Marriages for Everyone Else -12/31/1917

Camp Sheridan

Alabama

148th Ambulance Co.

Dec. 31, 1917

My Dear Dad: - 

Yours of Dec. 26, 1917 received. I also rec. the P.P. package of toothpaste, etc. Thank you very much.

Did you send the tobacco, of which you spoke, by Express. I have not heard of it, and learned nothing upon inquiry at Ex. office. If you sent it, perhaps you had better have it traced.

Oh yes, I rec the magazines O.K. & thank you for them & the stamps. 

The Liberty-bond Xmas present is really altogether more than I expected. Leona was the best present you could have sent. 

Just how many L. Bonds have I? You know I have two $50.00 in the army campaign.

I don't believe I ever acknowledged Marion's letter of Dec 24th. It came the say after Mother & Leona left. 

This will be the last letter, I'll write home this year. They are planning a big time for tonight. 

A couple of our boys got married during the Xmas Holidays. Among them was Steve Cartwright, one of the Hillsdale boys, who stayed at the Beach. He was the short funny one. 

I have not rec. a letter from Leona, or Mother, since they left.

Everything O.K. & feeling fine & dandy.

Love to All
Howard

So, if Howard's buddies all got married over the holiday break, why didn't he? My guess was that Leona was too smart, and probably too proud, for all that.

I did some general searching about Camp Sheridan, primary because this letter just isn't that interesting. I'm tired of writing about the post office and liberty bonds.

I found this lovely little book,  When Johnny Doesn't Come Marching Home, which details the life of John Small and his wife Mary at Camp Sheridan at the same time. Unlike Howard and Leona, John and Mary couldn't wait to be married, and they tied the knot in September of 1917. Although their love was evident, it was a hard life, especially for Mary. She lived in a room without heat in a boarding house in Montgomery, and although she was able to spend some time with John, she was lonely. She had no real friends outside of the men at camp, and her family was back in Cleveland. The description of their life together made me relieved that Leona was safe and warm at home with her family in Ohio.

Leona's Christmas Surprise - 12/23/1917

112th Sanitary Train

37th Division

Camp Sheridan

Dec 23, 1917

My Dear Dad: - 
Mother & Leona arrived yesterday afternoon. I can't tell you how surprised I was to see Leona. Mother tells me you sent her as your Xmas present. Well, believe me, you couldn't have found anything in the world, that is appreciated as much as that present. I only wish I could keep her here. I sure am glad you sent her, with mother, & I don't know how I can ever thank you for same.

Last evening we had supper & then went to a show.

They have a fine room and the house is only four blocks from town.

I will probably go up town again this moon, and shall probably spend the remainder of the day with them.

Tell Marion, I am sending her a little remembrance. Mother will bring it her when she returns.

All O.K. Love to All
Howard 

It warms my heart to see that Leona surprised Howard and how in love he seemed with her. If you are new to this blog, Howard had proposed to Leona when he was still a teenager. She told him that he would need need to wait. I can't even imagine how lovely it would have been for him to just be with his mother, let alone Leona. I'm sure it was one of the best Christmases he spent.

The above picture is the one I have of Leona that would be the closest to the age she was when she visited Howard - almost 23. This was her high school senior picture from New Washington High School in Crawford County, Ohio. I think about how my own grandfather carried around my grandma's senior picture in his wallet until the day he died. It makes me wonder if, perhaps, Harold had a photo just like this with him during his time in the war.

Unfortunately, I have never come across a wedding picture of Howard and Leona, which would have been more than two years later in August 1920. In that day and age, Leona being a bride at 25 would have probably made her an old maid. I respect her for not following the "easy" path of getting married at 21 like other girls her age; she was a "career" woman as a nurse and was likely very much her own person when they married. 

No Other News of Interest (Stabbing & Tear Gas) - 12/19/1917

Camp Sheridan

Alabama

148th Ambulance Co.

