This text was obtained via automated optical character recognition.
It has not been edited and may therefore contain several errors.

---

(6)
monthly, one could buy one of these fine homes. There was always a long waiting list of buyers. I recently visited Silver Spring, and I was amazed at what I saw. If only Mr.
Hopkins could see Silver Spring as it is today.
As stated before, Mr. Hopkins owned at Clermont Harbor, Mississippi, a hotel which was wrecked by a hurricane in 1915.
Every so often Mr. Hopkins would tell me, "Mr. Carr, I want you to go to Clermont Harbor this winter and rebuild this hotel."
I will never forget one Saturday morning, September, 1925, Mr. Hopkins came to my house in Silver Spring, Maryland, With him he brought tickets for myself and family to Clermont Harbor, Mississippi, even the key to a nice furnished home with rent paid for one year. As stated before, Mr. Hopkins was more than my boss, he was the best friend I ever had. I could not refuse to go, so we packed our personal belongings and headed south (unknowingly to spend the rest of our lives along the Mississippi Gulf Coast".
In due time, we arrived at Clermont Harbor, what a disappointment, what a reception, had I had train fare I would have left at once. The reception party consisted of millions of mosquitoes. All we could do was to get indoors as soon as possible, and then try to clear the house of these pests. The home was amply supplied with mosquito spray and netting so we soon adjusted to this new condition.
There was at Clermont Harbor, one store and post office, a poorly-kept railroad station, and five or six homes of permanent residents, and an equal number of summer residents. There were the remains of the Hotel I was to rebuild. When I first looked at it, all I could say was hopeless.
Before my arrival at Clermont Harbor, the residents trying to get rid of the mosquitoes, had cut and burned all underbrush so it was possible to see all of the town from any given point.
What a disappointment. I was a stranger in a forsaken swamp area with only one means of transportation, the L & N Railroad.
In addition to plans and specifications for the rebuilding of the Hotel, I received from Mr. Hopkins letters of introduction to the local banks, business firms, etc., as to my position and verifying that he was responsible for all purchases made by me.
Getting organized and making progress was slow, men just could not work with the ever-present mosquito, we found that by wearing white clothes, gloves and netting over our heads, and carrying the ever-present smudge pot, we could at least do some work. I was told that there had been no rain for several months