We arrived at Jax at 7 AM & enjoyed breakfast. The drive was fine. No mishaps or anything.
Love
Walter
December 26, 1931
Walter is on his way to a scientific conference in New Orleans, where he’ll present his work on endemic typhus.
Postcard mailed from Funiak Springs, Florida.
Arrived at Funiak Springs about 6 PM. Am at the hotel where we stopped with Claudelle. Left Chas 9PM yesterday. Slept about 1 hr. Smoke and fog were terrible on Atlantic Coast. Had to drive slowly. No mishaps. Swamps here been on fire about 2 weeks. Fires are out now but smoke is there.
W.E.D.
December 29, 1931
Friday Night
Nov. 6, 1931.
Dearest Sweetheart:
Yours and Gilbert’s Sunday night waffles sounded good. Before many more Sunday nights Walter White and I will join you in such a feast. Tell Gilbert he’s getting gay a-partying until 4 A.M. He doesn’t have Walter White to awaken him early with tin cans and Easter eggs like he did on Elmwood.
November 6, 1931
The preliminary program of the Southern Med. Assn. is interesting. I see anumber of familiar names – Drs. Rees, Ricks, Massey etc. I should like very much to arrive early enough Friday to at least see the exhibit and I’d love to hear your paper. Perhaps you would rather your wife would not be present when you made a public speech. Some people feel self conscious if a member of the immediate family is present. Walter White might want to appear on the platform with you so I could remain at the hotel with him until you were through. Since there are only two through trains leaving here and one of them at midnight it looks like we will have to leave on the one at noon. It arrives in N.O. at 7:30 A.M. the following morning. That would be early for you to have to meet us, especially on the day that you would have to appear on the program. You would probably prefer spending the time before ten o’clock in final preparations. I really have not investigated the time of arrival in N.O. of the midnight train as I preferred not getting Walter White wide awake that time of night among sleeping passengers. However, if you think best, I can do it. Yes, the train trip from N.O. to Charleston will be delightful if you are with us. Honey, do you mind mailing me my new green winter coat so I may have it to wear on the train? You will find it in the tray of your big trunk in Walter White’s closet. It will be better to mail it to me here because if you carried it in your bag to N.O. it might be rather wrinkled for immediate wear. Also, I might need it before I arrive there. I don’t like to trouble you with it, but I believe it will be necessary. Thank you.
This afternoon Walter White and I made two calls, returning in time to join the crowd on neighbor John M. Garner’s lawn which had gathered to get a peek at Will Rogers. He arrived in Uvalde this afternoon by airplane and was the guest of the Garners. We walked up that way, really not expecting to see him as he was not planning to make a public appearance here. Just then the high school pep squad arrived, fresh from a victorious football game. They gave fifteen rahs for Rogers and out stepped Will himself. He and Mr. Garner joined the crowd in front and he talked for a few minutes in his humorous conversational way. Walter White saw nothing extraordinary about him. In fact he scarcely looked Will’s way. He was more interested in the lineup of cars.
Honey, I have not been able to get any more information concerning endemic typhus at Carrizo Springs. Tonight Mrs. Sutherland was here and I asked if she knew the name of a physician at that place. She said a Dr. Prickett had a small hospital there. If you are interested you can write him if you like. I thought of doing it myself but decided it would be better for you to do it.
We love you lots & lots. We are going to have a most pleasant trip home with you.
Always, your
Ina.
Monday Night.
Nov. 3, 1931.
Dearest Sweetheart:
Your letter of Thursday night came this A.M.
I know you are a busy man. Dr. Bishopp should feel very proud of the Charleston lab – especially my husband. It is lovely that he is to give the address to the Ent. Soc. of America.
November 3, 1931
You said you thought Walter White and I should arrive in New Orleans on the 20th. I’d love to see your exhibit if it is still up at the meeting when we arrive. Since we will arrive at 7:30 A.M. you may prefer that we make it the 21st so that we can leave immediately for Charleston. Either way will be alright with us. The main thing is to see you soon.
I’m so glad that Gilbert is manifesting so much interest in his night school work and is progressing so rapidly. I know it is a relief to you to feel that you can soon turn that sort of thing over to him. You have a lab force to be proud of.
