Manuscripts

Joe Wegener correspondence

Description: The collection consists of 61 letters, 15 postcards, 7 pages from the Goldbrick Gossip, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) local newsletter of which Wegener was editor, and 1 newspaper clipping. All the letters and postcards, except two items, are from Wegener to Cecile Kingman, who lived in Alhambra, California. Writing from Camp Temescal and Mount Palomar, California, Wegener's letters offer a glimpse of life in the CCC. Wegener often writes about playing sports, typing reports, attending classes, playing the bugle, and his relationships with his fellow campers. After the CCC, Wegener writes about picking up odd jobs in Death Valley, California.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1932-1984
Call number: mssWegener
Creator: Wegener, Joe(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Gift of Helen Holloway, 1991.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
Rights: The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.
Associated people: Kingman, Cecile,
Find out more: View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab); View in the Online Archive of California(Opens in new tab)

Joe Wegener correspondence

Manuscripts

The collection consists of 61 letters, 15 postcards, 7 pages from the Goldbrick Gossip, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) local newsletter of which Wegener was editor, and 1 newspaper clipping. All the letters and postcards, except two items, are from Wegener to Cecile Kingman, who lived in Alhambra, California. Writing from Camp Temescal and Mount Palomar, California, Wegener's letters offer a glimpse of life in the CCC. Wegener often writes about playing sports, typing reports, attending classes, playing the bugle, and his relationships with his fellow campers. After the CCC, Wegener writes about picking up odd jobs in Death Valley, California.

mssWegener

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Joe A.Y. letter to Harry

Manuscripts

Joe A.Y. addresses this letter to his friend "Harry" from Skagway, Alaska Territory on August 3, 1897. A.Y. provides details about the Klondike Gold Rush, with a focus on the possibilities for growth and prosperity awaiting Skagway. He informs Harry about Skagway's geographic setting, business conditions, commodity prices, labor costs, his estimation of how to succeed financially in Alaska, and his enthusiasm for the territory.

mssHM 83908

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Correspondence

Manuscripts

The Whitman correspondence begins on May 28, 1903 in Pasadena, California. Whitman writes to his mother about a potential automobile trip from San Francisco, California to New York and introduces her to his driving partner, E.I. Hammond. The duo will be trailing several hundred miles behind E.T. Fetch and M.C. Krarup, another pair on their way to New York. Whitman writes that he has more faith in his 4.5-horsepower Oldsmobile than the 1903 Packard, which Fetch is driving. Postcards and letters concerning his trip east are sent from various locations including Lovelock and Elko, Nevada, Ogden, Utah, Rawlins, Wyoming, and Elwood, Nebraska. On the road, Whitman and Hammond face mechanical issues, rugged roads, and harsh weather conditions. In one letter, Whitman writes about frightening a lone Indian to death when they approached him in their "machine." In another event, they recruited the help of two cowboys, who used "their lassos to pull us up a bank some 15ft high..." (July 20, 1903). When driving through the country side, the undeveloped roads prove to be difficult: "The country is all mud, terrible. We can make but little progress. This mud is the black adobe like lard and dries hard as flint" (Aug. 13, 1903). In Detroit, Michigan, Whitman meets Ransom E. Olds and appears to be an honored guest at an automobile race with 10,000 people in attendance. Whitman speaks too soon when he writes "I don't want any more endurance runs..." because he dashes across the continent again in 1904, 1906, and 1910 at record-setting rates, which include breaking Fetch's record. Whitman reflects that his automobile trip "helps to season and spice the short life we stay on this earth" (Oct. 18, 1903)

mssHM 81903-82022

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Correspondence

Manuscripts

mssHM 81903-82022

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L.L. Whitman correspondence

Manuscripts

mssHM 81903-82022

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mssHM 81903-82022

Joe Wegener correspondence

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