Dear Dora,
Thanks for the nice letter. I bet you did have plenty of time to think things
over on the long trip back. Many wonderful memories. And thanks so much for your
offer of support for the National Club. I'm sure you will be a great help in
many ways, including the sketches of the club officials. I'd like to know more
about them myself!! My Info follows:
Married to Roberta Mohr McHenry (Bobbie), a dietary consultant for the State
of Iowa department of Public Health. No children. Occupation: Physicist, Rodman
Laboratory, Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Illinois.
Collecting about four and a half years; don't know exactly how long, as it
sort of snuck up on me. I've been interested in telegraphy all my life, as I've
always loved trains. I did Signal Corps work in W.W. II and then spent one
summer on the heavy construction crew of an independent telephone company in
Nebraska during college vacation. Really got started when our local rural county
telephone company began burying their wires and abandoned their overhead
plant. I first gathered up a whole load of crossarms to cut up for fire
place wood. Was greatly annoyed by all the hardware and glass that I had to take
off in order to cut and burn it. But as I looked at the glass and saw different
company names and numbers, I started arranging them in order to see if I could
fill in all the numbers. I've been trying to fill them in ever since, and there
are still a few Hemingrays that are eluding me. I have fun with small
collections within the big one. I'm working on the baby signals, CD126 and
CD127, Denvers. (My collection of the Denvers is fairly complete-- at least I
thought it was, until people showed me a couple at the National that I don't
have!!) Even the lowly Hemingray-9. I have thirty-two different ones, differing
in embossing wording or style and color. Errors fascinate me, too.
I think some of the happiest times in my life have been when Bobbie and I
have been hiking along an abandoned line, with the clear blue sky above us, the
wild flowers and fruits along the ground, and the birds singing to us. We still
go back for our June supply of fresh fruit to the black raspberry patch we found
while "Insulating" three years ago. Don't know how much time I'll have
left for such pursuits with this job I have, but if I can give back to the hobby
half of what it has given me, I'll be satisfied.
The enclosed picture was taken by the local paper for a write up of my first
meet last year. The collection has grown, but I still look the same. I gave you
Bobbie's nickname above. I answer to many things: Dennis, Denny, W.D., Mac and
Hey You!!
Hope these ramblings will be of some use. Keep looking up!
Dennis
P.S. Can you help me? I have a receipt stub for Burl Ford, but no address can
I find.
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Sorry, Dennis, I don't have an address. Does anyone know??
Dora
)