Dec. 19, 1917

My Dear Dad: -

Your Telegram rec. Will meet the train if possible. We have the room, etc., for her & Mrs. Donaldson.

Went to the dentists this afternoon. He filled three small cavities in my molar teeth. Sat. P.M. I am to go back, and have the fillings polished. He said my teeth were in very good condition, and had had very good attention, for which I should thank my father. So - I thank you.

One of the fellows in our tent, who we have been trying to get moved out, because he was a thief, got in an argument, with one of the other fellows, and stabbed him with a long bladed pocket-knife, the fellow he stuck, preferred charges against him, and he is now, held in the Stockade, awaiting trial - charges, Stabbing, with intent to kill. He is 31 years old and there is no excuse for his actions. He, in my mind, is affected similar to Paul Van Pelt, the fellow who went bugs, when we were in Toledo.

No other news of interest.

Love to All

You Son,
Howard

I found the newspaper clipping attached in this letter both clever and disturbing. For its time, it probably would have been funnier, knowing that these young men came out of the tear gas tests ok. However, we all know the grim side of what chemical warfare would turn into, starting in World War I but getting more-and-more dire up until its use today.

From what I could find in The Chemical Warfare Service: Organizing for War, it wasn't initially  common for troops to be researching tear gas. Only 200 officers and 500 enlisted men across different departments - Ordnance, Engineers, Signal, and Sanitary Corps, of which Howard's unit was a part. The book mentions these officers and men as being centralized at American University in D.C., but it doesn't say anything about testing by the "boots on the ground". Not sure if the two were linked, but I'm guessing it was likely if the Sanitary Corps was included.

I also found information about the Army Medical Department assigning defensive chemical training to its Sanitary Corps at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Getting close, but still no specific mention of the fellows in Alabama. Here's the closest I could find:

The Army Staff decided to expand the number of training sites to thirty-six to provide for a force that would grow to over 3 million. A central Army Gas School specifically trained division, brigade and regimental Gas Officers at Camp A. A. Humphreys, Virginia and later at Camp Kendrick, adjacent to Lakehurst, New Jersey. The program included a four-day general information class for junior officers and NCOs and a twelve-day course for Chief Gas Officers at division and higher echelons. A lecture on all aspects of gas warfare was followed by a gas mask drill five days a week during the training cycle. Men were then tested by masking in a chamber filled with chlorine gas and then unmasking in one with tear gas.^[8]

I was also curious about dental hygiene in Howard's time. I thought I would see some gory details or ridiculous recommendations, but a book written in 1916. makes it seems like dental hygiene wasn't a whole lot different than today. It was relatively new though - the book about 5 pages to explain how to brush your teeth. It also recommended visiting the dentist every six months. Novocain and fitted gold fillings had been in use for about a decade, although x-rays weren't in use yet.

Waiting for Mother to Visit - 12/17/1917

Camp Sheridan

Alabama

148th Ambulance Co.

Dec. 17, 1917

My Dear Mother: -
Rec. yours of the 13th this A.M. Yes, I have a couple things I wish you would bring along, when you come. (1) my brown, woolen skull cap, (2) About six tubes of Pebeco Tooth paste, three wash-cloths, and a box of Wrigley's Spearmint gum. That is all I can think of that I want.

I'll see Stuart D - tonight about the rooms. Spose he is tending to that.

The extra sleeping boots have not arrived yet, to my knowledge.

If you are going to leave Fri., or before Xmas, better give Leona the present I got for her, and have Dad, get her some chocolate dipped cherries or candy.

I have several small things for you to take back. Things that I do no longer need.

Oh! Yes, please get me about 100 sheets of paper - as enclosed - at Blade Pntg & Paper Co.

I can't think of anything else to write so will close.

