Adopted Prison Guard Pen Pal - 5/16/1918

 Knights of Columbus

War Activities

Camp Sheridan Ala

May 16, 1918

Mrs. J. S. Good, 

Dear War Mother

It is with great pleasure I drop you a few lines to let you know I am well and getting along all O.K. The only thing is I will not be in this camp long and pray to God to be with me at all time and let me come back to this country with Victory. I received your letter and picture and the picture is great of you - and I wish that some day we will be together as we were at Xmas time by the grace and love of the Lord we will be back. I have been so busy I have not had time to think. You have got a fine garden but we have to leave if for some time else. I wish some of this poor people had some of the garden to have good things to eat and enjoy. Well Dear War Mother I will get some pictures taken and send one to you and when the war is over come to see you for a day or so. The Capt. Doctor has came down this morning and said we would be on our way very soon and I pray it is so and have it over that we may get back so the son may be with their mothers again for the mother is the dearest thing in the world to all for when she is gone, it seems as this world has closed its door on you. Well Mrs. Good write soon for I do not know just when we are going now. So I will close with love to you.

Yours Truly

Corp? Y. Alley (?)

Prison Guard

Camp Sheridan

Montgomery Ala

c/o Dir. Stockade

Well, obviously this is not Howard. The writer's handwriting (and quite honestly, preference for run-on sentences) was much more difficult for me to read, and I couldn't even really be sure of his name. I tried to see if there was some sort of special mom / adult orphan pen pal club during that time. I only found a reference to a French program that quickly turned from matronly godmothers to harlots and spies. 

Regardless, I found it very sweet that Effie was donating her time to write and apparently inviting this young man to her garden at a later date. It sounds like she met him at Christmastime when she visited Howard. It makes me wonder if he was one of Howard's friends - maybe it helps to have friends in low places like the stockade? However, the fact that he never mentioned Howard in his letter makes me think that this may have been some sort of organized way to build morale with the soldiers.