Wednesday A.M.
Aug. 20, 1924
Dear Walter:
I wonder what you are doing this morning – hard at work though I suppose. It still seems a little strange to me to stay at home and let other folks do the work at the office but I am really enjoying it. Claudelle works there a great deal of the time, and there is another girl working there also a great deal of the time while I am away. They work until late at night every few nights. At first I insisted on going back and cutting my vacation short, but my employer would not listen to such a thing, so I expect to take the full month.
August 20, 1924
I had a new experience Monday. I had never been squirrel hunting before, so I set my alarm for four o’clock that morning and a friend of mine and I started up in the Frio Canyon to a ranch near Reagan Wells to kill squirrels. We stopped and cooked and ate our breakfast on the way, and arrived at the ranch just in time, we thought, to kill lots of squirrels. However, they certainly must have heard us coming, because they succeeded so well in hiding themselves that we couldn’t find a one. We became discouraged and decided to go across the Divide into the main Frio Canyon and stop by at the “shut-in” to spend a few minutes with some friends. We did so and saw two squirrels on the way but did not succeed in killing either of them. So our experiences with those little animals were very unsatisfactory. We passed the hotel at Reagan Wells, and everything looked very much deserted that morning. All the scenery around there brought back very vividly to my mind the pleasant Sunday I spent up there.
You will notice that I am enclosing the negatives you requested. At least I suppose they are the proper ones. You are very good at giving vivid descriptions. It is mighty nice of you to think enough of the pictures to want them enlarged. Mama and I appreciate your thinking of sending us one.
I am so anxious to know what that is that you spoke of in your letter that you were going to tell me the next time you saw me. I hope it will not be long before I find out what it is. Your last letter sounded more encouraging about your coming in September than usual. It made me feel good, and I sincerely hope you can do it.
Two of the young men with whom I have been going have left town leaving only two with whom I go regularly. I don’t mention my dates in writing to you much just simply because I am afraid you will think I am trying to impress you as being very “popular.” I am certainly not trying to do anything of the kind, and I sincerely hope you will understand that I am not. I just feel like I want to tell you the things that I do, and I can’t do that without mentioning a date occasionally. I will trust you not to get the wrong impression.
With the exception of three times last summer, I had never been on mixed bathing parties until this summer. Mama and Papa did not approve of them and neither did I. However, the weather became so hot and swimming so popular that Mama and Papa would take their daughters out for a swim. Since practically everybody in Uvalde went to the same place to swim of course it amounted to about the same thing as taking your swimming party along with you. They finally decided that there really wasn’t any harm in it after all, consequently I go on swimming parties often. Mama and Papa enjoy swimming now as much if not more than we do. We go to the picture show once or twice a week, so these two things are the principal amusements for the young people of Uvalde. Of course they have dances occasionally, but as I told you before, I don’t go to those.
I am anxious to know of any further developments in your work. That certainly must be a very peculiar malady, and extremely interesting. I know you enjoy working with Dr. Kirby-Smith, and I certainly think he uses excellent taste in choosing a companion with whom to work. I hope it will be so that you can continue the investigation and complete it with him, and I sincerely hope you all will receive the proper credit. When you have put your whole heart into a thing and have worked hard, you certainly do want to receive credit for what you have done. As I said before, I am awfully proud of the work that you have done.
Sincerely,
Ina