Letter from Marshall Sutton to J. Huston Westover, August 1943.

Excerpt from letter to J. Huston Westover from Marshall Sutton, assistant director of camp #119. August 30, 1943:

In spite of rumors regarding the possible trickishness with public relations here I have been extremely conscious of a sincere air of friendliness.

 I like George [Tovey] very much.  He showed me the grounds [sic] and general set-up Saturday night and Sunday morning. My room is next to his in Lupin Cottage.  Dr. Jones plans to have nine men live in Lupin and five on the top floor of the hospital.

Saturday night I sat on the porch of the cottage with some of the attendants—elderly men.  We chatted some—and in conversation it came out that I was a C.O. and that was all that was said.  . . .Most of the employees [sic] know that a group of C.O.s are coming by the middle of the week and they (one of them rather) expressed that help was needed especially in regard to relieving attendants [sic] on the various jobs.  I sense a little that they expect us to be one of them and share this shortage. . . .

George took me down to the school this p.m. The teachers there are most friendly and anxious to show off the work going on—the Boys do very good industrial art skills—I was amazed! Teachers there are overworked and the superintendent of the school said she hoped some of the men coming could help them out.  They do some therapy work in the school with the boys that have a physical handicap.  They take their work to the State Fair and sell it at a good price.

. . . Mr. Riggins, Supervisor of Boys, will be most easy to work with.   He said that he had read over our records and hoped that there were men with some theological training to help him out.  He has been giving some of the religious services and says that he was never cut out for a minister . . . He also mentioned that men were needed to take boys out on special things in the evenings—recreation field for example. . . .

To-nite [sic] I visited the Music Club for which George writes the script.  There were two hundred boys there.  Mr. Riggins played records.  The classical records, I’m sure, the boys didn’t understand, but they clapped hard. 

It is difficult to realize that these boys and men have minds of three year olds.  Some of them can talk quite well.  The least little thing pleases them and they expect recognition when you walk among them on your way somewhere.  They like to touch you and its [sic] important not to let them, or they do it more and more. . . .

--Taken from Letters to J. Huston Westover from Marshall Sutton, Aug. 30, 1943. Swarthmore College Peace Collection, American Friends Service Committee: Civilian Public Service Records (DG002) Section 1, Box 42b, as compiled by Anne Yoder, Archivist.