Following are excerpts from the correspondence of Gene Burke to his mother during his novitiate years at St. Paul’s College in Washington, D.C. Through his eyes we are given a glimpse of student life at St. Paul’s College during the 1930s that reflects both his youthful enthusiasm as well as his Irish wit. His letters also display a passionate interest in politics and current events. These years were marked by the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, radio-priest Father Charles Coughlin, and the international threat of Communism. His discussion of these issues provides us with a candid look at life in the 1930s.

August 6, 1933

Dear Mother,

… I don’t think I told you that on account of the depression we do our own laundry. It is quite a job, and many the stiff back around here from bending over the washboard. I am now becoming quite an expert on ironing shirts though I still wrinkle the collars a little. … Three of us fellows will set out on a week’s sailboat trip and head for Ticonderoga and Lake Champlain up at the other end of Lake George about 40 or 50 miles from here. Yes sir you’d be surprised how much of a sailor I’ve be¬ome. We expect to have a swell time and we will be our own bosses for the whole week. Also do our own camp cooking if we don’t die of ptomaine poisoning. I guess everything will be hotsy-totsy. But, and here’s where the rub comes in, they aren’t going to give us any money and we really need according to all the reports. So if you can find someone willing to donate about $2.00 or $3.00 it will be most excellent. Now I know I write this every time but I really mean it and that is if you can’t spare it you needn’t feel bad about it because I can manage someway or somehow and it will be perfectly alright.

January 15, 1934

Dear Mother,

I told you that Father Gillis was going to speak to us. Well he did and how. Talk about your orators. The radio is a positive hindrance to a man like that. He has everything gestures facial expression, voice – appearance everything that goes to make a master he has. As to material he told us about Catholic Action which he claims is nil compared to the possibilities. He must have talked a good hour and a half, and he held his audience spellbound throughout, despite the fact that he was dealing with very true but unpleasant facts. Everybody stood up and cheered. I’ve heard Father [Fulton J.] Sheen about four or five times in person and honestly he seems like a little boy or rather a young boy in high school compared to Father Gillis. . . . Father Ryder sent some pictures of [the] flood. I don’t know where he got them but it is from the L.A. Examiner. Gee but it was an enormous thing. Was it as bad as that San Fransquito dam break four or five years ago? Did the water damage that big Glendale bridge any? You know the one that runs from Hyperion I over the L.A. river. What a razzing I take for it, between the earthquake and the flood. The talk of the earthquake was just dying when the flood came along. I don’t know if I told you that we are doing dishes now. The Mexican nuns used to do them but a couple are sick, and the rest don’t feel so well so we have taken over the dishwashing. Its quite a workout as you must rush through the dishes and then rush for class and be all hot and perspiring during class. However it could be lots worse. … I see that the Paulists are putting on a 15 minute broadcast every week in Los Angeles. Are they depending on contributions or what? Speaking of broadcasts – the Catholic Evidence Guild of New York has two speakers a week over a prominent local station. … Father Gillis advocated that the Catholics establish their own national network – each prominent city furnishing a station then Catholics would no longer have to depend on the whims of the N.B.C. or Columbia. … P.S. That’s a peach of an article on the flood in the El Rodeo column of The Tidings.

February 20, 1934

Dear Mother,

… Not so long ago I heard Huey Long give a speech down in the Senate. Despite his poor grammar he is a spellbinder from a way back and is on his way to power if Roosevelt doesn’t watch out. His plan is just solid enough to catch the public fancy. He and Father Coughlin (according to pretty reliable columnists) are supposed to be working towards a coalition of some kind. The last time that Father Coughlin was in town he had a three-hour conference with the Kingfish. It is generally admitted that Hearst is in there somewhere but just what the connection is no one is quite sure. Finally you can get odds of 8 to 1 from the biggest gamblers in the country on Father Coughlin getting the presidential seat if he would run.

March 13, 1934

Dear Mother,

… We have had two snow storms this week and though it is warming up a bit there is still plenty of snow on the ground. … Last week we had one beautiful day, just like spring. Everybody felt swell and happy and we all went out walking. That night it poured rain and next morning as we were going into breakfast it began to snow – Gee! were we sore; … This five o’clock is getting easier and easier (time for get¬ting up) I am so tired and sleepy that I am practically unconscious so it doesn’t bother me very much. The other morning I got up dressed, shaved went down to chapel without remembering a single thing about it. On mornings it’s a scream to look around the chapel when the lights are on. About half the fellows have that screwed-up look on their faces as if they had just been klonked with a mallet. Most of the others have sort of a blank stare and look which seems to say “How did I ever get in here; I should be in bed?” At breakfast we have silence of course but everyone looks mean as one of the Inquisition Cardinals. They eat cereal like it was poison and eggs like they were hand grenades. The morning is quite a comedy the only trouble is that most mornings I am too sleepy to notice it. With one of those little ‘movie’ cameras you could turn out a first rate comedy, just from studying the expressions and agonized looks.

October 4, 1936

Dear Mother,

… A couple of weeks ago we were over at the Shrine when Father John J. Burke of the Paulists was made a monsignor. It was a very inspiring ceremony. The Apostolic Delegate gave a very personal touching, little talk and certainly praised Father Burke to the skies. There were two archbishops and six bishops present so it was a pretty elegant affair. It was also a nice compliment to the Paulists since Father Burke is the first religious ever to be made a monsignor in this country. … The political situation is getting more and more complicated maybe the best thing to do is not to vote. The more I listen to Father Coughlin the less I like him. He is crusading for a splendid cause Social Justice and more power to him, but his methods are questionable. He is trying to get all the Catholic representatives defeated in Massachusetts because they voted for the Frazier-Lempke Bill. I have met most of these men and as a whole they are a fine lot of men and they have helped the Church tremendously for example the Birth Control Bill. Besides this he has a following of fanatics if the Church does not curb him as it may have to someday – he is very likely to turn away and create a bad schism. It’s happened before in fact about 60 years ago in France on much the same setup. … I am glad to see Roosevelt finally denounced Communism but he should have done it two years ago. They’ve been running riot in New York under La Guardia – insulting priests and nuns so its high time authority stepped in and broke a few heads. Al Smith did a pretty good job of defending himself against the charge that he was “high hat” but I wish he hadn’t come out for Landon. He is still a good square fighter and I think a man of principle so he is convinced that his position is correct. Roosevelt needs a bit of criticism to keep him from going too extreme as he or his advisers (Tugwell et al) seem to do. … The football season has rolled around again and around here everyone talks and bets on football games. No money of course but turns of waiting on table which is worse than money. Notre Dame is of course the Alma Mater of us all and we rise and fall as she wins and loses.

November 22, 1936

Dear Mother,

… We are preparing for street preaching next spring. You see here in Washington there is a Catholic Evidence Guild. The purpose of this Evidence Guild is to train people to speak on the corners and in the parks; explaining Catholic teaching and practices and answering questions about these things. This is real Paulist work so we are studying up on 24 subjects on which we will take an examination in March and then sometime in April we will march down to Constitution Avenue or thereabouts get up and try to interest the crowds in what Catholics really believe. It ought to be a thrill because they say it is quite common for a speaker to get into an argument with Seventh Day Adventists, Communists and whatnot.