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Will's crossing the American continent by train, headed for his Army assignment in the Philippines. He's enjoying seeing the country, but he'll never be the enthusiastic traveller that Alma is.
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Lockwood, Kans. to Kansas City, Mo.,
April 17, 1903
Dear Alma,
I suppose you know by this time that I was home. I didn’t have the time or the money either to go back by way of Oberlin. We started from Washington on the 15th at about 11:30 A.M. We are having quite a pleasant trip. There are seven officers and one more is going to join us at Kansas City. One of the officers. Dr. Harry Pyles,is a friend of Dr. Harry March’s. They were in the same class at school. He was married four days before we started. I am afraid Mrs. Pyles is having rather a lonely trip as she is the only woman on the train. This is a special train,composed of two baggage cars,five tourist sleepers, and a re gular Pullman for the officers. If this is badly written don’t be surprised as we are going 73 miles an hour. I just timed it by the click of the rails. The rule is that the number of rails passed over in 20 5/11 seconds is the number of miles per hour. Rails are 30 feet long so you can prove that if you feel so inclined. This road has 30 telegraph poles to the mile. The rule for telegraph poles is: The number of poles passed in two minutes is the number of miles per hour.
We have been getting some of our meals with the soldiers on the train and some of them at restaurants at the stations. We are going to lay in enough provisions at Kansas City to last us all day tomorrow.
We passed through a very pretty country yesterday. It was near Asheville, N.C. Last evening we passed Lookout Mountain,and about 4:10 this morning we passed over the Mississippi at Memphis. I had the Pullman conductor wake me up so that I could look out the window and see it. I got a very good view as the moon was shining brightly. The rest of them all thought it was very funny for me to be wakened up. We passed the highest point in Missouri this afternoon. Since then the scenery has been of the bummest sort. The only thing was the largest peach orchard in the world.
Our route is via Danville,Va., Chattanooga,Tenn.,Huntsville,Ala.,Memphis,Kansas City,Pueblo,Ogden,and San Francisco.
With love,
Will.
P.S. I hope you do not object to the typewritten signature.
W.
30 ⟌ 5,280 feet in a mile
176 rails in a mile
3600
April 17, 1903
Dear Alma,
I suppose you know by this time that I was home. I didn’t have the time or the money either to go back by way of Oberlin. We started from Washington on the 15th at about 11:30 A.M. We are having quite a pleasant trip. There are seven officers and one more is going to join us at Kansas City. One of the officers. Dr. Harry Pyles,is a friend of Dr. Harry March’s. They were in the same class at school. He was married four days before we started. I am afraid Mrs. Pyles is having rather a lonely trip as she is the only woman on the train. This is a special train,composed of two baggage cars,five tourist sleepers, and a re gular Pullman for the officers. If this is badly written don’t be surprised as we are going 73 miles an hour. I just timed it by the click of the rails. The rule is that the number of rails passed over in 20 5/11 seconds is the number of miles per hour. Rails are 30 feet long so you can prove that if you feel so inclined. This road has 30 telegraph poles to the mile. The rule for telegraph poles is: The number of poles passed in two minutes is the number of miles per hour.
We have been getting some of our meals with the soldiers on the train and some of them at restaurants at the stations. We are going to lay in enough provisions at Kansas City to last us all day tomorrow.
We passed through a very pretty country yesterday. It was near Asheville, N.C. Last evening we passed Lookout Mountain,and about 4:10 this morning we passed over the Mississippi at Memphis. I had the Pullman conductor wake me up so that I could look out the window and see it. I got a very good view as the moon was shining brightly. The rest of them all thought it was very funny for me to be wakened up. We passed the highest point in Missouri this afternoon. Since then the scenery has been of the bummest sort. The only thing was the largest peach orchard in the world.
Our route is via Danville,Va., Chattanooga,Tenn.,Huntsville,Ala.,Memphis,Kansas City,Pueblo,Ogden,and San Francisco.
With love,
Will.
P.S. I hope you do not object to the typewritten signature.
W.
30 ⟌ 5,280 feet in a mile
176 rails in a mile
3600
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1.
Last evening we passed Lookout Mountain,and about 4:10 this morning we passed over the Mississippi at Memphis. I had the Pullman conductor wake me up so that I could look out the window and see it.
Well over a century after this letter was written, I keep thinking, "I hope Will gave that Pullman conductor a good tip." But Will was nice, so I think he probably did. Probably.
2.
P.S. I hope you do not object to the typewritten signature.
Alma answers this in:
1903-04-21 LETTER FROM ALMA TO WILL
I haven’t the slightest objection to a typewritten signature.
You can read her letter to find out what she did object to.
3.
The arithmetical calculation must be in Alma's handwriting. 5280 divided by 176 is 30.
The 3600 must be something she did in her head, related to
The rule for telegraph poles is: The number of poles passed in two minutes is the number of miles per hour.
...and the 72 miles per hour that Will calculated.
It sounds as though Will and Alma got used to doing math problems with their father. See:
1889-07-24 ARTICLE FEATURING PAPA CHARLES
Last evening we passed Lookout Mountain,and about 4:10 this morning we passed over the Mississippi at Memphis. I had the Pullman conductor wake me up so that I could look out the window and see it.
Well over a century after this letter was written, I keep thinking, "I hope Will gave that Pullman conductor a good tip." But Will was nice, so I think he probably did. Probably.
2.
P.S. I hope you do not object to the typewritten signature.
Alma answers this in:
1903-04-21 LETTER FROM ALMA TO WILL
I haven’t the slightest objection to a typewritten signature.
You can read her letter to find out what she did object to.
3.
The arithmetical calculation must be in Alma's handwriting. 5280 divided by 176 is 30.
The 3600 must be something she did in her head, related to
The rule for telegraph poles is: The number of poles passed in two minutes is the number of miles per hour.
...and the 72 miles per hour that Will calculated.
It sounds as though Will and Alma got used to doing math problems with their father. See:
1889-07-24 ARTICLE FEATURING PAPA CHARLES
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