December 24, 1919.
Mr. Theo. Gegoux,
Aurora, Oregon,
Dear Mr. Gegoux:
Responding to your letter of 22d December, there is this to be thought of:
As a rule, a special session of the legislature is called to meet a certain contingency or contingencies, and can only act upon the subjects that may have been embodied in the call. Therefore I fear that an effort to pass an appropriation bill to take care of your wonderful painting would stand no chance of succeeding. However, an effort might be made.
Preliminary to that, I think it would be wise for mo to correspond with Governor Olcott and get his views upon this subject. It is now nearly 9 o'clock, so I will not have time to night to prepare a letter, but will do so in the morning.
I certainly want to aid you all I can. I have had this kind of a plan in mind for some time with the view of getting a bill making an appropriation through the legislature at the regular session of January, 1921.
To have a subscription paper circulated among business men of the State, and get as many subscribers to it as possible, payment of the same to be conditioned upon the State legislature making an equal appropriation. By having the best part of a year to work in, I believe a considerable sum could be realized by the method suggested.
I have found your sketch, and will submit a type written copy very soon for your approval, and then will have a lot of circulars printed.
Yours truly,
(Himes)
(2)
You were fortunate in getting off as wells you did. Have you any idea how cold it was where you are? I will send you a thermometer right away.
I have been trying to get a member of the City Commission interested in the Mayors portraits. He promised to consider them, but was very careful to avoid committing himself.
The call for increased salaries of policemen, firemen, etc, makes the matter difficult to handle. I will advise you of Olcott' s attitude an soon as I hear from him .
"A Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year" for you is my wish.
I am reminded of my Christmas Eve 66 years ago to night. Our family of six - father, mother, and four of us children, I being the oldest. We had just finished the trip across the plains from Illinois, seven months, all told. We had but little clothing and no money, to speak of. We were in a one room log cabin remarkably well ventilated. It was just a little better than being out of doors. Ten inches of snow on the ground and I was practically barefooted -- was not bothered with lacing up shoes. But mother insisted that I must wash me feet before going to bed. Well Christmas Eve came, and no prospects. Mother told us to hang up our stockings and ------ pray. Sister had ragged stockings; I had none .
Mother made a make-believe sock out of the sleeve of a worn-out coat for me. We hung them up on wooden pegs -- no nails, father, was away doing some work. I had to build fires. Sister Helen and I slept in a trundle bed that during the day time was pushed under the one legged bed that mother and father occupied. Christmas morning I was out before daylight. After fire was built in the stove, I felt of the stocking and coat sleeve. There was something in them. So sister was called, and she exclaimed, "Santa Claus has come, Santa Claus has come." And sure enough. She had a doughnut doll baby in her stocking, and I found an ordinary doughnut and an apple in the coat sleeve. Happy? Well I am sure we were much happier than many a person, old and young, in this city, will be tomorrow.
I think the experience given here might afford a subject for a painting. If something could be made that would be worthwhile at a cost of $50.00. I think I could arrange for that.
Think it over.
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