Am Feeling Fine

Love to All
Howard

Guess Howard didn't get a furlough to go home. I find it amazing that the Goods had the means to travel to visit him in Montgomery. I would imagine it would have been a very long and expensive trip. I started to do some research on how they would have gotten there. Remember - at this time, car travel was very new. The 1917 Ford Model T's new feature was a canvas roof with side curtains - and this was decades before the interstate system - so I assume car travel would not have been a viable option, even for the richest of families.

Likely, they took a train (or even more likely - series of trains) to get there. This is where I really miss having the letters FROM Howard's parents TO Howard. He gave such lovely detail of his train trip down to the border - it would be nice if we knew which route the Good took to Montgomery and how long it took.

So, I tried to do some research on just that - how hard could it be? My confidence diminished when I discovered the above railway map from 1918. Zooming in, it looked like a spider web across the midwest and through to the deep south. The Goods could have taken an infinite number of routes. Did they change trains in Cincinnati? Louisville? Indianapolis? Knoxville? Nashville? Atlanta? Huntsville? It feels like it could have been any combination of those. Here's to hoping the future letters may tell us...or we may never know.

Telegraph to Dear-ol-Dad - 12/11/1917

Camp Sheridan

Dec. 11, 1917

My Dear Dad: - 
Rec. the $30, O.K. and surely appreciate your kindness. At present it looks very doubtful about the furlough, but if it possible to get one, I surely will do my best to secure one for Xmas.

If Mother, Marion, & Leona do not know of my intentions as yet, and I am able to secure my furlough, I would like to walk in & surprise them. If I can come I'll wire you when I leave.

It rained all morning and froze this afternoon. Every time you push on the canvas of the tent the ice cracks - and they call this the Sunny South. 

Was up town the other evening with Frank Cullen. Have been very busy of late, but am over the worse of it.

Your Son
Howard

Howard must really have been busy during this time - his last few letters really don't give us much of interest to explore.

So, this line about Howard sending his dad a wire got me wondering what telegraphs were like back at that time. Of course, I knew that a long distance phone call would likely be out of the question. The Goods likely had a phone - in 1910, there were already over 7 million phones in the U.S. However, long-distance service may not have even been available from Alabama to Toledo. Even if it was, the cost of a 3-minute call could have been about the equivalent to a half-week's salary ($4).

Telegraphs were much more available and less expensive:

For a typical telegram you paid a flat rate for the first ten words and were charged a per word rate for each additional word. Address and signature were free. For example to send a telegram from New York to anywhere in Georgia was sixty cents for the first ten words and each additional word was four cents. (In 1910)

So, considering that Howard just got $30 from his dad, I'm guessing he could spring for the telegram but probably didn't want to blow his cash to hear Dear-ol-Dad's voice.

The above photo shows a telegraph office.It's not quite perfect - it's from 1918 in France, but it should give you a sense of what it was like.

"Big" Band at Div. Hdq. - 12/4/1917

Camp Sheridan

Dec. 4, 1917

My Dear Mother: - 

Am sending you the names & information concerning the new members of our company. 

Maj. Gen Treet has arrived here, after an extended visit along the Western Front in France. They had a big band concert at Div. Hdq. nearly all afternoon. A 300 piece band, just think of it. Maybe you think there wasn't some swell music.

There is absolutely nothing of interest to write about. Guess I'll write every other day for a while, as I don't get around enough to see anything to talk about.

Feeling fine as usual.

Love to All
Howard

The above picture was taken in New York City, but it shows John Phillip Sousa with his "big" band.

Could it be? Could Howard have seen John Phillip Sousa's band in person? My husband is a band director, and I was the illustrious winner of Pleasant High School's 1996 John Philip Sousa band award. This is a big deal to the band nerd universe in which I live!

Or, maybe it wasn't Sousa. However, here are my arguments pro-Sousa:

• He was obviously patriotic and cared about the troops. In 1917, Sousa enlisted in the navy (at age 62, I might add). He was a true patriot, serving in the Marines, and, of course, leading "The President's Own" band under five presidents.
• In 1917, Sousa formed the 300-piece "Jackie" band...matches up with Howard's description!
• We also know that Sousa toured with Jackie band...would make sense that a stop in Alabama could be on the docket!

