Four Is Not Enough

Thursday, August 14.

Dear Andrew and John,

No more news-no prospects. At this moment I'm not sure whether we're going to complete the transaction and not just because of not selling 25. I guess I shouldn't put this on paper, but I will anyhow. Yesterday, Mrs. B. called Ann at home to confirm our meeting scheduled for tonight in the country and got around to what was evidently planned as her reason for calling, told Ann we had such a lovely family there and that four was enough; also, that when we met them out there, she and the Dr. wanted to talk to Ann as to what we could do about it. Well, Ann controlled herself till the conversation was over, had herself a good bawl, not because of any effect the proposed lecture would have on minds already made up, but because everything was so near, and by the time she called me, she had herself well under control and was going out there to say her piece in return, regardless of the outcome. Ann's reply was going to be if the house hinged on our personal and religious beliefs, then they could stick it up the nearest cow. This morning she was still determined and I continued to back her up. We were ordered to leave the kids home and Arlene was down in the mouth over missing out on a championship soft ball game this evening. Then, I got a call at 9:15 this morning, Mrs. B. herself, canceling tonight's meeting due to a headache. Ann's happy we don't have to go and doesn't attach as much significance as she did yesterday, but the thing's still there and she firmly intends to have it out before we make the break.

Turning to something a little lighter, I may or may not have told you about Mike and Kathy's daily excursions to summer school. Ann says it would do your heart good to see Kathy get snazzied up, tell Stevie she's going to school and go trotting down the yard. Arlene, already over there, waves an arm out the window when she arrives safely, and Kathy spends the morning, if she feels like it, with checkers, paints and games. Yesterday, right after lunch, Mike came home from over school and got ready to take a nap. He had his shoes off when he remembered to say "Mommie, I'm on Mrs. Van Sant's list to go to California." Ann said that was nice and that she would miss him, being away so long. He said that California wasn't far, was it. Ann told him it would be two or three weeks and hoped we would be out in the country by that time. He thought it over for a few minutes, then sat on the floor and began pulling on his shoes. And asked what was up and Mike said, "I gotta get my name off that list" and went sailing out the back door.

[Editor's Note: The bottom half of this letter is damaged. Read the remaining part by clicking on the image at the top of this letter]

END OF LETTER

Editor's Notes:
Charles' family is moving from Catonsville. Charles' employers, the Burtons, have promised him the use of one of their houses in Long Green Valley.

Next Posting: August 15 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner

The Last Driver of a Horse and Wagon Fire Engine

Monday, August 11

Dear Andrew and John,

Suppose I talk about something else than the house first. It rained from last Tuesday through Sunday afternoon and another storm Sunday evening but it stopped long enough Saturday morning for me to cut the hedge and get some of the weeds out. Mrs. Rinehart stopped and talked for a good fifteen minutes-first time she has said more than a hello. She told me she had heard from one or the other-or both of you and that her son, Dick, is out of the service and working for U.S.F.&G. in Philadelphia and how much he is interested in show business. She says he is 26 and I had thought him a lot older. For some strange reason she also told me she doesn't relish the single life and I don't if that's a hint she's getting married or perhaps moving.

Gid Smith died last Thursday and was buried on Saturday already. Bud came on and I saw him for awhile on Saturday afternoon. He is still in Fort Wayne and now has three children; looks good. They had column headlines-and two half columns in the Sunday Sun yesterday on Gid and discussed his being the last driver of a horse and wagon fire engine in these parts.

Saturday evening the Washington ball game cut out the two movies on WAAM we have enjoyed for the past few weeks so we switched to WMAR from 9 till 10:30 and watched the "Saturday Night Dance Party" with Jerry Lester. He is apparently the star and M.C. for the hour and a half show with different bands and acts each week. This week's orchestra was somebody called King Guyen. Maybe you've heard of him and maybe the spelling is wrong but the music was good; first set up I've seen with two complete drummers and their outfits. Another act was Paula You-Know-Who and the Modernaires; next week, Tony Pastor's music. Following that was the Gunther Playhouse with "South of Pago Pago"--Jon Hall, Victor McLaglen, Frances Farmer, Gene Lockart and someone I had almost forgotten but used to like, a gal named Olympe Bradna. The picture wasn't humorous but the comercials were. At the first break, Baxter Ward, the announcer, was out for a beer and we had three minutes of silence and a blank screen. For the second commercial the lamp in the projector blew out and you could hear the guy beating his brains out while somebody uncapped a bottle of warm beer. We stayed around all Sunday, too, for don't mention-it reasons and I saw part of Eternally Yours, with Loretta Young, David Niven and Broderick Crawford in the early afternoon but walked around the school with Mike while the second feature was on-Valerie Hobson in August Weekend. That was the uninteresting synopsis of our week-end between worrying.

