Dear classmates,

When I last wrote five years ago, I had a tale of whooping cough to tell and now it is measles, tonsillitis, and bronchial pneumonia. I had planned to have the new cover for the 'robin' ready and the list of names type written when we were spending the Christmas holiday in Bedford and to 'do' my letter on the typewriter there but the above mentioned diseases spoiled my plans and have delayed the letter a month.

While I am discussing the 'robin,' I am wondering if you would like to have a class letter printed just before our next reunion in 1925. It will mean a great deal of work for some but to see that every member responds promptly and the letters would be shorter and less personal, but we should each have a copy to keep and the letters are certainly a very great pleasure to have. Let me know how you feel about our undertaking a printed letter.

You will notice that I have included the name of every member of the class in the list this time and I hope that those who have not found it possible to write before can do so now. You will miss one name on the list for this fall, after an illness of several months, Anna Haslup left us. Annie's quiet dignity endeared her to us all and we can all enjoy reading the full letter which she wrote for the last 'robin'.

Every 'robin' seems to have had some special theme, suffrage, war work, hobbies, and now it seems to be children and husbands.

None of you could have been more surprised than I when my husband decided to accept an appointment as first assistant attorney general of this state and to move to Des Moines. I had just never thought of myself as living anywhere but in Bedford but here we have been for three years. After two years at the State House, Bruce was asked to enter a law office in the city- one member of the firm is from Birmingham, Dr. Welsh when she came in April 1922 to attend the League of Women Voters Convention. We have a very strong branch of the Association of American University Women and were having a state meeting while Dr. Welsh was here and some Goucher women from the state came for that meeting.

I enjoy the A.A.U.W. very much and this year have been a member of the program committee and have worked especially on the High School curriculum as related to college entrance requirements. I am not unselfish in my interest for in a few years I shall have two going to college I hope. Our schools prepare for the Middle West Colleges and Universities but pay little attention to comprehensive examination requirements for eastern colleges. Des Moines has just built a wonderful and beautiful new High School building and in the reorganization that is taking place, we hope provision may be made for the students wanting the highest college preparation. I should love to think of Margaret being with the daughters of my old friends and classmates but I have not yet decided just where she will go. I would like to have her in a small college for girls for a few years. She is in 10th now and while not a brilliant student does usually manage to be on the honor roll. Children of this age certainly are a comfort for they love school and seem to think to attend is the only thing they should do. Especially since the 'robin' came I have been telling the children of my college experiences and they are quite enthused. There is such a very strong sentiment in favor of coeducation in the Middle West that I am trying to make my experiences as attractive as possible.

As I had the robin in Bedford with me, Fan read it and enjoyed the letters so much she said I might just as well not mention my children at all as to write what I did in my last letter and I fear she would not approve of this any more but some day I may be able to bring them back to Baltimore for you all to see. I have no recent pictures even Kodak but will send some when I can. It is too cold here to take them now.

Please remember to let me know what you would think of a printed letter and remember to plan to go to Baltimore in 1925 when our next reunion is to be held.

With best wishes and love
Alice Dunning Flick

Handwritten Excerpt