June 30, 1944

Fri. 6: 10 A. M. Dear Folks, Well, another week has rolled around. Time sure does get along. I reckon that by now some of that 2 inch corn is catching up with the knee high. There is always something happening around here, I don’t always know what you’d be interested in. I’ll just dash off some of the major events. About a week ago Anna James, a woman about your age mom, from Berkley Calif. came to stay awhile to act as hostess. You see we don’t have a woman in camp at all. Three gals from Salem have been visiting camp this week too and the wolves are really howling. It is good for us to have women around as we brush up on our table manners and talk better. Anna James have been doing mending for us. This week I have been working for CPS on equipment for this year’s canning, they have had a furlo and they wanted to get the stuff ready so that they could start canning on some cherries Monday. Some more work has come along for me to do so I suspect I will be here for a while. I don’t know whether I’m glad or not. The main camp has some advantages but I could use a change. I know that I won’t find any other work that I like better than building map filing cabinets for the office but I’d like a change for a while. I got into another responsible job for the summer. Fire crew foreman. I walk up and down the line and see that every guy is doing the job right. It’s a thankless job, when the guys are tired they don’t want to be told to do something different. We elected tow men to head up the firefighting organization. One we called the crew leader the other crew foreman. The Leader is responsible for everything that happens from the time that we leave camp till we get back, getting the equipment loaded and the men on and out of camp in record time. Then when we get there he is responsible for the men very much as the camp director is here in camp. We put Bob Cook in for that. Another Iowa guy. I feel rather honored at getting this job but I realize that I will either make or break me. It will sure be good experience in handeling men. The co-op hasn’t developed much lately. Several of the fellows have been on furlo. I have been doing a bit of thinking about what I want out of life and what I want to give and how I want to do it. I sure liked your discussion on this stuff Dad. I want to hear more of your ideas on the subject. There was a time when I though there were some lines of work that a man could make a easy living in but I don’t know now. It seems to me that a person might exist but I wonder if he would really be living. I joted down a sketchy outline one day when I was thinking about this. I figured to write up what I think about this and I’ll send youns a copy What do I want out of life. A. Happiness, How to get it? 1. Helping others a. helping others start thinking b. “ “ get along with people c. “ “ make an easier living. 2. A wife pretty blank here. 3. Satisfying activity a. creative work b. Reasonable amount of luxury c. Stimulating people d. Pleasing surroundings I’m not interested in poverty because there are a lot of poor people, neither am I interested in getting rich. I don’t know about this rainy day business. I’d be interested in any thoughts from any of you guys. Yours Bernard P.S. That Senator Coffee sure points(?) it out, don’t he. Attached: The Reporter, June 1, 1944, Vol. II No. 23