Mr. Truman's courtship of Bess Wallace started and flourished during his years on the farm. He made many weekend trips to Independence to see her and kept the mails hot with letters. These letters were released and published in a book entitled "Dear Bess," and edited by Robert Ferrell. The letters make no apologies for his occupation as a farmer.

He told Bess about the daily jobs that occupied his time. He found humor in farm life and spiced his letters with folksy passages, such as a prescription for dipping chickens given to him by his "Mama."

Mr. Truman also learned the physical hazards of farming. He suffered a broken leg while setting fence posts when a 400-pound calf bolted and ran into him. This meant several weeks of immobility, during which he was able to devote more time to writing to Bess.

The trips made to Independence were time consuming and arduous. It was a 20-mile journey that he traveled either by train or streetcar. However, this problem was eased when he bought a used Stafford automobile. The car provided transportation on outings for Harry and Bess and their young friends.