Letter from W. A. Owsley to brother Bristow Owsley

I heard last Sunday that you were back home again, and I am taking advantage of this early opportunity of letting you know; that I very much appreciated getting the two postal cards while you were in Europe, also one letter from London Eng.

Was truly glad for you that you were blessed with the opportunity to go on such a wonderful trip, and I feel as you say that the world doubtless seems like a larger place in which we live because of what you saw and heard on your voyage and journey.

As to the Hindenburg Disaster, I was sorry, and glad for you, was truly sorry that you did not get to fly back on it as all arrangements had been made that way it must have been very disappointing indeed. But was truly glad that you were not on "Hindenburg" when it up in smoke.

Bristow you spoke of being in touch with a philosophy that made life more worthwhile to you. I am somewhat curious to know what it might be, if it is not a secret you would rather not reveal. I am what you would call an investigator, Scientific Research appeals to my mind and delights my heart; notwithstanding there are times when the road seems rocky and unsmoothe traveling, but after all a rough patch of roadway makes one appreciate the good road surface all the more

You spoke of your lady wanting to send me some of her writing for an analysis of her hand-writing. I would be pleased to get two pages at least of her writing that reveals the things that is worthwhile for one to know about themselves. It is a special pleasure to me to interpret the dream of one's life and be able to be of service in making the dream of life come to be a living breathing reality. The more I find out about God and his wonderful world the more I appreciate the blessed privilege of living and going on to higher attainments.

My work in the shop has been unusually good this year and I have been very busy for two weeks handling my strawberry along with my shop work. notwithstanding. I have a colored man in shop doing the main part of the shop work. The berries I think in another week will be through with, then I hope to be able to spend more time in my studies pertaining to my permanent ambition in life.

Trusting that I may have the pleasure of hearing from you soon I will bring my letter to a close. Give my best regards to your lady companion in life, and tell her I am looking for a letter soon from her.

From your loving brother.
W.A. Owsley.

This letter was written less than a month after the Hindenburg disaster, and Bristow had made it back to the US at the end of his trip. It appears that he had scheduled a transatlantic flight on the Hindenburg within the month following the disaster.

May 6, 1937. The stern of the Hindenburg begins to fall, with the mooring mast in the foreground. The German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station Lakehurst. On board were 97 people (36 passengers and 61 crewmen); there were 36 fatalities (13 passengers and 22 crewmen, 1 worker on the ground). The event shattered public confidence in the giant, passenger-carrying rigid airship and marked the abrupt end of the airship era. Wiki

The Hindenburg over Manhattan, New York on May 6, 1937, shortly before the disaster. After opening its 1937 season by completing a single round-trip passage to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in late March, the Hindenburg departed from Frankfurt, Germany, on the evening of May 3, on the first of 10 round trips between Europe and the United States that were scheduled for its second year of commercial service. American Airlines had contracted with the operators of the Hindenburg to shuttle the passengers from Lakehurst to Newark for connections to airplane flights.[3] Except for strong headwinds that slowed its progress, the Atlantic crossing of the Hindenburg was otherwise unremarkable until the airship attempted an early-evening landing at Lakehurst three days later on May 6. Although carrying only half its full capacity of passengers (36 of 70) and crewmen (61, including 21 crewman trainees) for the accident flight, the Hindenburg was fully booked for its return flight. Many of the passengers with tickets to Germany were planning to attend the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in London the following week.

From Susie Owsley's diary: Reginald bought the shop and lots from his father, Will A. Owsley. Will collects his furniture and moves to Texas.