Ithaca, New York
March 19, 1938
Dear Folks,
I was very pleasantly surprised to receive two letters from home in such a short while. I went downtown and bought myself a pair of pajamas, on Aunt Dorothy’s advice last Saturday afternoon. It was a lovely day and I like to get out in the sun when I can, as it is overcast so much here. I don’t think I’ll bother getting a laundry case this year as I can get my shirts laundered for a dime a piece and I can do the other washing myself. I will bring part of my accumulation home in a couple of weeks.
I am glad Pop had the chance to see “Emile Zola.” I saw it last fall and was deeply impressed also. I had a nice letter from Catherine and Andy yesterday. I just got two prelims off my shoulders this morning and stayed up most of the night studying for them. I only have a couple more before I go home. I also got back several hundreds on quizzes during the week.
Monday evening I went up to the 4-H meeting and heard Professor Goodman speak on his trip to the resettlement project in Alaska and also saw several slides on it which he had taken. He is one of the heads of the Agriculture Engineering Department here and was appointed through President Roosevelt to go up and make a report on the agriculture situation last summer.
We are hiring a new cook-buyer for our Coop as the combination which we have had has proven unsatisfactory to our business. The cook is the landlord also and so the situation was rather complicated. However, many members have dropped out of late because of the meals mainly and we are losing money, so we had to do something about it. We interviewed several prospects and this afternoon decided on one at a meeting of the Board of Directors.
This afternoon’s laboratory in Agronomy was very interesting. We tested several samples of soil which had been treated under various conditions of liming, superphosphate, sulfur, etc and determined the amounts needed by different types of plants in different soils. Most of it is based on organic and inorganic chemistry, but it is very interesting and practical nevertheless.
I have a chance to get my New York State milk tester’s license when I get through with my Dairy course if I want to by taking a comparatively simple examination and for the sum of 2 dollars, but I don’t know as if would do me much good. I guess I could get it later or anytime that I wanted to.
It seems that Emmadine Farms is the headquarters of the Guernsey cattle breed in the U.S. Professor Savage told us about its history and that they got their foundation stock here at Cornell to begin with.
This is about all I can think of and I am getting rather sleepy.
Lovingly, Hall
Gilbert Hall Flint was born August 14, 1918 and raised on Flint Hill Farm in Amenia, New York. His formal education began in a one-room schoolhouse in Smithfield. He graduated from Amenia High School in 1936 and from the Cornell University College of Agriculture in 1940. He taught high school agriculture from 1940 to 1944, served in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946, taught high school agriculture from 1946 to 1963, and finished his career as a school principal from 1963 to 1975.
Gilbert Hall Flint passed away on December 16, 2009. The letters are published in his memory. To view the letters in chronological order, please click a timeline label from the side bar menu, scroll to the bottom, and read up.
Gilbert Hall Flint passed away on December 16, 2009. The letters are published in his memory. To view the letters in chronological order, please click a timeline label from the side bar menu, scroll to the bottom, and read up.