January 29, 1946

January 29, 1946

1046 W 24th

San Pedro Calif.

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

Today has been a fairly nice day altho not as warm as those last week. Yesterday and today there has been a pretty good breeze from the ocean which has kept it fairly cool, even at midday. Perhaps it is working itself into a rainy spell altho no clouds have appeared on the horizon as yet. The mornings have been rather hazy but this evening it was clear enough out at the Watson station so that you could see the mountains inlands.

Sunday was the every-member canvass and I was (unwillingly) one of the canvassers. However I had a fairly easy time of it and got thru fairly early so that I could visit with Mrs. and Mrs. Johnson awhile, they being the last one on my list. Mr. Johnson as I may have written before,fell about Christmas time and has been almost totally helpless since. It has been very hard on Mrs. Johnson, who looks quite tired, and much thinner than before. She has only been able to be at church occasionally lately. We talked for about an hour or so and she gave me some lunch. I thinkI’ll give her one of the lbs of butter since she said she too had had a hard time getting any. I certainly feel sorry for her and Mr. Johnson. They are having a hard time of it in their old age, and there doesn’t seem much that can be done about it.

My work continues about as usual. Also as usual, nothing more has been heard from either the draft board or about the transfer.

I have been having a little cold lately so that my neck has been sort of stiff and sore. I had a haircut Friday nite and the barber said he had been having a cold so I may have picked it up there. It hasn’t been very bad tho.

The package with the butter arrived yesterday. Thank you very much for sending it, mother. I am enclosing a check for it and the postage. Four lbs of butter around here is just about a king’s ransom.

That’s about all for now.

With love

C.P.

February 17, 1946

Feb 17, 1946

1046 W 24th

San Pedro, Calif.

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

Well, it’s Sunday morning again. Somehow or other, Sunday always seems to be the low-spot of the week for me. When I am working I can usually keep from thinking much and therefore remain in a state of emotional stupor. Saturday usually passes reasonably easy as a reaction from the week’s work, from errands to do etc, but by Sunday the usual reaction against life in California has set in. And of course, the prospect of going down to listen to that addle-brained pastor doesn’t help matters. Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, but whatever else rest it brings, it certainly breeds discontentment as far as I am concerned.

Yesterday I went downtown in the morning — to the bank to cash my paycheck, to the cleaners to get my pants, to the barber to get a haircut and also down to the book-store to see if the book I had ordered two weeks ago was there but it wasn’t. I browsed around for awhile and bought a book — “The Ring of the Nibelung” by Richard Wagner. I had never thought I would be much good, but one day a fellow out at work got to talking about the story of Siegfried and Brünnhilde and it intrigued me so when I ran across it in the book store I bought it. It seems that a guy was courting Brünnhilde but according to the rules she had set up you had to excel her in various physical feats if you were to win her hand. This individual couldn’t, but Siegfried impersonated him and beat her so that she consented to marry this other guy. Later she found out and hung her husband up on the wall by his collar on a hook or something because she was so disgusted. I haven’t got to that part yet but what I have read so far is quite interesting.

The guy who told me about it is sort of a funny duck. His name is Bernard Dale (“Bernie”) and he is an Englishman. Maybe I have written about him before. Everybody teases the daylights out of him. He is so literally minded that everything you say to him he takes seriously which is a valuable aid to teasing him. He gets a little sore sometime. As I recall his telling about Siegfried & Brunnhilde was a comment on some other guy out at work (the one I stayed with over in L.B.) comparing Brünnhilde’s husband’s physical prowess with his.

Sunday evening

It’s about 6 now — Fred Allen has just signed off. He wasn’t quite as good tonite I thought as he usually is.

Today has been a sunshiny day but it has not been very warm. I went for a walk after dinner and it was really quite chilly (Calif chilly, that is). The forecast is for warmer tomorrow but cloudy so it may be getting ready for another rainy spell.

My work is coming along pretty good. Shell Development is getting next Friday off since it is Washington’s birthday. I guess that now that it is peacetime, we get virtually all of the holidays the banks get which is a pretty fair number. I wish I were close enough home so I could make a quick trip home over the three-day weekend. It would certainly be nice.

By the way, thank you, mama, for the box of cookies and for the valentine from father and you. I certainly appreciated getting both.

This is all for now

With love

C.P.

P.S. Another thing you might try to get for me when you are in Ft. Dodge sometime is some Keen Kutter razor blades. 

I can’t get them here in Calif., but the Thiede Mueller hardware company carries them. Their store is located on Central Avenue not far from the city square. 

Thank you for trying to get some pants for me.

February 5, 1946

February 5, 1946

1046 W 24th

San Pedro, Calif.

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

I am tired tonite but I shall get off this letter and perhaps do some reading before I take a bath and go to bed. Today has been a very clear day — quite crisp this morning. Altho Saturday dawned clear it soon clouded over partly and the wind blew all day. Saturday night it was really quite windy (A navy destroyer in the harbor got loose or something & rammed into a merchant ship) and about 10:30 Sunday morning it began to rain. I got sort of wet walking downtown after church but by the time I had finished dinner it had almost stopped. Monday it rained a little too — mostly when I was walk[ing] from the P.E. stop down to the lab. It cleared up after that and evidently the rain is over.

