Newsletter - 1963
Just about the time the last agonized turkey gobble is heard, another kind of cooking-up begins. It's the Xmas card project, and invariably there's some storm and strife getting everybody together for a picture. This year we did better, using an August photograph. But you can't write about events before they occur, so the newsletter is a last minute production that takes a lot of memory racking. Eventually a design is clipped, patched and pasted together. As always, the printer seems to work a miracle from the crude copy we hand him!
The year started off badly. Mother Eggleston died early In January after what was thought to be only a slight illness and Les rushed up to Buffalo for the funeral, getting there just ahead of rapidly deteriorating weather. Afterward, a howling blizzard set in, accompanied by subzero weather. When the skies finally cleared, he moved on to shiver in -19 F weather in Chicago. In March business took him to Atlantic City and Washington. After his return that month, Polly came down from Kansas City and spent ten long days house hunting. Finally, the right place turned up and a signature placed on the proverbial dotted line.
April is Fiesta time in San Antonio and the activities are hectic. They include a river parade, a big day parade, and a torchlight parade. Along in May, Les moved his bachelor quarters to the new house, using a few sticks of borrowed furniture. He tried to grow corn in the garden
but soon found he was no farmer. The crop was a flop! As usual, there was travel - a quick trip to Chicago. June war moving month. The Kansas City house was rented rather than sold. Les drove up to expedite things dragging a trailer behind him, which came back to San Antonio well laden. What a night. Everything happened in July. Early in the month ALA (American Library Association) published the book on library fire protection that Les had done so much work on during 1961. Then Creole Petroleum asked him to come to Venezuela on a consulting contract; as soon as details were fixed up, a mad race began to get unpacking and settling done before the August departure date.
Venezuela was an interesting experience. Much had changed since the last visit in 1956. The contract was split into two phases, the first of which was completed just before Thanksgiving. After three months in an atmosphere of political terrorism, it was good to return to the States even though the arrival was clouded by President Kennedy's assassination. En route, two days were spent in another old stamping ground, the windswept island of Aruba north of Venezuela, one of the Netherlands Antilles. Ham radio war a big help during the year. Les used his Station WA0BRQ to keep in touch with Kansas City, and the hams there obliged by running phone patches. After the new house gave him a permanent address, he was assigned WASGOQ as his call. It didn't get much service from August to November, but down in Venezuela. Les was regularly talking to the States on YV1CM.
Larry put on Uncle Sam's uniform last November. After basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, he came to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio where they turned him into a Medic (better known as a pill roller). That was January to March and Polly got to see him once during her house hunting excursion. From Fort Sam he was lucky enough to get his preferred area of assignment and is now a PFC with Serial #RA 17 646 388. He is sweating out promotion to Corporal and can be addressed at 4th Field Hospital, Fort Dix, New Jersey, Zip 08640. Here his principal job is as a clerk. Perhaps they needed help in counting those pills.
Ed was in Drury College up in Missouri as the term began last fall and had just discovered to his evident astonishment that going to college is a serious business requiring both study and hard work. So he belatedly dug into his books and just missed getting respectable grades but, when he applied to Texas A & M, it was most strongly and pointedly suggested that he go to summer school to get 2 good grades, thus offsetting 2 not-so-good ones. A word to the wise was sufficient and he did excellent work at Trinity University (in S A). So, when he reported to College Station in September, be had made up his deficiencies. This fall at A & M has been tough on Ed and his grades still aren't so hot, but the lad says he can and will do better.
Dan, so far, has been much better scholastically than either of his brothers. At Pem Day in Kansas City his grades were fine, he was football and baseball manager, an officer in the glee club, he took part in several dramatic productions - some musical, some drama - he wrote for the school paper and generally was a credit to himself as an all-round student. Now at Thomas Jefferson High School he's, one of over 800 seniors, he's plugging away at his books when he is not in a red and blue band uniform playing alto or tooting away in the orchestra on his French horn. This is a city of excellent bands and fine football games. Dan has managed to grow into the tallest one of the family and is still going up. What do they put in those vitamin pills these days? They have a Jack-in-the-beanstalk efficiency.
Polly had a strenuous year. She is a pack rat, both by nature and years of practice. During the years in Kansas City an amazing amount of both junk and goodies had accumulated. Since the new house was smaller, weeding out was essential and after the trip to San Antonio, it had to go into high gear. It almost killed her to look at those jammed waste baskets. Packing is no fun, and after a visit to cousins in Oklahoma and antique shops in Arkansas, three travelers en route from Missouri stopped at "Six Flags Over Texas" - a Dallas version of Disneyland. Just now, Polly is making new friends, and hearing the Symphony, the chamber music concerts, seeing some plays, belonging to three parents clubs and the branch of her sorority here. She had a short vacation (?) in Santa Rosa Medical Center and that was a good rest. The occasion was nothing serious, but the doctor wasn't taking any chances.
Pixie the pup is as black as ever. She trails after Polly all day and still hopes to catch a fly some day. So far, we think, she has not succeeded. The flies are smarter than she is! Peter likes Texas and his big back yard, but cries for the attic he loved in Kansas City. There is a crawl space over the house here and when Ed worked up there last summer on home repairs, Peter was his
constant companion. She looks for a way to get there every day. As this is written, Peter is getting over a severe bout of pneumonia and tonsillitis. Just like humans, cats have trouble Peter is on the mend, but it's a slow process. Cats have to get back on 4 feet instead of 2. On October 18th, a wet, scared and miserable small piece of white fur came to the front door. After a bath and some attention he became a lovely kitten who, for some strange reason, was christened Ezekiel, "Zeke" for short. He spends his days up in the pecan tree and his nights as close as he can get to someone. When Les got back home he was enchanted by this playful little rascal and so he gave him the name of "Blanco" (Spanish for white). The kit promised to become a large and handsome cat when he grows up and is most affectionate and responsive. Eventually he may be as well versed as our Jon, whom we had for 14 1/2 years. Next year you will see his picture, provided he stays still long enough for the camera to catch him and he hasn't turned into a squirrel by then.
And so - we all join in best wishes to all of you, our friends, and pray that your year may be full of joy and health and all good things.
THE EGGLESTONS
230 Montpelier Drive
San Antonio, Texas 78228
December 1963
