Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1917-10-19
BIG CAMP WAY
OUT ON COAST
Frank Whicher Who Lived in
Ladysmith Eight Years
Among the Soldiers
TELLS OF HIS JOURNEY
FROM CALIFORNIA
Former Ladysmith Boy in Great Camp
for Selected Men in State of
Washington.

A letter comes to the News-Budget
this week from Frank j. Whicher,
private in Second Company, 166 De-
pot Brigade, Camp Lewis American
Lake, Wash This is a camp for the
drafted men of Washington and adj
joining states.
Whicher lived in Ladysmith some
s years and is well remembered. He
started on the trip from Long Beach.
Cal, where he now lives, and his de-
scription of the journey to Camp
Lewis is interesting. Especially does
he complain of the way the bOyS-he
had two companions-were soaked for
ratiOns at the California stations on
the route. AT MERGED they charged 5
cents each for ancient doughnuts at
Sacramento after getting hungry from
visit to the scenic and historical
wonders of the capital city of the Col
den state, he paid 40 cents for a little
piece of steak, Is cents for one po-
tato, and extra dimes for coffee and
pie.
All the country was filled with the
newly gathered grapes, the vines still
hung full as they passed by on the
train and the stations were crowded
with the wagons of the grape growers.
On the way north the road led
through a. wonderful vista of scenery,
great virgin forests, canyons and
score of tunnels. AT Weed, after cross
ing the Sacramento river Is times, the
train stopped and a man came on
board and asked if anyone wanted to
work.
He tells of the wonderful view of
Mt Shasta and the drop into the Sis
kiyou valley 1000 feet. AT Ashland,
Ore, all the other food places were
put in the shade by the good grub
when / got to Camp Lewis, | was
put in this regiment With a conglom-
Grafton of Nevada, Montana, Wash
ington, Idaho, Oregon and California
boys. All of them are fellows who
were delayed by the non arrival Of
papers.
s"There are $4,000 men here now but
there will be twice that little later
on.
1.-The camp grounds cover 1900
acres. The buildings are enormous;
go feet apart and nearly mile and
half long. Then they are across the
end too and in the center is great
court used for d drill ground. We have
electric lights and good accommodate
lions for sleeping but so far we have
no uniforms and some Of us have no
cots as yet but all these things will
come i'll few days.
Il sleep on the floor on q straw
mattress and this morning concluded
/ needed more straw. It's all right for
the fat fellow but long drink Of wa
ter like me needs soft place. So |
did little upholstering on my own
account and now rest more at ease
II cannot get enough to eat. Oh,
yes we have enough but my capacity is
not big enough to last from one meal
to another. / am just back from din
ner and started first and quit last.
There was another fellow there and [
consider him pig for staying SO long.
.sFor breakfast this morning we had
hash, hot cakes, bread and coffee; din
ner, soup, cold roast beef, potatoes and.
gravy, bread, coffee and bread pud--
ding and there was lots of it.
I'm going down to the Y. M. G. A.
to buy candy. You may not realize
there in Ladysmith that there is such
a great camp way out here but we ex-
pect to have more men than Rock
ford"