This collection is made up of 9 letters that Velma Reynolds Loehr received from family members and a friend between 1904 and 1908. The first letter, written by Sadie Yoder in Danvers, Illinois, largely concerns the women's upcoming marriages (February 14, 1904). Members of the Reynolds family, including Velma's father, Gould J. Reynolds, and her siblings Ora, Dolly, [Clinton], and Maude, wrote the remaining letters. Writing from Le Roy, Illinois, they commented on farm work, household chores, news of family and friends, and their social activities, including trips to Bloomington, Illinois, and a street fair in Le Roy. Dolly Reynolds reported that an acquaintance continued to make paper flowers, despite having been married (May 5, 1904), and C. Reynolds (likely Clinton) discussed his plans to work in a canning factory (June 6, 1906). Several of Velma's correspondents mentioned the growth of her sons. Maude Reynolds enclosed two small plants in her letter of July 31, 1906.
Gould J. Reynolds (1850-1914) and his wife Adaline, residents of Le Roy, Illinois, had eleven children: Ora E., Clinton C., Maudie (1881-1918), Velma, Dolly M., Pearl, Herman, Toney (1893-1974), Myrtle, Cody (1898-1976), and Norma. Velma Reynolds married Charles Loehr around 1904 and moved to Fulton Township, Iowa, where they lived with their sons Loran, Glen, and Donald.
