{envelope front}:

Thomas Gushul, Esq.
Box 209
Coleman, Alta.

{envelope back: a post stamp} 30 November, 1918

Y.M.C.A. Lethbridge,
Nov. 29, 1918

Dear Brother:

        Thank you so much for your letter from the 25th. I am very happy that You have understood me and accepted my apologies. The only thing saddens me – that you are sick. According to what you have described I assume that you have Nervous Dyspepsia. I told you this past summer that you would get sick if you kept walking at nights. A man is like a candle that burns at night and then extinguishes during the day – the same way a man should work during the day and rest during the night. If this rule is not observed then the candle will be burning from both ends and will burn out quicker. The same way is a human organism: if one does not rest at night but works then he ruins the strength of his organism. Keep in mind that mental work is harder than the physical one, and that’s why it ruins the entire human’s organism twice faster. Therefore take my advice, since I know how that works – I myself had this sickness last summer. True, you cannot sleep, you are restless, your stomach is always bloated, you would not have a bowel movement; something is pressing against your heart; in the middle of the abdomen, there is as if a stuck nail; you have appetite but food doesn't taste; your head is heavy and at times even something blocks the head and your eyes ache. This is dyspepsia. Mental overwork causes it, as well as irregular eating. Listen to me and do not eat cabbage, onion (neither fried, nor boiled, nor raw one), or carrots; nothing heavy or greasy, since that grease is not nutritious and bloats the stomach. Do not eat anything baked; all you eat should be boiled, not baked. Do not eat meat, do not drink coffee or take anything sweet or sour; beets are also bad. Also, quit smoking because smoking is very harmful when you have stomach problems. Drink very hot water before breakfast and before

2

going to sleep, one glass, but make sure the water is really hot, so that you would not be able to drink it like tea but sip little by little. Eat regularly, breakfast between 7 and 8 a.m.; dinner between 12 and 1 p.m.; and supper between 6 and 7 p.m. Also make sure that Your stomach has about 5 to 6 hours of rest between meals. Do not eat anything between the eating hours meaning do not “snack” here and there – that would cause irregularity, it spoils your appetite and ruins the stomach. Do not eat raw fruits, especially apples, only cooked ones, and eat those as much as you please but only during the designated meal hours. Do not overeat – get up from the table when you still feel a little hungry. When you eat, sit straight, do not bend, and walk daily spending outside about 4-5 hours; but when you walk move straight, with your chest up and forward. Do not suppress your abdomen with a belt, let it be free. Do not be upset, do not think, do not feel sad, do not be angry, do not quarrel, do not read or

3

study but read something funny that would entertain you and settle down your nerves. Go to bed at 10 p.m. the latest. Beside this, find out empirically which food does not harm You, but in the meantime all food will be harming, and you will be bloaty because the stomach will not do its work – food digesting – well. Keep in mind that You should chew Your food at least 50 times, that is the food in Your mouth should be chewed so well that it feels like milk, not solid food. Chew Your food till You cannot find any solid piece and everything is liquified – then swallow. I do not know if You like it but I guarantee that You will get well; yet remember that it will take more than a day or two to heal – it will take some 7 to 24 months. You see, I’ve been sick for 7 months and I still am not well. It took the illness more than

4

one day to appear, so it will not leave soon. Sometimes it so happens that one has to have a surgery if a stomach is wrecked beyond repair. Be careful! I told you many times that Your eating habits were careless. Make sure to keep windows open at night, so that fresh air circulates everywhere. It’s not just Your health that gets ruined but Your children might get tuberculosis or some other dangerous sickness. Take care of Yourself and all Your family. Try what I advised and You will see Yourself or better ask a doctor. If what I advised does not bring relief after regular use then go to a doctor; I suggest You go and see Dr. Olivier, since he has various equipment and he will find out a diagnosis faster than a doctor without the equipment. All I told You here, I believe in that. If You have a pain near the heart – it is dangerous, might be tuberculosis due to the lack of fresh air in the apartment. Go to a doctor immediately! Do not think lightly of what I am writing, take it for the truth.
As for my everyday life, I can say only one thing – calamity. I have reached such a state that I had to pawn the Bond for $10000. I do not know how it will turn out but I had to sign a promissory note for 2 months. If I do not pay back I will lose my Bond; but even if I lose it I still have saved myself from hunger. In a week I will start working at the bank where Moisiuk used to work, in Fernie. Everything is already arranged and I am just waiting for an answer from the president in Vancouver. They collected all kinds of information,

5

even asked for my photo. It is hard to land a job at a bank! I had to give them the name and occupation of my grandfather, uncles, aunts, and all the extended family members. Brother, they have collected such detailed metrics that I do not know how I got all of that. They even asked if I was interested in Socialism and if I was getting citizenship documents, but I spread a mist over them, and have obtained the job. Someday I will read You all the information they collected about me, since I’ve been keeping precise notes like a reference list. All that has been happening for a month and, thank the saints, everything has been accepted, but I have to still wait till the answer comes that I’ve been accepted to the job. You see, they gave me an offer of wages, and when I have accepted, they then informed the president, and as soon as he replies I will start

6

the job. It is hard to squeeze into a bank – I did not know how difficult it was, but now I know. Now, what do You think about it? I think that it is not bad; the wages are low but they promised to raise them when I prove to them that I deserve it. They give me $7583 a month – it is quite good for a start. Almost every new hire gets less. $50 a month – that’s enough, but I have embellished that I am a great scribe and I know 10 languages and how to do bookkeeping and know all the chancellery customs. You see what I have gained by doing that. I know that if I start studying I will quickly learn the Computing Course, or Accounting as it’s called in English. An accountant gets at least $17500 a month. Maybe I will climb up to a boss position and change my hard luck. What do You think?

7

Do not tell anything to anybody that I am employed till I start working; then brag about Your brother the banker; but do not tell anything about the wages, just say that I am paid some $17500 a month, for I am sure I will be earning that by the Spring – I will be trying hard. Baraniuk will be struck by that, he will say that I have turned into a weirdo. Do you visit each other, and do you know what others talk about me? Is Vira in Coleman yet? I think that I will let you know via telegraph when I will be stopping at Coleman on my way to Fernie, and You will come to see me, won’t you?
Speaking about business, brother, I have in mind to go to В.С. and buy there a farm where fruits grow, and organize an apiary and orchard. Look, from wise people’s experience I am convinced that one can make good money on that quickly; besides, a man on a farm – surrounded by roses and in the fresh air – is as sturdy as a nail! I’ve been reading agricultural literature and already got many books and other good information from Ottawa. I want very much that You would work hard and I would too, and we together would buy some 10-20 acres of land in Okanagan District, B.C., and You would move there with Your family and work, and I would gather money for the development. Therefore, in the meantime let’s try and collect

8

currency, and later on will look for a farm. But maybe You know about something better than this, then write to me. But I gravitate toward an apiary and orchard. Yet some other business might also be appealing to me. I do not plan to go to the Old Country, for there is nothing good there now and will not be for some time; so, we would save up a good sum of money and return to free Ukraine. It will take a couple of years, but nothing can be achieved without hard work.
I ask You to give me a quick reply, and describe everything in detail about Graphina, Paraska, and Your family. Do not forget about this, for I feel sorry that I do not know more about you all. Describe everything but take care of yourself, do what you can and get well.

9

I have stuff to write about but I will not, for we will talk soon.
So, say hello to Anton and Grapyna, Paraska and Yuzio, Mother and all the family. Wishing You a speedy recovery.
Your brother
DOM