October 24, 1940

[Today, I begin the transcriptions of my dad’s letters to his family. This first one was written shortly after he left home for the first time, to attend the University of Iowa. In my transcription, I have retained any non-standard spelling and grammar that he used. I hope I have not introduced any new typographical errors.]

Oct 24, 1940

Iowa City, Iowa

Dear mother, father, “little” Vincent (who will flunk his first driver’s license test, I’ll bet), “peanut-grower” Verner and “tall, slim” Marold,

Contrary to all that English teachers have ever taught me, I will start this letter by asking “How are you?” Of course I realize that you are all pretty good but I am asked it anyway to be polite. I am feeling pretty good except that I have a headache every now and then, and I can’t figure out why I do. Also my legs get tired running around this spread out campus but then I suppose, that’s only to be expected.

Well an Industrial Stoichiometry test has come, gone, and come back again. It was hard like expected it to be but the grade I got was a little better than I thought I would get. My grade was 82% and is regarded as a C+. The teacher, my old friend, the adviser, evidently does not grade on a scale or the class average. I talked with several people and I heard other people mentioning their grades etc etc. and the highest grade I could find out was a 86% corresponding to a B–. One fellow who had a 3.92 grade point average (4.0 is straight A) last year got 78% in the test, do I guess that I am getting along all right. However this does not make the class any more interesting which I doubt it will ever be.

The Chemical Industries course, strange to say, is actually developing points of interest and I believe will in the future become quite all right. First we studied water supplies and sewage disposal which didn’t particularly impress me but now we are studying fuels which, from the looks of things, will be quite interesting. In this class, there are never any tests, only “oral” quizzes in which the teacher asks only very obvious questions.

My German teacher’s mother died so we have been combined with another German section for awhile. However, the teacher is not as much fun as my real instructor is. Monday, I went to what was called a phonetics laboratory where you are supposed to learn how to say sounds that are not ordinarily present in English. First we heard records of the sounds, and also of certain selections in our German books and then we practiced making the sounds. It was sort of ineffective, I think. If you can’t say them, you just can’t, I think. I wrote Clarice a letter about this, which I thought was pretty good, and if she doesn’t send it on I’ll have to repeat it sometime for your benefit. We have also had a test in German which wasn’t very hard. However there was one section to it namely, translating of English into German which I thought unjustified as we really have not had enough grammar for that yet. Monday I am going to have a test in Mechanics over all we have had so far. We have had 2 drop tests in this, one I got 9 in and the other 10 where 10 is O.K. Evidently this fellos grades like Shannon used to. As I have mentioned before this class is a lot of fun.

The drawing lecturer said yesterday that after you have had one year of engineering drawing you could probably get a job as a junior draftsman. The rearmament program has presented a great demand for draftsmen, and there just isn’t enough to go around. If I decide I don’t like chemical engineering, I think that is what I will try to do. I seem to take to that course like a fish to water. We have made 8 drawings so far + lettering sheets, demonstration problems etc. You are graded on the drawing but on the rest you either pass of you don’t. Your work must be up to a certain minimum standard and that is all there is to it. My first 4 drawings were not so good — 95–95–85–90 but on the last 4 I have got 100 and my lettering sheets and demonstration problems have so far been O.K. There is a test in this coming up also but it should not be very difficult.

Well it is getting along to about time to go to the industrial stoichiometry laboratory. I dislike that even more than the class work. It is a good thing it comes only once a week and irregularly at that. It surely seems funny, my spirits are always at high ebb about 5 o’clock on Thursdays when there is no more indus stoich lab for another week and invariably at low ebb about now when I’m staring it in the face. So you can see that your letters arrive at a very psychological time. Of course I always feel good Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons when I am drawing, too, but this, alas does not carry over to Thursday afternoon. I will finish this letter after I get back from the skirmish with the enemy.

It is about 6:30. I didn’t get home (that is, back to the Quadrangle) till about 5:30 and then I read magazines for awhile and have just now finished my supper. If I get this letter finished in time and I feel like it, I am going to a lecture on the atom-smasher they have installed here. That starts at 7:30 so I will have to shake a leg in this writing. This talk should contain points of interest I believe. I feel rather tired tonite and have a little headache but I have no class tomorrow till 9:00 and I have only about ½ hour of studying to do so I can sleep till 7:30 or 7:45 tomorrow morning. That is, I will stay in bed till then and loaf. I almost always wake up about 5:00 whether I go to sleep at 8 or 11. I can’t quite figure that out but that’s the way it is.

There is a pep meeting for the dear old football team going on tonite to but there will be no fireworks so I will abstain from it. Privately I hope Iowa gets beat 50–0. I don’t like the exaulted regard in which athletics are held around here.

I have had no letter from Hulda but I suppose I will get one some time if she says she is going to write.

