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Thomas Robinson to Alice Mary Longfellow, 16 May 1925
Manuscript letter
Hampton Institute
Hampton, Va.
May 16, 1925
My dear friend:
I am thanking you for your very pleasant gift which you so kindly gave me. I feel very proud that I am remembered by such a friend, and I am especially proud to realize that I am so closely connected with the poet, Longfellow. It makes me more than [p. 2] grateful to you, I shall to [sic] prove worthy of your gift.
Perhaps, it will be pleasing to you to know a little about me. My home is Hilton Head South Carolina. There I lived very happily with my parents. I went to County school until September 1920. Then I went to Penn School which is at Frogmore South Carolina. It is not very far from home. Penn School is much smaller than Hampton [p. 3] but is working toward the same goal Hampton is working toward. It is indeed picturesque. Many huge oaks with very beautiful gray moss which are found there, are not found elsewhere. It is a very beautiful scenery of nature.
Nowhere, I think, do visitors feel so much at home as they do at Penn School.
I have completed the Carpentry Course there in May 1924. Most of the teachers who teach [p. 4] at Penn are Hampton’s graduates, “No place,” they say, “is like Hampton.” “It is the place for all struggling negroes.” I wanted to be one of those and here I am.
Hampton Institute is indeed a wonderful and beautiful place. It is located at a very healthful point. The warm south breeze is admirable, I like Hampton. I wish I were here long ago.
To make my way through this Institution, I am [p. 5] taking a “work year.” That means that I work in the day and go to Night School. I am enjoying it although it is hard work.
My aim is to get Agricultural Course here but it is a college subject and I am only first year academy. However I am going to take Cabinetmaking as a foundation. If bad luck luck [sic] should fall upon me before I finish College, I will have a trade. I am going to try to finish my trade in 1928. It means [p. 6] hard studying. I am trying to be the “Iron Puddler.” I am making good marks in my study and I am an A Classed work student. I think that when one struggles for an education, he will value it more. I am struggling for mine, I am responsible for it. I don’t want my parents to pay my way, I thank them very kindly for suring me that I need one.
Again I thank you for your present. My very generous friend, I cannot express my gratitude, but [p. 7] my future years at Hampton I hope will be successful. As the years go by, may the blessings of happiness be yours,
Sincerely yours,
Thomas Robinson
Hampton, Va.
May 16, 1925
My dear friend:
I am thanking you for your very pleasant gift which you so kindly gave me. I feel very proud that I am remembered by such a friend, and I am especially proud to realize that I am so closely connected with the poet, Longfellow. It makes me more than [p. 2] grateful to you, I shall to [sic] prove worthy of your gift.
Perhaps, it will be pleasing to you to know a little about me. My home is Hilton Head South Carolina. There I lived very happily with my parents. I went to County school until September 1920. Then I went to Penn School which is at Frogmore South Carolina. It is not very far from home. Penn School is much smaller than Hampton [p. 3] but is working toward the same goal Hampton is working toward. It is indeed picturesque. Many huge oaks with very beautiful gray moss which are found there, are not found elsewhere. It is a very beautiful scenery of nature.
Nowhere, I think, do visitors feel so much at home as they do at Penn School.
I have completed the Carpentry Course there in May 1924. Most of the teachers who teach [p. 4] at Penn are Hampton’s graduates, “No place,” they say, “is like Hampton.” “It is the place for all struggling negroes.” I wanted to be one of those and here I am.
Hampton Institute is indeed a wonderful and beautiful place. It is located at a very healthful point. The warm south breeze is admirable, I like Hampton. I wish I were here long ago.
To make my way through this Institution, I am [p. 5] taking a “work year.” That means that I work in the day and go to Night School. I am enjoying it although it is hard work.
My aim is to get Agricultural Course here but it is a college subject and I am only first year academy. However I am going to take Cabinetmaking as a foundation. If bad luck luck [sic] should fall upon me before I finish College, I will have a trade. I am going to try to finish my trade in 1928. It means [p. 6] hard studying. I am trying to be the “Iron Puddler.” I am making good marks in my study and I am an A Classed work student. I think that when one struggles for an education, he will value it more. I am struggling for mine, I am responsible for it. I don’t want my parents to pay my way, I thank them very kindly for suring me that I need one.
Again I thank you for your present. My very generous friend, I cannot express my gratitude, but [p. 7] my future years at Hampton I hope will be successful. As the years go by, may the blessings of happiness be yours,
Sincerely yours,
Thomas Robinson
Archives Number: 1007.001/002.003-001#107
U. S. National Park Service
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Courtesy of National Park Service, Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site; Archives Number 1007.001/002.003-001#107
Public domain
Manuscripts (1007.001), (LONG-Subcollection)
, Correspondence (1007.001/002), (LONG-SeriesName)
, Scholarship Student Correspondence (1007.001/002.003), (LONG-SubseriesName)
, Letters to Alice Longfellow (1007.001/002.003-001), (LONG-FileUnitName)
, Correspondence (1007.001/002), (LONG-SeriesName)
, Scholarship Student Correspondence (1007.001/002.003), (LONG-SubseriesName)
, Letters to Alice Longfellow (1007.001/002.003-001), (LONG-FileUnitName)
Image
Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Code: LONG
Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Latitude: 42.3769989013672, Longitude: -71.1264038085938
Latitude: 42.3769989013672, Longitude: -71.1264038085938
NPS Museum Number Catalog : LONG 16173
Title: Finding Aid to the Alice Mary Longfellow (1850-1928) Papers, 1855-1965 (bulk dates: 1873-1928)
URL: https://www.nps.gov/long/learn/historyculture/archives.htm#AML
URL: https://www.nps.gov/long/learn/historyculture/archives.htm#AML
20200826
05/16/1925
Manuscript letter in Alice Mary Longfellow Papers, Series II. Correspondence, C. Scholarship Student Correspondence, 1874-1925
Public Can View
Organization: Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site
Address: 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Email: LONG_archives@nps.gov
Address: 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Email: LONG_archives@nps.gov
Monday, May 23, 2022 8:53:34 PM
Monday, May 23, 2022 8:53:34 PM
1007-01-02-03-01-107 p6+7.jpg
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