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About The Texas Aggie. (College Station, Tex.) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1932)
EEE SECOND CHAPTER LONG TRIP TAKES READER-TRAVELERS THRU SOUTH, INTO CANADA Editor’s Note: —To those of us who classify the AGGIE offers a trip to Europe, thru the pen of Curtis Vin- “as ‘‘stay-at-homes,” son, able scribe and publicity director of the college. The story will be told in four installments, this being the second. Prin- cipal characters in the story are Mr. Vin- son, three A. and M. graduates of 1932, and Professor and Mrs. J. S. Mogford ’16. The trip was the outcome of an idea born and developed by Mr. Mogford. If you long trip to Europe your for an educational dreams may be partly realized by follow- ing Mr. Vinson’s interesting story. PART II (By Curtis Vinson) Despite the rigorous schedule fol- lowed, we saw many phases of the Great American Scene besides the cotton industry on the journey from ‘Texas to Canada. Thirteen days and a lot of gasoline were required for that part of the pilgrimage. But they paid rich dividends. : A ferry ride by starlight across the Mississippi, the beauty and lan- guor of the Old South, seafood at Antoine’s in storied New Orieans, Mobile Bay in moonlight, Georgia peach orchards, the sidewalks of New York, historic Lake Champlain— these and many other sights, scenes and experiences are among the mem- ories of the winding trail we fellow- ed. It was at Stoneville, Miss., near Greenville, in the heart of the delta country, a country that has sent many a bale of cotton rolling down the Mississippi by steamboat to New Orleans, that we made the first ma- jor stop of the journey. There we visited the United States ginning I [TL pt NT SA A counter 25.000 miles long! Western Electric goes all around the world to make its purchases. Five continents sup- ply raw materials. gold, Australian wool. (I, Not only is purchasing done on a world- wide scale, but buying is raised to the status of a science at Western Electric. It includes thoroughgoing studies in the fields of economics Think how far your Bell telephone has already traveled. In distant parts of the earth materials are gathered for manufacturing Bell telephones—silk from Japan, mica from India, South African WY Lad bd By ~ “o) Testing is part of purchasing, here. and geography, rigid chemical and physical testing of many samples before definite selections are made. (I, Western Electric men, as a kind of second nature, are constantly striving for improvements. In serving the Bell System, they search constantly for better materials, better methods of manufacture, better means of distribution. - Western Elecfric Manufacturers . . . Purchasers . . . Distributors SINCE 1882 FOR -* RON ORONO RCI RON NE NON 0 00 TE RR TORN RN 0K 1 8 J AR ROAR RON AON AON AORN J 3 Nite iid liad Gielen, dL 0 Sn dtr Buell I Bd Rd le fab dw de B08 dads il Sd 5 oud : £ \ If I H sivsisiordeodedodortedonforedodode © og oefocfocte Locteole oto olooTeolootocTootooto ote stole oto ctoeto cto c toate ce ato alee ate ole fe t. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0 0. 0. 0 0.0 ~ 0 6.0.0.0 0. 6.0 0 0 ¢ Toeledededededoddoddofoddededdateddededededededodedododdede From the McFarlin Farms Shipping Point — Rosser, Texas ~ U.S. No. 2 Green Alfalfa Hay $6.00 per ton — f. o. b. Rosser This Hay Well Cured--Free From Weeds--Leaty. Write, Wire, Phone: The Valley Farms, ROSSER, TFXAS Or E. E. McQuillen, College Station, Texas 9. 0 9 & 9.9. .¢ (3 o ER MC ae i ie ied i i i a i ed i te i" i at i it J i eh’ ih er) FeoleoTooTo eto ote cTootoctooToato ole a oe ae ae oP uf. 0. 0. 0. 0. 0..0 0.0. 0.0.0.0. .0 0 .¢ 0.0.0.0 (} 9, 0 Sr 2; = EIEIO JE J JNJ J J J JR J JJ JR JR JR JR TR JR JR RR. JR J JRC JC JRC RIN TR JN J IR RC I RT CR RE A RE RE CE 0 OIONORONCRCR REE 000 IONIC SIREN I 0 HE NEN NONN NO NO I HORI 0 00 0 0000 bab 2b a abe’ ah ube ab be’ ab ue be a ate a at 2 2 2 aa a a a a I I AL JL AL I a a a JA JR CI a J I A a a a ah a a a a a a 2 i ae | Captain Rusk became | volunteering the | General Thomas Jefferson Rusk, who | served as chief justice of Texas as | well as U. S. Senator from the state, | was his great uncle. {i er | laboratory where specialists of the United States Department of Agri- culture are finding out things about ginning methods and their relation to the quality of lint turn-out. F. L. Gerdes, by the way, a grad- uate of the College of the class of 1928, has charge of the fiber testing work at this laboratory. Later on during the tour, at Washington, D.’ C., we saw and learned much from him about what is being done in that field of research. The route from the college to Stoneville led through the oil belt of East Texas. Towering derricks, frame shacks, thick clouds of dust, hamburger stands, and a teeming ac- tivity, all on a Sunday morning, tes- tified to the replacement, temporar- ily at least, of cotton by a newer crop there in a. section once white with bursting bolls of fiber. Spurred on by the lure of the road, vacation time and the distant but clear call of Europe, Huley Horn pushed his noisy but dependable road- ster far into the lead on this first part of the trip. Past flower-filled yards of peaceful farm homes, fram- ed in groves of great trees and lux- urious shrubs, we followed through Northern Louisiana, and then, as night came down, through Southeas- tern Arkansas to the wide sweep of the Mississippi opposite Greenville. “Yes,” said Captain Arthur 8S. Rusk, skipper of the Steamer A. C. Jaynes on which we crossed the great river, “they were here earlier in the evening. Three of them. In a roadster. Said to tell you when you | came along they had gone on to | Greenville.” Learning we were from Texas, reminiscent, information that Proud of his steamer, he invited | us to the bridge for the crossing. | Proud of his years of service and his knowledge of the river, he told us a | bit about ferry steamboating. “We go between two little islands to land on the Mississippi side,” he said “When fog hangs over the riv- and it’s impossible to make out the bearings by sight, I have to de- termine the exact location of those islands and my course by the echo of the steamer’s whistle as we ap- proach.” : It seemed that an echo or two might help even in the absence of any fog as we strained our eyes to catch the dim outline of the shore for which we were headed. Close about us hung the magic spell of the great river, rich in images of the life and glories of -the Old South that it evoked. Overhead a million stars gleamed fitfully. Around us all was vague and indistinct. But with uncanny sureness, Cap- tain Rusk, chatting quietly all the while, guided the pulsing sternwheel- er between the two little islands and in to her landing stage, apparently without effort or concern. There wasn’t even a bump as she came to rest alongside the wharf. It was on the journey to New Or- leans, shortly after leaving Stone- ville, that we found in Mississippi the only spot in the United States or Europe, at least so far as we noted on the tour, untouched by the well known and highly advertised de- pression. That particular spot was Hazlehurst, county seat of Copiah county. “No, sir,” said Mr. McManus, pro- prietor of the Bell cafe there, where Mr. Mogford, Mrs. Mogford and I stopped for food—Huley Horn’s car was still sprinting ahead—“there’s no depression in Hazlehurst and Co- piah County, Mississippi. The people here grow tomatoes and other crops besides cotton. They have work to do, food to eat and enjoy content- ment of mind.” It was refreshing to say the least And something to think about. The philosophy and friendly chatter of Mr. McManus, would have delayed us overlong in that happy spot but for the inflexible schedule by which we traveled. It was not, I might add, without sighs of regret at bidding the cheery scene goodbye that we left for further journeying through the night. The lure of New Orleans, hedged in between the great Lake Ponchar- train and the mighty Mississippi, made up somewhat, however, for loss of the contented atmosphere of Haz- lehurst. In the Crescent City the of- {ices of the American Cotton Coop- erative Association were visited. We had lunch at Antoine’s famous restaurant in the French quarter, visited consular offices for passport vises and drove the wrong way on all of the one-way streets in that fine old Southern metropolis. At least, after we were on the highroad again, the latter was suggested by Huley Horn’s account of his exper- iences. However, New Orleans folks were very accommodating. They shouted repeated instructions about which way to go, often shouting loudly that they might be quite heard above the roar of traffic and the clatter of Huley’s racer. Oh, well, life is ilke that. It’s impossible to do everything