We are enjoying life at Malalo.
1962 March 29
Letter written by Ina Erickson from the Malalo Mission station to Beryl and Bruce 2314 So 7th St. Minneapolis 6, Minnesota, USA
Congratulations Westphals!!
Just written a letter to mother that you would be welcome to use Paula’s crib when you need it. I hate to think that your baby will all be all grown up before I see it. But it that goes with life. I remember how tired I was with Paula just cooking was a chore say nothing of working and cleaning. Always thought that the first 3 months were the worst after that I felt better than before I was pregnant so from now on it should be fun. Help yourself to my maternity clothes and shorten them or alter them as needed. My beige pants should fit you pretty well. I remember how fun it was to start wearing them. Beryl, (? not sure what is written here) several pairs of maternity pants – with Paula I didn’t and ruined all that elastic in my good ones so it wasn’t economical after all and they are so much more comfortable.
I do hope Janice O will be happy. What is her husband like? Do you think she’ll wind up like Bette or do you think she’ll be he’ll be a little more stable. I hope and pray she made a wise decision.
We are enjoying life at Malalo. We have lots of eggs milk and cream so have been making our own ice cream. Yum Yum- good. The natives have been selling us watermelon for one shilling which is about 11 cents so we’ve really got it nice. We’ve been having quite a few earthquakes but none have been severe so nothing has been broken.
I hope Bette will be happy at home. I think it will be better for Lisa. I hate to think what might happen to Frank - do keep praying for him. We will too. Bruce, Al and I have been reading a book I’m sure you would enjoy. It touches on many of the things you were confused on. The book is called The Hammer of God by Bo Gertz translated into English by Clifford Anggar Nelson.
This weekend we will be going into Lae to see a native show. They exhibit things they’ve made and then dance and sing. Some dress up in their native dress which is almost nothing and beat their drums and dance for several days. Last night the village was practicing until 1:30 am I could hear those old drums going and shouting. I sent to Al maybe they’ll go on the warpath.
Sing-sing at the Lae show.
Tommy has 6 teeth now and ohh he is a biter. He is always nipping at me on the shoulder or on the legs. He’s such a hairpuller and she will get into Paula’s hair with both hands and pulls and laugh. He walks quite well around the furniture now. He gets overconfident and let’s go and goes down’ Kaplunk’.
It’s been hot today at but we have such a nice sea breeze. We’ve been lucky with heat rash. Paula has some on her shoulders but with several baths a day it doesn’t get any worse and Tommy doesn’t have any. Jen Obser sent a bag of clothing for the natives. There were 2000 little caps and one Little League baseball cap we put on Tom. He looked so funny we just laughed and laughed.
Have you thought of any names for Junior Westphal? I laughed when Willa wrote to me that you, Beryl wanted to keep it a secret for awhile and Bruce made so many faces that finally you told him. I was going to keep both of my pregnancies secret, but I vomited so much at work in Stevens Point everyone knew and then you asked me with Tom. Those things just don’t keep.
The natives just killed a very poisonous snake on a bush that grows a foot from the veranda where the kids play. It was camouflaged so well I, was looking right at it, and didn’t see it.
We love and miss you
God’s blessing Al Ina, Paula and Tom
That coconut tree at the edge of the lawn overlooking Malalo hill is a landmark in my memory. So even though this is not labeled as Malalo, I recognize that scene and according to the letters Tom is just beginning to walk at Malalo and not Gurakor.
We have pumpkins-- huge things.
1962 March 29
Letter written by Ina Erickson from the Malalo Mission station to Martin and Willa Tonn, 10316 Grand Ave, Minneapolis 20, Minnesota, USA
Dear Willa, Martin and family,
What do you do with people, who, when their children get sick make little half inch cuts all over their bodies with the razor blades and let them bleed the bad blood out. When they are sick they need their blood to make them well and here they go bleeding them. The sicker they are, the more cuts they get.
