Temporary record

Letters from engineer Pearce Atkinson (originally from Chicago) while a student at Lehigh University and as an employee of the Union Pacific Railroad in the far west during the early 1890's. The collection contains letters both to and from Atkinson while he was studying mechanical engineering at college (1885-1889). These letters provide an excellent view of the life of a socially active student at Lehigh during the late 1880's. Atkinson makes frequent references to the difficulty of the course-work, but unlike many of his classmates, he appears to have been able to get by. His days were enlivened by his friendships with fraternity mates (at Delta Upsilon), the standard student highjinks, and by occasional trips to Philadelphia.

After college, Atkinson was hired as an engineer by the Union Pacific Railroad, and was sent to work on their lines throughout the West. There are some excellent descriptions of the landscape and of his duties as an engineer. Of some interest are several letters dealing with the violence surrounding the Pullman strike of 1894.

Atkinson is said by his desacendents to have joined the revolutionary forces in Cuba in 1896 and to have died there shortly. A bloodstained handkerchief with Atkinson's name on it is included in the collection.

M-2604

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