Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1917-12-20
LETTERS FROM SOLDIERS
HARLEY STAFFORD

Camp Pike, Ark, Dec. IL, 1917
My Dear Friends at Audubon:
l will try and write You few
lines as l cannot write to all. Will
try to describe my company and its
happenings. We have had small
snow here and it is very nice wealth
err for the time OF year The Their
mometer was down to six above, but
that is not like Iowa. 1t has been
thawing here and the snow is nearly
all gone. Well, Camp Pike is seven
miles from Little Rock. This can
tenement is larger than the one at
Camp Dodge. / have not seen very
much of it yet as we are quarantined
with the mumps. Some swell time.
There are only two cases in my COM
pany, which has 172 men. We are
war strength and all Iowa boys. 1t
is the pick of the machine gun COM
pany-not as l say, but as the whole
cantonemen. officers say so. We
showed our officers here that we had
had some training, and training is
something that means everything to
a real soldier. All the Iowa boys
are here together, and all North
Dakota, and Minnesota, and South
Dakota and Illinois and Ohio, Okla
homa, etc. So you see we don't get
lonesome because Iowa boys are all
singing and dancing and having a
good time. We just started a COM
pany fund to buy footballs, baseballs,
basketballs, punching bags, medicine
balls, indoor baseballs, boxing gloves
and few other games to spend the
winter here with.
Our officers here are fine and they
all treat US fine. have been to Lit
tie Rock once, it looks like a nice
place. l think l will like it here
fine. / don't expect to come home
Christmas as wages are not SO very
! good here. We missed our Novem-
Der pay day somehow and cash is
somewhat scarce. Ha, ha.! But,
nevertheless, we have good things to
eat and our covers are warm. The
barracks are built cooler than at
Camp Dodge but if our weather con-
tinues to stay nice we won't need
any better. We were in St. Louis
five hours coming down and we got
to see some city as our train went
clear around the city. l went thru
a small tunnel in the hills but it was
dark through the whole train
am taking chance on the Off
GERS training schol here, so you see
Audubon is trying to be on the map.
l am working hard as it is quite a
strenuous task to become an officer.
If l have few days at Christmas
and cannot go home | am going to
visit at Oklahoma City. We are a
little south and some east of it, but
l don't know the exact number Of
miles.
l saw all the Audubon county boys
but they are all split up and it is
hard to find them now. / am three
and one half miles northeast of them
or in the extreme east end of the
camp. Mrs. Vern Sweezy is here 1
understand. / would like to get the
paper once in while. l am or will
be here permanently for about three
months as l had to sign up to stay
until April 9Th in order to take the
o1Ilcers training. l have been well
and have gained ten pounds since /
have been in the army. What be-
came of the last draft, were they
called? / would like to know who
had to come.
! Well, as my letter is getting long
and tiresome, will close could
write more but bedtime here is 9
O'Clock, and we are all in. There
are no clocks here but the bugles
let US know all about it. They still
play II can't get 'em up" Tell Yves
Jay / cannot find the ammunition
wagon.
l was glad that / got to visit the
Ladies r. c. at the library. Will
try to write more interesting stuff
next time.
With all good wishes for Merry
Christmas | remain,
Corporal H. Stafford
Co. B, 334 M. g., Camp Pike, Ark.