William W. Myers correspondence

Correspondence, chiefly from radio engineer William W. Myers, of Salisbury Mills, New York, written to his wife and family, while working in eastern Saudi Arabia, installing radio antennas along the route of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, in 1958.

The correspondence begins in September 1958 with a letter in which Myers describes his trip from New York to Beirut, by way of Amsterdam, and after an overnight stay in Beirut, a flight to Qaisumah, Saudi Arabia, which was his base for the next three months. According to the correspondence, Myers traveled along the Tapline road to stations further westward, such as Shubah, to install or repair equipment on towers, but for the duration of his stay appeared to have been based in Qaisumah.

Most of his descriptions are of his work along the Tapline, and life in the camp where he and the other technicians lived. Myers provides detailed descriptions of the accommodations, food, and activities there, repeatedly expressing feelings of isolation, loneliness, and boredom. He frequently complains about his superiors, makes observations about the other workers or on occasion, the local people, and repeatedly makes comparisons with his previous job in the Philippines. For leisure, Myers played poker with the other workers, took photographs and developed his own film in the dark room at the camp, and he frequently described the movies that were shown to the employees twice a week. He frequently noted the absence of radios or television, which he sorely missed.

There are also many references in the correspondence to his homelife, his extended family, finances, and his regrets at having been home for such a brief period between his overseas assignments. At one point, he stated that "I feel that while I am over here, I'm just wasting my talent and have sold my soul to the devil....Only catch is that even the devil won't stay here" (31 October 1958). By December, Myers received his wish: he was planning to return to the United States prior to Christmas, and hoping to receive another job with RCA.

In addition to the correspondence, there there are a few photographs of Myers and items of ephemera, such as a mimeographed list of the movies that were shown at the camp in Qaisumah, a map of the Tapline, and a printed menu from a hotel in Amsterdam. Also included is one letter from an American friend living in Athens, urging Myers to stop there on his return trip to the United States. The photographs include images of Myers in his work clothes, playing golf, and an images of a Muslim man performing prayers in the camp.