So, on about November 1, 1937, we drove up to Fort Hancock. The post of Fort Hancock was in a terribly run down condition. Due to lack of funds, the quarters, barracks and other buildings were in a dilapidated state, the armament had been neglected, the morale of the officers and their families and of the enlisted men was low, and the post had a heavy schedule of visiting troops for training each summer. Shortly after I arrived the Officer's Club caught fire and was greatly damaged.
The only way any money could be secured was through the WPA, either in New Jersey or in New York (the subpost of Fort Tilden was in New York), so, by visiting the officials in charge and by agreeing to keep several hundred men employed, doing mostly common labor (at Fort Tilden they moved sand by hand, from one side of the road to the other and then back again), we were able to get sufficient funds to repair the buildings, to rebuild the club, to improve the hospital, and, in general, to restore the morale of the post.
During the period of seven months that we were stationed at Fort Hancock we gained considerable experience in the problems of a Commanding Officer and of a Commanding Officer's wife.
The quarters at Fort Hancock had been designed by Stanford White, the famous architect, (who was killed by Harry Thaw, resulting in one of the most famous trials in our history), and we found our sojourn at Fort Hancock to be a very interesting and instructive one.