Now to the house. As a continuation of whet I last told you, Ann called Schatz and asked him if we could be relieved of our contract and he thought yes, if agreeable with his brother. Ann said do it now and after two minutes of silence Schatz said how about waiting till Monday as they had ads in for the weekend. I said there was nothing in on Friday but there it was Saturday morning. After telling us on Friday he would try to get $7,300, the ad Saturday offered it at $10,500, which to us is further evidence he is trying to put it so no one wants it and yet try it himself at the low figure. At 7 o'clock Saturday evening right after baths, Mrs. Murphy, Schatz' sister, I believe, called to say she had some people who wanted to see the house in about 15 minutes. Ann and I tore around the house so that we haven't found some of the things we pushed out of sight. The prospects were a couple in their forties, or rather their father, who was with them. Before they left, Mrs. Murphy said he liked the place but wanted to show it to his wife today (Monday) or tomorrow. But we don't know what they offered it to them at or whether they let them know the price before or after they looked at it. We called Mrs. Murphy again yesterday but she had no further information. I picked up the Evening Sun this noontime and there was the ad again at $10,504--this time a little larger and differently worded. So where are we? We've been praying to St. Anthony like mad and I hope we're supposed to go through with this because at this writing, the suspense is terrific. The kids can sense the tension, too, and are much noisier than usual and I go to bed nights mentally beating myself for having pushed them around a little, a thing I never used to do.

With plenty of time over the week-end, I cleaned up Abe's typewriter and fixed the two keys that were only bent. Last Thursday when I worked with the Doctor, Mrs. B. told me to look up the price on a new Standard Royal for use out there so we'll have something available for your next play. Ann also had me go up to the front room with her and we decided Mrs. B. or no Mrs. B. we'd at least take the contents of your drawers and all the clothing with us. It was after we agreed on this that Virginia called to say she could put the stuff on hangers in one of their closets. Ann has washed a lot of the soiled stuff, little by little the past few months and I'm sure if we left the drawers filled, even though sealed, a lot of the stuff would be missing. As to the TV set, we were naturally going to take that along and knowing we have to have an aerial out there thought we could add a cheap set of our own if we have a few hundred left over, out with Mrs. B.'s dictatorial policy of telling us where we have to place each article of furniture, I think Ann already wonders if we have made the right choice, even as badly as she wants to get away from our present surroundings and not the house itself. I doubt if An told you about the antique table and chairs she took an option on thru her friends at the Penny Wise shop for a song. Mrs. B said no to the description Ann gave her (even though we were paying) and Ann had to cancel; next day a man bought the set for just twice what they offered than to us. The one thing Ann positively put her foot down on was when we were shown through the place and one of the bedrooms on the second floor was indicated for Ann and we were told she thought it a good idea to fix up a spot for me on the third floor. I naturally sided with Ann. Wait till you meet her; I think you'd like her but it's just that her way is the only way. So, w'll pack all the contents of the drawer in boxes to take with us and put in more moth protection. I notice that the box in John's metal wardrobe is only half empty. When I called Ann at noontime, today, Virginia had just come to collect the hanging pieces.

END OF LETTER

Editor's Notes:
Charles' family is moving from Catonsville. Charles' employers, the Burtons, have promised him the use of one of their houses in Long Green Valley.
Virginia is a friend of John's.

