dr. Smith gave us compelling lessons learned from animals; the role animals play in the human condition, the joy of loving an animal, and the awe of their spirituality. A tender and profound look into the life of a skilled veterinarian.
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