The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003 Page: 61

2002 A Brief Peace: The Postwar Years of George Sessions Perry 61
pleas by recalling earlier meetings or shared wartime experiences. A
Baltimore insurance official and retired naval commander wrote: "I wish
you would let me know your address. I want to meet you, help you learn
more about Baltimore, take you to Annapolis and the naval academy
and will not sell you any life insurance."8
Other correspondents sought to direct Perry's attention to matters of
their interest in cities already selected for coverage. A Houstonian
requested inclusion of the local veterans' service center in a projected
article and mentioned that the University of Houston enrolled the
largest number of veterans in the nation. Pan American World Airways
desired a discussion of aviation in a forthcoming piece on San Francisco.
Trader Vic hoped for a reference to his book in the same article. Yet
another San Franciscan appealed for recognition of the only female
miller in the United States. A press agent for the Cincinnati summer
opera implored, "In accordance with our telephone conversation yester-
day ... I hope that you will find it possible to give our Silver Jubilee a
few paragraphs in your article on Cincinnati." Perry doubtless passed
these suggestions on to his editors, as he savored contacts and disliked
refusing people.9
The flattery and comforts lavished on George and Claire mitigated
the rigor of a demanding routine. Deadlines allocated minimum time to
research a location, interview key citizens, closet themselves in a hotel
room, and draft articles that often appeared at the pace of several a
month. A Cincinnati chamber of commerce official praised Perry for his
article on the city, noting that the local press had quoted from it "four
or five times in the last few weeks" and probably would support him for
mayor. "I hope," he confided, "that I will be able some time in the near
future to give you and Mrs. Perry a sort of supplementary tour-a night
tour." A San Francisco Chronicle newsman congratulated him on "what
your ... piece did to the Saturday Evening Post market in San Francisco
last week!" Following publication of a story on Baltimore, a local exud-
ed, 'You scrammed just in time. All the town boosters were after you and
... had a kidnap scheme to smuggle you into Maryland Club and kill
" Hazel G. McMullen to Perry, Jan. 14, 1946, Letters Recip. M, Perry Collection (1st quota-
tion); William T. Chantland to Perry, Feb. 1, 1946, Letters Recip. C, Perry Collection; in Frank
A. Thomson to Perry, Feb. 16, 1946, Letters Recip. S, Perry Collection (2nd quotation);
Connolly to Perry, Mar 12, 1946, Letters Recip. C, Perry Collection (4th quotation), Paul T.
Vickers to Perry, Mar. 12, 1946, Letters Recip. M, Perry Collection (3rd quotation); Phihp F.
Hambsch to Perry, Apr. 5, 1946, Letters Recip. H, Perry Collection (5th quotation).
"E. I. Thompson to Perry, Jan. 12, 1946, Letters Recip. U-V, Perry Collection; Ames Brown to
Perry, Jan. 16, 1946, Letters Recip. P-Q, Perry Collection; Trader Vic to Perry, Jan. 24, 1946,
Letters Recip. T, Perry Collection; Mrs. John O. England to Perry, Feb. 13, 1946, Letters Recip.
C, Perry Collection; quote in John Bauer to Perry, Feb. 22, 1946, Letters Recip. C, Perry
Collection.