Next Posting: August 14 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner

Mike Goes Up The Hill

Friday, August 1, 1952

Dear Andrew and John,

I worked out the Doctor's again yesterday and picked up a little more information on the house. Mrs. B. came into the Doctor's den and we sat and talked for more than half an hour. She spent the day out at the farms on Tuesday and rounded up some things she is contributing. Among other things, she has eight mahogony chairs for us, also a couch which she is having upholstered which means we can put our Hide-A-Bed upstairs for extra sleeping space and she has another bed for us, which Arlene may use, or we may take the big maple one Arlene is using now and finally she has a folding bed plus a desk. She says she had three boys from the farms bringing things down to the house from storage space in the barns and tried them out for position. Ann is perfectly satisfied to accept gifts as what we have at present wouldn't go too far out there and it looks as though there won't be any wherewithal to get any extras if we have to drop the price of the house at 25. Nothing new except Schatz called yesterday and said he had a good prospect who was coming at 8:30 last night. I had school so Ann and Arlene scrubbed the place and even swept the cellar and then nobody showed up. Getting back to the new place, I have put in for a telephone which comes through Bel Air, but is a FORK number. The only thing available is on a four party line but at least it's a 'phone.

Ann overheard a little discussion between Michael and Jane and Edward on Tuesday. Our only problem with Mike is that he goes "up the hill" as we call it, to the houses bordering on the school and Frederick Road, where Tyson Morsberger and Dolores nee Moore's families live. He also makes trips without permission to Shepherd's back yard, next to Pierpoint's, where, believe it or not, Bill Shepherd has two of the nicest kids, one of each, about 4 and 5. Ann doesn't mind him playing with them, in fact prefers it to J & E, but doesn't like him out of sight or sound. Anyway, back to the story, Ann heard Mike beg Jane and Edward to stop teasing him-they gang up on him once in awhile and he busted Edward last week. They kept it up and finally Mike said, "Jane and Edward, I'm not playing with you any more, I'm going down Sissy and Billy's." He started down toward the school-field with a determined stride and Ann was about to give a shout when Edward ran after him and begged, "Don't go, Mike, we won't have anyone to play with." Without breaking his stride, Mike looked over his shoulder and said "Tough", and kept right on going. Ann said she wouldn't have stopped him then if he had been headed for Irvington.

I called Cousin Ann last night before I left school--about 9:20, and she said the doctor has given permission for Cousin Claire to come home today but that she must remain in bed. The doctor has given her a prescription for Aureomycin capsules which she has to take day and night as he says there is still a deep infection there and the cough remains

When I reached home last night, Ann had just talked with Annie Clapsaddle who told our Ann she needed to get away for a day and to bring the family over the her place as her Mom and Pop have gone to Wildwood and I could pick them up this evening. Ann said she would if I could bring them over this morning; so I took them there at 8:15 this a.m. and Annie Clap is going to wish she had kept her big mouth shut by the time I go get them this evening.

END OF LETTER

Editor's Notes:
Charles works for Dr. and Mrs. Burton who have promised him the use of a larger house near their farms northeast of Baltimore. At one time the house was an Inn.
Charles also teaches nights for the Baltimore Institute - a business school.

