Author’s historical note: On January 20, 1937, FDR was inaugurated for his second term as President of the United States. After a year of political disintegration in Spain, the first major offensive of the Spanish Civil War is launched by Franco in February, 1937.
2/10/37
Dear Charley,
Don’t you owe me a letter? There’s no point in this business of me writing all of them.
The enclosed picture will give you an idea of the kind of weather we have up here. The picture was taken about two weeks ago, and the temperature was about zero. That white stuff you see all over the ground is snow, in case you’ve forgotten.
The ground is about 30 feet below me, and there is a stiff wind trying to blow me overboard, but it didn’t succeed. Last week, we had to move all the straw and put that big frame-work to the left where the straw is in the picture. They gave me ten men to do the job, so it wasn’t hard.
But Indiana weather isn’t always cold. It keeps you guessing just what it will do. Two days ago, I was working in the same place, and it was so warm, I had to take my shirt off! And this morning, the temperature is again zero. The picture is on top of the Purdue Airport Hanger, and due to its height, a strong wind is usually blowing. That wire diagonally across the center of the picture is not an aerial, but a guy-wire to keep the frame-work from blowing overboard. Although this frame weighs nearly a ton, the wind gets so strong that it would blow it off the roof if it were not tied down. Even when tied, it will shimmy like heck when a strong wind hits it.
How’s school? I’m not going to school any more, but I have to study nevertheless. Ask your mother for an explanation of this phenomena. She should have a copy of my explanation to the folks, as I asked them to forward it to her. If she hasn’t received it yet, let me know.
I wonder if Aunt Sissy** was in the flood in Louisville?*** I’ll bet she was, because they needed all the nurses they could get to take care of the sick people. They sent about half a dozen nurses down there from here. They almost sent me down there as a truck driver with the R.O.T.C., but I guess they didn’t need us or something. Imagine me as a truck driver.
Well, Charley, I have to study for three hours, eat lunch, work for four hours, and then study for four more. So I think I better close. Drop me a line when you can, and don’t let that arithmetic get you. It almost got me last semester, but I fooled it. The best way to learn arithmetic is to do a lot of problems, even if it means doing more problems than the teacher assigns.
Love, Buddy.
*See: http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/there-no-way-like-american-way-1937/
**Emma Stafford, Buddy’s sister; nicknames for her included “Sissy” and “Jack”. She was a nurse and lived with the Cheshires, a well-to-do family in Louisville. They had a daughter who was mentally retarded and Emma helped care for her.
***From January 18 to February 5, 1937, the great Ohio River Flood left more than one million people homeless.