Letter from James C. Fanning to his family, May 26, 1953
Title
Letter from James C. Fanning to his family, May 26, 1953
Description
James C. Fanning, Class of 1953, wrote these letters to his family during his four years as a cadet at The Citadel.
Creator
Source
A2013.1
Publisher
The Citadel Archives & Museum
Date
Rights
Materials in The Citadel Archives & Museum Digital Collections are intended for educational and research use. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright. For more information contact The Citadel Archives & Museum, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, 29409.
Relation
James C. Fanning Cadet Letter Collection
Format
application/pdf
Language
English
Type
Text
Identifier
https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/548
Coverage
Charleston (S.C.)
Date Valid
Audience
Text
[Page 1]
26 May 1953
Dear Folks,
Got lots of news to mention in the letter so will skip the preliminaries.
Your letter came this morning and I will first off answer it. Maybe now I can write a little bit more since most of my required papers, problems, etc are in and it’s just coasting until the finals. Tell Janelle hello for me when you go to LaGrange. Speaking of the weather, one should have to sit in a closed up chapel for an hour with about 900 fellows sweating in their wool blouses on the hottest 24th May on record. Then one knows how hot it is. My bebbing on the outside of my blouse was soaked. Sweat came all the way through my blouse. These are the hottest ones (days) I’ve ever seen. The humidity has been always about 95 and that made it much worse. No rain to cool us off either.
[Page 2]
I got a letter from Pat Friday and it was nice. She said she was glad I was coming and that if I didn’t have a place to stay I was always welcome with them.
My clothes that you should bring let me think - about two nice sport shirts and two pairs of pants, loud socks (2 pr. [pairs]), two-tone shoes, that’s it.
About my trip to Seattle, within the next week or so could you get some info on the train (day-coach) and bus? I want to compare time and cost of journey. I want to see if in the long run it won’t be cheaper to go by train after I eat all those meals when I go by bus. I’d like to leave Tuesday night or Wednesday. The best train route would the way we came back in 1940.
I need an appointment with Dr. Bean to show him that x-ray and check the tooth for Monday.
Well now for the news around campus. I had a surprise - one of the greatest in my life. I got up to read
[Page 3]
a letter from Sara that I received the other day to the WF [words crossed out]. After finishing the boys handed me a big huge present. It was a surprise. It was a copy of the Commentary on the Whole Bible and was a present to be truly valued highly. I surely didn’t deserve all the things they said and did. Hate to leave this place sometimes.
Miss Chamblee came out to school this morning and I had a nice long talk with her. She is really a nice person and one to whom I owe a lot for showing me the best way to live.
We had an honor guard this morning for the CO of the 6th Naval District. He was visiting the place and Gen. O.P.
Have a date with Harriet for the play “Mr. Roberts” at the Dock St. If it’s as good as the book, it ought to
[Page 4]
be fine. Company party next weekend so very little studying gets done. It’s to [sic] hot to study anyway.
Bloodmobile is back on the campus so I’d better bleed for them tomorrow.
Last Saturday I went out with Buddy and his father in the boat and then ate dinner at his house. We even had a harrowing experience. We had to pull one of the cadets out of the harbor after his sailboat turned over. Then we towed [sic] his boat back to the dock. Quite a time.
That’s about enough now I guess.
Lots of love,
Jim
P.S. Oh yeh, signed up for a $1000 life insurance policy this afternoon. It’s a special deal where all the dividends go to an endowment fund for the Citadel. Something new! $13.40 a quarter. Should be able to afford that. Will tell you more about it later.
26 May 1953
Dear Folks,
Got lots of news to mention in the letter so will skip the preliminaries.
Your letter came this morning and I will first off answer it. Maybe now I can write a little bit more since most of my required papers, problems, etc are in and it’s just coasting until the finals. Tell Janelle hello for me when you go to LaGrange. Speaking of the weather, one should have to sit in a closed up chapel for an hour with about 900 fellows sweating in their wool blouses on the hottest 24th May on record. Then one knows how hot it is. My bebbing on the outside of my blouse was soaked. Sweat came all the way through my blouse. These are the hottest ones (days) I’ve ever seen. The humidity has been always about 95 and that made it much worse. No rain to cool us off either.
[Page 2]
I got a letter from Pat Friday and it was nice. She said she was glad I was coming and that if I didn’t have a place to stay I was always welcome with them.
My clothes that you should bring let me think - about two nice sport shirts and two pairs of pants, loud socks (2 pr. [pairs]), two-tone shoes, that’s it.
About my trip to Seattle, within the next week or so could you get some info on the train (day-coach) and bus? I want to compare time and cost of journey. I want to see if in the long run it won’t be cheaper to go by train after I eat all those meals when I go by bus. I’d like to leave Tuesday night or Wednesday. The best train route would the way we came back in 1940.
I need an appointment with Dr. Bean to show him that x-ray and check the tooth for Monday.
Well now for the news around campus. I had a surprise - one of the greatest in my life. I got up to read
[Page 3]
a letter from Sara that I received the other day to the WF [words crossed out]. After finishing the boys handed me a big huge present. It was a surprise. It was a copy of the Commentary on the Whole Bible and was a present to be truly valued highly. I surely didn’t deserve all the things they said and did. Hate to leave this place sometimes.
Miss Chamblee came out to school this morning and I had a nice long talk with her. She is really a nice person and one to whom I owe a lot for showing me the best way to live.
We had an honor guard this morning for the CO of the 6th Naval District. He was visiting the place and Gen. O.P.
Have a date with Harriet for the play “Mr. Roberts” at the Dock St. If it’s as good as the book, it ought to
[Page 4]
be fine. Company party next weekend so very little studying gets done. It’s to [sic] hot to study anyway.
Bloodmobile is back on the campus so I’d better bleed for them tomorrow.
Last Saturday I went out with Buddy and his father in the boat and then ate dinner at his house. We even had a harrowing experience. We had to pull one of the cadets out of the harbor after his sailboat turned over. Then we towed [sic] his boat back to the dock. Quite a time.
That’s about enough now I guess.
Lots of love,
Jim
P.S. Oh yeh, signed up for a $1000 life insurance policy this afternoon. It’s a special deal where all the dividends go to an endowment fund for the Citadel. Something new! $13.40 a quarter. Should be able to afford that. Will tell you more about it later.
Collection
Citation
Fanning, James C., “Letter from James C. Fanning to his family, May 26, 1953,” The Citadel Archives Digital Collections, accessed May 2, 2024, https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/548.