Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1918-10-31
Letter From Sergeant Snyder.
Same Place, Different Location,
September 9, 1918.

moving. In my last letter | told yor
that the Captain was going on leave
and that it was a foregone conclusion
that we were going to move. The order
came an hour after the Captain left for
England. We Immediately started to
tear up all the Improvements we had
made, for we were to move to the other
end of the camp. The First Lieutenant
and | came down to the new barracks
and looked the place over and decided
where we would put things, and bright
and early Friday morning three trucks
were on the job to haul our stuff-ant
believe me we had some goods to move.
All day those three trucks were as busy
as could be, and six o'clock saw practic-
ally everything transferred to our new
quarters, which are about three miles
up the camp from the old place. In
fact, we are as far at the other end OF
the camp as we can get, and in many
respects our location is much better
Saturday we spent in getting things
shaped up and in order, and by Satur'
day night all but a few minor details
had been attended to, and the men were
comfortably settled in their new quar-
tiers. The orderly room or Office is g
peach, because | took good care to see
that he had plenty of room, for in our
old place the Office was about the size
of good big store box, and | had hae
enough of being crowded to death
Now We have fine place, second tc
none in the camp. My sleeping quar-
tiers are right in the rear of the Office.
separated by partition, and | am very
comfortable. 1t was just like leaving
home to leave the old place, for we hae
been there over five months and we hat
fixed up things until there was nothing
left to be done. The hardest separa-
ton was the mess hall and kitchen. for
we had fixed them up until they were
the show nlace of the camp, and Will
we moved everything except the con
crete floor and the paint off of the walls
it will take some time to get back to
former state Of perfection, and doubt
that we will ever get this place fixed
like we had the last. The Captain does
not know we have moved. and when he
comes back and finds that we have mi
grated he will probably not be surpris-
ed, but hurt to think that we should
have done such a thing in his absence.
But then the order said move and move
we did. Our neighbors, the Second
Squadron, moved in where we went
out, because our barracks were so much
nicer than theirs and also because they
did not realize that we would take 81
much Of our fxings along with us, and
their commanding officer sent note to
our First Lieutenant telling him that
we had forgotten to bring along with US
two boards, the concrete floor from the
kitchen and the paint on the walls Of the
mess shack. They were good neigh
bors, but we did not see why We should
leave our comforts for them when we
could use them ourselves.
Our new location has good many
advantages over our old home and also
some few disadvantages. We now have
access to two big Y. M. C. A. huts, and
that in itself is worth the move, for
there is not night that something is
not going on in one of the huts. Sat
urday night at the "Y" closest to us they
had movies, and yesterday morning al
ten o'clock they had fine band concert
and at eleven services, with Mr..
Wharton preaching. Mr., Wharton was
the head Y man here in this camp when
we came in March, but the 1st Of May
went up to the front, few days ago
coming back here for a rest. He sure
is wonderful talker, and the men all
are wild about him. He was pretty
closely associated with us when he was
here in the spring, so that our fellows
felt that he almost belonged to US and
turned out en- masse to hear him yester-
day. He says that he is having some
rest-that he is delivering three and
four addresses a day while he is here
and that he will have to 90 back to the
front to get his rest. Then last nigh
at the "Y" they had another service
which packed the hut to the doors, and
tonight a musical concert of some sor'
is booked. Tomorrow night is the reg
ular French class, the next night lee
ture on French history, the next night
movies, and the next night stunt night
and so on indefinitely. So you see
our men will not lack for entertainment.
The reason am telling you about this
is because understand that soon there
is to be a campaign to raise money for
the Y. M. C. A. activities, and want the
folks back home to know that when
they give to the "Y' that they certainl,
are doing a great thing for the boys
over here, for the "Y" is the place we
90 when we want anything from writ
ing paper to can of peaches. They
are doing a great work. Anyone who
refuses to give to them is to my mind
worse Stacker than those who fail to
buy bonds, and that places him pretty
low in the ranks OF human kind. II
would do your heart good to see the
crowds Of men who flock to the huts
every night, and not because there
aren't other attractions, either, for they
can 20 to town and the town is large
enough to attract. The trains run back
and forth all the time, and for very
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