[ This is the last of 15 articles, generously provided by James Brady,
 [ which are the informal biography of Dr. Clarence N. Hickman.

At the close of the war in 1946, I came back to the Bell Telephone
Laboratories, working on machine switching devices.  (Wire Spring
Relay, etc.)

On Jan. 1st, 1950 I retired from the Bell Telephone Laboratories.
In June of that year I was requested by Dr. Quarles, one of the Bell
Telephone Laboratories Vice-Presidents, to assist The Sandia
Corporation, at Albuquerque, N. M., in the marriage program of atomic
War Heads to guided missiles.  I did not expect to stay more than one
year but I liked that part of the country so well that I remained until
April, 1953.  I would have liked to live the rest of my life out that
way but my wife did not like it there so we came back to New York to
our apartment.

After retiring from Sandia Corporation I continued to act as a
consultant for several years and also did a little consulting work
for AVCO Corp.

This completes the record of my activities.  Before closing I would
like to make a few personal remarks.

I have had an active and interesting life.  Up until 1963, when my
wife became ill, we had very little illness in the immediate family.
I believe that our trials and tribulations, for the most part, were
below average for such a family.  I have never regretted having had
so many different occupations.  I probably could have been better at
one particular job but my life would not have been so rich.

I have never been able to explain the dream that catapulted me into
research on rockets.  All my life I have dreamed a great deal but
only on three occasions have the dreams had much effect on my life.
The dream of a solution to Dr. Goddard's rocket problem undoubtedly
had a big effect on my life.

After having the accident in Pasadena where I lost several fingers,
I sold my clarinets, thinking that I would not longer be able to play
them.  However, I began to have dreams that I could still play the
clarinet.  These dreams persisted for over ten years.  Finally, when
I was in the Research Laboratory of the American Piano Co., I went
to the Wurlitzer Co. to see if they could modify a clarinet so that
I could play it.  When they saw my hands, the laughed at me, saying
that it was impossible.

The dreams persisted and I then went to see a young man whom I had
met in our laboratory.  He was a clerk in a music house on 14th street.
I put the problem to him and he said they could not do the job but
suggested that I do the modification.  He said:  "You are a good
mechanic and you have excellent tools in your laboratory".

I had never thought of doing this but it sounded reasonable to me, so
I bought a C Clarinet and he gave me a box of old keys.  On a weekend
I did the job.  When the job was completed, I was amazed to find that
after a period of ten years, I still could play and found to my utter
amazement that I could still read music.  I immediately purchased
a  B-flat instrument and modified it, making several improvements
in the method of modification.

At this time I had begun to have difficulties in deep breathing and did
not feel so well.  After a rather short time of playing the clarinet,
my breathing difficulties disappeared and I felt better.  I got a great
deal of pleasure out of playing the instrument.  My wife could not play
with me on account of arthritis of the hands but there was a young man
who lived next door that played the piano and we played together a
great deal.

When I got deep into the World War II Rocket activities, I no longer
had time to play the clarinet and I put them in our closet.  After the
war was over I began to have dreams that the clarinets were cracked.
This did not seem reasonable to me for I had always taken excellent
care of my instruments.  The dreams persisted and finally out of
curiosity I got the clarinets out of the closet and found that they
were in excellent condition.  However, I began to play again, although
I had no one to play with me.  When I was first married, my wife played
with me a great deal but her hands had been so crippled with rheumatism
that she no longer could play.

In any case I played the clarinet alone, thinking that it l might again
help my breathing difficulties which had returned.  It did cure the
difficulty and since that time I often play the clarinet just to insure
deep breathing.  I have never attached much important to dreams but
many do.  I have recorded my experiences for the benefit of those who
are interested in dreams.  Many of my dreams sure do not make much
sense.  It would take a Joseph or a Daniel to interpret them.

I trust that this has been of interest to you and that all the work my
sister, Ruth, and I have put in on it will be repaid by appreciation on
the part of those who receive it.  It has taken lots of willpower to
keep working on this.  After the death of my wife, life has not meant
much to me and I have continued this work only for the benefit of the
descendants of the Hickman family.  I wish each and every one of you
a happy life.

CLARENCE N. HICKMAN

Submitted by James Brady