A Christmas letter from Anderson J Pickett to Aaron Spear who sent it to the Orleans Progress Examiner, published January 1, 1914.  Aaron and his wife, raised A J Pickett after the death of his parents, Jacob Pickett & Mary Shiveley, who were both deceased when A J was only 4 1/2 year old.   A J married Melvina Burgess Fisher 11 Oct 1893 in Orange County, Indiana. He died 27 Jun 1918 in Oakland, Michigan of Pulmonary Tuberculosis. He sold funeral goods and hearsts.

 Aaron Spear, D. D
Paoli, Indiana

Dear Old Granddad,

 Under separate cover I am mailing you my usual Christmas offering, which I hope you will enjoy as much as I get pleasure out of sending the same.  I only wish that I could be there with you as I was many years ago, and could sit in front of the old fireplace and blow smoke up the chimney, and hang my old home-made woolen socks upon the mantle.  I remember one time I hung up my socks and Grandma had made some horehound candy and I remember she rolled up a piece about as big as my fist and wrapped this up in a newspaper and put it down in the toe of one of my socks, and the other, she put a big piece of corn dodger.  At that time, I did not think that was much Christmas but to me now, such a Christmas as that would be worth much more than money could buy.

 I guess we all make mistakes in life, some greater than others.  There is scarcely a day that I don’t regret having left the old farm.  To you, I suppose this sounds rather queer; nevertheless, it is the truth, for I have not done a thing except chase dollars ever since I left.  I have never taken a vacation and don’t see any chance of ever taking one.  As I remember, back on the farm, I used to go out hunting two or three times a week and go to the village on Saturday afternoon and whittle and spit tobacco juice all over the old stone sidewalks, and now I neither get to hunt, whittle or chew tobacco.  I have had an elegant business this year; in fact, I have written some of the biggest orders that have ever been written by anyone in this line of business.  I wrote an order in St. Louis that amounted to $40,000.  Took five cars to carry this order of goods.  I wrote one in Baltimore a few weeks ago that amounted to $43,000.  This, with a number of small orders running from the $1,000 to $10,000 apiece, has made me a very good business this year.  If making money alone would satisfy me, I should be fairly content, but I have found out after it too late, that there are a great many things one should put ahead of money.  But since I have gotten into this whim, I could not be satisfied in any other way.  Hoping that I may have the pleasure of mailing you a great many more Christmas offerings, and again expressing to you my gratefulness for all you have done for me.  I beg to remain

 Yours truly,
A J Pickett

 Posted by Linda Sawyer (A J Pickett was her 3^rd great uncle.) in Slices of Orange on Facebook.