Tag Archives: sand flies

January 15, 1932

Jan 15, 1932
Friday Night.

My dear Sweetheart,

Yesterday and today I have been visiting. I visited with Dr. White yesterday morning and last night he and I ate at the Allies. Spent yesterday PM and this AM & PM with Bish and the people we called on. We called on Dr. Marlatt and I had a chance to tell him of our work at Chas. He had been reading my reports. His questions showed it. Says he is going to drive south this spring and promised to stop at Chas a while. He asked about the gardens.

January 15, 1932

January 15, 1932

Did not get a promise of a truck sprayer but they are trying to locate one for me. Bish and I called on the Plant Quarantine Administration regarding it. Think I’ll see Rohiver tomorrow morning. I think he can be of more help to me than anyone else. Bish visits but does not say yes or no. He is afraid to tell anyone anything for sure, except that we can’t do anything. I am mighty glad that I am not located up here. There seems to be no chance of getting Gilbert in up here and so far I have had no encouragement for another appointment for Frank. I am afraid that we cannot keep him after March 4th. I am trying to get the truck sprayer and this should be a strong argument for Frank’s reappointment.

I hope that everything is going well with you and Buddy. If it is as warm there as it is here, you do not need to have a furnace fire. I’ll have to be here Monday and possibly longer. You can bet that I’ll come home as soon as I feel that I have accomplished all that I can here.

Everyone asks of you and Buddy. Saw Dr. Roark this AM. Will try to call while I am here & see Mrs. Roark.

I love you Honey.

Your
Walter

October 31, 1931

Saturday A.M.
Oct. 31, 1931.

Dearest Sweetheart:

Walter White and I are sitting by the fire writing to you. He wrote on my letter some too. He enjoys having us take him on our laps and tell him how he is going to get on the “chu chu twain” and go see Daddy. He sits real still and smiles.

October 31, 1931

October 31, 1931

Your letter of Monday night enclosing one from Mrs. Bucklin came yesterday. I’m relieved that she is in a home where she will be cared for. I understand the Eastern Star home is a good one. I have thought of her so often and wondered what she was doing. She is pathetic. She has so much spirit and a love for the comforts and beauties of life. I am going to write her soon. It is queer that we failed to receive her last letter.

Honey, I’m sorry I alarmed you about Papa’s condition. You see, his back has been weak ever since he was a young man and every time he does any heavy lifting he suffers greatly with backache. He has had that trouble so much that when we ask him how he feels, we just naturally expect him to say “alright except my back hurts so bad.” It seems that “blues” or worry makes his back ache terribly. So, even though no one in either of the cars suffered even the slightest physical injury, his back became sympathetic when he found that he would have a repair bill. It amounted to about $26.00* and would have been more if Papa had not happened in the garage in time. The owner of the car had carried it to the garage to be overhauled. Of course it all would have been charged to Papa. He (Papa) told the garage men to use their judgement about the repairs that would be necessary as a result of the accident. He of course was willing to stand that expense, but no other.

It will be lovely if your sandfly treatments give a 95% kill. It should seem marvelous to people who have been annoyed by the pests so long. I’m anxious to know just what your plans are for extensive treatments. Congratulations! I’m so proud of the progress you have made on that problem as well as on others. You will have interesting material for the Christmas paper.

The cool weather we have been having yesterday and today makes me appreciate your saying that the heaters at home and the lab are in working order. Do you think the house we are now in will be a great deal more easily heated than the Elmwood one?

The pecan crop in the yard was light this year but Papa has about 200 lbs. from his trees. Some of them are real large ones too. There is only one tree among them that is an ungrafted native pecan.

It is good to know that it will be only a few weeks before we can be seeing you.

We surely do love you, Honey.

Always, your
Ina.

* $392.53 in today’s money.

October 27, 1931

Tuesday Night
Oct. 27, 1931.

Dearest Sweetheart:

Giles Rawles (Johnie’s brother) spent this evening with us. His wife and baby remained in Columbia, Mississippi while Giles and his wife’s brother are making a tour of Texas, “prospecting.” When he saw Walter White he immediately said he was just like you. Didn’t you meet him once when we were here or has he just seen your picture? I believe he and his wife were visiting here at that time. Yes, I know they were because we all went into Mexico together and took some pictures. She was the one with the babyish voice, you remember.

