The Cyples Family
Letters from the New World
31st March 1947

 

Fred and Family:

 

An hour or so after mailing you that brief note dated 29th I received your letter and see now that I was wrong so disregard it. Also I note that you will not get passage until after the 14th of May which will give you ample time to learn all the essentials of plastering. The best way to accomplish it would be: To insert an "ad" in your local paper to read: A man leaving for Can. wishes to contact a plasterer
 
In this country the houses are generally plastered by individual plasterers who either work by the day or take a contract for the job and he employs a helper who prepares the mortar and carries it to him. If you contact such a one you could work as a helper and he could show you howto put it on and of course you would have to use the trowel but its an art soon picked up A week or 10 days of this practise and you could get by with it over here. Even though you worked as a helper free he might require a few pounds as a money payment.If so then you should pay him after he has tought you the rudiments of the art.You see its likely that you may only live with me for a few months and that means we shall have to build a house and we don't want to pay no $1.47 per hr. to plaster it and its quite likely we will do other building
 
The legal minimum rate of pay for unskilled work of some work here is around 50c per hr but mostly 60, 70, 75 is paid but we have too many unskilled workers.
 
Show this letter to Will and it is likely he can make some helpfull suggestions. Its likely that you will have funds enough for the above but if short I'll aid you. Now see what you can do.
 
Leonard
 
What you need is to contact a plasterer who is working preferably on a job by himself
L.

Of course the more practise you can get at plastering the better.