Next Posting: August 4, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner

A Tour of "The Inn" and Cousin Claire

Tuesday, July 29, 1952

Dear Andrew and John,

Sorry I couldn't get something off to you yesterday but with working for Doctor and cleaning things up in order to get over school the time disappeared. I guess I'd better tell you first about our tour of the house. When Mrs. B. told me Friday she would call on Sunday I thought she was going to put it off again; and more so on Sunday as it clouded up about midmorning and rained a little. But on the dot of twelve she 'phoned and only I talked with her and she agreed to meet us out there at 2:30. We left home at one so as not to take any chances and by the time we passed through town the sun was out and the weather as beautiful. Taking it easy I timed it out to the house in 1 hr. and 3 minutes. We were early so I also measured the distance to the church and school and it's a little more than the stone's throw I may have led you to believe. Its about the same distance as to St. Mark's but on the same Long Green Pike and sits back a hundred or so feet from the road. We went back to the house and parked out front till they arrived at 2:35. If time permits, I'll sketch a floor plan and put in one of your envelopes but this is the way it lines up. The porch is concrete or stone and is at street level. So is the entrance to the front door. Now the house is not on a grand a glorious scale for which we are happy; I mean by that the Inn, as it was called, was over 50 years old when Doctor bought it. But he has put in all hard wood floors and insulated it. The front room is maybe twenty two or three feet by about eighteen. If you come in the front door and walk straight ahead there are two large French doors with frosted glass. Opened, they make the front look larger and lead into the dining room. This is a strange sized room. It is about twenty some feet wide but only ten feet long or rather vice versa. It has a large buffet built in (probably part of the old Inn bar) with plenty of storage space. The main thing this room has to offer is the alcove on the south. There are two windows and it would make a perfect dining place for a small family but we intend to use the kitchen....which is nice and large. Mommie has her windows over the sink and built in cabinets. There is a Hotpoint electric stove with the automatic cooking features and on the opposite wall from the built in stuff, there is an arrangement for the washer which I will try to picture. It is about three times as deep as an ordinary sink and has separate hot and cold faucets and in our opinion is also very handy for washing dirty little ones. The back door goes one step down, I think, onto a cement patio--small---and then three more steps to the back yard which is wonderful. From one look, I'm a bit confused on the general makeup but I remember lattice work and an archway of wood and plenty of play space for the kids. There is a cement walk and a gate around the side and another walk straight ahead from the kitchen door which leads to the garage through another gate. The yard is fenced and then tree type hedges to a height of maybe ten feet have been allowed to grow over the fencing and three tremendous trees (oak I believe) provide shade and breezes. It is entirely grass covered even though the former occupants had 5 kids. The cellar, here we go again, has no inside the house entrance. There are steel doors on a concrete foundation and go down to a beautiful heating system. But the basement is only about as big as our kitchen at 25. In one corner is the three or four hundred gallon tank for the well water which is filtered and softened. The furnace is a good national Radiator special with a summer-winter oil hook-up. There is just oil for heating and electricity--no gas. To move on with the tour, there are doors out of the front room and midst room to a hall with plenty of closet space under the stairs and a small room which the former occupants used for a telephone booth complete with door. The stairs to the second floor lead to the bathroom on the right--built in tub with shower out of the wall, built in cabinet "for all of Ann's lotions and perfumes" and no plunger standing in the corner. There are two bedrooms on this second floor which was formerly the dance hall part of the Inn. They are not overly large as it would seem but more than enough room. Up again to the third floor, there is one large room, not all the way across both houses, but almost so. There is one nice little alcove with a built in book shelf. In the one closet there is a door which leads to the unfinished or storage part where they keep storm windows and other junk. Sunday was a warm day and walking from the third floor room to this uncompleted section was a noticeable change of about 20 degrees in temperature. So I hope you're back in time to help fix the place up for Christmas; better yet, I hope you're there for Thanksgiving dinner. Mrs. Burton called me this morning and said she's going out to the country today and will look around to see if she has a couple of old chairs and a couch which can be fixed up and donated. I think Ann 's pretty happy about it just as long as there is not too much interference from you know who. And I'm willing to go along just so they are satisfied. They have started to paint the downstairs again and are making everything white. I'm trying somehow to put across that we think everything is nice and much more than adequate but for you not to expect the smoothness of 20th Century design. Anyway, here's hoping things work out and we get rid of our present place. We received a nice letter from Schatz hoping the same before he gives up trying on August 24.

Now back to other news. Early Saturday morning Cousin Anna called and I answered, She was crying and said they had taken Cousin Claire to Bon Secours Friday night with pneumonia. I offered the car and she said she would be ready about 10:30. Stevie went to his morning nap and Arlene watched Mike and Kathy so Ann could go along. We found Cousin Claire in a private room with the window wide open and just a hospital gown on with her feet out. She said they had gone over her and didn't know what it was, but not pneumonia. While we were there she had a terrible coughing spell which continues, she says until chunks of something are expelled. We stayed till twelve and left Cousin Anna for the day. I called on Sunday, Monday and again an hour ago. Yesterday Cousin Ann was crying and said it was no better; that they had taken X-rays and tests and found nothing wrong but the coughing was making her so weak. They said it might be some kind of allergy from dogs or sheep. This morning Cousin Ann said she was somewhat better and they had her constantly inhaling the fumes of some electric device and would know more this afternoon. I offered to pick her up and bring her home this evening if nothing happens and will let you know the score in another day or so.

I filled in for Mrs. Brown again last week and didn't see much of home. There were only two classes on Tuesday and one on Friday but the staying around breaks up the night. Ann was disgusted with me because he pays according to classes and not nights and I agree it was not worth it, but I was helping Mrs. B. and not B. H.

