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trying to look at the experience as a blessing. It has taught
me financial lessons that I shall never forget and that I probably
never should have learned in any other way. We are simply
starting overagain' too, and lucky to be doing it young
instead of fifteen or twenty years hence. I have confidence
that our holdings will appreciate very materially when things
improve and a large part of the paper losses will be wiped
out. We are thankful to have learned this lesson when it could
not be [[underline]]very[[/underline]] costly although it has seemed so at times in spite of our most philosophical attitude. Fortunately, Mother owns
everything of hers outright, and while her assets had taken
a terrific paper drop, her income has scarcely changed at all
and she should come out very well. Another salary cut January
1st is rumored but it may not materialize. If it does, we shall
have to budget to know where we are. The main thing is to be
thankful we have a job and to firmly entrench myself at the
office in order to be in line for a substantial raise when things do pick up."

In 1931, Camel cigarettes introduced cellophane-wrapped
packages, a great innovation in keeping cigarettes fresh, and
R.J.Reynolds Tobacco Company put on a prize contest ^[[for]] the best
brief written statements on the advantages of this new packaging
technique. At the time I was a Camel smoker and I sent in
an entry, seeing an opportunity to pick up some much-needed
extra change in fondly imagining that,because I fancied myself
talented at expressing myself, this would be a cinch. But
on May 13th, I found that I wasn't one of the 950,000 contestants
to win anything, something of an unreasonable disappointment.

Social event of the spring season was the engagement of Ethel Yokes and Harold Ogden. Ethel was a very attractive girl
in one of the first I'd known in Erie. I also thought a great
deal of Harold, who was an up-and-coming control engineer with
Lou Webb. They made a fine couple. Which makes me think sadly
that this morning, September 14, 1973, when Willie phoned Ethel
she was in bed and Harold said she was "too weak" to go to
bridge club this afternoon. She is in bad shape, I fear, although
she bounces back remarkably. But her appearance is a
shocking contrast to the Ethel of 1931.

I shall now insert the story of our Colorado vacation trip
and following that, returned to Home, Family and Friends:

COLORADO VACATION
[[dividing line]]
Willie and Bab had been scheduled to go to Louisville by
train, leaving Erie on Thursday night, June 11th. On Wednesday,
Bab was quite upset by her teeth and it appeared for a bit
that the trip would have to be called off. However, she was
better by Thursday and they got away as planned. In 1930, we
were washed out of the Colorado trip by my Lackawanna assign-