The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1917-10-19
CHAS. BAKER WRITES
t. $. Naval Station,
Great Lakes, Illinois,
October !. 1917.

Wood, ). ID.
! Dear Sir:
As | have some leisure time thi
afternoon I'll write you letterabou
our camp here and something abou
| life here in camp.
| am stationed at the Main De
tentiOn Camp. 4. 5 Naval Station
Great Lakes, H. Along with me ar,
at least 200 men from almost ever,
state in the Union. After leaving
this camp we will be sent to the maiI
camp. where between three thOusanC
and seven thousand men are quartereC
However. all recruits must spend al
least three weeks in detention camp
during which time we are all vacCin
ated and given anti-toXins for small
pox, diptheria and typhus Men here
are at all times under observation
for contagious diseases. Men founC
with contagious disease, are, OF
course. removed at once TO an isolation
camp, where they are treated.
All men upon arriving at Detention
are given regulation navy haircut
cost charged to Uncle Sam.) They
are further examined by surgeons
and dentists and any man having
rupture or other ailments durable by
an operation are sent at once to a
hospital, while fellow needing
dental work is likewise given immedi-
ate relief, the cost Of all these opera
tionS, etc, being borne by the Gov
ernment, except that a man. having
teeth filed must pay cost Of gold or
silver used as filing.
| was assigned, upon arrival, to
company thirty-three. My company
commander is a Mr.. Liddle. He is a
young fellow. small in size, but reg
ular chap. Everyone likes him. Dis
cipline is strict but not uncomfort-
ably SO.
We are quartered at present in tents
Our tents have wooden floors (Which
must be washed before seven a. m.
every morning) and each tent is COW
cred with good tent fly. We sleep
on iron or folding camp cots and each
man upon arrival is given mattress,
cover and two heavy wooden
blankets. so each man has fairly
good bed Later we'll sleep in regular
navy hammOcks.
Company thirty-three was issued
uniforms and clothing two days after
my arrival here October - and now
most Of us have most OF our equip
ment.
Each recruit is required, upon ar.
rival here, to give up all intoxicating
liquors, cigarets. cigaret papers and
chewing gum. 1t is serious otlense
to be caught using any Of them.
There is a canteen in camp where
recruits may buy pipes and pipe
tobacco, candy. shoestrings, cigars
and 50 on, at cost. The canteen does
a rushing business, too, | might state
The y M. c. A. has nice hall
here 1t is eighty feet by one hundred
twenty feet in size, one story and
made Of lumber It's furnished with
benches, chairs and long tables at
which men may write or play games
Writing paper envelopes, checker
boards, books and magazines, as well
as newspapers are placed at the dis
posal of all the boys. There is a
piano and Nictrola here also and
both are i'm use most OF the time
Each evening after supper the "I''
(as we cali the Y. NJ. {. A y furnishes
us amusement Of some kind. Last
evening it was moving pictures. To-
night Dean Shailer Matthews Of the
University Of Chicago will speak, his
subject being why We Are at War "
This morning our Sunday school
classes were taught by prominent
Chicago business men, while Bishop
Anderson Of Chicago delivered short
sermon. We certainly enjoy having
the y NJ. G. A. with us.
We eat our meals outdoors. a la
cafeteria Each company falls in"
and then files slowly past boxes filed
respectively with knives, forks, spoons,
aluminium cups. tin plates and tin
pans. Each man takes the articles
he needs and then files through the
mess house where he sgiyen generous
helpings Of the various foods cooked
for that mess The men eat
wherever they wish. After being
served a man can receive a second
helping, but hc must wait until all
the firsts have ,een served. ! know
some fellows who went back for a
third helping oi chow. They got it,
too. That ism reflection on navy
grub. Itmere,y shows what immense
appetites the boys develop here, away
from "taIl ones" ''cold bottles" ice
cream parlors, soft drink emporiums
and the like. Our food is plain,
! "a, al