The Daily Alaska empire., 1940-03-31
Deun. SOm:
Pioneers Home, Sitka, Alaska,
 March IS, 1940.

March 15, l94O. Dear Son.
 I have now been in the Home SIX months and have already risen rom the basement to the first floor. In time I may be promoted to the sec ond floor where the old timers roost in glorified independence, and if l live long enough I might even get to live in the penthouse where the aristocracy drinks tea and smokes tailor-made cigarettes. The difficulty is that the Home is too crowded. The Superintendent says if he had a house made of rubber he could perhaps stretch the wings enough to take care of everybody.
 As it is there are l81 men at
 Siika, 2l at the Springs and IS
 On the waiting list.
 The Supe is a good juggler. and II necessary I am sure he could pull hats out of rabbits, but apparently he has not yet discovered method whereby you can put two pints Of whiskey in a one pint bottle
 Of course, you know I am accus- tened to taking things as they come without complaining, but am glad some of the places have tried to sleep in have come and gone.
 Last winter in Juneau after my operation I had nothing better to IL t0 tl.n I ofriC lnt tf, making laws. It was due to a little misunderstanding among the mem berS of the House that the Situa- ton in the Home has been inten- sified instead of relieved. The Su- perintendent of the Home recom- mended the construction of an an- mex to house 75 men. The Senate evidently thought that was good idea, because bill introduced for that purpose was passed unani- mously. but it was lost in the House.
 The Legislature did pass bill
 tc buy the Goddard Hot Springs,
 originally with the idea of us-
 ing it temporarily for the PiOn-
 eers' Home overflow, and then
 converting it into tuberculosis
 sanatorium Before the bill be-
 came law it was changed to
 read that the property was later
 tC be used as . site for home
 fer men and women.
 You have known the kind of people, son, who start out for cer- tain place and wind up somewhere else When they came to appro- priate money for the operation of the Springs the trouble brewed anew, and when it was all over they had appropriated just half the amount asked for
 I know the Springs we'll having been there many times when l was trolling in the Sitka district. It is a nice location but the buildings are old and dilapidated and from what hear the equipment is worse. What is amounts to is that the Ter ritory has acquired property that will have to be replaced entirely within a brief time. Nothing there now is either worth saving or re- pairing. Whatever is done there now should be started from the ground up.
 If the next Legislature wants to do something for us pioneers it should appropriate money for an tn f1,n Hnt,nn Alcn it should determine definitely what it wants to do with the Springs.
 Don't ask me about the food be- cause if I began Dragging about the cook he might get the idea he rated a better job and quit. I have gained II pounds which ought to be rec ommendation enough. But you know how some of these old Sourdoughs are. They would kick if they had pickled tips of canary birds tongnes served on gold platters by platinum blondes
 Sitka is quite town. The
 scenery is almost as beautiful as
 the surroundings of Fairbanks.
 There has been quite an influx. Of people lately. With all the
 work going on at the Naval Base
 a lot of people have rushed in
 expecting jcbs immediately. If
 you have any friends in Seattle
 that are planning on going to
 Sitka or Kodiak to seek employ
 ment tell them they better be
 sure of a job first or else have
 money enough to pay their own
 way back.
 I enclose a photo of the Home and as you will see it is quite a pretentious looking structure. It is just as nice inside as out. I found a number of old friends here when I came and have made new ones since. We talk lot about politics, the war in Europe and old times. For diversion we read. play solo or go for a walk. You know I was always used to being independent and it has been rather hard for me to adjust myself to this new life. I will say, however, that no mans liberty should be curtailed. You can go without asking permission, and when you return there are no dogs to bark at you. A home, l guess, is what the people that live in it make it.