Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-21
KENNETH II WELLS
TELLS OF LIFE
ATCAMP DODGE
One Of First Drafted Men
From This County Writes
Letter to Sheriff.

ter this afternoon from Kenneth
Wells. son of H.. N. Wells Of the
Northern hotel. one Of the first draft
ed soldiers from Grand Forks county
to depart from Camp Dodge, Des,
Moines. Ia. Life at the training camp
as well as valuable suggestions to
future drafted men are contained in
the communication which is as fol-
lows: id%5Ats n, &
IF you have no serious objection
will dedicate a short letter to you. In
a. short time the second quota from
Grand Forks will leave for Camp
Dodge. and go thought it would be
a good stunt to volunteer a few sug-
gestions based upon my experience
since coming to camp.
IT I were to do, the thing over
again, I would take a small trunk or
have a locker made. The reason for
this is that a. soldier needs many
things while in camp and these things
must be put into a grip. trunk or
locker for we have strict orders to
soldier Is allowed to have in sight IL
his oyercoat and poncho which hang
at the head of the bed, his mess kit
which also hangs at the head OF the
bed, his extra shoes. which must be
placed at the foot OF the bed, and
lastly, his locker, trunk or valise
which must also be at the foot Of the
bed. His three extra suits of, UNDER
wear and SOY kit, scrub-brush, wash
basin, soap, towels, books ana papers,
extra shirt and pants. ETC., must be
out Of sight, which mean that the
soldier must have a pretty fair-sized
c%ontainer for them. 1 would also be
sure to either a or bring al. old
suit and a. comfortable. stout pair Of
shoes or boots. I wouldlnot take the:
governments word that equipment
would be Immediately furnished. I
worked and drilled for three days in
my Sunday suit and as a result it liz
torn and dirty. I nearly wore out
my civilian shoes and also my feet.
We have orders now that we must get
a tooth brush and paste and must
have q military haircut which means
that the hair cannot at any point be
more than two inches long. Here,
then, is a. bald mans paradise. I
would bring a pillow and try and get
one of the knitted sleeveless sweaters.
fAlthough 1t Is awfully hot now, 1t was
pretty cold the first two days I was
here, and as I had nj extra clothing,
I nearly froze. In fact I used my
Sunday Goa Is an extra nightgown
we call them. at4camp, and every.
thing that you need can be bought
such as clothes shaving outfits and
soap, fountain pens. scrub brushes
pillows, candy, ice cream, pop. etc.
but everything except one CONNECTION,
cry is pretty high. Some OF the fel.
lows had to buy trunks which cos
them $3.50. I went down town and
bought some lumber andsI am going
to make my ownslocker.
& I'VE got a barber In our regiment
He halls from Michigan CITY. ~. ID
HE guarantees to remove Whisker,
without pain or refund them.
A order vas Just put on the bull.
| letin board thatseach man is required
to take a bath at least once a week
and as yet there have been no deser.
tons or physical breakdowns result
ing from said order.
Last Tuesday our regiment go-
lvaccinated and inoculated. We ge'
1.-TWO more shots in the arm each al
a ten day interval. Only two In oul
regiment got very sick, The rest Q
lame for. US to drill with, but the,
didn't seem to effect our ability to eat
I spent most Of my time while CON
valescing from my incubation in try,
ling to invent q sound proof soup. Tht
tendency OF the hungry soldier Will
partaking OF his soup Is to make
noise similar to that used in sticking
- 0oS AOisS LllS - uIiItAliAG1
istic and must be stopped before W
get to Paris, where they are so par
ticular in table manners. Il
Zone of our Ynep was put NTH
guard house the other night. He wa
3Icharged with heinous offense OF play
! Ing the saxaphone after hours. 4
n seems. however, that the prisoner ha,
only been snoring.
III certainly is a busy place here
Our regiment changed barracks gthi
morning which means that we carrie
out cot, mattress, and belongings hal
a mile further on to the ~unoccnpie
barracks SO as tosmake room for tn
next quota that The repol
now is that North Dakota men fror
J this coming quota will be used to fl
up the National Guard unit and som
will be put In what IS known as
hfDepot Brigade. ASH understand !
1ttransportationl is already for sendin
south the required number to filth
guard. There Will beesorpe OF coursl
at Camp Dodge.
might interest you to know this
II }gofne of the barracks have biIliar
tables now. last night 1t the y. Il
&c ~ thsfe ~ moving pictui