Speaking about Hulda reminds me that I saw a bulletin notice on the Quad bulletin board about a lade who wanted someone to lift her twice a day and tend to her furnace in exchange for a room. Well, I went out and saw her but she gets up usually when I have classes and she doesn’t think I’m big enough to lift her but she took my name anyway and send she’d tell me if she couldn’t get anybody else. I’m not sure that i’d want the job since I would have to go thru some red tape in breaking my Quad contract (altho the lady in the Dean of Men’s office says that it can be done if you have a good enough reason) and also that she lives about 10 blocks from school. If I got it I surely would want to have my bicycle but I have more than a hunch that I won’t get it anyway so that’s settled. Moreover, invalids are inclined to be inconsistent in their actions and I might find out I had no place to stay. Also, how would I get away for Xmas & Thanksgiving. I’d have to find out about that before I took the job.

On the way out there I met a man who I got into conversation with and I asked him where the lady I was looking for lived since I didn’t know exactly. He didn’t know wince he didn’t live around there either but we talked together for awhile. He said that his son has a lot of cactuses around their house and he thinks I could have one maybe if I asked his wife (his son is away now). I think maybe I will do this so I can have a nice little cactus growing on my dresser. I have an old beaker with me that I could put it in.

I would very much appreciate if you would send some more spreads etc to supplement my noonday lunches, since I am continuing with this practice. I have used some of my jelly allready too. I wish I could get some work since I probably could manage to work some altho, even now, I do not have any too much time to fool around in.

I haven’t quite decided yet if I should buy a season ticket for the plays down here or not. It costs $3 and you get to go to 5 plays and you will also get invitations (free I guess) to 5 others. I will have to look up the fellow who is selling the tickets and find out the facts of the matter. There are some good plays I think — “Abe Lincoln in Illinois” and Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Windsor.” I will see about this and perhaps will have decided by the next time I write. I also saw a notice about a fellow who had bought a radio 3 weeks ago for $16.95 and wanted to sell it now for $11.00. I was almost tempted for awhile, since I miss the radio a lot, but the sign is gone now so the temptation is past. I wish I could find an old radio for $2–$3 that I could fool around with and maybe take apart, but I have discovered no second-hand radio stores in this town.

Last Sunday nite I went to the L.S.A. meeting but on the whole I didn’t enjoy myself immensely. For one thing I could find no congenial souls. One fellow I talked to looked at me queerly when I happened to mention that I had socialist tendencies. There were very many people there since a convention was going on some place or other and some of those who attended regularly were gone. Well, I will go some more times maybe and see if it gets any better. The talker said two things in his speech (my old topic again) (1) That we should make the fullest use of our talents (2) That we had nothing to say about being here. At the end of his talk he asked if there was any questions but I was too timid to ask him why we are responsible for our talents if we didn’t ask for them. If I could have talked to him privately I believe I would have. He was a teacher in the Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque & he preached the sermon in the morning at the Lutheran church there. By the way, how much do you think I should give in the collection here?

If my letter seems illogically put together it is because during the week I put down the things I think you might be interested in and look at this list occasionally as I need inspiration. Therefore my letter no doubt seems somewhat disjointed. Last Saturday I enjoyed 2 very good chess games with the fellow who had beaten me before. I won one of the games and that made me feel pretty good as he is by far the best player I have yet played with. I am anticipating more games with him. I have got acquainted with so very many people here and I wish I could find Howard Nelson down here but I suppose that is impossible. I have met some good guys tho. One is Roger Hanson who is my German class & also goes to the Zion Luth church. Another is Robert Jones who works with me in the Indus Stoich Lab and is quite nice. He comes from Missouri. However I have learned to know no people very well.

I have worn my jacket only a couple of times. It was been quite warm here for the last week or week & ½ and my sweater has been sufficient. My green tweeds have begun to look dirty around the pockets so I will send them home and see what you can do to them. I can get my stockings & underwear very clean in the wash bowl. I have washed my pajamas also. I am running out of space and don’t want to start another sheet so I will close.

Yours with love

Carl

[The following sentences were written sideways up and down the sides of all four pages of the original letter.]

I have five minutes to mail this and get over to the chem. audit. for the atom smasher talk.

Somebody with a perverted sense of patriotism is blowing a steam whistle over in the Eng. building. They always do that at pep rallies etc. You can’t imagine how it gets on my nerves & headache.

Thanks for the letter Vincent. I hope you decide to write again some time.

Daddy: keep that dangerous driver, Vincent, away from the wheel. He’s a reckless driver, I know. Also don’t do all his chores for him.

Marold: If you are tall & slim, what is Harris Magnuson. How are Banderson, Wheaties & Blackie’s Verner?

Vincent: Work hard, don’t let daddy do all the chores, also get your high school math. My Mechanics teacher says that more students fall down in that respect than in not knowing their Calculus etc.

Mama: What should I do about the blanket you sent me if you send my an Indian blanket?