October 27, 1931

October 27, 1931

You would be amused to hear your son call Papa “Nickey” and “Humpkin” (Mama’s pet name for Papa). He has been in the yard almost all today. This afternoon Mr. Dougharty has been thrashing the pecans and W.W. has been helping him pick them up. Sometimes he decides to take them out of the bucket by the handful and scatter them. He fills his pockets and a little glass with them. He likes the taste of them but we do not give him many. He puts one under his little bare foot and says “onna cwack it,” or squeezes one in each fist and says the same thing.

It is lovely that you have so much enthusiastic cooperation in preparing the exhibits etc. for the meetings. I’m glad that you, Mr. Hall and Mr. Hull are going to present “The Sandfly Problem” in December. It should be of great interest to those attending the meetings because of its importance and the lack of previous work done on the problem. I’m glad you are planning to be present at the meetings although we are going to miss you. If Mr. Hall goes also perhaps Pauline and little David would stay with Walter White and me. We would enjoy having them and none of us would get so lonesome. Perhaps we could find a cot or something for David to sleep on.

I was so amused at your comments on Charleston that I read that part of your letter aloud to Mama. She said tell you that the more you disliked Charleston the better pleased she was. This speculation about Dallas is something to my wife’s ears and that about Jacksonville isn’t exactly bad. It would seem too good to be true if we could return to Dallas to live. If that cannot be, Jacksonville would be nice – certainly a great deal nicer than Charleston. Anyhow, those things are pleasant to think about. I can’t believe we are settled in Charleston for life, but I am beginning to feel that it would not be bad at all to live there for a while longer. It is a good experience. It makes us appreciate other places. By the way, yesterday a neighbor of ours remarked to Papa that they were trying to kill all the rats at Carrizo Springs because they were spreading typhus. Papa did not inquire into it but when he told Mama she was all keyed up over it, thinking that you might go down there to do some work. He will make further inquiries and I will let you know. Are you interested in getting material from there if possible, or do you think it would be worth the trip? I do not know a Carrizo Springs physician’s name to whom you could write for information. It would be lovely if you could come.

Yes, Honey, I love you too even though you live at Charleston. I’d love you if you lived at Kuippa [?].

Good-night and I hope you sleep good.

Always, your
Ina.

October 1, 1931

Thursday Night.

Oct. 1, 1931.

Dearest Sweetheart:

Your letter of Sunday night came today. I was very glad to have it. There was no letter from you yesterday.

It will be lovely if Mr. Hall’s light traps prove successful as a means of control of sandflies. I am sure you enjoyed your visit with Mr. & Mrs. Hall & David. I have been intending ever since we came to write them and others at the lab but I don’t seem to be able to think to purchase cards when I am down town.

October 1, 1931

October 1, 1931

Today when we would ask Walter White “whose boy are you?” he would answer “Daddy’s boy.” Mama taught him that. He is learning so fast. Each day I think he is as interesting as he can be, but the next day he is more so. For one thing, he doesn’t care much for little girls – especially affectionate little girls (how long will it last?) We made a mistake by asking Ina Marie to love him. She tried to and fondly called him “Baby.” He resented it and, in order to prevent its occurring again, he pushed her down every time she approached him. She is such a sweet affectionate little thing and is so crazy about him that it is a shame the way he treats her. He wouldn’t be very kind to a baby sister I’m afraid. When he looks at a magazine he calls the pictures “baby,” “man” or “boy” but seldom says “girl.” He likes the big girls, though. Every morning at 7:30 when he hears Susie coming down the back stairs he gets down from the table, rushes to the back door, opens it and has started down the steps by the time she reaches him. Then she places him between herself and her husband in the car and he goes with her to take her husband down town to work. It takes only about ten minutes, but W.W. expects it every day. Susie says she wishes he were hers. Bertie and Mr. & Mrs. Cain pay a great deal of attention to him too. If they are going down town and back quickly they sometimes carry him. He makes friends readily.

Last night I went to prayer meeting. Rev. Taylor had announced his subject as “The Menace of the Movies” and, since my husband was such a movie fan, I thought I should go. The talk was interesting and sensible.

We had a letter from Claudelle today. She is making $5.00 per month escorting a senior student who is blind to her classes from one building to another. She is trying to get other employment but says it is strange how people don’t want her to work for them. Honey, if her Bureau check comes to Charleston will you forward it to Uvalde please? In her letter today she was wondering if it had come.

It will be fine for Mr. Hall, Mr. Hull and Gilbert if they can do some school work this winter.

Last night was quite cool which reminded me that I failed to tell you where the quilts were. I do hope you thought to look in the closet in the hall because that is exactly where they are.