right. The most pronounced welcome of the whole trip, at home and abroad, was extended in Alabama, shortly after entering that state on the drive from New Orleans to Mobile. We had skirted the beautiful shore of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, from Bay Saint Louis through Pass Chris- tian and Biloxi to Pascagoula, a drive past an almost unbroken line of fine residences looking out across the Mississippi Sound. Night had fallen as we entered Alabama and Tom Drew, scenting the resinous aroma of pines as only an East Texan can, proposed camp for the night amid the towering conifers alongside the highway. I won’t say that nostalgia had anything to do with it, but Tom was insistent. Huley and Otis voted aye. The rest of us moved on into Mobile. Tom, Huley and Otis arrived in Mobile long before morning, their faces strangely swollen. It seems there were mosquitoes among the pines that night also. “Bigger and better mosquitoes than ever flitted in East Texas,” Tom described them. And coming from an East Texan that was a real tribute to their prow- ess. In any event the savage hordes made quite an impression. One that lingered long, as it were. The drive from Mobile to Atlanta was one of the longest drives in one day of the trip. From Atlanta we drove to Clemson College in South Caroline to inspect cotton spinning research work being carried on by United States Department of Agri- culture experts and then moved on to Greensboro, N. C,, in the heart of the cotton milling section of the cot- ton growing states. At mills in Greensboro we saw Texas cotton be- ing utilized in the manufacture of miles and miles of blue denim. The journey through Alabama and Georgia included brief stops at Tus- kegee where the noted school for negroes is located, and Auburn, home of the Alabama Polytechnic Insti- tute. We passed vast peach and ap- ple orchards, many of them abandon- ed and in a state of neglect, on the drive through Georgia. Thirst—it really was quite warm—caused a brief stop at a roadside stand where { apple juice was advertised Mr. Mog- ford was so thirsty he spilled most of his on his trousers. It was really a warm day. Wild pink roses, growing in profusion along the roadside, are among the memories of that section. At Lynchburg, Va., where we spent the night after visiting the cotton mills at Greensboro, Huley Horn ac- quired another treasured souvenir. No, not of the romantic sort. But a souvenir, nonetheless. It was a no- tice affixed to his car advertising that Lynchburg authorities didn’t care to have visitors park their cars in fire zones. He found it in the early morning light as he climbed into his car for another day’s ride. The car had been parked at the curb near the Y. M. C. A. You never can tell where fire zones are, it seems. The route from Lynchburg to Washington was by way of Lexing- ton and through the beautiful Shen- andoah Valley. We had breakfast of ham and eggs—such ham and such eggs!—at a little mountain tavern not far from Lynchburg. Coffee, boiled in an old fashioned pot, serv- ed with plenty of grounds and flavor- ed with eream from a can, added to the repast. It strengthened us con- siderably for the hairpin turns of the climbing, winding road across the mountains. We took time out to see the Nat- ural Bridge in Virginia and to gaze at the initials G. W., carved in the stone under the bridge by George Washington when, as a young man of about eighteen, he surveyed the property of which the bridge is a part for Lord Fairfax. Later King George III of England granted the Natural Bridge Estates to Thomas Jefferson. A view of the cavalry and field ar- tillery stables at Virginia Military Institute, which we passed in Lex- ington, recalled life at Texas A. and M. A few miles north of Lexington we stopped at a roadside marker, erected by the Kiwanis Club of Hous- ton in 1927. Letters graven in its face announced: “On knoll in rear of this spot, stood the log house in which Sam Houston was born in 1793.2 Washington was a point of reha- bilitation, that is, a point of rest and recuperation. At least it was for me We arrived Saturday afternoon. Sun- day G. L. Crawford, formerly with the Experiment Station of the col lege, and Mrs. Crawford conducted the Mogfords and Tom, Huley and Otis about the National Capital. Research work of the United Stat- es Department of Agriculture was observed on visits to