My dear Miss Baker,I received your letter quite a while ago, I didn't realize how long ago it was until I reread it this afternoon. I got your picture too when I went up home Nov. 1 for my birthday. The folks remailed the letter to me but not the picture. The picture is very good I think. Many thanks for it.
Your letter has kind of a discouraged tone but I judge that it was only temporary as I saw Lennie Searles when I was home and she said you seemed to be all happy and contented from what your sister said.
You say you are taking Chemistry this year. I hope you won't have as hard a course as they give here. Chemistry is the hardest thing that meets a Freshman here, but I guess that isn't going to down us by several points. We have two hours a week of Chemistry lectures, four hours of laboratory work and one hour of recitation so you see we have a lot of it in one form and another.
I suppose your school has had some of its grand celebrations days by this time. How do you enjoy them? One of Tech's big days came last Saturday when our class '06 and the Sophs had their field day. There was a football game, a relay race and a tug of war, and afterwards we had a rush and some fighting. The Sophs won the football game and the relay race, thus winning the meet while we won the tug-of-war. In the rush that followed we rushed the Sophs all around the field. Of course there was considerable trouble about some banners that had been put up by the sophs and which we succeeded in getting down.
That evening was Tech night at the Columbia Theatre and we went down. The 06 men eat on one side and the '05 on the other side of the theatre. They kept up the class yells and songs pretty much [all] of the time. Comments on the play were freely made; one woman who came onto the stage very heavily painted was greeted with cries of "Indian, Indian."
When I was home I saw the game between the G.HS. and Spencer High. The G.H.S. beat and had too easy a time to make a very interesting game. I saw Miss Cross and she inquired about my algebra. She is jubilant because she won't have anyone to take Advanced Algebra this year.
I suppose you will be home for Thanksgiving. Hope you will give your Gardner friends a chance to see you by coming to the Q.E.D. reception Wednesday night. There are about ten Gardner lads here who are all going upon the 4.30 train Wednesday and then going to the reception.
Well, I must close and go to studying. Bruce sends his regards.
Yours sincerely
Burton W. Kendall
#15 Concord SquareBoston
November 20, 1902.