East Templeton, Mass.
Sept. 29, 1902.Dear Lucy,-
Your letter reached me this afternoon and I was ever so glad to hear from you. Perhaps that will account for my answering so soon which is hardly consistent with my own recommendation of myself, as a poor correspondent, but I hope to keep up with the record, with which I have started out.
Gardner High stands just where it did when we left it last June and both the interior, exterior and surroundings are exactly the same with the addition of the old Armory building which is situated a little back from and to the left of the school building. The athletic ground before the Armory has been grassed over (I don't know whether you could find that word in the English Dictionary or not.) and "Mack's" marigolds on the lawn are geordeous [sic] in their bright colors.
As for me I am studying as hard as usual, that is, making as hard work of my studies as I always do. I have twenty-six recitations each week, or rather twenty-five, because on Tuesday I have a conflict with English and Book-keeping and, as it is impossible for such an insignificant personage as myself to be in two places at once, I am obliged to drop one of the studies for that day, so I do my Bookkeeping just the same as usual but don't go into recitation, therefore I manage very well, you see.
I am having, besides the subjects already mentioned, Stenography, Typewriting, Penmanship and Correspondence and Commercial Arith.
I like Mr. Preble very much[.] He is as much different from Mr. Jenkins as black is from white. I have him for teacher in three of my studies, but he doesn't have the Senior room this year; Miss Fairbanks has charge. She is just lovely, too.
Mr. Osborne is just as pleasant as ever. I am so glad he did not resign, but as for Mr. Jenkins I don't miss him one bit, except when we march up to Assembly Hall.
Flora Goodspeed, Maude Richards and Isaac Howe are taking post-graduate course. Maude and Isaac are reviewing Mathematics, and Flora is continuing German, I think.
Have you had a chance to get very much acquainted yet? And, how do you like at College?
Well, I am still in East Templeton and am liable to stay here for the rest of my lifetime as far as that house on Elm Street is concerne[d.] Mr. Drennings expects it sold and will not rent it, for a time at least. And besides mamma is undecided whether it will be safe to get down there and then have the shops shut down and the schools close for there is danger of it if this coal famine continues.
The Templeton Street railway is liable to stop running cars now almost any day.
I am sure I don't know what is to be done this winter if the strike lasts. Coal is now fifteen dollars per ton and still rising. I shall be so glad, when mining is once more begun, for there are so many thousands of poor people who will suffer if it isn't. I never realized before how important coal is to our necessities of life.
The girls' Cadet Company doesn't seem to progress very rapidly. There are so many who disapprove of drilling that they are talking of an in fact intending to substitute calisthenics. That will be about half way between gymnastics and drill. We had an election of officers the sixth period to-day and the result was as follows: Capt. Maude M. Shippee; 1st Lieut. Linnie G. Searles; 2nd Lieut. Katherine Murray; That is as far as we accomplished this afternoon and it took us until 2.00 o'clock to get as far as that.
I haven't seen Edith since that day I came up to your house.
Oh, Lucy, I sincerely hope you will not be a victim to such a misfortune as you spoke of. Only think how it would sound that Lucy Baker was blown a hundred feet or more into the air by an explosion caused by a mixture of some explosive chemical compounds. That would be as bad as being eaten by a bear. So use precaution.
Well, I shall have to have a conclusion to this pretty soon or I shall get a D in every one of my recitations to-morrow, so farewell and, with best wishes for your success in your College course, I am,
Ever your sincere friend,
Chessie D. WhitneyP.S. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that the G. H. S. Football Team defeated the T. A. C's last Saturday on High School Grounds. The score was 6 to 5 in favor of our Team.