September 30, 1946

Sept 30

Does it seem possible that a year ago we were enjoying good fun and fine times together?

Sincere greetings from Jo and Anne Roberts

c/o Stevens C.H.

Forest Park - Valparaiso, Ind.

November 26, 1944

Dear Mother:

Here I am down here in the "Lone Star State" on our cross country.  Houston is a great town.  We stayed here at the Hotel on the 6th floor.  Will write you all about it later.

Love Austin

Rice Hotel is now Post Rice Lofts

September 17, 1944

Dear Mother:

Here are some more post cards which have very little meaning.  I bought them in Gila Bend but could find only scenes of Phoenix and the country none of Gila Bend.  I guess actually there is too little in the town worth photographing.  Anyway here is the story.  This is a picture of an AT-6 at sunset.  It is what we call a candy ship because of the color of it's nose.  You may wonder if the sunset is real and I must admit that we have many like it this time of year.  We are now getting clouds in the sky I guess the rainy season is at hand.

This is a picture taken on the "main drag". As you see the town is rather large and has lots of color and activity.  This picture was taken in front of the San Carlos Hotel and behind the picture up the street is the "Hotel Westward Ho".  You can see the Hotel Adams which by the way is one of the better hotels.  I doubt if you know what Phoenix is like even now.  {For a current view of this street, click here.}

This picture, as the card says, is taken from an original oil painting which is the case of 50% of the pictures you see stuck up around.  The walls of our mess hall at Gila Bend were lined with such pictures and many cowboy scenes with him doing his routine tasks.  They are all rather nice and definitely depict the country as it was 50 to 100 years ago.

I kind of like to contrast the scenes from cards 3 and 4 because of differences in the ground features.  This card is definitely Ariz. as I see it every day but the Indian seems to be riding in a country foreign to me.  Even so there are not too many trees and too much grass to make it unrealistic.  This desert card had to be included because after all this is Arizona.

With love

Austin

May 22, 1944

Hello again!!!

Well here is another set of cards to let you know about the country.  This set is not quite as good as some of the others but the selection was rather poor.  You may be able to get an idea of the desert around here.  I have never seen any Calif. poppies in my travels but the card is rather nice anyway. 

What do you think of this character?  This is somewhat different from the card before.  Maybe you think that deserts have lots of such things but the only wild thing I have seen is a lizard we saw from a train and a jack rabbit we caught on bivouac.  As for snakes they must have gotten tired of hearing BT 13 A's and took off to the mts.

Scotty's Castle of death valley is a well known landmark in Death Valley.  We flew about 40 miles from it when on our second x-country.  Scotty is a well known personage all over the country .  He made his money on Borax O or something and built this castle.  He was originally a prospector who found mountains of gold but could never locate them again.  I guess the heat got him.

Maybe you have head of Red Rock Canyon.  I never had so I guess anything I could say about it would be stretching the truth.  Dad has been to Calif. so maybe he knows.  I have never seen such a rock formation while here even though I have portably flown over them.  The terrain around here looks a lot like this because of the heavy rains and washes they have in the spring.

This is the main "drag" in the "fair" town of Lancaster.  The road that goes left and right is really the main road that goes to L.A. (74 mi) Palmdale Rosemond and Mojave (see sign part).  On the left is the main vegetable store and the right the center of night life (the drug store). In the farthest back ground you can see the mts. that surround Antelope Valley.  I guess when 500 cadets hit this town the people are almost out numbered.  That's all about the town, there ain't no more.

Love

Austin

March 17, 1944 Postcard

Mar. 17

Dear Bill,

Here is a picture of the plane we will start flying the day you receive this card if not before.  It really got warm today and I expect we can use the swimming pool soon   How about finding time for a letter.

Love
Austin

March 8, 1944

Mar. 8, 1944

Dear Mother:

Well here comes another set of cards with a little story.  This card has nothing to do with the story but was picked out because it was rather nice looking and seemed to be a place I would like to see.  I have never seen any water like that but the rock formations are very familiar because on cross country I flew close to a mountain side and the side really looked about that close as I went by.

 That cactus is very familiar because they grow like trees and are just as hard when you hit.

This card shows a very familiar scene, one which we see every time we go to town.  The desert, mountains and the cactus are the most seen things out here.  When you get in the air they are now more distinguishable but on the ground that is all that can be seen.  I don't know much about them but I am sure that I would not like to run into any of them unexpectedly like one fellow did running the Burma Road.

