Grandpa writes to Lad, Dan and Ced about various points of interest to all of them.
Alfred Duryee Guion (Grandpa)
R-116 Trumbull, Conn., February 16, 1941
Dear All and Sundry:
Score is 66% this week. Dan gets zero; he did not turn in any homework. Penalty – spend one night in his B.V.D.’s alone on a glacier and thus familiarize himself with that cold distant feeling.
First for the news– what there is of it.
RUSTY ON HIS WAY. Returning from lunch one day last week, who should be waiting in my office but the fair-haired boy from Wakefield. He had just received a letter from Stoll, Sr., suggesting that he be in Seattle the latter part of this week to accompany Mr. Stoll to Juneau to see certain people of importance in the capital city and talk over plans for Rusty’s future. He was therefore leaving the Grand Central station that night and expected to sail from Seattle yesterday. He plans to get something to do as soon as possible after reaching Anchorage in order to acquire sufficient funds to send for the future Mrs. Rusty. Pop goes one and possibly two of Dick’s perspective reservations.
ARNOLD ALSO OUT. Carl informs me that Arnold, having just taken a new job with better pay and more civilized hours of work with another concern, will probably not accompany Dick; so unless the latter gets busy and rounds up some other passengers it looks as though he would travel alone. To be sure this would have certain advantages aside from the financial end.
DICK GIVES NOTICE. One sentence in Ced’s last letter was a bit disconcerting, concerning the possible postponement of the first sailing for a month, in view of the fact that Dick is required to give Underwood two weeks notice and had already done so. It takes so long for even the airmail letters to get back and forth that by the time an answer to an inquiry is received it is almost too late to do anything about it.
CAR REGISTRATION: Take the matter of the registration of your new Buick as a case in point. By now you know what you own but on January 26 when you wrote, letter received here on February 12, you could not possibly have secured Alaskan plates which sent even by airmail would arrive here for possibly another week, which would mean February 24 or so in about a week prior to the date Dick figures he must leave to make the March 20 sailing date. This would be sailing far too close to the wind. Even now I am puzzled about what to do in the matter of registration. I find contrary to my first impression, all registrations expire at the end of February. If immediately upon receipt of my letter giving description, order number, etc., you applied for plates to be sent posthaste, I might possibly get them before March 1, but within three days after that, Dick plans to start and must therefore be properly registered. Maybe a letter from you tomorrow will give further details but in view of your desire as stated in your last letter to have Dick make the trip on Alaskan markers I am a bit puzzled as to just what to do. I will hold off until the last moment before doing anything about it and be guided by circumstances.
LAD’S FORD: And while we’re talking about cars, Lad, it occurred to me the other day to ask what you intended doing with your baby. If you sell it to someone down there, which is the logical thing to surmise, may I suggest that you consider the possibility of your going back and sell with the understanding that if you do return, you have the privilege of really acquiring the car at whatever price you may mutually agree is fair. If you don’t come back, all is well.
Tomorrow, I’ll be posting the other half of this letter. Grandpa writes a discourse about job possibilities for Lad.
Judy Guion
"Greatest Generation" Life Lessons 