When I first read "big band", my mind went to the Glenn Miller type of band we often think about. However, jazz was only just starting up in 1917, and the "swing" era really wasn't even up and going until the early 1930s. Score one more for Sousa!

Crabby Thanksgiving - 11/28/1917

Camp Sheridan, Ala.

Nov. 28, 1917

4:30 P.M.

My Dear Dad: - 

Well, the biggest part of the day is over. The Dinner was great. However it was not as elaborate an affair as it was a year ago on the Border. We had turkey, oyster dressing, pickles, bread, butter, jelly, peanut butter, mashed potatoes, gravy, celery, cookies, doughnuts, olives, apples, oranges, grape-juice, and coffee, followed by pumpkin pie. It sure was some feed.

I saw that each fellow got a cigar, after dinner. They each asked that I thank you for them. It was the only smoke that was given the boys and they all appreciated them. 

Last evening for supper we had oyster stew, and we had a light breakfast, so we were already for the big feed this moon. 

I had my breakfast at the Stockade, steak, smothered with onions. The prisoners had the same menu as had the other companies for dinner.

Rec. Mother's letter for Nov. 25th, also one from Uncle Billy. The box arrived O.K. but I could not find the pictures. Did you forget to put them in? I enjoyed the contents of the box very much, & thank all of you for same. All of the boxes from the Aux. arrived O.K. and contents enjoyed. On the whole our Thanksgiving was a complete success.

Some of us were sorry to hear that Scott won the game over Waite - 19-0 as the report came. It must have been a good game. 

Hope Thurlow Bachman gets better now that he is home. Everybody is well & happy in our company. 

I heard about Dorothy Engfer, several says ago. Went to town the other night, met lot of my old pals. 

As for my transfer, there is not much to tell, except that after trying vainly six or seven times to get it, I was just about ready to give up. I decided that there was one more way open. So I crabbed at everything I had to do, in fact I crabbed all the time, finally Maj. Wilson got so tired of hearing me grumble at everything, that he was glad to get rid of me, so he asked if I still wished to go back to the Co. I said "No" and he said I could go if I wished, so I said, "Well it doesn't make any difference to me anymore. However I would just as soon go." He then got me my transfer. So you see how I worked it. As for a promotion, I think I get one as soon as there is a vacancy again. Lt. Shaffer gave me a nice little talk and from that I rather surmise that I'll get something as soon as he can get an opportunity. 

Love to All

Howard

 

The above photo from the National Archives is from 1918 (not 1917), but it is Thanksgiving at Camp Sheridan. Good to know turkey and pumpkin pie is still going strong, although the plethora of oyster dishes apparently got lost from the family Thanksgiving traditions at some point. 

A little history about Waite and Scott high schools.  Waite opened for the 1914-15 school year, so if Howard was a graduate, he did not attend there all four years. Waite replaced Central High School. Howard's sister, Marion, was five years younger than he was, so she was likely a student or would attend Waite the following year. Scott High School opened in 1913, and a football rivalry quickly soon developed for the new schools after Waite opened. From 1914 to 1963, Waite and Scott played each other in football Thanksgiving morning.

Work in the Stockade - 11/23/1917

112th Sanitary Train

37th Division

Nov. 13, 17

My Dear Dad: -

Rec. your letter of 21st, also Mother's of same date. Will try to see that everyone gets an equal share of eats & sox, which the Aux. sent. 

Mother asked about donations sent from Blade Bounty Baskets, they were somewhat of a joke. I got a pkg. of Bull Durham, I gave it to one of the fellows who smoked "cigs". I was requested by the Blade to write about them so they could publish my letter, but when I saw what came I couldn't get the nerve to tell them what the fellows thought of them. However some of the other fellows in other outfits must have fared better.

