The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1917-08-02
.learner than when the soldiers went

clearner than when the soldiers Wen'
there.
The artillerymen feasted throughout
the week. Serg. Foust says that few
staples and meat comprised practically
all of his purchases after the soldiers
went into camp, all other. foods having
been donated by city and valley fami.
lies. Pies were the chief item of Fri
day nights menu. The pies were
baked by members of Twelfth Com.
pany's Women's Auxiliary, composed
of the wives, mothers and sweethearts
of the boys. Fifteen different kinds OF
pies were served.
The artillerymen express great pride
in their cooks, Harry Sines and Car
W. Carlson, both of whom have haC
experience in logging camp kitchens,
the former at one time being chief
cook for camp working 200 men.
Whether it be the ultimate lot OF
us Hood River men to go to the for.
eign front, to engage in guard duty
the administration of supply headquar'
tiers or any of the other thousand anC
one duties that soldiers will be called
upon to perform, we are going tt
found doing our duty" declared Capt
George R. Wilbur, the organization
commanding officer, at public forma
reception rendered Twelfth Company
Thursday night.
Capt. Wilbur, whose short speech, in
response to talks by Rev. M. l.. Hut
ton, sRev. J. L. Allen, Rev. f. H
Longbrake and Mrs. Chas. II. Castner
ended the evenings program, ex'
pressed pride in his soldier boys.
''Our second day in camp, the first
experience for nearly all of my men.
he said, was ended tonight. Truly
| was gratified and surprised to see
how the men took hold. Every moth
er's son of them is working as though
he was about task he loved. AnC
further, ! cannot express the appreci
alton of myself and my men of the
royal send off you are giving us. We
feel it in the very atmosphere that
surrounds us. 1t is evidenced in ma
terial manner by the heaps of potato
bags, he::dozens Of boxes of fruit anC
vegetables that have been delivered tt
our camp. 1t is evidenced by the big
crowd here tonight to attend this re-
ception, announced at a moments no
tice this afternoon.
In the course of her talk, Mrs. Cast
ner told of the work being donsby the
Federated Women's Clubs in raising &
hospital relief fund for Oregon mill
tary organizations. She related how
the first $3.50 of the fund was turned
over to Col. May, of the Third Regi
ment, and how portion of it had al
ready been put to good use in bringing
comfort to injured or ailing enlisted
men. An allotment of the fund to
Twelfth Company brought forth the
cheers of the men and the. thanks OF
Capt. Wilbur.
The meeting, arranged for by Mayor
H. L. Dumble, who, however, was
called away to Dee on an accident
case, and was thus unable to preside,
held in darkness and with a strong
west wind tossing madly overhead the
maple boughs that occupy the open air
theatre where the formal goodbye
was said, was the most unique public
gathering ever held in Hood River.
DIR. E. L. Scobee, of the city council,
presided.
The open air auditorium is not per.
manently wired. Temporary installa-
tion is made each time the structure
is demanded for night use. In the
hurried preparations no one had
thought of lights, and the oversight
was not realized until the crowd as.
sembled. The darkness was intensified
by clouded sky. The wind blew such
a gale at intervals that it was neces
sary for speakers to halt, and rair
constantly threatened. Out of the
darkness came the noise made by
sentrles pacing guard around the park
A bugle sound of tattoo was heard
The only light was the "radiolote'
glow of the dial of some artilleryman's
wrist watch. 1t was a solemn meet
ing, made up in a large degree by
families of the artillerymen ready tt
depart, men and women whose emo
tions were a combination of pride ir
the valor of their boys and sadness or
the eve of their leaving, and in the
deep shadows a muffied sob might have
been heard at intervals as some mother
brushd away the yelling tear.