The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-05-26
Better RegistratiO at Reunions.

We need better registration at the
Grand Army reunions. The present
system of entering names at each state
headquarters is no good; the book is
constantly being used, there is no time
to examine it, and if there were the
eyesight of the majority of the boys
would prevent the finding OF friends
names sandwiched among so many,
mostly badly written names. We don't
write as plain as we used to and our
fingers are not 80 nimble.
We attend these reunions to meet
our particular friends-those that were
in our own company or regiment, par
ticulally the former. We knew them;
we marched, slept, ate with them, for
aged and fought with them; we trusted
them; we knew when they went into a
fight with US they wouldn't run away;
we knew that they would risk their
lives for us as freely as we would ours
for them, and feeling grew up be-
tween us that was more than frater-
nal one, and though we are glad to
meet the G.. A. r. comrades in general,
we are hundred times gladder to meet
our own company comrades and il
tensely disappointed to find that several
comrades were at recent reunion and
that we failed to meet them.
At CO lumbus l went into the probate
office, which was Michigan's headquar-
tiers, to register. was early and the
man in charge was an Ohio man, and
he requested me to take charge of the
Michigan registration until the proper
officers arrived. agreed and took my
ho toh ha
book over and found about 100 names
registered. The first question asked by
the boys as they registered was: Sis
any of my company or regiment here?"
1t was hard to answer without looking
the book entirely over, and while look
ing dozen comrades were waiting to
register.
They were so anxious to meet their
friends that l made up my mind right
there and then that | would help them
out. l got one of the boys TO take
charge of the book while l hunted
around the Office for some paper. !
found pile of white card board about
30x15 inches, and ruled it off in twelve
columns for the cavalry and ten for the
infantry, lettered the columns and
numbered the sheets, one for each regi-
ment, and in a very short time we had
them registering in their own regiment
and in their company column. Then,
after transferring the book to the regi.
mental rosters, when a comrade asked
if any one of his company or regiment
had arrived l handed him the sheet
of his regiment, and his EXPLANATIONS
of Joy at finding names of his comrades
were ample pay for the little trouble
was at. Occasionally l would hear 6
group of boys, after handing them 6
list, "Great Scott, boys, our old cap
tain is here. I haven't seen him since
the war. Where can we find him?'
"His address is there" l would an
swer; "both where he lives and where
he is stopping; but he will probably bt
around here soon."
There was some delay of the trains
and the Michigan headquarters were
delayed, 80 that i had the registration
for nearly two days and ajority of the
Toys had registered and were immensely
pleased with the system.
At St. Paul l presented myself a
Michigan headquarters room, anC
found no officers had arrived, and quite
a number of the boys were registering
on slips CT paper and piling them up OF
the table, and l related my experience
at Columbus. The idea seemed Il
strike them, and small collection wa
made for stationary, the cards pre-