Sat, May 25, 1946: rail strike

"Today Washington was charged with tenseness over the rail strike and what Truman might do about it.  To be in on the ground floor John and I dropped down to the Capitol about noon.  Since the joint session at which Truman was schedule to speak was to be held in the House chamber at 4 P.M. -- the whole south end of the capitol was blocked off by capitol police. Admission was by special pass only....

"With no chance of seeing the big show... I decided to watch the Senate fireworks touched off by the railroad strike. Today the galleries were full-- and almost every senator was on the floor!!!...

"Not being able to crack the secret service ring around the house wing, I decided to wait with the crowd outside the Capitol for a glimpse of Pres. Truman.... Then came the big climax -- the president's car with Harry clinging to a strap in the back rear corner sped by at 20 mph.  I snapped a picture which probably won't turn out since he was in front of me when I recognized him.  With that -- the crowd suddenly released after being held in check by presidential guards -- raced like stampeding cattle to catch a glimpse of Pres. Truman -- the common-like man who walked into that same building a couple of years ago unnoticed.

"I heard the speech in a park across the street from the Capitol by portable radio in a little gathering which included a commodore.  He put a lot of feeling into the talk -- and got the biggest ovation ever given Truman.  Then, I got another glimpse of the president when his car headed back for the White House....

"The housewives have gone hogwild on buying bread here.  Unless you're on hand when the store opens it's a breadless day.  We rarely eat break anyhow; so it doesn't affect us."

--Letter from my father, Washington, D.C., to his brother, Bloomington, Kans., Saturday, May 25, 1946.

Sun, May 19, 1946: Dr. Bob Jones

"That evening stopped in at Constitution Hall to watch Homer Rodeheaver lead the singing at the Youth for Christ rally.... I'd like to know who runs the Youth for Christ movement.  They distributed some ferocious anti-New Deal propaganda before the show.  It may be a political group hiding under the cloak of religion.  Dr. Bob Jones, who apparently spear heads the movement, practically hypnotized the audience in his 10 minute pep talk. The organization belied its name.  Instead of youths, the audience was top heavy with white heads - or at least bald ones - the kind who believe in audience-participation religion.  They punctuated Dr. Jones speech with shouts of 'That's right, Bob' and 'A men.')"

--Letter from my father, Washington, D.C.,  to his family, Bloomington, Kans., Sunday, May 19, 1946. 

Sun, May 19, 1946: colts & mules

"This afternoon Stanley & I got the colts & mules out and led them around some, I guess you know Foxie has a colt and & Daisy & Bess each have a mule.  Tonight we popped some corn and now Stanley has gone to bed.

"We cut the alfala yesterday I want to get it baled this week if I can, expect to get Weedon Breiner to do the work."

--Letter from my grandfather, Bloomington, Kans., to my father, Washington, D.C., Sunday, May 19, 1946. 

Sat, May 18, 1946: John Brown

"Our little excursion to the old John Brown battleground didn't pan out so well.  We're now sitting on the front porch of the Storer College Administration building waiting for the mountain shower to stop.  Also the RR strike might leave us stranded up here with the W Va hillbillies."

--Letter from my father, Washington, D.C., to his family, Bloomington, Kans., Saturday, May 18, 1946.

Sun, May 12, 1946: "men in the woods"

"Yesterday we got in some body conditioning... Bob, John, and I --along with Rod Devin -- another former Boulder student -- rode to the end of the Cabin John streetcar line.  Out there the wild country next to the Potomac with its jungle of trees, undergrowth, and rivulets, makes you feel isolated from civilization.  To break the spell you're always stumbling on the back of a settlement of houses, or the station for renting boats to fishermen.  Once while resting in a clearing, some kids of the nearby community found us.  For about an hour we had a steady job entertaining them. If the kids - age 6 to 8 - take home stories about the 'men in the woods', they'll probably be in line for a lecture on strangers."

--Letter from my father, Washington, D.C., to his family, Bloomington, Kans., Sunday, May 12, 1946.

Sun, May 12, 1946: new colt

"Old Foxy has a new colt.  Last evening Stanley went up to her in the pasture to get a good view of the colt and Foxy bit him on the throat and knocked him down.  He really thought he was ruined for a while but this morning was much better.  The teeth marks still show. I told him he'd have a hard time trying to make the other fellow believe it was a horse that bit him."

-- Letter from my grandmother, Bloomington, Kans., to my father, Washington, D.C.,  Sunday, May 12, 1946.