Hodgson Collection. Prior to accessioning, the number 171 was printed in white ink on bowl. Smoke Rings Hodgson notes: "170-171, While attending Grinnell College Philip Nelson roomed with a Mrs. Gannaway. Her husband, Prof. J.W. Gannaway died in 1947. These pipes belonged to him. No. 170 came from Turkey and 171 from Czechoslovakia. I am certain that the bowl with 170 is from another pipe, but that is the way Phil gave them to me. What is a small amount of incongruity to a college professor!" 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.
