"Hotel California"

Hello, reader! I can’t believe I'm already in the tenth week of this internship- time sure flies when you’re having fun! I am grateful for the people I have met, the systems I have learned, and the opportunities that have crossed my path, all thanks to this wonderful experience. This week, I have wrapped up my Apopka folder objects, including the Nancy Ryan Blalock folder, as well as an unexpected find outside of the Judy Ustler Babb folder that came directly from her military history binder. I hope to move on to my next assignment soon, which will involve assisting my students with their prolific folders and their contents, including creating more metadata sheets and entering the appropriate information into the Dublin Core format. 

This week at the Museum of the Apopkans, I delved deeper into the Gladden Collection. I gathered more metadata for a curious collection of letters, all signed by Joseph R. Brown, and in one letter, his wife, Bertha Brown. I was lucky to find both Joseph R. Brown and Bertha Brown on a 1920 Census record from Savannah, Georgia- the very location that Joseph writes to Michael Gladden Jr. from. Judging by the tone of the letters, Joseph R. Brown and Mr. Gladden seemed to be very well acquainted. In the earliest letter, pictured on the right and dated January 5th, 1942, Joseph R. Brown asks Mr. Gladden a favor to loan him a mighty sum of $25.00, which would be about $493.28 with inflation in 2025! Further, Joseph R. Brown hopes to hear from Mr. Gladden by Thursday of that week and “no later.” This letter leaves me to wonder what this money was originally intended for, as not much is revealed about its purpose within subsequent correspondences. 

The second letter on the left, dated January 7th, 1942, indicates that Mr. Joseph R. Brown’s requested loan was fulfilled, as indicated by Mr. Gladden’s signature “Paid in Full.” Within the scribbles of an emerald green pen, Joseph R. Brown thanks Mr. Gladden for his prompt response to his plea and promises to pay him back on a later date. The third letter provides both evidence and closure to this affair! 

Dated March 3rd, 1942, the third and final letter in this series provides a rather personal insight into the happenings of Joseph R. Brown’s life. Mr. Brown, who always seemed to be in a hotel, commented on the struggling tourism industry in Florida due to the onslaught of World War II. According to the Museum of Florida History, over 70,000 U.S. Army and Air Force trainees took over hotel rooms and restaurants to be used as makeshift mess halls and barracks by late 1942 to compensate for restrictions placed on travel and tourist dollars lost to hard times. While a general observation could have been made by Mr. Brown, I hope to find evidence of his occupation, which could have very well been in hotels. We shall see next week, reader!