Hodgson Collection. Prior to accessioning, the number 31 was printed in yellow ink on bowl. Smoke Rings Hodgson notes: "While taking a Scoutmaster's training course in Itasca Park in 1923, I spent idle time while listening to lectures, whittling on a pine knob. The tree may have lived 200-400 years. It was all dust when I found it except for the knots - indicating a further lapse of time. Finally the masterpiece was finished and fitted with a fine elder berry stem. At the campfire it was loaded and lit with due ceremony, earning the admiration of those whose hands had been idle. The smoking was fine - until the knot began to burn. I discovered that the ancient pitch was not soothing to the throat or nose when applied in this manner. Moral - line it with clay." 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.