I have a new job already. One other fellow, acting as asst., & myself have charge of the "Sick-Call" over to the "Stockade" (camp prison). We doctor all those needing medical attention. For cases too deep for us, a Med. Officer, from the Military Police, takes care of, or tells us what to do. We report at 7:00 in the morning & 4:15 at night. Have a regular dispensary over there. One of the guards lets us in & out, at will. Rather nice, so long as we are able to get out, but we'd be in a pickle if we got in and couldn't get out. I like that kind of work.

Love to All
Howard

So naive, I always just though Bull Durham was a baseball team and a movie starring Kevin Costner. Here's what I learned about Bull Durham tobacco:

A magazine ad for Bull Durham tobacco, for example, includes a photo of five Army officers deployed along the U.S.-Mexican border in 1916 relaxing and taking time to “roll their own.” The accompanying caption reads, “Wherever you find a group of U.S. soldiers you’ll always find the ‘Makings’.” It shouldn’t surprise, then, that Bull Durham, branded as “The Smoke of the Red, White and Blue,” sold all of its cigarette production to the War Department two years later to satisfy U.S. troops’ craving for tobacco “over there.” So great was the urge to smoke to relieve the boredom and tension of war in the trenches General Pershing himself was said to have remarked that cigarettes were more important to our Soldiers than bullets!

I amazed that Howard didn't smoke - you'd think he's need a cigarette or two after working in the stockade every day. The stockade would have been quite the rowdy place to be stationed. Here are some excerpts from a memo from 1918, presumably correcting some issues that Howard may have experienced with his "patients" in the jail:

"It is believed that the confinement of old offenders with young soldiers is very injurious to the latter.... Men who are drunk should be promptly confined and held in close confinement until sober; otherwise the officers who duty it is to confine the soldier practically become responsible for actions of the soldier committed while the solider is mentally irresponsible. Drunken soldiers need not necessarily be placed in the Stockade and will not be sent there if there is any other suitable place in the regiment or detachment where they can be closely confined...It is believed that having a large number of prisoners in a regimental guardhouse is useless, and injurious to the disciple and morale of the command."

The Mystery Comes to a Close - 11/19/1917

Sameplace

Nov. 19, 1917

My Dear Dad: - 

Your letter, the magazines, and the Shriners booklet received. O.K. and will read marked articles after I finish this letter. It sure is dandy of you to treat the Bunch with "Smokes". I watch for their arrival.

It has rained about all day and will probably continue to drizzle all night. I think the mud is worse here than the sand was at the Border. About all they have here is red play, & believe me it can certainly stick to one's shoes.

You can tell Mother that Pvt. Hugh Navarre of the Amb. Co was discharged on account of physical disability. Mrs. Bachman is here to take Thurlow back to Toledo. I had quite a visit with her this afternoon when she was here, waiting to see Maj. Wilson. 

I rather think that Thurlow's discharge papers will be O.K.ed & returned tomorrow. However, if they do not approve of them, we will send thru his application for discharge, with the three affidavits which you sent. 

Got a letter this afternoon from Elizabeth Saal. I had begun to think she had forgotten me by this time. 

Must close for tonight.

Love to All
Howard

P.S. Marion's letter rec. Glad to hear she got such good grades. She is wrong about the picture. It is one of the fellows in our tent (in the A.Co.) who dared me to take it. Also tell her I saw "Bab's Burglar" last week up at the city.

There's wonderful news for Howard today. Not November 19, 1917...but November 19, 2018. He is reunited with his daughter, Carol, and his family is whole again. My Grams passed away on November 16, peacefully in her sleep. I know how much she loved and missed her parents, Howard and Leona, and it's a relief to know she's with them and my grandpa again.