Saturday night we saw three movies. To fill in time, ABC put on two shows - 8 to 9 and 9 to 10. The first was a mystery with unknown stars and 1935 vehicles and the second was James Dunn in another mystery titled, believe it or not, "The Luck of the Irish". The redeeming feature of both was that there was not a pause for station break or advertising in the full hour each ran. Then came the Gunther Playhouse which you may have seen: "Twin Beds" with George Brent, Joan Bennett, Misha Auer, Glenda Farrell, Una Merkel and Ernest Truex. We liked it. The rest of the week had been taken up with the convention, of which I saw a little bit on Wednesday. Last night, the summer Westinghouse Studio One was pretty good with "The Last Thing I Do" but the acting is way off from the pros.

A number of news dispatches have been issued on the violent rains you have been having. Another thing, I must have missed the Service Sun when they acknowledged your letter, Andrew. I don't know where they've been hiding it since I sent you that one clipping.

I'll drop you another note tomorrow or Thursday with at least the news about seeing Cousin Claire tonight.

END OF LETTER

Editor's Notes:
Charles works for Dr. and Mrs. Burton who have promised him the use of a larger house near their farms northeast of Baltimore. At one time the house was an Inn.
Charles also teaches nights for the Baltimore Institute - a business school.

Next Posting: August 1, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner

It's Cool at Gambrill's

July 21, 1952 - Noontime

Dear Andrew and John

Here's what I have been able to find out about the housing situation. Mrs. Burton tells me the people left sometime last week and she went out last Friday to have them clean up the place and see if any painting or repairing needs to be done. Unless something changes her mind, she wants to meet Ann and the little ones out there next Sunday, July 27, to show all of us the inside. And, as to the moving date, she told me to mark my calendar for Monday, August 4, two weeks from today. Now we're going to take all this as gospel and Ann is planning accordingly. The big hitch right now is our present house. We talked to Schatz again and he suggested bringing the price down to eighty five hundred and maybe something could be done. We are almost positive Cimino wants the place and for around $8000, but the thing I've been worrying about is that maybe Schatz is in with him and stalling till we have to get out and thinks we'll accept a lower price. We don't feel we can go any lower both for your benefit and for ours also. To try and press Schatz a little, I'm going to get a letter off today canceling our agreement. I signed up in May for 3 months but notice must be given in writing 30 days prior to cancellation. I'll try to smooth it over by saying I'm sure the place will be sold before the termination of the agreement but since we are getting out in two weeks we'd rather have the place rented than let it stay idle. I'll say that but we don't want to do it under any circumstances. So there are plenty of headaches. I guess by the time you receive this you had better send any correspondence to 700 Cathedral until I get the definite address. On John's allotment, I noted It is dated the first of the month. I'm going to leave one of those forwarding cards at the Post Office and will ask them, if the check doesn't come by the 4th, if it will be OK to pick it up there as I am the one it is addressed to. I'm sure it will work out but if you want to continue it, John, I think you said you are the one who has to notify of a change in address. If you'd like to get it in right away, the address is certain to be Hydes, Maryland, or to be more explicit, Long Green Pike and Hyde Road, Hydes, Maryland. The mail will bet to Hydes station all right because Mr. Musselman from Overlea, where Ann was staying, is the Railway postman on the Ma and Pa that delivers to Hydes. That Hyde or Hydes spelling is confusing; I have a postmark here at the office with "Hyde" and another that cane in a week or so ago for the Doctor, with "Hydes". On the map the road is given as "Hydes}" and the actual road sign near the house spells it "Hyde". So let's make it "Hydes".

To change the subject, when I was at the Post Office last week at the lower level, sending a sample of our mica to Mexico, I noticed they have a chart which looked homemade with colored inks, listed RPO numbers from 1 to 8 or 9 hundred; 301 wasn't listed and there were many other gaps as well. Each listed number had from one to five colored symbols beside it. At the bottom the legend showed each stood for something that could not be sent to that particular APO. For example, a number of them called for no coffee, no cigarettes and no candy.

We have been baking in terrific temperatures and humidity for more than a week which kept us close at home on Saturday. At night we turned on the TV for "The Last of The Mohicans" and I liked it as well as Arlene did. Yesterday was another hot one and again we stayed at home till about five o'clock Ann suggested she had never seen Gambrill State Park above Frederick. That's where we went, arriving about 6:15 and found it wonderfully cool that high up. We stayed till they closed at 7:00 and were back hone by 8:40 with the heavier traffic. We got the kids into bed, then I turned out my pockets with my bankroll of 46¢ and Ann doubled it so I took her over the Westway to see "Walk East on Beacon", one of those documentary films like the "House on 53rd St." (or is it 93rd). We were home again a little past eleven for another restless night.

