Charlotte McGregor Boggs Tompkins (Tim’s 30-year-old mother)
Portland, Oregon
Dec. 11, 1950
Dear Mother and Daddy [medical missionaries (Baptist) in Ongole, SE India],
Just a note to go with record, which, we hope, will bring you a very Merry Christmas.
Would you like to know how it was made? On Sat. morning we went down to the McKennon Studio, which is in the magnificently modern Oregonian [newspaper] Building. After waiting about half an hour for our turn, we sat by a microphone in a little circle of three and went through our program. Timmy swung his legs and kicked his chair most of the time – you can hear it on the first side.
Mr. Putnam, who worked the controls, recorded first on tape, then edited out the undesirable parts and made the record from the tape. Anything recorded on the tape can be erased simply by playing something else over it. The equipment was extremely complicated and expensive – about $6000 worth, and you can imagine Jim was quite fascinated by it.
Between my saying, “One of the first songs Timmy learned was “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” and his singing it, were about ten minutes of non-cooperation, when Timmy refused to open his mouth while we tried to engage him in ad lib conversation, etc. Finally, Jim said, (all this went on the tape) “Shall we put on your coat and go home now?” And suddenly Timmy burst into “Twinkle, Twinkle.” Just then Jim, in surprise, said, “So you’re going to sing?” and you can hear that otherwise inappropriate remark on the record.
Timmy has done everything, which is on this record, perfectly at some time or other, even “Silent Night,” which he learned only two or three weeks ago. We have never practiced anything with him. I just sing six or eight songs to him every night at bedtime and answer his requests in the daytime. Sometimes he’ll sit at the piano with some music up in front of him and accompany his own voice. I want to get a movie of that sometime.
Toward the end of the record Timmy was getting tired and you can hear one of the silly words that he likes to say at this age. There wasn’t time to do any parts over. Anyway, it’s natural this way.
The record’s core is made of aluminum and so is unbreakable, but the vinyl coating is fragile. We have a duplicate. Well, I must mail this right away. We’ll be thinking of you so much during this busy season.
Lots of love, from us all.