The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-02-09
Vernon Center

4 Twelve DOyS TdHSlnS III 8 IToIH
ten to fourteen years were made
happy and filed with patriotism on
receiving unique invitations, >one
half of which were addressed to boys
in Company A and one-half to Com
pany B were as follows:
Lester Cox, Company A, First reg
iment: Pou are hereby summoned to
appear at 2 p. m. Saturday, January
%, 1917, on the battlefield at the
corners of First Kendall street to
help defend Fort Necessary from an
onslaught Of the enemy. Come
! clothed in soldiers garb of blue dem
i'm for the battle promises to rage
fast and furious. at $3.50 during ces-
sation of hostilities a raid is planned
on the commissary department in
which every soldier is expected to
take an active part. Red Cross
nurses will be provided to render any
necessary aid to those disabled dur
ing this attack. By five o'clock the
flag of truce will be raised over the
fort of the defeated army and all
troops mustered out of service. Any
case Of non appearance of either of
1 HlCcI0 Vi Ol0lOlo VII NC COulI-
marshalled by the proper authorities
some future date. By order of the
commander-in-chief Charles and Ed
win Kraus.
For nearly a week previous to the
conflict on Saturday afternoon the
boys enthusiasm and patriotism had
been whetted to the highest point, as
they labored early and late, before
and after school hours, erecting two
large snow forts. Each court was
about ten feet square and was n
! closed by a siX-foot wall of block
snow. At the appointed time every
one was in their respective forts in
! earnest consultation with their COM
manders and a few minutes after to
the bugle call the troops were sum-
moned to the defense of the fort. The
battle waged long and furiously and
until nearly the close it was hard to
know which side would be the VIC
tors and capture the most flags which
was the goal of the battle, and which
had been placed on a high mound of
snow, but at the cessation of hos
tilities at about four o'clock it was
found that Company A, composed of
| Edwin Krause, Edmond Good, Virgil
Griffith, Raymond Jams, Robert
Gray, Earl Carpenter and Lester Cox
had the largest number of flags in
their possession. They were declared
the winners. The strenuous exertion
| of the afternoon made the raid on the
commissary department a violent one.
and the soldiers seated around the
barracks-the kitchen f1oor-all the
wounds and scars forgotten, enjoyed,
what is best of all in the life of an
active boy, a big feed. Some people
wondered where the boys put great
plates of baked beans, wieners, two
kinds of sandwiches, assorted cake
and canteens of milk, which disap-
peared as if by magic at the conclu-
| sion Of the meal, the two little sis
ters of the Kraus brothers, who were
the hosts of the afternoon, with Villa
Griffith and Alice Warren, dressed
as Red Cross nurses, appeared in the
barracks with their prescription
cases, filed with after dinner minis,
administered to the joy of the now
suffering soldiers After, all had re-
covered from the effects of the big
feed, they repaired to the living room,
which had been made dark and en-
joyed a moving picture show from
the Redioptican operated by Charles
Krause, while Edwin Krause extract
ed amrtial music of the liveliest kind
from the Victor monograph. Taps
had to be sounded several times be-
fore they would disband and the boys
reluctantly left for their homes all
declaring that they had had the time
! &c l0;-f1;,,oo I'D -o1l a~v;o,c11 oxr,o;
ed the organization Of a Boy Scout
camp which is under way here, when
they hope to enjoy a repetitionso f the
happy afternoon.
Charles West, one of the best OPP
orators in the employ of the Omaha,
has been transferred to Jeffers, with
y substantial increase in salary. Ev-
erybody sincerely regrets his leav-
ing but rejoices in his promotion. He
leaves Friday morning.
Mr.. and Mrs. Arthur Borchert of
| Willow Creek mourn the loss of their
little three year old boy. The little
boy had been ill but a few days, with
a cold which terminated in the Group,
from which the little fellow died
about three o'clock Monday morn
ing.
Clyde Henery, who lives about sew
en- miles west of Vernon Center, is
quite ill with an attack. of appended
tbs. 1t is hoped that an operation will
not be necessary.
G.. G. Need returned last Saturday
evening from Rochester. feeling quite
like himself again, while there he
had a growth removed from his
temple. 1t was only a minor opera
ton, although a half a dozen stitches
were required to sew up the incision.
Mr.. A. G. Wilbur has returned from
a stay of several days with his son.
Fred, who is taking treatment at the
Mayo's clinic for a troublesome
throat. Mr.. Wilbur is getting along
nicely.
Mrs. Charles Lombard of Aberdeen,
South Dakota, who has been in Lake
Crystal visiting her parents, Mr.. and
Mrs. It. Dredge, spent the weekend
with her brother-in-law and sister,
Mr.. and Mrs. Bert Barnes.
MI. and Mrs. Frank Hartwick at
tended the funeral services of the
formers niece in Amboy Monday.
Mrs. T. Gage Clement and Miss Ida
| Bowen, spent the weekend holiday
from their duties in the school room
shopping in Mankato.
Mr.. and Mrs. E. T. Champlin and
Mrs. Helen Brown and Florence
Aa@x& O-4.I-- f{or, H. ~