Flirty Walk and Ferry Rides

Happy Valentine's Day from The Harding Project!

Weekend Announcements: Reminder to submit your application for the LTG (R) James M. Dubik Writing Fellows Program. Applications are due tomorrow, 15 February 2025. Please send your submissions here.

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Gift-giving is my love language. It is materialistic (obviously), and at times it is vapid with a short-lived high, but it is nonetheless how I show my affection for others. What can I say? Some like gifts, some like coming home to a clean house, and some prefer their partner verbalizing how wonderful they are. My spouse’s dream date, for example, is an early wakeup (no) followed by a long, sunrise hike (please make it stop). But we acquiesce to these small, and sometimes grand, asks because we love our spouses, friends, and family, and it’s important that they feel that love in a very palpable way. You understand this. I understand this.

The West Point cadets of the 40s understood this.

They understood titanic gestures of love so well, that they created a publication to assist their civilian SOs in the completion of the gargantuan task of spending a weekend at West Point. The things we do for love. In 1940, three cadets, Hugh F. Foster (USMA ’41), William A. Cromer (USMA ’41), and Floyd O. Tobey (USMA ’43), published “Week-End Pointers: A Hand Book for Army Femmes” in The Pointer.

Illustration from Week-End Pointers: A Hand Book for Army Femmes.

The Pointer began print in 1923 and quickly became a regular publication for the Corps until its last issue in 1996. In the foreword, CDT Foster states, “the purpose of the Week End Pointer has remained the same from the outset. It is ‘to present information and advice nowhere else printed which will give our young lady guests an idea of what to expect here and to enable them to arrive and enjoy a week-end without having to ask a lot of awkward questions—embarrassing to both femme and cadet’”. Chivalry is alive and well at our rockbound highland home. At least it was in 1940.

The guide to surviving a weekend visiting West Point includes several chapters namely, “Trains and Transportation”, “What to Bring in the Way of Clothes”, and, most illuminating, “The Inevitable Flirtation”. I will touch on these well-intentioned how-to’s in the coming paragraphs. But first, I know many of our readers are not West Pointers, disdain West Pointers (even if they are one), or have no concept of the institution. In short, getting to Highland Falls, where West Point is located, is like getting from Los Angeles to Andalusia, Alabama via Lime scooter. That is to say, no one knows where Andalusia is, and you’ll be taking side streets the whole way. It’s exactly like this if Andalusia were surrounded by five different gates that are only open when the moon is full, but not between the hours of 0900-1000 and 1100-1900. Oh, and your google maps has no idea where any of these gates are located.

Trains and Transportation

Knowing all of this, the chapter on transportation makes loads of sense. The guide mentions a boat crossing similar to the ferry that is in operation today, travelling east to west across the Hudson, delivering passengers to South Dock. The author exudes helpfulness by sharing, “There is an old gentleman who can be prevailed upon to take you across in an antiquated launch if he happens to be on the same side of the river that you’re on and isn’t out to lunch.” Young women simply need to hail the mystery old man with the boat, so they can catch a ride across. The things we do for love.

What to Bring in the Way of Clothes

The age-old mystery for most men surrounding women’s clothing was as mystifying then as it seems to be now. In the section on what to pack, our guide tells us, “the subject of clothing is one which is a little difficult to attack”. He goes on to suggest “low-heeled shoes or sports shoes”—a sensible precaution based on the many hills at West Point. He dismisses hats as a needless bother and recommends a swimsuit or ice skates for the pond, depending on the season. All in all, the packing list is quite light. In a moment of final clarity, CDT Foster adds one last sentence to this section of the guide: “you’ll probably go ahead and wear what you like anyway, but don’t say you weren’t warned.”

Illustration from Week-End Pointers: A Hand Book for Army Femmes.

The Inevitable Flirtation

Between hailing a ship and lugging ice-skates, this has turned into a dream vacation for these young ladies. This last section just sweetens the deal. Our author introduces us to Flirtation Walk, or as its better-known today, Flirty Walk. He discusses the trail’s history, explaining its legacy during the American War of Independence. He then paints a beautiful landscape for the reader, “On Sunday afternoons people are everywhere, laughing and talking, some even singing and playing atrocious trumpet and trombone music”. I can’t overstate the allure here. In a final attempt to shoot their shot, these precocious cadets remind their guests of the existence of the “kissing rock”, standing “bravely for all these years, much to the delight of every cadet”. The things we do for love!

Love manifests itself in many ways, colors, shapes, and sizes. It is not, nor has it ever been, a one size fits all kind of deal. Such is the case in 2025, as it was in 1940. Let this hallmark holiday remind us to cherish our partners and friends with gestures of adoration—whether they be on a Shakespearean scale or something more modest.

Personally, I will be heading to bed early this evening for my 0500 hike tomorrow morning. Happy Valentine’s Day!