The Gowrie News came today and I see that Maurice Telleen (or Eleanor Pohl) has been writing another of his editorials. Both last week’s and this week’s were quite good I thought. Lorimer Patton ought to put them on the front page or something; they are certainly superior to the rest of the paper.

Thank you, mama, for offering to buy some pants for me. I would certainly appreciate it if you would. My waist is about 31½” now and the inseam (as accurately as I could measure it) is about 28½”. If you could get some gabardines for me it would be swell. Try to get them with pleats in the front and don’t get any that aren’t all wool — they loose their press too fast otherwise. Also if you can, get a plain gray or brown or something that doesn’t show dirt easily. If you can’t follow these directions use your own discretion. Saturday I tried to get some again but the only pair I could get belonged to a slack suit and I would have had to buy the coat also so I didn’t get them. They were sort of tweedy anyway, which I don’t particularly care for.

Today I went up to Dominguez awhile and looked over the gel manufacturing plant, but I was back at Wilmington in the afternoon. Mostly my work continues as usual. Also as usual I have heard nothing from the draft board.

So you’re thinking of selling the house in town. My personal opinion (perhaps wrong, particularly in a community like Gowrie) is that prices haven’t hit the peak yet, which will come in ½ to 1½ years. Around here, real estate prices are rising steadily as yet and show no signs of faltering. In Gowrie, tho, the housing shortage may break sooner than it will here.

This is about all for now.

With love

C.P.

January 26, 1946

[2 letters from Verner]

January 26, 1946

Dear Mom, Dad, Marold and the Rest Home,

3 months ago today, I was drafted into the Army. It seems a lot longer than that. The last month has gone a lot faster than the first two. I just wonder what the next 3 will bring.

I am waiting for the mail to come in so I have a chance to write.

Last night the news broadcast a story about Truman’s thinking of resigning. The source of the rumor was supposed to be a usually true source. Anyway thats look sort of bad for him. He has never been the man for the job from the first.

There isn’t much to write about. I sent home my return fare on my old railroad ticket. See if you can get anything for it. if you can, just keep it or give it to Marold. I am far from broke and the less extra money the better. Did my bond for the month of December come thru. They took the money out. It better come through or I’ll know the reason why.

Love, Verner

January 26, 1946

Dear Mom,

It’s a cold Saturday morning here at J.B. And the forecast is for even colder — 0° by tomorrow morning.

I really hit the jackpot on mail yesterday. 4 letters and the Christian Herald. Thank you for the magazine — this was the first issue I have received. I finally heard from Russ yesterday. It was the first time since before I was drafted. He wrote a real interesting letter. he seems to be having things about as nice as possible in the Army except for the fact that he is on the water so much and his contact with home through the mail isn’t very good.

We are getting a new Separation Center C.O. He seems to be a pretty good man. The present one is all right also.

Last night I went up to the main post library. If Marold still likes to read, he would be thoroughly at home in the fiction section. There are more detective stories and fiction than I had previously anticipated. I spend most of my time over in the more “educational” room where the books on Literature, History, Science, Arts and etc. are kept. Last night I went into the “fiction” room and there are shelves upon shelves of books, but I suppose Marold doesn;t get much reading done with all his night life?

Well I have to get to work.

Love, Verner

December 30, 1945

Dec 30, 1945

1046 W 24th St

San Pedro, Calif

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

Today has really been a super-duper day in Calif — a bright clear sky, not a cloud floating around and virtually no wind. I’ll bet it hit 80°F or better out in the sun about noon. When I went down to church I though some of taking a coat along but it certainly wasn’t necessary and I’m glad I didn’t. Roderick who was down in San Pedro today certainly said he picked the wrong day to come down on since he certainly couldn’t gripe about the weather. However he wanted to know if Calif also owned up to the six wet cloudy days it had during the past week.

Roderick was the same as ever — talkative, teasing and interesting. He is one of the most versatile people I have ever met. This morning he sang a solo in church, which wasn’t too good but he had a rather bad cold. After church we had dinner together and talked awhile but he had to leave about 2:30 to go to Los Angeles. As perhaps I have mentioned before he plans on going into foreign missions, which for him is a mistake I think.

The Eldridges aren’t home today. They went to Pasadena Saturday morning to visit her sister. They will be coming back either this afternoon or tomorrow. Since they aren’t back yet I have an idea it will be tomorrow.

Yesterday I went downtown and bought the bond for which Uncle Carl had sent a $18.75 check. In the afternoon I went to a show, “Mildred Pierce”  which I thought was pretty good. I came home and went to bed rather early since, unaccountably enough I was rather tired.

On Thursday I got a Christmas present from Vivian — a beautiful pair of gray gloves. It was certainly a nice and useful gift since, as you said mother, my others were getting sort of worn. I also got a card from Dwight who says he likes it there, but that setting up house-keeping is sort of an expensive affair.

