Ernest Joy Letters

BOWDOIN – KENT'S ISLAND EXPEDITION
Jan. 1, 1940

Dear Bob,
received your letter and box of recoards ok and thanks for the book it was nice of you to send it.  I will start on the new recoards to day well the new year come in with bang last night at 1130 it was blowing 39 mph SE with rain and at 1230 it jumped in to west and snowed it is blowing 35 mph now and rough I would not like to be out in the Pont standing seas I guess you could get her bow under without trying very hard boy if you could see the Black ducks that is here this morning I am going to get some soon  we had the lobesters yesterday for the winter the fisherman have got their traps up and gon home we will miss them  Bob don't fail to come up and if you come through Brunswick see Mr Grose and see if he will send the Hambleton watch the one he left the mainspring broke and I have nothing that will keep time any wars right one is fast and the other slow I have to set one every hour

I have nothing to time the anomometer with correctly.  I have to watch the minute hand on the clock boy I hope you and fred can make it now dont be frighten of u bots for there is none of them in the Bay of funday and not likely to be for they have not got any to spare and another thing it is too far from home base  Lester will be looking for you so dont fail to come  boy I hve to climb up and greese the anomometer every time the wind dies out enough to let me up there boy some times in a long blow the thing gets to howling right out boy she can make some nois when she gets dry
well best of luck
and a HaPPY New Year
Ernest

May 2, 40
Dear Bob
Received your letter and the pictures and the paper clippings all o.k. after a long time boy I thought you must of got lost on the way I received the thermos clock april 15 and started it going on the 16 it did not work  good for a time as you will see by the recoard the cog was loose on the bottom and after a while I found the trouble and tightened it up and it has been o.k. ever sence, we have had two mighty gales since you was here the last was a holey terror hail snow sleet and rain I cannot tell you how bad it was I [?] wish you could of been here it was a 28 foot tide and fifty 50 mile gale the sea was right up in the field o god it was rough from the house up to the north and the sea was right to hell in the woods and down towards the south and in places it was half across the island to go out in the wind was just like the western front shooting buckshot at you I don't know if the recoard for that day is any good or not for the max and min was all washed clean and I could not look nor see when I unlocked the max the wind spun it around so fast you couldnt tell it was there, the anemometer stood it ok and never made a grunt and is still going fine neither of the blows this winter was as hard as the28 gale. the 28 gale I think must of reached 75 or 80 mph but the tide was short not more than 23-24 feet when you come up I can tell you all about it.
we had gulls eggs for breakfast
best of luck and best regards from carrie and me
Ernest

Sept 1-41

Dear Bob
      received your letter and picture ok and I also received the wind vane I have not put it up yet the Batterys has played out and so has the generator.  Lester is supposed to come down and try to fix it the anemometer will onely flash about twice and that mighty dim I think these old batterys are on their last legs for they willnot hold up any time and the generator has just made up her mind not to go.  Maby Emerson when he comes down inOctober can do something with her the boys and Lester all went on the 28 aug so we are all alone I have a new dora and a new punt and a 5 hors out board motor Bob Herrington and his brother was up for a few days
     Best regards from Carrie and me
             Yours truly
                      Ernest a Joy

October 1 – 41

Dear Bob
    received your letter ok now don't start turning too many leaves for if you do I may get another letter before xmas wilch I dout I will  Lester was down and going around like fart in a mitten he had 3 days work to do in one he worked at the generator and the thing was like old man greens clock when he greased it with lard it just made a click or to and stopped I guess the thing is about in its last legs the onely hope I have is that when Emerson comes down he maybe able to do something with it, next month I will try and get a battery charged on one of the lobster boats
boy my out board motor runs fine I go to whitehead in 35 minutes and back in 40
I was coming out of the woods with a load of wood in the old truck this morning and broke the drive shaft so I am shit out of luck for this winter when you come up in febuary you better bring some dry sell batteries (if you come) o yes I have a new dora and the out board goes in a well, she goes good I have made 3 trips to whitehead boy I wish you was here to help us enjoy the mosquitos they have long bills and sharp points and they know how to use them I think I will go and look for deer on the 15 if Emerson can come down
         well Bob write again soon
              Best of luck,
                  Ernest

P.s duke taylor got lost in the harbour one night in mabuary Ingalls dinkey he found the shore some where and after a while he found the house and got some of the boys to find the dinkey but they never did so mabuary was out a dinkey  mabuary brought him down to the mouth of the harbour and set out in the dinkey dike thinks he road around sheep island [?] how he got lost