Post #3: Worn out shoes

Ithaca, New York
October 10, 1936

Dear Folks,

I decided that I would write tonight rather than wait until tomorrow as I couldn’t seem to concentrate on what I was reading. Your letters were very interesting. How is everybody and how is Mr. Moody getting along?

I want to thank Papa for spelling the words out for me that I missed, but I want to remind him that there is only 1 r in “necessary”. Tell Papa that there is a tailor shop at 402 College Avenue but that 403 is Sheldon Court (a boys’ dormitory). It is an old building built of red brick. I haven’t had time to look up 424 East Seneca Street yet but will Friday when I go down to the Infirmary to have an xray taken as part of my medical exam. I had the rest of the exam this morning and it took quite a while. The xray will cost 2 dollars.

About the question of my laundry—if I get it done here it will be rather expensive as it cost 15 or 20 cents to have a shirt laundered and the other things in proportion. Most of the other kids have a laundry bag and send their laundry home as they say it is much more economical. I can get a very nice little laundry bag with a place a the front to stick in a card with address and name on it for from 1-1/2 to 2 dollars. It will hold 2 weeks wash and the postage will cost about 15 cents one way. So far I have been putting my dirty clothes in my small suitcase but it is getting pretty near full. If you would tell me in the next letter what you prefer to have me do I would be very much obliged.

Tell Aunt Dot that I had an apron when I was washing dishes (a great big rubber one). However, I haven’t been working at that place most of the week as 3 of the regular house members started on Tuesday. I will probably work there this coming weekend as one of the fellows wants me to sub for him. This weekend I have been working at another fraternity house which is about a block nearer than the other one was. The head waiter said that if they go 3 or four more pledges they would need another waiter permanently, but I don’t put too much stock in that. However, that’s another place where I will get a chance to do subbing.

I met Evan Jones and he says that he will give me every chance to sub where he works. (It is much nearer than the other two places.) I went down there to get acquainted with the head waiter Thursday night and he is a very nice fellow. (I have been waiting table this weekend and it is much easier than washing dishes.) I went to a University 4-H Club meeting last night and didn’t get in until late so I guess that I will finish this in the morning.

Sunday a.m. Well good-morning everybody, I didn’t wakeup very early but nevertheless, I seem to be the first one up. Two of the boys that room on this floor went home to Long Island Friday so there are only about four of us on this floor now.

I did a lot of studying yesterday and am beginning to realize that I have quite a tough schedule. Botany and English seem to be the subjects I have to spend the most time on. In all our classes we have slides on the subject of the lecture and it adds greatly to the interest of the work.

Yes I moved the cot into my room while I wasn’t feeling very well as it made it seem more home-like. However, I have my window all the way up every night so I get plenty of air. That couch is taken apart very easily if you want to put it in my room. I will get what notebooks I can use etc. from that chest when I go home at Christmas. I have plenty of towels. I take a shower every other day and it makes one feel much better. Thank you very much for the clippings; they proved very interesting.

The scenery is very beautiful here now. There has been enough cold and sunshine so that the pigment in the leaves has turned a brilliant red in many cases and I have an especially nice view from my window.

I had to judge sheep as part of my laboratory work in animal husbandry Tuesday and what a job. However, I placed 3 out of 4 of them correctly. For geology lab Thursday we went around to the various buildings on the campus and studied the stones which comprised the base of the buildings. Our hypothesis was that some of them had been formed from red hot lava and rocks some 3 and ½ million years ago. Others were much newer and had been formed by various stratified layers of material.

I am going to church this morning. I didn’t go to any of the church student reception parties as they came while I was working at Sigma Chi Fraternity and I didn’t get through work in time at night to go. I have had several invitations from different fraternity houses to go to different smokers (parties) which they give, but the one Friday night was the first one that I had been to since arriving here.

I have been wearing those old black and white shoes since I came and yesterday when I took them off I found that I had worn through the 5th and final layer of the soles in both shoes and as the rest of them was completely shot, I discarded them. My breakfast only costs me about 10 to 15 cents every morning because I buy cold cereal, a pint of milk, and a little fruit and eat them in my room. I just finished the last of the apples that I brought out the other night and I haven’t touched any of the jam yet but intend to pretty soon. I must stop and eat my breakfast now, but will write more later.

Later: I think that I have just time to finish this before going to church. I forgot to get any cereal yesterday so I had pancakes and doughnuts for breakfast this morning. I intend to write to Aunt Tillie this afternoon as she asked me to. I am enclosing a picture of Cayuga Lake as Aunt Dot said that she would like to have one. I hope that all the corn is in by now as I judge you have been having as nice weather as we have. Is the silo anywhere near full?

It rained terribly hard yesterday and I had to take the bus over to work at lunch time and even then, it wet through my rain coat. I met a girl at the party the other night who was from Poughkeepsie and she wanted to know if I was any relative of the Agnes Flint that teaches in Arlington High School.

If you want to get heat very quickly out of the radiators just unscrew the valve which is on the left hand side, I think, and take it out for a half hour or so, that’s the way I have to do quite often in order to get any heat.

The only way that one can get a job around here is to have a pull (that is know somebody who will let you know whenever a sub is needed). One of the boys here as been in touch with Mrs. Fuertes since he came and he hasn’t had any results yet; so I am working on that angle of the case and getting acquainted with the kids who wait table etc. and it is much more productive because they always give sub jobs to somebody they know if possible. My wrist watch has stopped running and I don’t know whether I will bother getting it fixed for awhile.

The other night I went over to the gym and one of the guys wanted me to play on the Frosh basketball team as a couple members of the varsity were there and wanted a game. I hadn’t played much for a couple of years but we came within 2 points of beating the other team made up of the varsity fellows. Another night one of the boys wanted me to practice tennis with him and it was a lot of fun except that I have felt kind of stiff ever since.

I intend do go swimming in the new pool (which is in the gym) this week sometime. The gym is in the old armory which is right nearby. I had my first R.O.T.C. drill Wednesday and we drilled for 3 hours and then listened to a colonel give a lecture for another hour on the necessity of having a larger army in the U.S. Well don’t forget to write me a long letter and tell me all the news.

Lovingly, Hall