I forgot to mention it before but I had evidently given my sugar stamp to Mrs. Johnson since I didn’t have it, so I couldn’t send it to grandmother as I had planned. By the way Mrs. Eldridge says it is almost impossible to get butter here. Do you think you could send some? She would gladly pay for it (and the postage). Even if some spoiled en route it would be worth it.

I guess that’s all. Thank you for those lovely cookies, mama. I can’t make up my mind to eat them rapidly or be conservative about them. I guess I’ll eat them as I feel, or rather what’s left of them which isn’t very much.

With love

C.P.

December 19, 1945

December 19, 1945

1046 W 24th St

San Pedro, Calif

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

In case this letter reaches you in time, I hope you have a very merry Christmas as no doubt you will have if Ann Marie is still around. If it doesn’t reach you in time I hope that you will have had one. I received the package from home today. It came thru safe and sound. To date I have also received greeting from Grandmother, Aunt Esther and Uncle Lawrence’s as well as from various people here in Calif.

Ann Marie certainly looks learned and dignified leafing thru that great big book, as shown in the snapshot you sent mother. Don’t forget to send the rest of them too, at least for a look at them if not to keep. Her hair has certainly grown at a considerable rate since I saw her, because she seems to have quite a bit on the picture. A penny for your thoughts, Ann Marie! What are you thinking about anyway?

The eclipse of the moon last night turned out fairly well. It was quite cloudy till about 6 or 6:15 but obligingly cleared off thereafter so that the movement of the shadow of the earth off the moon could be plainly seen. The moon was never completely invisible in that you could detect its outline even when the eclipse was total, but it was much paler than it ordinarily would be. I can’t recall having watched a lunar eclipse before so it was quite intriguing.

A.J. was down this week as I mentioned he would be, but he didn’t get here on Monday. I saw and talked to him today but he won’t know till after the first of the year on the transfer. He gave a reasonable enough explanation as to why no action has occurred but somehow or other I still get the impression that I am being given the run-around. I am beginning to feel that if I am to get back to the midwest, it won’t be by a transfer.

Since the bonds I asked about awhile back seem to be o.k., you don’t need to send them out. Evidently only some of them issued during the month were not correctly made out and I didn’t get any of them.

I can’t think of much more to write about so

Merry Ch

December 8, 1945

Dec 8, 1945

1046 W 24th St

San Pedro, Calif

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

Well, a week has passed since I returned to Calif and I can’t say that it has overwhelmed me with the desirability of living and working here. Sometimes it is work that makes it seem so depressing, sometimes it’s the weather, sometimes it’s the people, but always, or nearly always, it’s something. Depressing isn’t the right word — more it is enervating, deadening, dulling. Every time I get back here from a visit to the middle west it seems more colorless, the people seem more frenzied, dull, stupid, inane — the atmosphere more torpid, sluggish, the whole attitude toward life more out of focus.

I wrote a letter today to Glockler, department head of chemistry at Iowa asking him to keep me informed of any likely openings in the midwest for chemical engineers. I rather think I could pull a switch of jobs now without getting drafted. I also wrote to Arnold who is at the Univ of Calif at Berkeley asking him what he thought of the idea of going back to school If I don’t get the transfer to Wood River and no likely position shows up in or near Iowa, I think I shall plan definitely on returning to school next fall. The application for a research or teaching fellowship must be in my Feb 15 or March 1, so I would have to decide by that time anyway. Iowa State College seems like the best bet, but I shall pick out a couple of other prospects from the schools I wrote to last fall.

This morning I went to church as usual. As I had written before I wasn’t too favorably impressed with the new pastor, and the impression was strengthened this morning. He is pallid in every sense of the word. He looks anemic. His address is effeminate. He never looks you in the eye while preaching (altho the ceiling is minutely examined as well as the floor) and he must have almost flunked homiletics or whatever the science of preaching is called. His sermon this morning was a masterpiece of illogic and of vague, general statements. If I didn’t feel sorry for him in such a tough situation as San Pedro represents, I would be thoroly disgusted. What is the Augustana Seminary for anyway? Either their admission committee doesn’t function properly or they don’t teach their pupils much after they are admitted. How can you expect a church to progress when the caliber of the men admitted to the ministry is so low? Maybe I am wrong but I am afraid that the death knell for the San Pedro church was rung when he came.

Yesterday I did my Christmas shopping and got the packages wrapped to send off which I shall do tomorrow on the way home from work. I am sending Clarice’s, Verner’s and Ann Marie’s presents in the package home since I don’t have Verner’s address or Clarice’s Aurora address, so could you send them on to them? All except 3 of the stores are functioning again in San Pedro. Penney’s looks like it intends to reopen but one of the ten cent stores has moved out most of its stock so it may be closing. Therefore it wasn’t too hard to do the Christmas shopping, all of which I did in San Pedro.

This afternoon I went down to the Vesper music hour at the YMCA. It was pretty good but nothing to yell about. The best number on the program was a couple of songs by a soldier. He was tall, skinny, shy, bashful but he surely could sing.

This is all for now.

With love

C.P.