A.P. was very interested in the architecture of many of the beautiful buildings here.  Well this card shows a typical farm and I might say a dormant form of habitant.  "Old Tucson" which is mentioned was originally a movie set built several years ago.  The film "Arizona" was filmed out there.  However the post office shown is a typical structure.  They are made out of mud bricks which stand up rather well under the beating they get.

As we got our first look at town each week it looks much like this.  There isn't much of a "skyline" but it looks pretty good to us.  The "A" Mt. is a dairy in the valley beneath the mt.  It has a huge "A" on the side and is a distinguishing feature.  The fields are kept green by irrigation and I might say that the green looked rather good.

Google Maps street view of Tucson today at 6th and Congress

You can see a few trees grow there and they also look good although they are rather dried up looking.

This picture is taken almost at the corner of 6th and Congress, the corner we get off.  The 2 theaters are the ones we go to often and the bus shown is just like our only means of transportation.  I guess you can get some idea of what the town is like now.  I guess I will be able to remember it better also.

Love

Austin

This is what A Mountain looked like back in the day.

Updated and patriafied

January 8, 1944 Postcard

Jan 8

Dear Mother:

I expect you didn't know what I meant by a Ryan PT22 so I am sending a picture of one just in case you can't find one yourself.  They are really swell little planes and look like a lot of fun as well as work.

Love
Austin

November 23, 1943 to Mother

Nov. 23, 1943

Dear Mother:

I suppose you are wondering how I found ca.... Cousin Emma.  Well that is a long story.  I really intended to see her bur headed in that direction a little too late.  What really happened is that I over estimated my ability to get out of camp.  When it is Saturday night 10,000 fellows have the same idea.  Let's go to L.A. and one bus line with all special busses can not take care of the rush.

Many of the fellows found that they could get rides out of camp to L.A. for $2.50 but I decided that was too much to pay for a ride of only 30 miles.  As a consequence I got to L.A. too late to go anywhere.

We went to the end of a long line of fellows trying to get to Santa Ana to get the Pacific Elective into the big city.  We waited here for over an hour and got real hot thinking of the time we were wasting.  When we did get to S.A. we had to wait again for a long time so instead of waiting we paid $1.50 for a ride to L.A.  The regular fare is $.75 so we didn't get to bad a ride.  It was very late when we got there so had very little time to get a room and get settled.  I did get a chance to see the city a little but it was after dark.  

Same picture as on Nov 21.  The card is bent from writing on the bottom diagonally to the top right corner

I am sending a picture of the place we ate.  I marked the table on the picture and you can get some idea of the places they have here and they are inexpensive.  I had a very good meal for $.90 and had music to accompany it.  The music and singing came from a little balcony you can see in the upper right hand corner.  The place was a rather good place to eat and I think I shall eat there again.  The little yellow (orange) paper I picked up was in the middle of each table for those who wanted them.

I forgot to tell how you enter.  As you can't see where we got our food.  You entered at the front and walked around the side in a kind of long tunnel that was lined with gold fish cages.  The tunnel is between the falls and the table.  The falls were very beautiful and viewed through a curved glass window so that it looked like no window at all.  William would have really loved this place if unique mess is his fancy.  I don't think you will see anything like it in the East.

You seem to find such things all through L.A. Nothing quite compares with them.  You would really love the country.  Is is all so different that I can hardly believe I am so near to home.  I feel near home although I guess I am really a long way away. 

I am sorry that the card got broken but a young lady sat on my lap and crushed it.  Now I suppose I will have to explain that.  Well, we were walking down the street when a car with two delightful girls pulled up beside us (5 boys) and asked us if we wanted to go to a party.  Well I kind of hesitated because I didn't think all western hospitality was this but the car looked good, the girls looked all right and a party seemed the thing so we all piled in.  They were U.C.L. girls and they took us to a college dance.  It seemed that men are scarce out here also.  They had all uniforms at the dance.  Navel ROTC and Marine ROTC and a few regular Navy and the Army Air Force (us).  We met the house mother who was a kind old soul and helped us get a room up town to sleep in.  Guess what they drink at such parties.  Hot tea, with fruit juice.  Not very wild.  However we had a swell time.

