If this letter finds you, God has certainly heard my prayers. This year marks the third Christmas without my Clara, and even though this season is the most lonely, the rest of the year is not much better. The store here is profitable, enough for three families, but success is lonely when not shared.
I would very much enjoy seeing you and Adaline; in fact, I would like to present you with a business proposition. I have moved into the rooms above the store. I still have my home, but it’s too large and full of Clara. I do not know how business stands for you in Boston, so much changed with the war, but if you’ve a longing for change, a position and home await you here. I feel the years that separate us now more than ever, and I can’t continue on here—not on my own, feeling every one of my 63 years.
Many of the mine owners live here, so there is a school and a church, and as I stated before, business is good. Winter lasts for months, but spring is worth the wait. I do not want to paint a false picture. I work hard and the hours are long, but if you’ve fathered a bunch of strapping sons, the load will be light.
Enough of the sales talk. You now know where I stand. I send this with hopes that I will hear from you soon, even if you decline to join me. I do ask myself, however, how brothers could have become so separated. I hope you come, but even a letter from the only family I have left would be more than welcome.
Sincerely,
Mitchell Fontaine
Georgetown
Colorado Territory