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P.O. Box 66 7 C Loudcroft, NM 8 8317
February 15, 199 5
Cliarles Gray
Hancock County Historical Society Box 312
Bay St. Louis, MS 395 20 Dear Cliarles:
My father and I have repeatedly reviewed the wonderful information packages which you so graciously sent. Again both of us thank you.
Upon seeing the picture of the ferry, he excitedly pointed to the upper deck exclaiming "you don't know how many hours I spent dancing and enjoying my friends on that deck". He is so full of interesting information that I sometimes tax his strength with our Bay St. Louis conversations.
On several occasions in the past he has told me of Gertrude (Tess) Perkins. He immediately recognized the Perkins home pictured in the Sketch Book and stated that he had visited there hundreds of times. The Perkins family were genteel people and Tess was his first teen-aged sweetheart. They spent many happy days together working on and sailing my father's four boats. She was perfectly willing to allow him to be "captain" and obediently followed all instructions. He says that she worked as hard as one of the shipyard hands scraping barnicles, painting, and otherwise servicing the boats. After Dad moved away, Tess unavoidably struck and killed a young bicycle rider with her car. The event so affected her that she remained distraut for a very long time. On a visit to Bay St. Louis from Houston, Dad learned of the tragedy from Mrs. Perkins. He found Tess on the beach and tried to console her but to no avail. He learned later that she had taken her own life.
Dad owned four boats as a young fellow. These vessels were built by the boat wrights at grandfather's shipyard. One was a lightweight sk.if-f which was rowed in the conventional way. The second was a Cat Boat. This was a sailing vessel but was very slow. He disliked this boat and talks about it unfavorably. Third was a 20 foot plus sailing sloop wit.li a cabin. He sailed, fished and sometimes just drifted (with Tess or other friends) in this boat a great deal. Finally, and his favorite, was a specially built lightweight racing skate.