Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Charles E. Johnson Letter must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Charles E. Johnson Letter, Ms2017-041, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Charles E. Johnson Letter was donated to Special Collections in 2004.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Charles E. Johnson Letter was completed in October 2017.

Biographical Information

The letterhead indicates that Charles Johnson was a member of Company B in the VPI Corps of Cadets in 1933.

Scope and Content

The collection contains a single letter from Charles Johnson, a cadet at VPI to Miss Martha Clark, written around March 26, 1933. Johnson's letter details an incident in which a cadet started up a steamroller on the Drillfield and drove it to the upper quadrangle (site of the current cadet dorms and Lane Hall). The steamroller became trapped in the entrace to the guard rooms and the whistle drew the attention of the Blacksburg and campus communities. The steamroller remained stuck in the doorway, keeping the cadets from being able to march anywhere, since the only through was to climb over the machinery, and resulting in them using the fire escapes to enter and exit the barracks. Johnson writes that this held up work on the planned road (at the time of his letter, the steamroller was still stuck and there was no plan for removal yet) and that, rather than seek out the culprit, the Corps of Cadets agreed to pay for any damage. He finishes his letter suggesting it may have been a planned prank, as is took place over a holiday when the guard room was empty and someone had a chance to measure the spaces, as he notes "[a] fit as close as that one isn't guess work." The letter includes an illustration and the original envelope.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Correspondence
• University History
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)