Letter from Leland Burch to Cadet H. D. Hawkins, Jr. - July 19, 1958 · Greer Heritage Museum collection

Title

Letter from Leland Burch to Cadet H. D. Hawkins, Jr. - July 19, 1958

Accession Number

2023.58.1.50

Accession Date

April 15, 2023

Accession Creator

Samantha Mora

Depositor

Found in collection

Description

A letter from Leland Burch to Cadet H. D. Hawkins, Jr. The letter is not dated, but the envelope is post-dated July 19, 1960.

Creator

Leland Burch

Date

July 19, 1960

Storage Location

Archives: collection case

Text

Dear Harp,
I appreciate your letter. I’m glad that you are getting along fine at summer camp now. I wish now that I could have gone down there this summer, but I probably wouldn’t have been able to make it though. Right now I don’t know whether or not I’ll stay in the ROTC program next year or not. Probably I’ll go on and remain in the program, however.
This past week I have been watching the Democratic convention on T.V. as much as possible when I wasn’t working. It was a very interesting convention. Of course you already know that Kennedy was nominated on the first ballot. I was for Johnson all the way, but he just couldn’t make it. If Kennedy wins in November, the story is that Adlai Stevenson will be appointed Secretary of State. Right now I believe Kennedy will defeat Nixon in the election, but you never can tell about these things.
Next week the Republic Convention will begin in Chicago. Since Nixon has the nomination in the bag, I doubt that it will be interesting at all. Anyway I won’t be able to see much of it at all because I am going to have to work on the second shift at Greer Mill for the next several weeks.That means I’ll have to work from four in the afternoon until twelve at night. Those are terrible hours, I’m telling you.
Since you won’t be home until August, I guess you will miss seeing all of the Republic Convention too. Maybe I can stop by to see you every night at 12:00 o’clock when I get off from work if you still keep the same late hours that you did before you went to Ft. Benning. Probably you will be in bed every night at 10:o’clock from habit by now.
Well since you haven’t come home yet, I guess you had a pretty good mid-camp rating. It won’t be but two more weeks now until you will be home and camp will be behind you. SO now you have it made down there. I know you will keep on doing a good job and come through with flying colors.
About a week ago today, I broke a glass in my hand and cut my hand badly in two places. I had to go to the doctor to have it bandaged up. You would have seen it. I could hardly move my hand with all those bandages on it. This is one reason why I haven’t written you sooner. I was unable to write. Well now my hand is better and I hope to write you several more times after this.
I’ve seen Eric, Newt, and aJim since you left to go back to camp. Jim says he will be going down to Ft. Benning next summer. Eric is working for the same company that Jim is - Durand. I think that he doesn’t have but a weeks more to work before he quits for the summer. And Newt is working down at the Cannery - I guess that’s about all you say for him.
Well, when you get home from camp, you won’t have but six weeks before school starts. That will be plenty of time for you to take a small trip somewhere. What do you plant to do? I guess Eric, Jim and all the boys will be going to the beach next month. I’ll bet that will be a wild time, though.
I don’t know if you have through any more about whether or now you will be a day student next year or now. I still would like to have you come up to Wightman Hall and room with me if you can stand it. I didn’t look for a room-mate at the end of school because I thought I would not be in Wightman myself. But now it looks like I’ll be back again. Take your time in deciding, because there is plenty of time left between now and the beginning of school.
I’m glad the new route to Columbus that I showed you worked out o.k. I think it is the best road to take between here and Altanta because there is not nearly as much traffic. Also the road itself is in better condition.
Last weekend I thought I would be in Atlanta myself, but it turned out that we did not get to go down. I was going to send you a special delivery letter telling you where to call me if I should have gone. That is one reason I waited so long in writing. If we should decide to go to Atlanta in the next week or two, I’ll let you know so that maybe you can come up and stay at my grandmothers [sic] house, and we can have a big week-end on the town.
Well, I’ll try to write you again this week if I get a chance. I hope you can read this wild writing.
Your friend, Leland

Relation

Hawkins family collection