Hodgson Collection. Prior to accessioning, the number 1 was printed in black ink on bowl. Smoke Rings Hodgson notes: "This blushing number was purchased in Waseca at Didra's Drug Store from Martin Kohler because of its unusual shape. I liked it fine, but could never get a pipe cleaner through it. In trying to fine a "Northwest Passage" with a heavy wire, a hole was poked in the bottom. Not wishing to discard a good pipe during the depression (this was about 1930) I plugged the hole with plastic wood, but it wasn't perfectly tight and leaked bug juice. Thinking to make it both tight and beautiful, a fine coat of implement paint was applied. These repairs were highly successful until the pipe was smoked. When the paint began to peel and burn, the nauseating fumes were overpowering and the relic of sad experience was turned out to pasture. Moral-Implement paint is not intended for hot pipes." Robert E. Hodgson (1893-1968) was superintendent of the Southern Experiment Station from 1919 to 1960. He promoted modern agricultural methods in Waseca and throughout Minnesota. From 1948 to 1964, Hodgson wrote a column for The Farmer Magazine, and his column “Bob Hodgson Talks” appeared in more than one hundred rural Minnesota newspapers for over 20 years. Hodgson was a member of the Waseca County Historical Society, the Waseca County Horse Thief Detectives, The Boy Scouts and other organizations. Among his many interests were history, nature study and pipe collecting. During World War II, Hodgson wrote a once a month letter to members of Boy Scout Troop 85 who were serving in the armed forces all over the world. The letters were published in the Waseca Journal with separate copies printed and mailed to any Waseca serviceman who wished to receive them. Hodgson’s letters maintained the home contacts, helped men keep up on the locations of friends and provided morale-boosting communications for those far away from home.