Our son may be a musician. I don’t know for sure yet. He has learned to open the piano, climb upon the bench and my! how he does play. Tonight he played from memory for a while, then he stopped suddenly. There was no sheet music in sight, but he pointed to the front of the piano and said “onna book.” After I placed the music before him he bent over the keys and played, looking very intently at the music all the while. It was amusing to us, but he took it very seriously.
But our son will not be a barber. That is, unless he does it for revenge. His hair had gotten so long that Mama tried every week or so to trim it a little. The moment Walter White saw the scissors or heard the hair being cut he was up in arms. She improved his looks some but just a little at a time. We were explaining our difficulties to Bertie, so she volunteered to carry him to a beauty shop to have it cut. He thinks anything she says or does is quite right and we thought he would not be reminded of former ordeals if she carried him. Also, he might be less frightened if a lady cut his hair. She carried him this P.M. at 2:30. She said it nearly broke her heart when he would plead in a tearful voice “Down, Bertie down.” She took him on her lap and she, as well as everyone else, tried to divert his mind. He was pretty badly frightened I’m sure, but he must not have been as much so as usual because she said he had quiet moments during the ordeal. I did not go, but I might as well have gone because I felt almost as if he were undergoing an operation without my being there. It looks as if you or I or both of us will have to take lessons in barberism and care for his hair until he is old enough to decide whether or not he wishes to join the “Sons of David” or whatever creed it is that forbids cutting hair.
The article regarding tax on airplane gas indicates that South Carolina is a little heavy on her taxes. If the airplane gas tax is abolished I’m afraid highway #17 will suffer.
We love you lots & lots, Honey.
Good-night, and I hope you sleep good.
Always, your
Ina.
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
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.
Wednesday Night.
My dear Sweetheart,
The meetings go along OK. It has been cool & raining. The exhibit awards were made this PM. Dr. Shelmire and I were given second place in Class I. He is out tonight. I have just returned from Dr. White’s høtel. Have had two whole evening visits with him. He has a nice exhibit up here and would have drawn a prize if he had been demonstrating something as new as ours. He is feeling pretty good, and talks about as usual.
June 7, 1931
Our paper is scheduled for Friday morning sometime. The exhibits close at either 12 M or 2 PM. Expect to go to Wash. Friday night and spend the day there. They close at noon so I won’t be able to see very many [museums?]. Hope to arrive home Sunday A.M.
With love,
Walter.
June 10, 1931: AMA Award
The two researchers published their work the following Spring. The paper is a footnote in medical history, as fleas turned out to be the primary vectors of endemic typhus.
Walter is now in Philadelphia for a meeting of the American Medical Association, where he and Bedford Shelmire are presenting their work on the transmission of endemic typhus.
Sunday A.M.
My dear Sweetheart,
We arrived on time this morning and it is not so late after all. It was daylight when the porter called me. At the hotel I note that they are on daylight saving time so this is not bad.
June 7, 1931
This hotel is about an average one. It has been newly decorated. I haven’t had breakfast yet so I can’t say about the food.
I hope everything is going OK with you and Claudelle & WW.
With love,
Walter.
Stationery from The Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston, South Carolina.
June 25 – 10AM.
My dear Sweetheart,
Your letters were fine. Today we go to Wilmington & then tomorrow I return here for Jimmie. We will go to Savannah and when I get him started I expect to return to Dallas.
June 25, 1930
I don’t know whether I’ll have time to get an answer to this note.
Jimmie was at the Y.M.C.A. when we arrived. He has been looking over things with us.
With love,
Your
Walter.
Sunday June 22nd
My dear Sweetheart,
We did not get away for Charleston today. This morning we went down to the Tybee beach and then to a resort hotel on Wilmington Island. The plan is to have Jimmie work from this hotel. We will know more about it tomorrow. We expect to leave here tomorrow at 1:20 PM. Should arrive Charleston at 4:20. We will be there until Wednesday afternoon. Guess I’ll have to go to Wilmington, and possibly to Florence S.C. then return here. I’ll call at General Delivery when I return here. I should get back about next Friday PM. Will probably get return tickets on the last day of the month and it would be about the 3d of July before I get back to Dallas. When I return here it may be necessary to draw a check. Would like to know if the expense check has arrived and has been deposited. I would draw not more than $25. Guess salary check would get in in time to catch it OK.
June 22, 1930
I hope that everything is going well with you and Walter White and Claudelle.
Savannah looks good for a laboratory site. Charleston may be just as good.
I love you, Honey, and I will be glad to see you.
Your,
Walter.
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
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.