March 13, 1945.

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Mrs. Harry F. Stuockman,
1057 Third Street, —
Phillipsburg,- Kansas.

Dear Mre. Stuckman :

I regret that I have not answered your communication
sooner, especially as you requested the answer to be within a week.
But, frankly, I have not had an opportunity to do so before this
moment.

Z am very much afraid that you will have difficulty
in getting an efficient leader for your comumity reoreation program
at this time. We have had great difficulty in reoomending suitable
material for athletic coaching in the high schools. There is a much
greater demand than there is a supply. We receive on an average of
two to four requests a week, but we have just got a manpower shortage
and I see nothing to do unless you hire someone in your present system.
That may be impossible, but more and more we are forced to look inside
of our oity group for aid. I realize that it will not be what you
want, but we are faced with the same situation here in Lawrence.

I happen to be on the Selective Service Board and know ~
that there will be a tendency to increase the age of the draft rather
, than decrease it. This means that there will be a further shortening
of available material for all endeavors.

Lawrence is in the field for a comumity recreation
leader but the only hope we have is to take persons from our own
Group. We too are faced with having some of our coaches called into
the service at the present time. I regret to give you this rather
drab picture, but the only answer that I see is to break up some of
the responsibilities and even go to the point of drafting some of the
women leaders to help until the war is over.

The thing that I have been advocating is that we should
enlist these teen-agers in the war activities, farming, gardening, and
so forth. We should endeavor to change their minds from all fun into
an added responsibility of teen-age to-the war. I am sure that you
have already done this, but only last week here in Lawrence this was
brought up and I advocated that an all-out enrollment of the teen-agers
was needed for the war activity. Youth has always been first to accept
the challenge to greater endeavors. I am sure this will be no exception.