Readers, you surprised me by telling me you liked reading the letters Dave wrote when he was here in Georgia on a new plant-startup. Only the US Postal Service connected him with me and the girls, waiting in New Jersey for the completion of our new home in Peachtree City. He writes:
7-23-71
Dear family,
Just getting ready for bed when I realized that I had not written to you all.
I’m so tired! We are working 12-hour shifts 8 to 8. So far I am on the daylight shift. We are working the extra 4 hours really to help keep the hourly Q.C. people out of trouble….
The plant is up and running pretty well. We are still having equipment problems though.
The house is coming along fine too. The whole second floor is now all studded in, so you can tell what all the rooms and baths will look like. The house sure looks spacious….
Just had a nice long phone call from the folks down in Florida [his parents, brother]. They were all full of questions and all. Nice talking to them.
The more I think of it the more I feel that I will bring back the [VW] Bus and haul the trailer down and camp in that park we looked at [Campers’ Paradise, Palmetto Rd. near S. Fulton County line]. Even by myself camping looks like a better deal than living in that room way up in East Point….
26 July 71
I am so tired I could drop… Mom left today at noon or so [after a brief visit]. I was so busy I couldn’t even have a nice lunch with her. I just picked her up and took her to the airport in a driving rainstorm, and left and came back to work. I guess you could get used to working 12-on and 12-off , but it will take awhile.
Except for binder room, things are working pretty well. We are running more now than we are not running, which is a help. …
The plumber worked all day on our house, I guess. He did a great job of installing all the many sewer pipes and vent pipes up through the roof. It looks so neat and well done. Used cast iron for all pipes including the vents, each bell joint filled with lead and topped. Really quite a complex of pipes leading down from two upstairs baths. All pipes have to be concealed, of course, can’t jut out into the downstairs ceiling….
8-6-71 Friday
I finally found a “good” music station here in Atlanta. FM of course. I don’t know the numbers yet but the music is good. [WABE-FM]
I received your letter about the move. I’m happy that it is a local mover and that you are impressed with his business-like ways.
Stopped by the house this P.M. They had been working on the porch roof. Roof was all sheeted in, and the front section was done…a lot of woodwork here, with a lot of detail to do. Porch looks very nice from the street. Whole house gives a good appearance.
Also noted that they had carried in the two bathtubs. They were sitting upstairs in their crates on end. Good stuff – American Standard cast iron with baked-on enamel glaze….
I do hope my “Jeannie” is feeling better by now. I surely am looking forward to seeing her next Saturday the 14th.
I talked to my boss Mark about the week of our move. He wasn’t happy about it but knows it can’t be helped….
This past week went by so fast that it won’t be long ’til we are together once more.
I miss you so! Life just isn’t much fun without you to share it….
13 Aug 71
Friday the 13th. Wow! Unless something happens in the next hour and 45 minutes I’ll have it made. Actually it was a day like any other, some good, some bad. My lab is slowly getting to be a place where I can work efficiently. I’m getting a lot done and most of it up to my usual accuracy.
Jean ought to be here tomorrow. I hope she has a safe trip here.
I’m afraid your mom’s car is about on its last legs. It had gotten so noisy that I opened it up again to see what’s what. Like I had suspected the whole valve system in the front of the engine is running without oil and wearing badly….
I took your suggestion and made the kids Florida trip reservations for Wednesday just one hour ahead of mine. They will leave on Eastern flight 589 at 2 p.m. and arrive Tampa at 3:14. I’ll leave on Delta flight 918 at 3:08 and arrive Philly at 4:47 on Wednesday the 18th.
I made a reservation for you all at the Holiday Inn in Newnan. Ground floor, poolside. Kids ought to like that. Biggest room they have is two double beds with one single rollaway so that is what I reserved….
Really wasn’t much done on the house this week. I was really disappointed. Actually 3 whole days went by and nothing was done. Trouble is with the drywall people, they just don’t show up after Jay has hired them. There is a shortage of workers here and so if they don’t feel like working they don’t show up….
But no use fretting about it….I have a feeling we will all wind up here in the Stargo for a couple of weeks. We really can’t afford to rent two rooms here; that would be $80 a week. It will be crowded as hell in here with 5 people nevertheless six….
We’ll work that out when we have to, I guess.
Mary has been quite good. Spends her whole day here in the motel without complaining. Reads a lot, watches TV and does crossword puzzles. She is no problem to me at all.
The next batch will be the girls’ correspondence. SallieS@Juno.com
