Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-09-19
GIRLS CANTEEN IS
IN AN OLD SALOON
Salvation Army Lass Writes Of
Her Experience Close Be-
hind Battle Line.
BY MISS IRENE MCINTYRE
Salvation Army "Doushsirl" in France
written for Tho United Press)

L toT tU0 OOttG0 FT0SoJ
With the American Troops at the
front, (By mail.)-We doughgirls
get sudden orders for movements.
100 sometimes. much the same as
n d%oughboys do. Our most
rather it was night. Most OF the army
movements are at night and ours was
/, n midnight one.
Gladys and l had finished a long
days work and were tired after MAX
ing an unusually large batch of dough-
nuts. $50 we turned in early. Off the
lfont. EARLY is about eleven O'Clock.
we mad no more than fallen asleep
Wneh u commanding officer arrived
with several other Salvation Army
workers. When we had awakened
enough to dress and see him. the of
nicer informed us we would go in half
an hour and that the new arrivals
Won take u canteen over
We hustled to get u affairs to-
selher, throwing them into our trunks.
men Gladys grabbed her dog and L
caught my pet fox who was o u in the
she n we We're off: We rode al
most all night. and about daylight
came to the Salvation Army headquar-
ters, where we rested for a while.
by noon we were off again, bound
TOT a new sector which had never had
a Army hut. 1t was more
man 100 miles down the line from
We rode in a Ford which
was used for carrying supplies to the
cahteens. Seats We're put i'm the box
for us.
BY night we had not arrived at our
destination, and to avoid arriving at
tne front too late to be able to get a
pace for that night we stopped I'm Il
small French town. 1t tooli a lot of
sklrmlshing around to find hotel ac-
concentrations so near the front, but we
finally succeeded.
Next morning bright and early, our
party arrived In the new home, a little
Town OF Lorraine, Very near the line,
suit OF the boches' work when they in
vaded this area in 1914 and 1915. Our
place was a store room, and the sign
over it e Modern Bar" So we
made our canteen out of the bar room.
we were In a new party of eight who
We're opening huts in this new hilly
sector of Lorraine. We had not been
at the Modern Bar" long before our
commanding officer assigned us to a
little village nearer the front, where we
to begin a new hut.
We went out to pick out n house
among those in ruins for a new home.
Most all OF the houses were battered
and many had holes in them. We fn-
ally chose n which had not been
used since the war started. except for
a stable. 1t had a big loft and the
roof leaked. 1t was terribly dirty.
But W. saw fine possibilities in it for
a doughaut kitchen. a canteen for the
boys. ana a place for them to read. We
put in a bid for it with the town major,
n he xoon informed US he had leased
1t from the original owner for 80 years.
for a pocket full of francs. He refused
to take our money to pay the lease,
saying enc boys had heard of our com
ing. haE taken up q collection to pay
for it.. We suspect he had a lot to
do with it.
Next day we came back. and the Of
ficers assigned US details to clean up
the place. 1t was n big job to under
take, but the boys went to work. and
the place soon began TO look respect
able. Some whitcwash and curtains,
and lots of scrubbinE added to its APP
pearance.
We are glad 10 have the new place
open end running now. and we lake q
lot of pride in having made it ourselves.
or rather having directed the work
that rAade it. You have a sort of pio-
neer's feeling after you create u work
shop Cor doughnut making out of ap
old I2rraine ruin.