As I was looking through Grams' things, I came across the above clipping from 1932. It looks like Howard likely joined the Shriners, probably thanks to his dad's prodding. There's little Carol and her sister Sue, right there in the middle, sporting their Shriners' fezzes.We'll all miss you Grams, but you're with Aunt Sue again now too.

Going back to 1917...I guess Aunt Marion must have been a movie fan. Bab's Burglar was a silent black-and-white film that was part of a series of Babs movies. It's crazy to think that there wouldn't be a "talkie" for another 10 years.

As far as Thurlow's future, his headstone application indicates he was discharged a few days later on November 21. When January of 1920 rolled around, he was living with his parents and uncle. His occupation was listed as brakeman on a railroad. The next month, he got married to Maude Barnes in Los Angeles. It's unlikely that he and Maude had children. In 1930 and 1940, there were no children in their household. Thurlow died in 1942.

The Mystery Unravels - 11/7/2017

Camp Sheridan

Montgomery, Ala.

Nov. 7, 1917

My Dear Dad: - 
Rec. Marion's letter this P.M. Have been so blamed busy the last few days that I have not had time to learn anything to talk about.

Those affidavits were sure fixed up dandy, and I feel sure that Bachman will get out very shortly.

Am enclosing a parody on "A Perfect Day". Nearly every regiment down here is trying to our do the others in composing such things as this. There is one in the paper nearly every night.

There seem to be quite a number of cases of measles in camp. I think we took seven cases to the Base Hospital today.

Will write Marion tomorrow.

Love to all
Howard

Here's some additional information about measles and the conditions of Camp Sheridan from the U.S. Army Medical Department Office of Medical History. By looking at the picture above, you can imagine how quickly a disease like measles could spread.

Cases of German measles were reported from the earliest period of the camp and reached the number of 156 for the month of December, 1917.¹⁷⁷ None was reported after March, 1918. Measles cases occurred in October, 1917, but the number of cases occurring in any calendar month did not reach the 100 mark until August, 1918, when there were 115, and 143 occurred in September. The incidence declined steadily during the remainder of the year.

The sanitary conditions in Montgomery and its environs were not good.¹⁸¹ Though local and State health authorities at first seemed to be anxious to cooperate with the Army and the United States Public Health Service,¹⁸¹ opposition from residents of Montgomery and apathy of the local board of health soon developed, making it practically impossible to maintain sanitary standards.¹⁸³

The team to conduct the physical examinations made prior to discharge consisted of 16 officers.¹⁹⁵ It examined 8,265 men prior to March 15, 1919, and found 1,129 of these with disabilities. Of this latter number, 915 were found in the first 1,616 men examined.


Fun fact: I got the photo above from a web post about F. Scott Fitzgerald being stationed at Camp Sheridan. Howard was likely in Europe by the time Fitzgerald was assigned there, but it's still pretty interesting

Now, on to the mystery of Shaffer. If you remember, a month earlier on October 9, Bachman was found with his throat cut after being what Howard described as "despondent". Then, we had the letter about Lt. Shaffer, presumably Bachman's superior, being in danger of losing his command on October 12 and  October 15.

So, I found out the problem with reading these letters one-at-a-time while I blog about each one.  Once Howard mentioned the name "Bachman," I was hoping to find a giant article, spilling all the details. I didn't quite get there, but I had a little more to go on.  After a little research, I found an Alva W. Bachman who was in the 148th Field Hospital, 37th Division at Camp Sheridan. I figured that just HAD to be the Bachman in the letters. I did a ton of research and found that Alva did well after the war. He was mayor of Bowling Green, on the Board of Trustees at Bowling Green State University and was also named Outstanding Citizen of 1974 from Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce.

The only problem? The next letter in the series reveals that "Bachman" is actually Thurlow Bachman. I thought that maybe he and Alva were brothers, but their census records don't match up. Check out the next letter to see more...

The Mystery Continues - 11/6/2017

Camp Sheridan

Montgomery, Ala.