Please remember Walter White and me to the lab force and the Robinsons. I’ll write them all soon.

We love you, Honey, and I miss you too. I hope you sleep good.

Always, your
Ina.

September 25, 1931

Friday Night.

Sept. 25, 1931.

Dearest Sweetheart:

Your letter of Monday night which arrived this morning was most welcome. It contained lots of interesting information.

September 25, 1931

September 25, 1931

The thing that impressed me most was the possibility of our moving to Tampa. Yes, of course I understand that it is by no means cut and dried but is a mere possibility. However, it doesn’t hurt to think about it. In fact, I consider it very pleasant food for thought. Tampa is a very nice place to live, is it not? At any rate it is not Charleston – is not even in South Carolina. I am very anxious to know more concerning it. Also, I am wondering who would remain in Charleston. 150 miles from Ft. Pierce should be safe.

Have you heard anything from the Cushings? They should be coming out soon.

It is nice that your trip to the Southern has been approved and that Dr. Shelmire had a second thought in regard to the order of names in the exhibit.

I am glad that you were pleasantly surprised in the number of sand flies in your collections during your last trip. I did not want you to be disappointed in it.

Walter White gets sweeter every day. This afternoon Mr. Cain (the rather elderly gentleman in the apartment next to us) said that W.W. was the cutest boy he ever saw. He said he was so easily entertained. He, his wife and daughter seem to be so fond of W.W. I believe the baby would enjoy visiting with them all day. He knows when people like him.

I believe there is more talk about the depression here than at Charleston. These people are more accustomed to prosperity than Charlestonians, I suppose, and a shortage of it causes discomfort and probably alarm. Honey, don’t you suppose we had better wait quite a while about getting a new car? It was for this trip home that I was especially anxious for it and since we have gotten along so far without it I believe we could make Willie do for many months yet. In that way we could avoid rendering a new car for taxes next year and could probably buy a car at a lower price later. In the meantime we could be using our money to a better advantage. I am anxious for us to be able to pay a great deal on Owenwood next time. It will be lovely when we get even with the world financially.

By now Rebecca should have been married long enough to settle down to her household duties.

It would be lovely to have another letter from you tomorrow.

We love you lots & lots.

Always, your

Ina.

July 12, 1931

Stationery from the Hotel Ware, Waycross, GA – “Fireproof, Circulating Ice Water, Ceiling Fans.”

Sunday 6PM.

My dear Sweetheart,

This is a right good little town. It is high and from all appearances it has been dry. It is raining now, and I’ve been in showers all day. Spent last night at the Methodist Hotel in Savannah where you and I stopped the first time. Had a better room last night. Made most of the cage collections at Savannah last night. Used a flash light.

July 12, 1931

July 12, 1931

Had a detour in coming here today. It lasted for 32 miles of sandy road. Haven’t seen anyone about the problem here. It is so late on Sunday PM that I do not intend to do more than make an appointment for tomorrow A.M. The town does not look like a sand fly town. I would not suspect Phlebotomus here. It looks like the rapid running streams through the town might furnish a lot of Buffalo gnats (Simuliium). I have an idea that they are the ones that give trouble.

With love

Your
Walter.

Walter is starting his sand-fly work, looking for ways to combat these biting flies that infest the marshes of the Southeastern coasts. One result of this work will be the naming of a species, Culicoides dovei. I’ve always found it amusing that our family has an annoying pest named after it.

June 21, 1930

Stationery from the Hotel Savannah, “Rates posted and radio in every room.”

Sat. June 21, 1930.

My dear Sweetheart,

We have been on the go all day. This morning we had a sanitary inspector (malaria control) to take us to points on the Island. At noon we met the Georgia Healthcare group of health officers, and had lunch with them. We accompanied them on their tour this PM. This place has most of the mosquito breeding places under control. They have about 300 miles of ditches which permit drainage & minnow access to mosquito breeding places. They are anxious about sand flies. Last Feb they gave quite a bit of annoyance to winter tourists. On April 6 they caused 50 guests to leave. The season was shortened by 3 weeks. Since the hotel is open for only about 4 months during the year, this is quite an item.

June 21, 1930

June 21, 1930

We are going to look around more tomorrow morning and then go to Charleston tomorrow afternoon or night. Savannah has lots of history and several monuments. It has a population of 87000, with 45% negroes. I like the spirit of cooperation but I am not yet sure about living here. It is not a progressive and growing place. I imagine that Charleston is about the same way.

