Typed letter from Horace W. Phillips, Hardeeville, S.C. — Sat. morning, March 14, 1959
Book 1, Page 363 ·1959
Transcription
A typed letter, cream stationery, with the printed letterhead:
HORACE W. PHILLIPS HARDEEVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA
Dateline at the upper right:
Saturday Morning March 14th, 1959
Body, single-spaced, with several pencilled corrections inserted above the typed line:
Dear Puck:
Your welcome letter of March 4th (except for the sad news about Eddie Rush and which was a shock to me — God rest his soul) should have been acknowledged more promptly but we have, [had] it seems — something coming [up] about every day that has prevented my sooner thanking you and telling you how happy Em and I are to know that you are over the hump — I agree heartily (and 125%) in your comments about our marital blessedness — God has been good to us. Em is still having trouble getting adjusted to her new glasses but there seems to be no question in her doctor’s mind as to 20–20 vision in the operated on December 3rd last one and she does read the papers and her correspondence is beginning to take [or] normal volume again — On Sunday the 1st we were at the children’s — [over] opposite where the fruit express upset [AND] one Sunday morning the 1st time a lot of the then inhabitants of Scuffletown — later and now known as Red Dam — had ever seen a grape fruit I believe; and late in the afternoon had some visitors from Ridgeland among whom was our friend Mrs. Mary Bass, wife of Okeetee Club Superintendent Burton — who incident[al]ly has been retired at his own request and is succeeded by his son, Bobby Bass, who was at The Cit[a]del (excuse these damn “smears” — my arthritic digits are acting up a bit) with Horace B (and before at Porter, I think) — and Mary was telling us how much they think of Amy’s sister and Mr. Alston — you and Amy would have gotten [a] kick out of Mrs. Bass’s story about one of the old “segregated” retainers conversation with her after attending a Christmas party Mrs. Alston had had for the colored help — (an innovation) — “I tells you [Sho] Ma-am, dat lady sho is quality — she don’t have to stand back for nobody” — as hell to the FitzSimons and what they wrought —
AI Notes
Page 1 of a typed letter on cream stationery with a printed left-margin block ‘HORACE W. PHILLIPS / HARDEEVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA.’ Datelined ‘Saturday Morning March 14th, 1959’ at the upper right. Salutation ‘Dear Puck:’. The body discusses the recent death of Eddie Rush, the writer’s wife Em’s adjustment to new glasses following December cataract or refraction surgery, a Sunday visit at ‘the children’s’ near a fruit-express upset at Scuffletown (now called Red Dam), weekend visitors from Ridgeland — among them Mrs. Mary Bass, wife of retired Okeetee Club Superintendent Burton Bass (succeeded by his son Bobby Bass, who had been at The Citadel with the writer’s son Horace B. Phillips, and before that at Porter) — and an anecdote Mrs. Bass retold about a Christmas party Mrs. Alston had given for the colored help. The page ends mid-sentence with a reference to ‘the FitzSimons and what they wrought’; the letter continues on a sheet not preserved on this album page. Pencilled corrections (in the recipient’s hand?) insert words above the typed line at several places — they read ‘had,’ ‘up,’ ‘or,’ ‘AND,’ and ‘a’ at various points. The surname ‘Alston’ here is given with a single ‘l’ (not ‘Allston’). The typist’s ‘Citddl’ / ‘Citddel’ smear is for ‘Citadel’ (Phillips himself apologises for ‘these damn smears’).
Page ends mid-sentence; the letter continues on a further sheet not included on this album page.
The Okeetee Club, near Ridgeland in Jasper County, is a 50,000-acre private quail-hunting preserve organized in 1894 with original buildings designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead and White; its membership has historically been limited to twenty shares passed down through founding families. Burton Bass’s son Bobby succeeded him as Superintendent on the senior Bass’s retirement. The “Mr. Alston” and “Mrs. Alston” of the anecdote are Donald McKay Allston Sr. and his wife, Mary Annie (“Minnie”) Perry FitzSimons Allston — Amy’s sister.