In this letter, Isabelle Orr Bailey (1886-1965) writes to her brother, Joseph Robert Orr (1893-1970), who had recently been injured while serving in the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I. She begins her letter on November 10, 1918, the day before the signing of the armistice between the Allies and Germany to end hostilities. The second page of Bailey's letter is dated November 15, 1918, and describes how "Seattle went wild" upon receiving "the joyful news that war was over." She relates that "you never saw such mobs [you] could hardly walk up the street," as people closed up shop and took to the streets to celebrate.

Isabelle and Joseph Orr grew up in Centralia, Washington. Isabelle probably moved to Seattle around the time she married her husband, Fred Bailey, in December 1912. After her marriage, she ran a small grocery at her home address of 514 W. Mercer Street. Isabelle refers to their "little store" in her letter, mentioning her rearrangement of food and tobacco cases, and the prices of various products. She also mentions Elmer Noble, a football star and friend of theirs from Centralia, who had recently been killed in the war.

At the time that 23-year-old Joseph Orr enlisted in June 1917, he was working in Brawley, California as a bottler for Brawley Bottling works. After the war he returned to Centralia and sometime later moved to Seattle, marrying Lois Bell in 1935.

Judging by the various stamps and dates on the envelope, Orr did not receive this letter from his sister for several months after returning home.