How to Catch Shad

                                                    Kingston

Wednesday Night, April 27, 1938

Dear Carl,

There is  so much stuff to  put down that  I    won't  even attempt to get it all  down as  I am racing against the last  train down to New York.
Allwater is  a blacksmith by trade.  A couple   of winters ago he  worked in the   Federal  Iron Works as a  die polisher.   Last winter...c’est la vie....he worked on  WPA.  That should be Federal Bearing not  that it probably matters.  What’s the matter with you  memory?  I heard them tell you  it was a top  sim line   and a bottom sim line that holds  the nets. On the top you use a #42 twine and on the   bottom a #18.  Set buoys 18 feet  apart.  You're allowed to set out 2,000 feet of net.  The law I guess.  The squares in the nets are meshes. Most of them set one mesh every five and a half inches on the top sim line, same on the bottom presumably.  Some only give the mesh five inches.  The net is made of 35.2  cord.  There are 55 meshes from   the top sim line to the bottom sim line.   I said how  do you  spell it and Fred Whitney (the drunk and  knew All) Water, when they were  kids,  said "How the hell would you spell it’s S I M L I N E. "   Fred said you're allowed to  set out 2,000 feet of net and  buoys are 18 feet apart so figure that  out you chump.  I checked the data elsewhere so don’t worry. They buy net by  the shot   about 8 or ten pounds to  the shot.
There are two  sociological islands around here Eagles Nest and Grahamsville.  At Grahamsville they have their own Fair every year. Gruver is a nice guy but I dunno.  He spoke of this and that not having any literary value.  Anyway we  can't pal around with him until after the Apple Blossom Festival which ends May 8th.  I don't think he has much. The Captain of Hudson River Steamships  is running a series of articles   (ghosted by a cub on the paper) in the Freeman. Gruver   is  sorry he  didn’t do it when he  had  the  chance.  Gruver wants to take you there personally.  I think the  cub scooped him.
BUT  THE  GOT THAT IS A HONEY  IS KELLY.  Wait'til you hear Kelly.  He also works  on the Freeman. I met him by accident. A cop says there's a newspaperman,  too. Hey, Kelly. Kelly started talking about Father Devine. No help to us.  But it gave you an idea.  He was in polities and was born and raised here and is funny, cynical and a swell guy. Seems to like to entertain folks with his yarns.  Says he can't write. Does a sports  column and  wants to  take me out  to Grahamsville  tomorrow if he don't go to  Albany to promote some fighters he has as a sideline. He's mixed up in all sorts of  rackets and  we got on because he knows of a  lot of bandit  reporters I knew when I worked for Hearst.  He has an undying hatred of any newspaperman who dares to come up  here  and try and find out  anything without coming  to him.  I say  lets indulge him  in  this.
Gruver may be better for your money but Kelly just  slams it out. He says there's a story  in the  Dwyer who started with a  gin mill and ended up with all the  literage business  etc.
By the    way  I suppose you have  seen CG Hine,  1906,  West Bank of the Hudson, Albany to Tappan Zee. Also Legends and Poetry of the Hudson, 1868. Both seemed to be privately printed and are here in Kingston. After I went and dug around the brick works etc. I found that a new newspaper started up a year ago and did it all up with a bang.
         Some are good, some are poor according to the reporter. They changed reporters frequently. But I spent a helluva time looking thru back issues and I bought some of the back issues although some they are out of. The damn editorial office is next to the roof and I nearly died.
     Address my mail to Governor Clinton Hotel, Kingston, New York. Don't worry  I'm staying at a rooming house down  the street at a dollar a day.  Come up whenever you want to although I should think it would be better to wait until I tell you first what I've seen and  then you can cone up, and high spot it.
     In any case  I think I ought to be here a few days and  work out   of here unless you think differently.  Certainly there is an awful lot to  find out  and a lot of  people to see and I haven't wasted one minute on the Revolution.
     I'm only  sending along one   clip, the bricks.  It’s not terribly good but  I can supplement  it  from some stuff I picked up from Nick Linsdorfer at  the Hutton Bricks Yards. Van Dusen Hutton  is in Florida or I would have talked to him but Nick practically raised him.  Time for the train.

Regards,
Cros