[JonoBN41]

Gettysburg College (founded 1832)
Formerly Pennsylvania College
Gettysburg, PA.

July 19, 1939

My dear Mr. M:

I am pleased to receive your application for admission to Gettysburg College and to inform you that same has been accepted.

Later in the summer you will receive instructions from this office regarding registration, etc. Meanwhile, if there are any questions you have in mind to ask, I will be glad to hear from you.

I hope to have the pleasure of meeting you and welcoming you as one of our students.

Very truly yours,
C.B. Stover
Registrar

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Gettysburg College
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Office of the President
Henry W.A. Hanson

September 1, 1939

My dear Mr. and Mrs. M:

Within a few days your son will leave to enter upon his duties as a student at Gettysburg College. I can fully appreciate the anxiety which you feel in having your son leave the family circle.

Gettysburg College seeks to be more than a college to the young men entrusted to its care. The time has passed when as Fathers and Mothers we are satisfied with an education which deals only with the intellectual side of life. An education which does not produce a Christian gentleman, possessed of right attitudes to life, is not an education which measures up to my conception of the purpose of a college.

Gettysburg College is deeply interested in developing young men who are physically well, intellectually keen, morally straight and spiritually awake. It will, at all times, be my desire to afford your son such advantages in these directions as will make him worthy of the sacrifice which you are probably making to give him the opportunity of a college education.

The Faculty of Gettysburg College is made up of Christian gentlemen who are interested in the development of the very best possibilities for your son.

We shall, of course, need the cooperation of every Father and Mother. What a young man receives from college will be largely determined by the faithfulness with which he applies himself to the various duties assigned him. Gettysburg College takes it for granted that your son will take his work seriously and will apply himself conscientiously.

If I can render any service to your son, do not hesitate to call on me. I cherish a warm affection for my boys and am always desirous of rendering them every possible service.

Trusting that we may have the pleasure of having you on the campus as often as your time permits, I am

Cordially yours,
Henry W.A. Hanson

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161 N. Washington St.
Gettysburg, Pa

Sept. 17, 1939

Dear Folks,

When I first came here I thought I would have a little time to myself. But I’ve found different. I’ve been rushed by three different fraternities; namely Lambda Chi Alpha (formerly Theta Kappa Nu, Wally’s frat) Phi Sigma Kappa, and Tau Kappa Epsilon. The Phi Sigma Kappa’s have the highest scholarship record in the school. And my roommate said it was an honor to be rushed by them. They really had a line about my adeptness and ability to hold up their record, and that all thirty-three of them had voted unanimously to take me into the fold. Three of my hosts took me upstairs to a room and we talked, other members of the fraternity would walk in and out very informally.
I have found some very nice fellows at the PSK but in general the’re to smooth and anxious and gabby.
I’ll either pick the Tau Kappa Epsilon or the Lambda Chi Alpha and I think the former is cheaper. The fraternities say the freshmen are taking more time this year before they pledge. I was at the T.K.E. Saturday night for a smoker and later went to L.C.A. for an informal dance. Now that they have a housemother they can have girls in. You see the fraternities pledge men and then they eat at the house and have the “run of the house” until spring when they are initiated and pay the fee. The board is generally cheaper there.
I was out with some fellows from T.K.E. this afternoon. We went out on the battlefield and visited the round tops, springs, monuments, etc. I found a couple of Boggs’ on the Pa monument. Which did we know and what was his commission?
The Women’s Division holds a dance every Sat evening in the Girls Dorm with recorded music.

Love,
Gordon

PS. I still don’t smoke but I’ve been offered a hundred cigarettes, etc.
PS. A girl transferred from Westminster who I knew at Thiel 4 years ago. She’s a Junior.

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161 North Washington St.
Gettysburg, Pa

Sept. 20, 1939

Dear Folks,

Boy, these studies are hard. Especially French and Chemistry and the others aren’t what you’d call easy. I never studied so much in all my life. I think perhaps I should have taken French A instead of French I but I’ll stick it out until I find I can’t catch up and if that happens I think I can switch back.
I just got a haircut up at Mickley’s Barber Shop. He is a descendent of the French Hugenots. The guide who died was his father. They give haircuts like Jack gets but only charge a quarter.
I’m going to an informal dance at the L.C.A. house Saturday Evening.
(over)
You asked me if I seen Wally much. Yes. I see both he and Carl a lot.
Answers to questions-
Yes I’ve met Louie Mertz but we didn’t have much time to talk about our common interests. I mentioned Mr. and Mrs. Morton to him and he was very surprised.
Yes, I find the boys very congenial.
No, the Sophmores haven’t started anything yet.
Please send me the following things
1. All my pennants (the’re in my chest)
2. My dance book (Sunitele [?] Home Institute)
3. Some of my tablets and some extra paper for scratch
Also, cut my sheet in half.
I’m getting along all right with out a pillow.
I forgot to mention in my last letter that if you, all my relatives, come out here they can eat at L.C.A. free of charge. Also if a boy friend visits me for overnight I can put him up at the house, meals and everything free. If I’d happen to get a girl for a weekend dance I could feed her at the house free.
They hold dances here on weekends, two nights, Friday, formal and Saturday informal. There is nothing doing during Lenten Season. I’ve met Bowersox [?] from Leechburg who knows Boisler [?].

Love,
Gordon