A New Year Greeting for 1952

First, let me say thank you for the good wishes sent to me at Christmas from friends in many part of the world. I very much enjoyed my Christmas mail.

You will see that I have a new address, although West Park, N.Y., will also reach me. In November, I gave up my Washington apartment and came up here, in order to be near the property I am trying to sell across the river. To do this from Washington seemed difficult.

My work here in connection with the Labor Extension Service bill [insert link to Workers Need It!] Cannot go on at present, because of the general situation in Congress and in the world; because, too, of the differences of opinion in the organized labor movement as to the kind of bill it is willing to support. The National Committee for the Extension of Labor Education, of which I am chairman, is continuing, in order to keep in touch with opportunities for such legislation, as they may develop later. Whatever work can be done in this interim period is being carried by several members of the Committee. The need for this legislation was never more evident, and interest in it among workers through the country has steadily grown. Sometime, this interest will find more effective expression, and some plan for a broad program of labor education, in cooperation with the States and Federal government, will go through.

While I am trying to sell some property, I am also trying to find ways and means of writing the story of the WPA Workers’ Service Program, of which I was in charge for ten years during the depression period. The story of this program, which employed 2000 unemployed teachers in 35 states, has never been written. An analysis of the varied methods in workers’ education developed by these teachers and supervisors might well be made, for the sale of its usefulness now.

The Hudson Shore Labor School which for twelve years occupied our family property at West Park, released it last year, and carried on a part of the school program, the two weeks’ training session, on the campus of Rutgers University in New Jersey. This year the association with the university will be continued and strengthened, because Rutgers will conduct the training session with the Board of the School gibing active help on committees. The School cannot continue as an independent school, because of the financial problems which have become more acute. By this new plan it is hoped that the experience of this long-established labor school may be conserved and used, especially as workers’ education is not putting down many new roots in the universities, where a demonstration of leadership training may be studied and applied.

My summer was spent at West Park, where my Sister joined me. In the fall I closed the house, which requires too much coal for winter use. Here in Poughkeepsie I have four rooms on the third floor of a small apartment with a view to the South and West over the roofs of small houses – now bristling with television – to the hills beyond the river, and even about two inches of the river itself. This house is in the heart of the foreign section of this growing industrial city, and I have friendly neighbors, Greeks, Italians, Poles, Chinese, and Germans. My nearest neighbor, a Greek family, invited me to Christmas dinner with them.

After eighteen years in Washington, I was very reluctant to leave, but the reasons for coming here were decisive. Any of my friends coming to this city will find me at this address, at the top of a long flight of stairs. The welcome at the top will be a very real one, [for Harry, from Jane]
HILDA W. SMITH
[OVER]

Thanks for the lovely card, Harry, and your Christmas greeting. I think of you often, and know you are having a busy an interesting time – and I hope, keeping moderately warm.

I’ve given away two copies of Iris’ book before I had a chance to read it, but hope to soon – The union response on Hudson Shore recruiting is pretty slim, I hear. The March 8 meeting will tell the tale. And I hope put us ahead for the summer.

The Adult Educ. Fund of the Ford has asked me to write 25000 words by Sept. 1 – on the WPA. Workers ed. Program + also to act as consultant to their staff, on workers education. They are going into adult educ. In a big way, as you know, and I think realize the value of my materials. I’ll probably accept for the sale of the salary, + to get this this block of writing done.

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