Seeing we were a mile from the center of the city we convinced the girls that after the dance they would have to take us back to the city.  They decided at 12:00 PM (civilian time) that it was time to close down the dance so the 5 boys and 4 girls piled into the car (result: crushed picture) and went to a small diner in a ate some hamburgers and drank pop.  They left us off up town and we went to our room for a good nights rest.  It was about 2:30 and I was glad to hit the hay.  We slept till 9:30.  It sure is wonderful to sleep late once in a while.

There wasn't much to do after getting up Sunday so we went and did a little shopping and got some insignia (if you got the ones I asked for and haven't sent them you better keep them).  We came back early and slept on the train all the way.

It sure is a kick of a way to spend a weekend.

Now; "What is the difference between the Army Air Corp and the Army Air Force"?  Well you may ask a lot of people in the Army Air Force and they won't know but from what I have been able to find out it goes this way.  The Army Air Corp is the branch that corresponds to the United States ARmy and the Army Air Force is the same as the ARmy of the United States (You don't see.)  Before Pearl Harbor the Air Corp was very small and was only a part of the Army but now it has expanded to such an extend that is is a force in itself and is almost a complete, self sufficient outfit.  Don't let it worry you because in most places they are the same and the expansion is the reason for the change.  I don't think anyone cares about the difference.

I don't know anymore answers because I forgot all the questions so if I don't write the answers to your questions, ask again.

That watch will be very valuable out here because everyone elses is in the repair and you have to hunt to find out the time.  I hope you get the most for your money and get William's ideas on the subject because I will know what I want that is round.   Well I leave the rest to you and the family.  Don't spare the money because there is a lot more where that came from.  The government has lots of it and I have got a raise in pay.

The food is a lot better now.  It seems to come in spasms.  We get Roast Beef quite often with mashed potatoes and gravy and vegetable.  I am just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the buest bu not one can tell.

I will have close now because I have a lot of other things to do.

With love,

Austin

October 4, 1943

Card #1
Typical of California, beautiful and spacious, the Lost Angeles Union Station is one of the most attractive in the country.  Built at a cost of $11,000,000, in a setting of unusual beauty, it typifies to visitors, the charm and hospitality of Lost Angeles and Southern California.

 These are the cards could have been bought in Needles Calif.  But I knew I could get them later.  So I got them in Los Angeles where we had a couple of hours stay over.  Here at Union Station we ate supper...

Card #2

and changed from Pullman to a stream lined day coach.  It was really the thing and an experience I had never had and I doubt if anyone at home has either.
These other two cards are just post cards which came along with the 3/5 cents sale.  They seemed very

Card #3

gaudy and seeing how everyone is interested in flowers they give an idea of what kind of flowers we saw along the way.  As yet however the most I have seen of Calif is a lot of desert.  All the state seem to be barren except for the land west of San Bernardino as this seems to be the first place with real Calif appearance.

With Love
Austin

September 29, 1943

Card #1

I am writing these cards instead of writing a letter because I have run out of paper and as I shall soon leave here I see no sense in buying a lot of paper which has Beloit College all over it.  This is the chapel on the campus.  It is really a very beautiful place made in Olde English Construction.

Card #2

 As we walk from the chapel under the spreading oak trees that shade all the walks in the campus we come to the library.  I have never been inside because it is never open when we have open post and we are not allowed extra time for such things.  My information about this beautiful place comes from the girls (next card)....

Card #3

I have met at different times and at several different dances.  This is the Art Hall where we get movies once and a while.  This is also the site of the last dance.  It is really a hall for art exhibits but the floors and galleries around inside make it a very interesting place to just sit, if you have the time.

Card #4

As we return along our tour of the grounds we came by the gymnasium and pool.  It is here that I had swimming instruction and our First Aid lectures.  We also had a little gym work but rainy days usually carried the schedule of swim rather than work on the rings and parallel bars or the track.

Card #5

This is a view across the campus but is not too good to illustrate the nature of the grounds.  It is really much prettier in the summer and the hill that seems to be in the picture is not really there.  This picture is rather old and does not give a true picture of what I see each day.

Card #6

Chapin Hall is the girl's dorm.  The ground floor has been taken over by the Army and made into a mess hall.  It has all of the modern installations of Army camp.  The low building on the left is where we really eat and the kitchen is under the building.  The girls in the top of the building are a definite....

Card #7

attraction.  The main building in this picture is what is called Haven Hall.  This is where we sleep and log "bunk time".  I might say that bunk time is a thing of the past.  From now on bunk time is logged after 12:00 pm.  Well that's enough for now.

With love,
Austin