Toronto,
May 1st, 1917

Dear Jay,

This is May but it surely doesn't feel like it. It is cold and dully and shivery and I am thankful that I don't have to dance around any May pole. I wonder what sort of weather you are having in France or if you have time at all to notice the weather. The papers are full of the tremendous battles being fought now and things seem to be far from monotonous on the Western front. It is over a month since your last written letter was written. I think we should get two or three on the next mail. There is a bit of excitement in the States now too since they have declared war. I hear that all the flag factories are working over time and the government is considering sending companies of actors and prisoners to the front immediately [?] because they want to get the "Stars and Stripes" there as soon as possible. I hope this hasn't reached the trenches yet - I bit on it ever so nicely last Saturday. Also General Joffre and Balfour are there attending a conference and seem to be making quite an impression. We are all fine at home but could do with a bit warmer weather. Arthur has made several firm friends among the boys and it takes an organized search party to get him in for meals. Elsie and Jessie are happy over the prospect of going to the Regent with Blanche to see Mary Pickford. Jessie suggested the other day that the reason the boys liked Charlie Chaplin better than Mary Pickford was because Mary was so pretty they all wanted to marry her and were sore because they couldn't. I went to the Regent myself last Saturday afternoon with the girls from our Biology class. It was our last class and we celebrated the fact by lunching down town and going to the movies . Blanche was entertaining for four returned solders on Saturday night and Mother was there for tea. The boys were all from the West and seemed very nice. On Sunday Uncle Dan and Bruce and I went to the hospital to get Herman Dobson's brother Roy but we could not find him. However mother got him yesterday and brought him home for tea. He is not looking very well and is afraid that he may lose his leg. He was wounded on the Somme last September. On Sunday I was at Florrie's for tea. The children are fine and Eleanor is as nice as she can be. Jack has taken a house on McClean Ave. for the summer and Florrie is pleased at the thought of coming to the beach. Tomorrow I am going to see Irene and Anna. They are in their last year at the hospital now and glad to be through training. They have had some experiences. Our school nurse has left for Overseas. She was very glad to go and quite excited about it. I am afraid to say anything about pictures. We took a dozen just lately but something was wrong with the film and not a single picture developed. However we will perservere and you can live in hopes.

Heaps of love,
Violet.