Nov. 6, 1917

My Dear Mother; - 

You letter of three affidavits rec. this P.M. I shall probably start them through the wheels of the Army tomorrow. I feel that there is no doubt as to chances of his being discharged. Shaffer said he would not recommend it, but Wilson said he would, & that it made no difference whether Shaffer did or not.

We were paid today. Guess I'll send home some army towels in a few days for you to keep for me.

Rec. a letter from Jim yesterday. Also one from you & one from Dad.

I suppose you rec. the films. I had them insured so as to be sure you would get them. 

Everything is O.K. here. Guess that the staff will move over to our new home at Hdq. last of the week, if we have time of fix our text up as we want it.

The three affidavits seem to be just as we wanted them to be. 

Must write a couple more so will close.

Love to all - 

Howard


Sigh. I looked again to see what the big to-do was with Shaffer and the discharge, but I still had no luck. I thought maybe "Wilson" was President Wilson, but then I was reminded that October 12th's letter mentioned Major Wilson.

I also couldn't figure out what the deal was with the towels. Guess I struck out this time around! I hope something juicier comes up in the next letter.

Smart businessman: Liberty Loan Bonds

Camp Sheridan

Montgomery, Ala.

Nov. 1, 1917

My Dear Mother; 

Dad's letter of 28th rec. I shall take out a 10 thousand dollar policy in the Gov Ins. plan. I almost think I shall be able to carry my 2 Liberty Loan Bonds and my Ins. with my pay. If I run short of cash, I will take advantage of Dad's kind offer by having him send me what I might happen to need.

Frank Cullen is broken in to Army life now and is getting along O.K. He is in the same Co with Earl McBride & Harry Van Hoesen. Their Co. is about as far from ours, as 721 Walbridge is from the German church. 

I saw Lamont McGinnis & the old Hi. School bunch the other day when I was once to their camp.

I rec. a letter from Burleigh & one from Aunt Mayme this a.m.

I got a letter from Miriam Good yesterday. She is at Ohio Wesleyan University. Says Malcolm is trying to get a commission in the Army.

Feeling fine as silk.

Love to All
Howard

There you go again, Howard...being all responsible and financially prudent and showing up all the other 19 year-olds. Here's a quick summary of what I learned from Wikipedia on Liberty Bonds in 1917:

Basically, the government first issued the bonds in April 1917 as a means to raise funds for the war effort. Although the bonds sold out, it pretty much failed. Bond-sellers who didn't meet their quota were actually investigated for being pro-German and unpatriotic for not doing their duty. The government upped their efforts again in October with a higher interest rate on the bonds, but they were still a dud. It wasn't until April 1918 that, with the help of movie stars and patriotic advertising, they had some success.

So, Howard was ahead of his time again. He bought the bonds as a prudent financial investment, before it was the popular thing to do, just because Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford told you to do it.

The picture of (assumingly) Howard above was in the letter that I opened. I'm not sure if it belonged with it, or if someone else just shoved it in there since Howard didn't reference it in the letter. However, the back of the picture says "Lollar's, B'ham, Ala", so it's likely from his time at Camp Sheridan.

Friends from the Ammunition Train

Camp Sheridan

Montgomery, Ala.

Oct. 29, 1917

My Dear Dad - 

Yours of the 26th rec. with the buttons. Well you people are not the only ones who have rain. It rained here just about all day, for about an hour. I never saw it rain so hard in all of my life. Then just about supper time the sun came out and it cleared up very nicely. Immediately after supper it started again, and believe me it sure poured. It has cleared up again now & the moon is shining brightly.

Everything is fine and dandy here. They started on their 16 weeks intensive training today. Believe me they have sure issued some drill schedule for the 16 wks. It is just about 6 times as hard as the one we had at the border. I do not think it will affect me to any extent, as my time is practically all taken. Did I tell you that I work nights also? Beside all my other duties, I have to take some "sick reports" over the Dir. Surgeon's Office every night at 7:00. I always have to work Sundays as there is one delivery of mail and the Gen. orders & reports come & go as usual.