Yesterday PM Bish and I went by the acreage at Jax. He thinks that the investment is a good one. There is some building along the high way, an overhead pass has been made for the group of railroad tracks in Jax, and soon the Lake City highway will be made twice as wide. There are some homes between our acreage and Jax. The old man with the filling station says that no real estate is being sold now but that he thinks the prospects are good for the future.

B just had a letter from Mrs. B. All three of the children were honor students. Bitsie goes to Baltimore every-day with a questionnaire for the Jewish families. I think she has to get 12 each day. During the late summer she is to be a dietician for a girls camp.

I love you, Honey, and I’ll be mighty glad when I get your letters at Charleston.

Always,

Your
Walter.

June 18, 1930

Stationery from the San Juan Hotel, Orlando, Florida.

June 18, 1930.

My dear Sweetheart,

We made stops at Stuart, Vero Beach, and Cocoa, after spending most of the forenoon at Ft. Pierce. You would be surprised, but there are less than 10% as many mosquitoes at Ft. Pierce at the present time. They have about 50 miles of ditches which permit the minnows to find the wiggletails. Many of the ditches are made by blasting the mangrove trees with dynamite.*

June 18, 1930

June 18, 1930

We found more sand flies and mosquitoes at Vero Beach than at any other place along the East Coast of Florida. The conditions were quite similar to those of Marco Island. Mr. Reed came to Cocoa with us and then we took a bus to Orlando. We arrived here at 8:30 tonight. We had dinner and now it is about 10:30.

Orlando is a nice town. It is not in the sand fly section. Bish wants to spend a day with McNiel here. Tomorrow night we leave for Jax. The next day we go to St. Mary’s, then Savannah, then Charleston. We hope to find Jimmie up there about that time. Too, we expect to find that his appointment went through. As near as I can figure, it is not going to give me much time in Charleston before it will be time to return to Dallas. Will try to get Bish to cut out the Wilmington & Myrtle Beach trip or make it by himself.

I hope you are getting along OK and that Walter White sleeps well.

With love,

Your,
Walter.

* Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

August 22, 1925

Saturday Night,

My Dear Sweetheart,

It was a little late when I came home last night and Dr. White was asleep. I gave the letter from Atlantic Beach to a trainman (flagman) and he promised to post it in Jax, so if that one seems to come thru a little quicker that probably accounts for it.

This afternoon the little boy across the street, Betha Hill, 14, and I went hunting. He has been helping me trap since I have been down here, but works every week day with his father (a plumber), so we had to plan the hunting on Sat PM when he was not working. His father went with us in their Ford, and we drove about twelve miles south, to what is known as Palm Valley. There were palms in the valley and palmettos too, but there was no town. The roads were very narrow and crooked. We did not find anything to shoot, but killed the afternoon and had a good time. It was the first time I had been south of the beach here and I was interested in the country. We had quite a little experience in coming back, as we found a high tide and with about five miles driving on it. We were either driving in soft sand or in the water. It wasn’t funny, as there was a northeastern wind beginning which carried the water pretty high. At one time it got into the carburetor and killed the engine. It was getting rougher all the time and we felt fortunate that we got off the beach when we did. It is blowing pretty hard now and I have been told that the “North Easternsers” usually continue for 3, 6 or 9 days at about the same speed. Since it is over I am glad that I have had the experience on the beach during a high tide as I will be cautious when you are with me. It is hardly possible that a person could drown as the water is not deep, but it would be disagreeable to experience. Besides, you might get your “Sunday dress” wet with salt water. (Remember what Thelma Lee said about my “good pants” when you and I were caught in the rain).

August 22, 1925

August 22, 1925

The day has passed rather quickly, but I miss your letter. The post office had closed when we got back tonight so I have it to look forward to for tomorrow. Wish I could see you instead. I’d hug you so hard. I certainly do love you, Sweetheart, and I hope we will always feel the same as we do now.

I had a mighty nice letter from a Mr. Roy Watson of Caxambas a few days ago. He had written to Dr. Howard and his letter had been given to Mr. Bishopp. I wrote to him to find out the nature of his trouble and he came back with a long letter. What is known as “sand flies” which are small biting gnats are of considerable annoyance on the southwest coast. I am planning to spend at least two weeks with him when I go down the state. I would prefer to work on these, before you are with me in Florida, as I do not care to be located where they are going to bite you and I. You can bet that I am thinking of you, and I want to be able to locate where we will not be troubled in that way.

I love you, Honey, and I want you. With a sweet goodnight, I am,

Always your,
Walter