The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1917-09-21
Letter from a Soldier

Monday by Chas. Huyck from Floyd
Goodfellow who is in training with
the Knights Templar ambulance corps
at Camp Zachary Taylor, Louisville,
Ky.
September 13, 1917.
! Old Pal:
Received your letter today and to
show you how l appreciate the news
i am going to answer at once.
Been here a week tonight and 1T
certainly has been the most eventful
week in my life. The trip down was
filled with little episodes that cement
ed the friendship of the entire bunch
and made us as one big family.
We left Flint at 8 p. M, and switch
ing at Plymouth arrived in Toledo
about 2 a. M, singing all the way.
At Toledo we found that we were the
third troop train passing through
there that day so it looks as if our
Uncle Sam was commencing to do
business in earnest, and when / struck
the camp l was sure doubly OF the
impression, but l will tell you of that
later. Of course, it had to be good
stormy night when we left and only
the singing and cheering up of the
down-hearted kept us alive and on
the Job at all. However, after we left
Toledo we all settled down for cou-
pie of hours sleep, waking up at dawn
to find beautiful day breaking and
the temperature much warmer, so
up went the windows and the singing
started again. We sure passed
through some beautiful country. The
crops through Ohio and Indiana
seemed fine. Certainly saw some
large fields of larger corn than l had
ever seen before. Also mammoth
fields of tobacco. The trip from Gin
cinnati was along the Ohio until we
almost reached Louisville and it was
certainly grand.
Arrived at camp about p. m.
Thursday, dirty, tired and mighty
hungry, and as we had received no
supplies from the quartermaster's de-
partment we had to borrow mess kits
and some canned corn, beef, bread,
syrup and coffee from our neighbors
at the next barracks, but even that
tasted like two dollar dinner should.
After supper we went to our bath
house, took a good shower bath, got
assigned our two army blankets and
cot with springs and turned In to
dreamless sleep. Friday morning we
were issued ticks and filed them with
straw which really makes very COM
Portable bed. The rest of the day
we got things Strengthened away and
Saturday started living up to the
rules, which are as follows: Arise at
$3.50. wash and get in line for setting
up exercises at 6; believe me, they
are great and last for from fifteen to
thirty minutes. Then breakfast, af-
ter which we make up our beds, sweep
and mop our dormitories-and, by the
way, sure have got handy with mop
strip right down to my waist and
go to it, after which we have the time
to ourselves until z 80, when we fall
in for morning drill or hike, which
ever it may be. Back to fall out at
11:3O; dinner at 12; fall in for the
afternoon at 1 100 for hike and lee
ture getting back at 5 80 for assem-
bly,. Supper at 6, after which our
time is free until 80, unless we have
police duty, cleaning up the grounds,
or washing the dining room tables.
At 9 80 the lights go out and we have
to be in bed However, we have We'd
nesday and Saturday afternoons and
evenings off as we'll as Sunday, and
on Saturday and Sunday nights we
can stay until>1 p. m.
AS for our eats, they are clean and
wholesome. For breakfast this morn
ing we had sausage, bread with syrup,
shredded wheat biscuit with sugar
and good rich milk and coffee. Din
ner, soup, steak with onions, string
beans, potatoes and gravy, bread with
syrup and coffee. Supper, corned
beef, fried potatoes, bread, butter and
syrup, peaches and black tea.
Our hikes are sure wonderful as
this country is so blessed with natural
beauty that it seems to make you feel
like new person to be able to tramp
through it. One trip took us through
the district where the most beautiful
homes of the Louisville millionaires
are, and, Charles, it is beyond my
ability to describe them. You can
look across a beautiful valley, prac-
tically all lawn for mile, to another
home perched on the top of grassy
hill, and on and on as far as the eye
can reach. Rather ambiguous and
perhaps the meaning is not clear, but
as / said, l can not describe it. Yes
terday we made our trip into the
country and struck farmer who had
a big cantaloupe patch, so our cap
tain obtained permission for us to go
into the patch and get all we wanted
at two for five cents. 1t sure would
have been some picture the way the
: boys went after those melons. Today
we went to park about five miles
distant where there is natural am
phitheatre and received instructions
on picking up the wounded and car
rying them on our backs with the
1aast y,oin m tha patient The man /