Hiram Writes Home With The ‘News’
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Hill Country Living
By Coulter Fussell
It’s a Wagner Week! Go ahead and open your Google search bar now because this letter provides hours of rabbit holes for the historically curious. Cousin Hiram Wagner is off in Washington, D.C, writing back home to Jessie in Water Valley. Hiram is a beloved character in the Wagner Letters. He grew up on Wood Street and attended “deaf and dumb” schools, as they were called back in the day.
Don’t feel sorry for Hiram, though. He was a Wagner, after all, so he attended only the very best schools that money could buy. Hiram’s specially-geared education was equal to that of his Ivy League cousins in prestige and privilege. Hiram’s penmanship is the best of any letter writer in the entire collection. Hiram is also known to be an excellent speller and exceptionally good at Latin.
The Wagner Letter collection has several incredible newspapers published by the “Deaf and Dumb” schools that Hiram attended, and they are beyond fascinating.
In this letter, Hiram is writing from Kendall Green, the renowned center of Deaf culture in the country.
Hiram was adored by the Wagner family and he also loves to dish out some gossip.
Kendall Greene
Washington D.C.
October 22, 1895
My dear cousin,
I have been intending to write you a letter for some time past but have been so busy. I met some deaf-muted in the train on my way to Washington from Philadelphia. I enjoyed talking with them very much. Mr. Sessoms (‘ 96) is my roommate this year. We enjoy occupying the best room. We bought something to decorate this room.
How do you like your college room? My roommate of Georgia will go to see the Atlanta Exposition soon. My studies are Logic, Psychology and French for this term first term. I do not like to study the French better than the German.
I was very sorry to hear that cousin Clara died.
Babu Jamini Nath Banerji, Principal of the Calcutta Indian Deaf and Dumb School, is here to learn our methods. He is a normal fellow. He is of a very dark complexion and still a young man.
Besides football, lawn tennis is receiving some attention. Golf has just made its appearance.
Some time ago, a social gathering was held in the chapel. I was glad to meet the young ladies of the introductory class (new lady students.) Many of them are pretty.
Next Saturday, the Kendalls (our team) will go to Charlottesville, Va., to play a game of football with the University of Virginia team. The University of Virginia team is stronger than our team.
Our gymnasium building will open next month. Do you exercise in the gymnasium?
Florence teaches the fifth grade now and likes it very much. She has only 45 in her room.
Do you remember Mr. Luther Smith? He and Lavia Dupuy, the minister’s daughter, ran away and got married recently. She was only 16.
I’m well as usual. How are you getting along at school? Excuse haste. Excuse my bad writing for my pen is not good. Write to me soon. Give my best love to you and Corinne.
From your loving cousin,
Hiram T. Wagner
Kendall Green
Washington D.C.
