The daily progressive-miner. [volume] (Ketchikan, Alaska) 1915-1919, 1918-06-22
SPRUCEvIlLES FOR
SOLDIER BOYS

After ALL said Aunt Marthy. when
she had finished with the Louvre and
the Tomb OF Napoleon. there isn't
any place like Spruceville."
And there isn't whether the Spruce.
vile be New York or Smiths Corners,
Chicago or Slabtown-on-the-Pike.
Down in Texas the editor of San
Antonio daily has remembered that.
And in a program of pure, inspira-
tional joy he is bringing all the local
soldier boys and their particular
Spruceyilles together.
In this way. Since the boys can't
so back TO Sprueeyille-in fact they
can't so any further from the neigh
Loring camps than San Antonio-he
is just bringing OF Home Folks Col
umn."
And nothing could be easier. The
truth is that almost all the Texas
Sprucevilles are in San Antonio al.
ready Or, to be more accurate, they
are represented by leading citizens or
by humber people who left those
hometown Sprucevilles 10 or 20 or so
years ago. when they were boys or
girls. For them also-though they
Iiayn't often venture to say so right
ont loud-thsre isn't any place like
Spruceville-thati is, their own Spruce.
Vile. And the editor of that Home
Folks Column is affording them the
chance and the soldier boys the chance
TO send in their present San Antonio
or camp addresses, to meet up
each Sprucevilian with his fellows OF
ike honor in their birth, and then TO
have evening after evening right there
in San Antonio, filled with good. rich.
satisfying Spruceville talk.
Pies and Spruceviile Talk
For the soldier boy. though, it
means much more than talk. For him
ii means invitations TO eat home cook
ing-pies and turkey with chestnuts,
cheese-cake. and floating island-of
the kind you can learn 10 make only
by being born in Spruceyille. And,
once he is in touch with one good
nomefclks family. ne is simply passed
along 70 the next and the next and
the next until in the end there are at
least six waiting 10 make him eat and
help him talk Spruceville on every lib
erty day he has.
There is on San Antonio Aunt
Marthy, with huge house and no
family, who, when she had had the
pleasure OF feeding her first home boy
in years, simply told him. next time,
to bring every other one there was.
For OF course-though something may
have 10 remind you OF it and make
you realize il anew-just as there is
no place like Spruceyille, so there are
no people, or soldier boys, like the
ones who come from there.
Now Aunt Marthy's house is open
every Sunday. And when she is able
10 form al least some approximate idea
OF how many she is going TO sit
down" that day she lets them swing in
with her and help get dinner-the best
you can get in San Antonio:-and
then, when they've eaten it, help clear
away.
No Longer Homesick
Funny? Well. YOU can write fun
about il. But it isn't really funny. 1t
comes from too deep down for that.
II is something which, for the time,
banishes all the longing and lonesome
ness and inconsistencies OF the soldier
boy.
And you see there are so many
thousands OF him. SO many tens of
thousands, who have never been away
from SpruceFilie before. In this
great benumbing war business it is
bridging the step for him with human
kindness and kinship and love 1t is
making it easier for him, oh, vastly
easier, 10 take hold OF himself for the