April 7, 1945

949 W 12th St

San Pedro, Calif

April 7, 1945

Dear Mother, Father and the rest of the folks at home,

If it were this kind of a day in Iowa, you would say that it almost felt like rain, but being as it is in Calif probably nothing shall come of it now. It has been quite warm all day and tonite it is very still and quiet. Outside you can hear birds singing off in the distance. It is almost sultry like and there are a few clouds lurking around the horizon. Probably the reason it has been so warm is that the mornings have not started to be foggy yet. This morning I sort of expected it to be foggy but it wasn’t. It is too bad that spring had a setback in Iowa, but the way it started in seemed almost too good to be true.

You ask in your letter that I got today, mother, what the relation of the work done here to Shell products is. Well, that is sort of a broad question. Since I have come here three processes based on research done here have been put in commercial operation. Two are being operated by Shell Oil at Dominguez. Both are concerned with aviation gasoline and explosives raw material. The other was being operated by Shell Chemical at Cactus, Texas but has been discontinued at last reports. Since then work on catalytic desulfurization and reforming has been investigated both on laboratory & pilot plant scale. A number of specialized problems relative to a plant at Wood River, Ill. refinery & at the catalytic cracking unit at Dominguez have been investigated. There have also been some minor investigations carried out. All of these if they show promise are incorporated in present operating techniques to make performance more successful and the products better. Besides this, some distillation work has been done in connection with some lube stock evaluation being carried out at Emeryville. A complete report of the relation between the experimental work here & Shell products would take a long time & would reveal supposedly confidential information but maybe you can get an idea from the foregoing.

I have heard nothing from the draft board. Mel thinks that I don’t need to worry and that if 25% of the guys taken here are drafted I will not be among them but that if more are taken I might have to go. However as I said before, matters seem to be reaching a climax in many quarters all at once, so that I could see very little action even I I were taken in the army. It is still possible to get commissions in the navy, and I think I will try to get one if the draft board gets too insistent.

Wednesday night next, a meeting of the congregation is to be held to discuss a possible pastoral candidate. Last night Tinberg called up and asked me to arrange the meeting. The Home Mission Board has evidently selected someone and Langhoff, the regional director will be down to present him to the congregation to see what they think. I have no idea who he is. We certainly need someone here to keep up the S.S. work etc.

My car is running fairly good. I don’t think it is going to give too good mileage tho. Probably I will have to ride the P.E. for awhile after my gas is used up. What I have tho should last into June, when I can begin to think of renewal of the gas rations. It surely is handy and it is a great timesaver. It is very nice to sleep in the mornings.

Last night I mowed the lawn for Mrs. Johnson and then went down and played volleyball at the Methodist gym for awhile. I tried to get some tennis shoes but couldn’t. Instead I got some non-rationed shoes suitable instead, and they are very comfortable so I should perhaps wear them often. Thursday night I went to a show but it wasn’t very good.

I feel like taking a bath and relaxing in bed reading for awhile so, good night —

With love

C.P.