My dear Sweetheart,

We are busy trying to locate new quarters, select some help and make preliminary arrangements. Mr. Gaddis, Mr. Andrews and Miss Anderson are here, and tomorrow we expect to have another stenographer. Gaddis and I are going to Fargo ND the latter part of the week and will try to get the SD people to meet us there for a conference. Next week we go to Bozeman and I have an idea that we will be there most of the week. We may be able to get away soon enough to meet RA & Townsend by the first of the following week. We cannot set the dates yet but will wire tomorrow so he can meet us. He wants all of the time he can get at SA, and we want to give him as much as possible.

February 22, 1938

It was about zero the night Andrews and I arrived, but it has been much warmer since then. Miss Anderson arrived Monday PM & Gaddis Sunday night. The streets are pretty sloppy. Today was a holiday but we have been having conferences and interviewing prospective employees. Tomorrow at 3 PM Dr. W.A. Riley will call. A number of students have been recommended from Minn., & he is no doubt interested in their chances of employment. We are hiring a good man for Minn. who worked in North Dakota on ghoppers since 1934. A good man. We are getting two stenos who served on previous ghop campaigns. They are now working with the U.S. Engineers and two others from Civil Service seem to be well qualified. Mr. Andrews is an auditor and is not going to be as helpful as Townsend. He will do the purchasing or rather the paper work connected with purchasing. We are buying 8 desks and it looks like we are going to have about 11 people in the office here. Butcher & I will be in the field some and I expect he will be out most of the time. I want Kenneth so I can get out some.

Claudelle decided to stay in Little Rock so Mr. Gaddis tells me. She will get her increase to grade 3 there which is probably good judgement on her part. It is much more expensive at Wash. & when she goes there she should have a much better salary. I imagine the art materials and furniture at San Antonio will be sent to her at Little Rock.

We had five new typewriters delivered today. We expect furniture soon also some 24 pick up trucks and 6 big trucks. About 7500 carloads of grasshopper bait will be shipped to areas where infestations are expected and the state leader (paid by the state) will act in charge in each state. It looks like we will have about 110 men in the field. All from the Mpls office. Roberts will have about half as many on Mormon crickets and will use a lot of labor. RA will be in charge. I know that he isn’t going to be wild about his assistant, I agreed to let him have Mr. Schmitt who will get $2600. This should help some.

I think this is going to be a very satisfactory arrangement under Gaddis. I need just such a contact with the chief’s office in Wash. He seems very fair in every way and a helpful chief.

With love and looking forward to seeing you in about two weeks, I am,

Your
Walter.

Address c/o Dr. J.R. Parker, BOE & PQ, Bozeman, Montana. Will send telegram from there or will wire Tourate.*

* A Tourate Telegram was a special discount-rate message people could send to report their location.