August 30, 1942

August 30, 1942

425 S Cabrillo Ave 

San Pedro, Calif.

Dear Father, Mother, and other relatives,

I will devote this letter to answering the questions which mama included in her last letter. After that I may add some more information if I can think of some to give.

1. I found out about the room I am staying at the first Sunday I was out here. By that time I had already moved to 1018 Avalon Ave, Wilmington. The lady next door has Dwight Johnston as a roomer. I met her son at church, and, when he found out I knew Dwight, invited me to dinner. When I was there in the afternoon I found out about the room for rent next door. I looked at it then but I didn’t take it until Tuesday night, and I moved in Wednesday night, I believe it was. The room in Wilmington was about what I expected but this room was nicer so that is why I moved. The boy who moved in with me was a rather nice guy I thought but he smoked so I decided that I wouldn’t like it too well. Moreover the price was only $2 a month less than where I am now staying which was only a little more considering that I was getting a private room.

My room is located on the northwest corner of the house. It has two windows on the north, one on the south, and a door on the south (a private entrance). The closet is good sized and the bathroom is next door. The Mr. Taylor who moved me is the man I stayed with. I thought that that was very considerate of him. I liked him very much. Mr and Mrs Taylor were, I think, people with more personality than the people I am now staying with. Incidentally, it is remotely possible that I may move again. Yesterday I found the public library here because I wanted to get something to read. However, I had to get somebody to vouch for me, so I walked out to Rev. Wellington’s and he gladly signed for me.

While I was there, he told me that a lady and her husband in the congregation were half-planning on taking a vacation out east for six weeks and that maybe I could stay there because they are looking for someone to stay there while they are gone for nothing and look after the house. After that I could stay there as a roomer. I saw the house and if the inside is like the outside it must be very nice. The man who lives there is a carpenter and built the house himself. The people are members of the church here. Rev. Wellington also said that the rent would probably be less than what I am now paying. If something comes up in this line I will inform you immediately.

All this dashing around to find a place to stay sort of disgusts me, and I suppose you think I am rather inconstant, but I may do it again. I hate to move tho because I hate to tell the people I am leaving because I suppose they have reason to think that I will stay awhile. However, time only will tell how things will turn out. You might write and tell me what you think I should do if the choice comes up.

2. Dwight Johnston is one of the people who graduated as a chemical engineer from Iowa last spring. He has been out here since then. It is because of him that I got invited to dinner the first Sunday I was out here. He is not a Lutheran, but a Presbyterian but I gather than he is a very consistent Presbyterian if you get what I mean. I didn’t know him too well in school but I think I will learn to know him better out here. We talked some that first Sunday and he sort of gave me an idea what to expect in the way of what I would be doing at first. I gave you a resume of this in my last letter.

3. The person who invited me to dinner was Carl E. Johnson, son of the lady next door. However, he does not live there. He is married and has two children. He is moving soon to a place about 50 miles from here, because his place of work is changing. He is a chemist. I think that he is a remarkable fellow and I am sorry that he is moving away.

4. I like Rev. Wellington very much, primarily because he seems to take more interest in everybody who comes to church than other pastors I have seen. Maybe that is because it is such a small congregation (81 communicant members). He is a young man in the ministry about one year now, and this is his first pastorate. The main trouble with this congregation is that the average stay of pastors for 25 years (with one exception) has been about one year. Yesterday when I went out thereto have him sign my library card he invited me to stay for supper. I’ll bet you can never guess what we had for supper. I am so certain that I will tell you right away instead [of] letting you guess awhile. It was chocolate waffles with ice cream on top with coffee to drink. That is California for you, rather dippy at times. He had fixed up a place to play ping pong in his garage and we played ping pong for awhile.

5. I will outline my work schedule to answer the 5th question. Beginning tomorrow, Monday, I will work seven days, thru Sunday from 8 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon. The next week I work three days from 12 at night to 8 in the morning beginning at 12 Monday night. Since I will have worked 7 days the week before I will work only 3 that week since for salaries less than $200 a month you are not supposed to work more than 5 – 8-hour days a week. The next week I work from 4 in the afternoon to 12 at night Monday thru Friday. This schedule prohibits my going to church one Sunday out of three but I guess it can’t be helped. I am not certain that I will like my work so well but I guess that I can stand it as long as the war lasts. I guess I’ll keep on at least until I have enough saved to start farming if I want to.

6. I got the $20 dad telegraphed as I said in my last letter. I will be paid the 15th & 31st of every month. I think the reason I have not gotten my expense check is that Mr. Cole’s (who is the head of the Shell Dev. Co here) sec’y is on a vacation and he has let his correspondence ride. Since he is a very nice guy I didn’t feel like saying anything. However I will this week if nothing shows up. Most of the people working for the Shell Dev Co here at Wilmington are nice to meet and be with. In Emeryville, all of the employees are unionized which doesn’t sound so good, since if you are ever going to make any progress in the company that is where you will go eventually. Maybe I should go back to school after awhile and become a teacher — a relatively free, uninhibited occupation.

7. I am rooming next door to Dwight Johnston. He is not married and I do not think is even considering it. He and I are the only two of those working at Wilmington that I have met who are not married.

8. I got the first letter forwarded from Bob Lloyd yesterday along with mama’s and Verner’s letter. In it he said that he would be writing again soon since the address he gave in his first letter was uncertain. When his next letter comes I will write to him. He is in the army for limited service. After school was out last spring he volunteered I guess but was rejected for physical reasons. I have written to Uncle Lawrence’s. In fact I was writing to them last Tuesday night when Rev. Wellington called on me. Incidentally I think that I should transfer my membership out here since it will be easy enough to send it back if I have to and since I think that I have found the place where I will go to church.

9. I think that in my work here I walk almost as much if not more than I did when I was in school It is 15 minutes of fairly good walking from here to the P.E. depot and 10 more from the Watson station to the place where I work. If I move, as I may, it will be even more.

10. I have handed in my application for refund of train fare but it has been delayed, I think for reasons that I have given before in this letter. In view of the fact of my present resident indecision, it may be best to wait a week or two, or until I notify you definitely before you subscribe to the Readers Digest or Luth Companion.

I sent my drawing instruments home yesterday since I am not using them. They will be needed in Vincent’s first year courses, primarily drawing and projection. Yesterday morning since I had mostly nothing to do I looked around in the stores awhile. Drawing sets can be obtained here for a fairly reasonable price here I think so that if I needed any I probably could get some. Then too, the pawn shops of which I have noticed several probably would not be fruitless in such a search. Dwight says that after he came out here & before he got his expense check he pawned his slide-rule. I guess if you looked carefully at what you were getting you could get some fairly food stuff in them.

This afternoon I am going to the congregational picnic here. It is being held at a park in the city, somewhat like Dolliver’s Park only more civilized.

Yesterday, the sun came up in the morning and shone all day creating a beautiful morning for the first time since I have been out here.

I have bought an alarm clock because I am afraid that sooner or later I will oversleep, especially on odd shift hours.

Thank you very much for the letter, Verner.

I guess that this is all for this time. Please ask questions, if is easier to write letters that way since I guess I do not realized exactly what I should write about.

With love

C.P.