Arthur Madden came over & had supper with me last evening. You know he is here with the Ammunition Truck Train. Harold Madden is in France, with the Seattle, Wash, Engineers N.D. 

Well. I must write Leona & Jim so will close. Feeling fine.

Love to All

Howard

Arthur Madden belonged to the 112th Ammunition Train, as part of the 37th "Buckeye" division at Camp Sheridan. Howard's and Arthur's units were both part of the 112th Train Headquarters and Military Police. They would have remained together through training in Alabama and into Camp Lee, Virginia. On June 11, 1918, the 37th was broken up. Some went to Hoboken, NJ and others were sent to Newport News, Virginia, before they were sent overseas to France. I won't reveal which one Howard was sent to just yet - wouldn't want a spoiler alert! Once in France, Arthur's ammunition train would have been broken off again with the field artillery brigade to Camp-de-Souge, France for a training course in firing French 105-MM. and 155-MM. cannon. (Doughboy Center).

War Stamps on Goddard Road

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know it's been almost a year since I last posted. Time gets away from you...and a year is nothing when we've been talking about a century ago anyway, right?

I've been wanting to get back into things, and I figured I had the perfect reason today. Today is Grams' 90th birthday. It's been a tough year for her and her family. Her dementia has made things sad, frustrating, and sometimes funny for everyone. She lives in a world where those whom she loved - her husband, her sister, her mother - are still alive and well.I hope that, in some small way, this blog also keeps her dad, Howard, alive. She will likely never read it, but I feel like putting these letters out in the universe keeps that flame still burning. I plan to continue where I left off with publishing posts on the date of the letters. This time around, it'll just be 101 years later instead of 100.

So...on to the history part of it.  I know this is completely out of context - and not even the right war - but I found something that tied this blog together with Grams. The picture above shows that Grams had a whopping $1.80 in war stamps from World War II.

Here's a little bit of info on WWII War Stamps, stolen from Wikipedia.

The United States Treasury Department began to issue a series of war savings stamps in late 1942. The war savings stamps introduced during World War II were released in five different denominations – 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, one dollar, and five dollars, all featuring a Minuteman statue. Individuals accumulated their war savings stamps in various collection booklets provided with the purchase of a stamp. Filled collection booklets could later be used to purchase Series E war bonds. For example, a full 25-cent booklet contained 75 stamps and was worth $18.75, which was the initial price of a $25 war bond. Thus, a full 25-cent booklet would be exchanged for a $25 war bond with a time to maturity of ten years.^[8]

The promotion of war savings stamps during World War II was closely tied with the promotion of the Series E war bonds. In order to mobilize the home front to support the war efforts ideologically and financially, the Treasury Department’s primary message revolved around patriotism. With support from the advertising industry, which donated $250 million worth of advertising during the first three years of the campaign,^[9] war bonds and stamps permeated everyday life. Advertisements appeared as posters on trolley cars, songs on the radio, and movies featuring Hollywood stars like Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope.^[9] Utilizing the concept of market segmentation, numerous campaigns were developed to target different populations such as women, immigrants, and children. The Treasury developed classroom material that highlighted the positive impact of war savings stamps while enforcing math skills.^[10]

I also got curious about Grams' address: 2323 Goddard Rd. Her house, in the Old Orchard neighborhood, was walking distance from the University of Toledo, where she attended college in 1948 or so for a year before she married my grandfather. Strangely, it's also near Calvary Cemetery, which is where many of the relatives on the other side of my family are buried (no relation to the Goods). The adorable English tudor house was built in 1929 (Thanks, Zillow!). According to the 1940 census, the Goods lived at another place, so they likely had moved into the home recently when Grams was collecting the war stamps.

Happy Birthday, Grams!