Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1918-02-12

Miss Goldie Cave, secretary of the
w. c. T. u, received a letter last
week from John F. Gray, in which
he expressed his appreciation of the
gifts sent him by the commercial
club, w. C. T. U. and Red Cross.
John is now the first petty officer
of his company and is in training
at the Naval Training Camp at San
Diego, Cali His letter to Miss Cave
follows:
U. S. Naval Training Camp,
San Diego, Cal, Jan. 9, 1918.
Dear Miss Cave:
| just received the comfort kit the
w. c. T. U. and Commercial Club
did the kindness of sending to me
few days before l left the San
Francisco training station. | am TAX
ing this first opportunity to try and
thank you and let you know my ap-
probation of the kit. 1t is certainly
hardness for we sailors have to
have everything in bags and slowed
away out of sight. I've saved myself
from a good many calamities already
with the buttons and needles and
thread. | certainly value it.
We were considerably delayed at
Frisco with our Xmas packages. The
mail was so heavy and congested we
didn't receive them until New Years
day, so we had Xmas over again;
however, the Xmas boxes sent out by
the Red Cross were delivered and the
boys were all mighty well pleased
over them. They were surely gen
erous in the packing of them.
Our company was transferred from
the detention camp a tSan Frisco
for here last Friday, and we are
surely we'll pleased with the training
camp here. During the time we were
in quarantine at d camp CFrisco)
there were eleven Bonners Ferry
boys there for some time. We were
nearly all in different companies so
when we were released we were sep
arated. However, Leo Zimmerman
and Geo. Kindschuh are in this camp
now, so Boomers Ferry is still pretty
we'll represented. This training camp
is ideal and our grounds are magnifi-
cent. We are enjoying the luxury
of being quartered in the Panama
California Exposition grounds of the
1915 exposition. Our battalion is
quartered in the Canadian building,
temporarily, during our three weeks
quarantine. Later, we will be trans
ferred to our regimental barracks in
the administration building that can
accommodate about eight hundred men,
The climate here is ideal for a
training camp. 1t is about temperate
all the time and hasn't rained since
last June. The grounds are kept up
and they are surely beautiful. There
are dozens of varieties of palm trees
orange and lemon trees and heaps OF
flowers and vines. There are more
than four thousand sailors in train
ing here now and more are coming
in every day. The Accommodations
for them here seems to be unlimited
We eat out doors on long rows OF
tables, picnic style, and life seems
to be agreeable to most of us. We
surely are "peppy" and no one COM
plains of the conditions.
The navy aviation school is or
these grounds and it is common t.
see three -four and as many as eight
machines in the air at one time.
We were entertained this morning
while we were at breakfast by on,
fellow who looped the loop, did tn,
tail spin and plumett. Some of then
are certainly wonders at the game.
We have a daily program tina
keeps us busy from revielle at 5:3(
a. m. to taps at 9:05 at night. w,
have personality inspection every da,
and are required to keep scrupulousll
clean, our clothing must be spotless
and our bags and ditty boxes il
regulation order. We are not above,