I JUST GOT A CALL FROM MRS. BURTON AT 12:25 AND YOU'LL HAVE TO DISCOUNT IN PART SOME OF THE ABOVE. SHE SAYS SHE NOW HAS WORD FROM THE BOYS PAINTING OUT THERE THAT THEY CAN'T FINISH UNTIL ABOUT THE FIFTEENTH OF AUGUST AND AS SHE WOULDN'T HAVE US MOVE ON SATURDAY FOR "NO ONE STAYS IF THEY MOVE INTO A HOUSE ON SATURDAY" WE SHOULD NOW MAKE THE POSITIVE DATE FOR MOVING AUGUST 18. I TOLD HER WE WANTED TO CONTACT A MOVER AND WOULD HAVE TO LET THEM KNOW FOR SURE AND SHE SAID AUGUST 18 WOULD BE DEFINITE. HOWEVER, SHE STILL WANTS US TO COME OUT THIS SUNDAY, JULY 20, IF IT IS NOT TOO WARM TO LOOK THE PLACE OVER. SO IT MIGHT WORK OUT BETTER THIS WAY. IT GIVES A LITTLE MORE TIME TO GET RID OF THE HOUSE WITHOUT LETTING IT SIT VACANT AND WE MAY GET THINGS LINED UP A LITTLE BETTER. ANN WAS A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED WHEN I CALLED HER JUST NOW AS SHE OBTAINED A NUMBER OF LARGE BOXES ON SATURDAY AND HAS BEEN PACKING THINGS RIGHT AND LEFT.

I'm going to stop this one now. There's no gossip or news I can think of. I guess it's because all this other stuff is on our minds but. I'll write you a few short ones when I think of something as the week progresses.

END OF LETTER

Editor's Notes:
Charles works for Dr. and Mrs. Burton who have promised him the use of a larger house near their farms northeast of Baltimore.

Next Posting: July 29, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner

Graduation Day, A Flat, and A Good-As-New Watch

Monday, June 9 - 95° F.

Dear Andrew and John

I am glad to hear that you were able to pick up an Argus, Andrew, and I hope you were also able to take advantage of a price discount as John did on the razor. At present the C-3 is selling for $70, or rather $69.95 plus tax. I take it the film situation is OK now with you but imagine flash bulbs are still hard to get; so I will try to get some off to each of you. Also, if you can't pick up one of those small adapters for the midget bulbs and intend to try for some flash pictures, let us know. It's a shame you don't have my Weston exposure meter which just lays in the drawer but with or without a meter you couldn't ask for a better example than the shot of John with the trees, blue sky and cloud in the background. I'm anxious to hear who did the finished print. I put a roll of black and white in the Leica last night, that is yesterday evening and got a few shots of Arlene and the graduation. When we got up church, the graduates were lining up on the new school steps for an official photograph so I ran over and got a shot from right beside him. Another fellow came along with a Polaroid and got four beautiful shots. I asked him if he was interested in buying another camera and he knows of someone who is, so I gave my phone number and am siting and hoping for a call for my Polaroid.

The graduation went off very nicely. It was warm - in the ninties - but a beautiful day. The only ones there on our side were Virginia and Arlene's girl friend (a seventh grader) Mary Margaret Tucker with her mother. They live down on the corner of Frederick Road and Overbrook in a big cream colored stucco house and I remember Mrs. Tucker from when she used to come to 7 o'clock Mass every Sunday with her father, a short fellow with handle-bar mustaches. She is maybe a year older than I, dark and very attractive. I'm sure you've both seen her. She has two daughters and Arlene, for this school year, has struck up one of these acquaintances which has her on the phone for hours at a time. We have to pry them off and then one will call back a short time later. The funniest thing Ann and I have found is that in person Mary Margaret, the daughter, doesn't open her mouth. Back to graduation, I didn't go in but stayed with dynamite Stevie and several dogs he always manages to attract. He chased birds on the Sister's lawn and slobbered all over Coach Woysihowitz or whatever he name's little boy, about 10 mo. The Coach had stopped (first time I ever spoke to him) and asked how you two were and knew you were in Korea. About that time Mike came out of church, followed a few minutes later by Kathleen, with Ann, who went back in. She had to bring Kathy out as she had put on Ann's gloves and was pointing them like guns at the surrounding kneelers and going Ptooo. So I had three of them rolling all over the lawn for about a half hour. The exercises were over about 7:45 and we took Virginia home, then went for a short ride before we drove, Mrs. Tuckers back.

