Letter from Dora Giffen to her brother John Willard Giffen and the rest of her family at home in New Concord, Ohio, January 28, 1922

Fowler Orphanage
Abbassia
Sat., Jan. 28, 1922

Dear Willard and All:
In spite of the fact that you will likely not be at home when this reaches New Concord, I am going to address this letter to you, Willard, hoping that the others will open it if you are not there. I was looking forward to receiving a letter from you this week, since Mother had said in her last week’s letter that you had said that you would try to write one. I suppose now, since you are back in school, that I will not get another letter until school is out next summer. You don't know how hungry I get for news of you yourself from you yourself, - of what you are doing and are planning to do, how you are planning to do it, etc. Are the students in Cambridge earnest and easy to teach? And how do you find “the cold, cold world”? It has been a very warm-hearted, kind old world to me since I have left my home fireside. I tell you, Willard, if you want to feel that you belong and are really of very much use in the world, just join a mission circle. A finer bunch of people you will never find period of course we are all “queer”, for no two people are alike. – “Everybody's queer but me and thee and even thee is a little bit queer.” - but the people I have been associating with have hearts, and from your experience, as you have written about it, evidently you have not been so fortunate.

I think it is just splendid that you can be so near home this year. Sometimes I almost envy you the chance to get home so often. I know Mother and Father are working too hard. Mother has mentioned several times you are helping her to clean house, and Martin’s helping, too. By the way, Father had a birthday on Wednesday of this week. I thought of you, Father, quite often that day and meant to write, but the day was very full and slipped past without anything being written. Mother's first letter of the New Year arrived here on your birthday. Now the rest of you, except Mother, don't need to listen to this next.

Thank you, Mother, for sending those two pages from the Montgomery Ward Jan.-Feb. Sales Catalogue. A jumper suit will suit me just splendidly. Since you have another one of these catalogues at home I will just tell you which one from pages 47, 48, 49 and 50 I like the best. The dress in the right hand corner of page 50 – No. 14P8518 - I think it's very pretty. I like the style I mean, and I think the dress would be prettier if the belt were a narrow one made of the goods, if it had long sleeves, and if the little center vest and collar were made of the goods and vest higher. I also like the sleeves on a lining entirely separate from the dress. I had my blue serge made that way, and this last week I had Kokub, my sewing woman, fix over the brown serge jumper that I had brought out with me. The sleeves had pulled out at the back and I had enough goods for her to rip the sleeves entirely off of the dress and put them on a separate lining, which came to the waist.

Kokub is slow but she sews carefully and her sewing looks very nice and neat when she finally gets there. I had her for a day or two the last of last week and the first of this.

That style that I pointed out may not suit Mrs. Howard to make. I like other jumper styles just as well. Do you remember the dress (blue serge0 that I had the year I was a Senior in College? It was a straight piece from my shoulders down, with plaits and a wide belt. But you do what you think best and don't worry, I will like. It is too good of 2) you to do it, anyway.

Today is Aunt Lizzie Kinkle’s birthday, if I am not mistaken. I am out her at the Orphanage. Uncle John and Aunt E. left Monday morning for Assiut. On Tues. evening I came out and have been spending the nights here ever since, only taking my noon meals in at Shubra, because afternoon classes would make it so that I would have to leave the Orphanage almost as soon as I had reached it at noon if I came out for dinner. If tram connections are not very good it takes an hour to get to the S.O.S. from Abbassia.

This morning Edna went out on a picnic with Miss Buchanan and some others. Two nurses from Tanta Hospital, Misses Mitchell and McCallum, are staying at our house this week (one of them is sleeping in my room), and some of our girls are going to climb the pyramids with them today. However I had too much on hands - of studying and writing letters - to go with them.

Another Bedlam Cottage Round Robin came this week and I have that letter to write and get off this morning. When it came to Susannah on Wednesday I went over to her house with her at 11:00 A.M. to read it. The girls all write such good letters and it is a pleasure to read them. Caroline Gibson says she sees my family often. Agnes enclosed a letter she had gotten from Mrs. Prof. Coleman telling of Lois Catharine's death, which was quite touching.

Lucia Dwight is slowly getting better, for which we are all very thankful. She has been a very sick girl.

In my last letter I forgot to tell you about the package of something like twenty five cloth dolls that I received from the Anti Cant Class of Girls at Valencia. I got the package last week, too late for this year's Christmas, but wherever I am next year I will probably be glad for them. I will be placed by the locating committee at this next Association, which is to begin Feb. 16, I believe it is. I just wonder where I will be sent. I have no definite idea where it will be for there are so many places needing help this next year. It is just possible that it will be in the Delta.

Then last Monday I got that little box that Mrs. Pollock brought out with her, from that same Anti Cant Class. I acknowledged the receipt of both packages in a letter I wrote last night. This last box contained 2 towels, 2 washcloths, 1 spool of black and 1 of white thread, 1 bar chocolate, 1 little bottle of candy drops, 1 cake of face soap, 1 tube toothpaste, 1 toothbrush, some wire hairpins, needles, and I think that was all. It was very thoughtful of the class to send both packages and I did appreciate them.

I went to Khroonfish as usual on Thursday afternoon to conduct that little writing class. I am trying to teach 11 girls and boys to write English, who are just beginning and are of all degrees of intelligence and whose ages range from six to eleven or twelve.

Susannah and Harry were over at our Shubra House for Tea yesterday afternoon. Harry was over giving his last typhoid inoculation to Helen Noordewier. It is nice to see the Hutchisons at school every day.

This afternoon Mrs. Robert McClenahan and Mrs. Frank Henry are entertaining quite a number of people to Tea at the McClenahan's. Edna and I expect to go.

Tomorrow evening after church, the Atchisons have invited Edna, Miss Barnes, and me to come to their house in their Ford and stay for supper. They do not live far from the Orphanage.

A Mrs. Stevenson and her daughter from Tarkio are tourists in Cairo, staying at Shepheard’s. Clarice knows them. I wonder if Grandma does? Mrs. Stevenson is a widow but I forget what her husband's initials were. She may be related to Aunt Margaretta.

Now goodbye. Take good care of yourselves and don't work too hard. Lots of love from Dora.