Oh dear, here comes Paula in a cloud of flies, guess who just filled her pants. She comes with such a scowl on her face saying 0h 0h 0h 0h . But will not tell me before. She stays dry even at night but she will not tell me when she has to go BM. I’ve spanked her and it does not do any good. I’ll just have to wait until she is ready.
Tommy is a little sturdier on his feet now. he has learned to get down now and spread his feet way apart then sinks down on his knees and crawls away. I can just hear mother saying Oh no! - but how she loves them once they get here.
I’m glad Beryl feels real well. I guess even the best plans fall. When I left they were going to wait until after Bruce was through school. I wish they had some of my baby clothes.
Paula is beginning to copy more words, but she is so slow to talk. Today she started with ketone which means ‘enough’ and ‘tonik’ which means ‘this’. She knows the difference between ducee- duck and ticky- chicken but horse and cows are both cows. Eyes, nose and mouth are all eyes and I can’t talk her out of it. I wonder where she gets her stubbornness.
People in New Guinea at the time wore a mixture if clothes from almost nakedness, traditional dress - especially in the mountains, western clothes and men/boys often wore laplaps as Ina is referring to in the paragraph just below. You can see in above photo laplaps are cloth wrapped around the waist. Coastal women are beginning to cover their breasts but we grew up seeing breasts so much we did not even notice so much.
Mom keeps asking about stores in the villages and I forget to tell her that there are only houses and no trade stores in the native villages. Many mission stations have a trade store connected with them where they can buy dresses, shorts, lap lap which is a loincloth and sugar, salt, beads, knives and biscuits. They bring pit pit which in a husk, like corn is in a husk, and about the same consistency as a real tender cobb after the kernels have been taken off. We also have small tomatoes about an inch in diameter and Matom which looks like spinach but it is more tender. We cook that up that in coconut cream made by grating coconut then pour ‘buna Don’ which is hot water over it and squeezing as much of the juice out. We have pumpkins-- huge things. When we get one we have pumpkin pie, boiled pumpkin and baked pumpkin and cooked pumpkin with marshmallows,- anymore ideas?- to the point that Al begs for mercy. We buy these things so that they can have money for the church. Since we’ve been getting so many eggs and milk I’ve been making lots of ice cream. So we have been making banana splits very often. Doesn’t this missionary life sound rough? I surely can’t say we starve. Al is getting a pooch and we’re so proud of it.
Pit-pit is the edible flower of wild cane that grows rampantly in PNG. It looks like lemongrass on steroids and has a really unusual spongey texture which is perfect for absorbing the coconut milk that it is most commonly cooked in. It is rich, tasty and filling and takes on the flavour of whatever it is soaked in.
From the website: https://alilbitofpickleinpng.wordpress.com/tag/pit-pit/
The heat hasn’t been too bad. We usually get a nice sea breeze with it. You will have to come and spend your vacation at our resort. We have to come from the Victor by canoe and unless you get in on dead center of the canoe, you land in the ocean. Last Sunday girl from several miles down the coast came to visit us. She landed in the water with her camera and watch and light meter. The watch still works but her slide camera was ruined.
Yesterday Al went down the coast aways to inspect the sawmill in Sawet. A native had caught a swordfish 5 to 6 feet long without counting the sword and as big around as Al was. He said he bet it weighed 150 pounds. It took the man in his canoe, all over the place before he was able to land it. It sure gave Al the fishing bug. And we had hoped that they bring some of it to us, - but no such luck. In the same area they got lobsters and oyster. We asked him to sell us some so we hope they will.
Sawet south of Malalo has a sawmill operation. It belongs to the congregation of Malalo in hopes of a business that will bring in money. As you read the letters you will see this is a huge project that Alvin needs to manage and runs into enormous challenges.
We hope to go to Lae on Friday and see the native show. They bring in all the things they have made and have exhibits, and also show their dancing. They have such colorful head dresses with feathers and safety pins, tin cans and other western things added. The women dance in bras and are so stylish with grass skirt.
God’s blessing Al Ina, Paula and Tom