Last Thursday I had school as usual at night. The Walcott-Charles fight was scheduled for 10 p.m. and I get off about 9:20. Last summer when they fought, I was home alone that Wednesday night when the yoke went up on the TV and I missed the knockout. On the way home last Thursday, I ran over a broken coke bottle and had a beauty of a flat right in the middle of the colored section on Franklin Street. I had no money in my pockets and by the time I changed the tire myself and got home the fight was well under way; but I saw part of it. Abe and I, a few days before when he was driving his car, had watched the kids breaking soft drink bottles and carefully placing them in the car lanes. The tire that got it was the spare with only a few thousand miles on it which had been put on just about a month ago when I rotated the tires. The fellow at the Esso station showed me the verdict Friday; the tire has a six inch slash right through the inside casing and a hole in the tube as big as your head. It was so bad he advised not trying to have anything done to it and I had to get a new tire and tube.

With grass cutting, trying to get the cellar in shape and then teaching again on Friday night for Mrs. Brown who had some friends on from New York, I didn't see any TV last week till Saturday and then late. There wasn't much choice. American Beer is bringing the Washington Senators baseball games while the Orioles are out of town. Those grinning gargoyles from Arthur Murray's local "Dance Party" are on from 9:30 to 10:30 and after that we turned the set on to Gunther's movie. This time it was the Corsican Brothers with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in a twin brothers role and apparently an American production with J. Carol Nash, H. B. Warner; I can't remember the girl, was it Helen Varrick or something like that. We enjoyed it and if it's very old I certainly wouldn't have known it. It was an Edward Small production, If that means anything. It lasted a full two hours so I didn't wait to see the coming attractions for next week.

Best news of all for me during the past week was that after eight weeks I got my watch back. The price for a new mainspring, cleaning of the rust, adjusting and regulating, was $3 so I just put it on our account and didn't gripe. I have timed it for four days now and in that time it has gained but ten seconds; if that keeps up I am very fortunate. If either of you get a watch or think about one, make it one of those waterproofs, or as they have to say, water repellent; with incabloc construction and antimagnetic. In 17 Jewels stainless steel they are selling all over now for about $12 and are accurate within seconds. Elgin is now working full speed on their new electric watch; smaller than a regular wrist job, it is powered with a wafer thin battery about as big as a nickel which lasts about one year. Another thing I noticed in the papers is that Hamilton has decided to market Swiss watches under the Hamilton name due to competition.

Coming from school on Thursday night also, I had to walk over here around the corner from the office to get the car before the mishap. When I came past the Knights of Columbus I stopped for a minute to listen to the good music. There was a theater-type signboard outside with pictures and headed "June Week". The band then playing was Ray Anthony's (I've heard of him) and scheduled for the next evening was Tex Beneke (they were just arriving when I got out of school Friday and I didn't hear them). I haven't been able to find out from anyone who was having the June Week but it west be one of the schools; not the Naval Academy which holds all their affairs in Annapolis.

I am going to take tomorrow off, or part of the day at least, to register Arlene at Towson Catholic. I hope it's not a foolish move but I told Mrs. Burton was going to do so and she told me to be sure and tell Ann it was the thing to do. But all that doesn't get the people out of the house and it also doesn't sell ours, and if we do sell ours and the other isn't empty, where are we? I dislike bringing those questions out to Ann but you two might throw in a couple of prayers with me, not to get the house out there especially, but to solve immediate problems.

I forgot to mention that Mary Bellis graduated from high school on Friday, the day of the 18th birthday. She's still necking with the same fellow and it may be serious.

END OF LETTER

Editor's Notes:
Arlene graduated 8th grade from the Visitation Academy in Frederick. Charles' employer has promised him the use of a house in the country. He is worried that it won't be ready by the time his present house sells.

Next Posting: June 16, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner