photos of our surroundings

1963 July 4 to Estelle

Dear, mom, dad, Martin, Willa, and family.

I just changed my margin so the greeting is a little far in. I suppose that you were all watching the big Runestone parade. I hope you got some pictures of it. We enjoyed a very cool, relaxing rainy day with very little excitement. We keep wondering about little Martin Jr and his family. How the sisters have reacted to such an invasion of their domain – especially Jenny.

I shall include some snaps again. My choice of subjects doesn’t seem to be so good, but maybe, eventually you will have some idea of our surroundings.
1. Our back steps. The part that jets out is the alcove where my stove is sitting. That is the back door to the kitchen. We have to keep cutting the vine back every few months as it grows very rapidly. It has a very sweet, smelling, and pretty flowers but because of snakes and mosquitoes, we have to keep it down.

2. Our small water tank. This is the one for our laundry. The small window is the window in our or rather the kids closet. It was leaking so badly that Al had to cement up the bottom and up the wall a little bit.
3. Al having a casual gabfest with some of the village men. This is the men’s “loam “or clubhouse. I was allowed there, but usually women are taboo. And in the old days they were really punished or even killed for trespassing on the men’s sacred grounds. It is just a roof and a floor in the middle of the village. We had devotions there. I’m being the only woman present.

4. Is kind of a typical village life with their canoe pulled up in front of their house. And really relaxing on their veranda. Note the skinny dog in the foreground. All of the New Guinea dogs are so thin and almost hairless. I surely would like to go through and shoot most of them. If they would feed them it would be different but they are also skinny and have big sores and possibly TB. I’m so scared that one will take after Paula and Tommy someday as Tommy has no fear of them and runs after them if I don’t keep him on a leash.

5. Paula and Tom and two of our teachers little boys were ready for a trip somewhere. They had all of the toys packed up and each had a net bag. They had sat down to rest under the big mango tree in the yard, I guess they were trying to figure out just where they were planning on going.

6. This is our running water at the house, where we stayed in the Buangs. We have some colored slides of the house. It is a pipe made out of bamboo and there is a hole cut out of each of the bamboo lights. I guess that keeps the water running better or something. The kids were forbidden to drink the water, but many times I caught them drinking it. They didn’t get diarrhea thank God, so I guess it must be OK. There isn’t a Village that uses the stream so it must not be contaminated. (I could not find a photo to match this description)

7. Paula coming out of a typical School buildings in one of the coastal villages. It has a dirt floor, crudely made desks made out of hand hewn boards, a table and chair, out of the same materials for teachers and a black board.

8. The view of the sojourners. (I do not know what this means)

9. Jaseling one of our teachers made this cross out of very hardwood. We are planning to send it to first English, but maybe you had better say anything until we actually get it sent. He had a smaller one for us before and we sold it to Ted as we would have more chances to get one again and he would not. A poinsettia tree is behind him.

There are a couple of huge, 150 foot towers left over at Salamaua from the airstrip that used to be there. It has really good steel in them, so Al bought them for building fences and our wharf. The past week they have been trying to take it down and I really have been worried as it would be so easy to slept while crawling around on them or having something fall on someone. Yesterday they were finally able to pull one of them over by removing enough of the screws at the base of it and pulling with large vines attached earlier. One leg had been shot through so it was kind of leaning. It made quite a crash when it hit the ground. Al says that not much of it was damaged in the fall. The other one is solid, so they will have to take it apart more before they will be able to pull it down. Al has been having some of the schoolboys helping him. I’m relieved to have one down with no one injured. And will really be glad when they get the other one down.

One day we read a magazine to put cold water on burns. Tonight I was frying fish and a lot of peanut oil. I managed to tip the frying pan and got hot grease on my right hand. The grease was boiling so I did it up well. I quickly punched my hand into cold water and it really hurt and has been hurting all night, but do you know it is now receding and I can barely see a little redness on three of the fingers. I don’t think I will have blisters at all. I’m telling you I am just amazed because it was boiling hot grease.

Just after that, Metegemeng came up, holding his head in his hand like he was really in agony. And I could see a little blood coming. He raised up and hit a small iron rod so hard it had made him stagger. It had cut the skin and left quite a deep bruise. I couldn’t tell if it had gone into his bone or not, so tomorrow, we will send him in for an x-ray. He has such a headache. Boy with him out of commission, it would be no joke as he is the only one with a license to run our boat. Al has to run the boat for four years before he can apply for a license and Al will be gone for a month so I want to be sure that Mete is OK. That is why I’m sending him in for x-rays.
I’ve been feeling so well and finally have a little energy and an interest in life again. We have been getting a little painting done. Our roof is the big project now and it is almost finished. I also have flowers planted, sewing done, and have even done a lot of baking. It breaks the monotony of life to have some baked things. If I make flat things they get done. I baked a jelly roll last week for a birthday cake with one of the teachers from Bula. The chickens are laying good now so we have lots of eggs.

Al was working over the stove today to see what could be done with it. It is pretty well rusted out. The salt air is so hard on things, I don’t think it is over seven years old. The belts came for the washing machine, but the washer still won’t work. If I put clothes or water in the machine it just sits there without agitating. If it is empty, it works OK. There is no screw to screw the Dasher on. I guess it is just too loose or something. It is easier to do laundry by hand, then trying to fix the machine all the time.

One of the mission doctors is planning to come and spend some time with us. She wants to check on all the TB patients that she has sent back here. They still are getting treatment, but we’re non-infectious so could stay in their villages. I’ve been saving up 1000 and one questions for her. We did physicals on all 100 of our students this week. They are surprisingly healthy for having as little food as they do. We surely have had to keep our food supplies locked up tight as everything seems to be growing legs. The disadvantage of living on such a different level than they…

1963 July 8.

Letter written by Alvin Erickson from the Malalo Mission station Alvin and Louise Erickson, Box 1327, Glendive Montana, USA

Dear mom and dad,

 Today is Tommy’s birthday. He is very healthy and full of mischief. I think he would like to give each one of you a big kiss. He looks so cute in his yellow pants and white shirt. Thanks so much. Wednesday I have to leave for the New Guinea Highlands. First, I go to Madang by boat about 225 miles. Then I’ll fly in with some native delegates in our mission plane. All our work, will have to be carried out in Pidgin English. There are still many heathen there.

Here, we have been trying to get Malalo in shape for my absence. We decarbonize our light plant engine, have worked on the water pump and tried to get the work for our carpenters and painters to do. The rain has come full force now making everything start to grow again. I preached yesterday in Jabem, which is always a frustrating task, but made it through.

We bought two old high towers at Salamaua. One we have felled, and we will now be able to build a new wharf and also make a fence for our cows.

 The American ambassador to Australia was in Lae several weeks ago and had coffee out at one of the schools with some of our American missionaries. It was a good occasion for our American get together. Of course, it was just for the town folks.

 July is one month when we know you’re sweating it out with us. Hope the weather holds good for the crop. Now that drinking is allowed here we have had our first fatality in our circuit due to drunken driving. The boy was working in the town, and the driver was drunk. I’m afraid many of the sad parts of our way of living will soon start hitting home to the people here. Now many think white people really have the life.

 Thank you again for your letter dad. We are happy to hear a little about you and your work. It is very uplifting for us to be greeted from home. May the good Lord, who has overlooked our tragic selfishness, for Jesus sake, turn us more and more to behold his mighty love for all of us.

 Love to my bestest, mom and dad, your son, Al.