Western Union telegram from Pickens Walker to his mother in Savannah after W&L Fancy Dress Ball and swim meet
Book 2, Page 132 ·1929-1933
Transcription
A Western Union telegram mounted sideways on the page, on a lined notebook sheet (three punch-holes at right). A small printed Western Union promotional sticker at the upper left of the telegram, in two colours:
This is COMMENCEMENT WEEK
If you are not going send that boy or girl your Congratulations by WESTERN UNION
The body of the telegram, in capitalized teletype lettering on pasted strips:
CFA201 40 NL COLLECT=LEXINGTON VIR 1
MRS J P WALKER= 112 EAST 52 SAVANNAH GA=
PASSED ALL MY WORK WELL ENOUGH TO GET NINE EXTRA CREDITS WHUPEE FANCY DRESS WONDERFUL RECEIVED CHECK MADE THE SWIMMING TEAM AND GOT FIRST PLACE IN THE DIVING AGAINST STAUNTON MILITARY ACADEMY TODAY BIG DOINGS HERE NOW WHUPEE AGAIN=
PICKENS.
A blue-ink notation “60¢” appears written across the strip carrying “112 EAST 52” (likely a clerk’s notation of the collect-call charge). A purple receiving-office stamp at the lower right of the body reads “RECD FEB 1 PM 7 57” (year not visible). A small “86” is stamped below “SAVANNAH GA=” — probably the receiving office’s sequence number.
AI Notes
A Western Union telegram pasted to a lined notebook-paper page (three punch-holes at right). The telegram is mounted sideways; the printed WESTERN UNION logo and form details run vertically along what is now the right edge of the album page. A small printed Western Union promotional sticker at the upper left of the telegram reads ‘This is COMMENCEMENT WEEK’ above the imprint ‘If you are not going / send that boy or girl / your Congratulations / by WESTERN UNION.’ Sent collect from Lexington, Va., to Mrs. J. P. Walker, 112 East 52, Savannah, Ga. The received-date stamp reads ‘FEB 1 PM 7 57’ (year cut off). Pickens reports four pieces of good news: he passed all his work with nine extra credits; Fancy Dress (W&L’s annual Fancy Dress Ball, a major winter social event) was wonderful; he received a check; and he made the swimming team and took first place in the diving against Staunton Military Academy. Signed ‘PICKENS.’ The adjacent page (131) is a Feb 1933 letter from the same writer on Southern Collegian letterhead reporting on the W&L swimming team’s trip, so this telegram is from the same Feb 1929-1933 W&L period.
Pickens (James Pickens Walker Jr., “Bo”, b. 5 Jan 1912) was a student at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. The telegram dates from his W&L years, c. 1929-1933 — the adjacent album page (p131) is a 1 Feb 1933 letter on Southern Collegian letterhead from the same writer reporting on the W&L swimming team. “Fancy Dress” here is the W&L Fancy Dress Ball, a famous annual costume gala held in winter (1929 theme: “1001 Nights”; 1930: “Spanish Fiesta”). His mother Amy FitzSimons Walker was at 112 East 52nd Street, Savannah (her 1933 address is confirmed on p089). The “Commencement Week” sticker is a stock Western Union promotional decal — its slogan does not reflect the season this telegram was sent (early February).