governmental laboratories Monday. Program for the visit there was arranged by Dr. R. W. Webb, of the bureau of agri- cultural economics. Washington, Baltimore, Wilming- ton, Del, Philadelphia, Trenton, N. J. knew us briefly. Then with a roar through the land Tunnel beneath the Huds ver we burst upon New: York The Cotton Exchange and the Stock Exchange there were visit- ed through the courtesy of Robert M. Harriss, of Harriss and Vose, formerly of Dallas. And we had a pleasant talk with George S. Will- man, of the firm of Harriss and Vose, who attended Texas A. and M. College in 1894 when former Gov- ernor Lawrence Sullivan Ross was president and George Bartlett was commandant. Huley Horn didn’t particularly ap- prove of New York traffic but there wasn’t time to do anything about it. The beauty of Riverside Drive and the Hudson River in the early morn- ing did much to calm jumpy nerves, however, as we left the metropolis on the final leg of the overland jour- ney to Montreal. Brief stop was made at the. Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Inc., at Yonkers, N. Y., to observe cotton research work there. Then there was nothing to do but enjoy the beauty of the Hudson Riv- er valley and the lake country of Northern New York as we pushed on to our port of embarkation for the journey across the Atlantic. The scenic wonderland about Lake George, Schroon Lake in the Adirondacks and historic Lak Champlain afforded plenty of enjoyment. At Chestertown, N. Y., where we stopped for the night at Meadow Brook Farm, operated by a thrifty New York upstate farmer, Huley Horn and Otis Beasley organized a little social soiree. The farmer's daughter had a friend and a phono- graph and there was dancing. How- ever, the farmer and his wife kept early hourse and at 10 o’clock the strains of the final waltz softly fad- ed away. Road signs on entering Canada were in both French and English. We used only the English directions, never once needing the French to reach our destination. Huley, Tom and Otis found a very talented bar- ber, so they reported, in Montreal. The tailor they called upon about a little matter of pants pressing didn't prove so popular. He wanted $2.50 for a cleaning and pressing job. He still wants it, I guess. I learned from Huley he didn’t get the job. I don’t think Montreal prices had anything to do with it, but there were many Scotch people on the Letitia when she steamed down the St Lawrence the next morning. The journey to Liverpool was very pleas- ant and more or less noteworthy. We saw icebergs, glistening like great jewels in the sunlight, off the Labrador coast. Tom, Huley and Otis became ex- pert tea drinkers at ten, two and four. Huley didn’t miss a meal a- board. Tom retired to his cabin for a brief period. It wasn’t seasickness, he said. He just wanted to rest. Mr. and Mrs. Mogford missed few meal calls. Mr. Mogford did leave the table rather hurriedly one day. But he wasn’t hungry. He wore a brave and valiant smile as he bowed himself away. Costume dance aboard proved 4 very colorful affair Two babies were born at sea and rocked in the cradle of the deep, so to speak. Most of the Irish passengers got off at Belfast. We left the ship at Liverpool. And then a series of quiet but interesting adventures began. pa A—— L. W. “Lem” or “Light” Webb ’27, sends in his dues with the news of his transfer early in the year from Denver to Chicago, Ill. He is with the American Telephone Company, 208 West Washington Street, Chi- cago He says he’s chasing decibels instead of coulombs and that he has been fairly lucky in everyhing but love. ee — William Tautenhahn ’15, was elect- ed commissioner of precinct 3, Har- ris county, in the recent elections. This precinct covers a rich agricul- tural and industrial area of the coun- ty and the position was hotly con- tested for. The election of Tautenhahn came as a distinct surprise to the politicians of the county. He makes his home at Westfield, Harris coun- ty. Roy E. Biffle ’30, is with the State Highway Department and located at this time at Buffalo, Texas. Max Gilfillan ’17, was a recent campus visitor. He is in the brick business and has a big plant at Lin- dale, Texas. His bricks are going into several of the new buildings at A. and M. Harry Keeton Jr. ’30, has moved from Tulsa to Oklahoma City, where he gets his mail in Box 1164. He reports prospects up there as “look- ing” good.
