November 19, 1943

Nov. 19, 1943

949 W. 12th St

San Pedro, Calif

Dear Father and Mother and the rest at home

This week has been a rather cloudy week with rain threatening several times, but with very little actually coming. Tuesday morning, or rather I guess it was Wednesday, it had rained some during the night but I went to work without my raincoat and was justified in so doing since it did not rain on the way to work. During the day it rained some however, enough to wet the ground about. Today started off clear, but clouded up in the late forenoon and after dinner the sky looked like it could produce a good thunder-storm had it been in Iowa, but the clouds slid off without doing anything. I guess that the rain would be desirable around here for the crop etc.

The four new men have arrived. That is they got as far as meeting Mr. Cole, but since they have to find a place to stay and more or less establish themselves, they have not been down to the lab yet, so I haven’t met them. They might show up tomorrow tho. If they do, I shall surely have my hands full inasmuch as I will be taking care of plant IV as Dwight is having his day off tomorrow. I suppose that after things get running smoothly I won’t have to do much more than tell people what to do.

Since our man-of-all-work, Pike was unable to do everything in his line that cropped up around the place, a nondescript female is now around, washing windows, sweeping floors etc. I think that when her work become routinized she will have time to wash all of the dirty dishes that are produced in the lab. We will also be doing a certain amount of work for Shell Oil, inasmuch as it has been decided not to let their workers use of Pulfrich refractometer, since they have been a trifle careless in the use of it. Therefore we will have to do the work for them. Zene was saying the other day that we may also be getting a spectro-photometer, which means that we would not have to use the Pulfrich for aromatic analysis as we have in the past.

I am now working only every third Sunday. Mel, Dwight and I have turns in working on Sunday and being responsible for Plant IV. When the new men become sufficiently well versed in what is going on, say in a month or so, it is probable that I will not have to work Sundays at all, since they will be able to take care of Plant IV. However it has been my experience in the past, that as soon as you think you have everything lines up the way you want it, something comes along to upset it. Even when I do work on Sundays tho, I have no difficulty in getting back to San Pedro in time for evening services, so it real[ly] is not too great an inconvenience.

I received a[n] Iowa Conference 75th anniversary booklet from the church in Gowrie. Do you know who was responsible for mailing these out?

Well, next week is Thanksgiving and it really does not seem so long since I was home last and saw you all. I guess that we shall have a holiday that day since the government has ruled that work on holidays shall be paid for at time and one-half. I like days when I do not have to work, since I can lay in bed till I feel like getting up. The worst of it is that when I have this opportunity, I feel like getting up instead. This invariably happens on Sundays when I am not working. I guess I was never meant to live according to a schedule, unless I made the schedule myself.

Mrs. Johnson has been having rheumatism in her right shoulder this week, but it is somewhat better today. It is brought on by the wet, cool weather we have been having she says.

I got a letter from Vivian last week. She tells all about her birthday etc. She also sent me some white hairs that she has pulled out of her head.

I seem to be running down so I shall stop.

With love

C.P.