January 5, 1917
Studio Building, 25 Severn Toronto
Dear Winnie,
Thank you for the Christmas gifts. I received the parcel when I got back to Toronto. My visit to Owen Sound was grand. I got to see Tom and Elizabeth in Annan too. Father and Mother are doing well but my Father was starting to get ill when I left for Toronto. I am sure it’s nothing of worry.
It’s quiet around here but I don’t mind because I plan to get a lot of canvases done. I plan to get back up early as possible in the spring to do more sketches. We’ve had an awful lot of snow here in Toronto and it’s colder than usual. There’s been more than the usual number of fires because people are burning anything they can for fuel and that makes for bad creosote fires. They’re next impossible to put out and usually the whole house goes down to fire.
I hope work is going well. The women here are working in the munitions factory and they are always looking for more. They opened a women’s employment bureau on Bay St. Remember me to your parents.I hope to stop by when I go in the spring. If I take early morning train I can come for an afternoon visit and the catch the afternoon to make the connection to the Park. That way I don’t need to be put and I’ll be as little trouble to your parents as possible.
Affectionately yours,
Tom
P.S. The hat you made makes for a fine night cap. I keep the temperature as low as possible during the night. I’ll use it for outside when it’s closer to spring.
Tom Thomson's Last Spring 