The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1918-12-25
Atfanas HenIe
Writes From France
FORMER GAZETTE EMPLOYE EN-
JOYING EXPERIENCE WITH
ARMY.

The following letter was received
last week by the editor of The Ga
zette from Private Athanas Henle,
now with Supply Company 1856 in
Framed Private Henle before his
enlistment was the linotype opera
Tor of the Gazette force.
On Active Service with American
Expeditionary Forces
November 81, 1918
Dear Mrs. Wilson,
A. last we have settled in this
camp for short time, and I will
take advantage and write you a few
lines. Since leaving Camp Johnston
our company has done some topnotch
travelling, and cold Bill" must have
known this. Our stay a. Camp Upton
was very short, not even giving us
chance to see Broadway. The trip on
the ship was everything but interest
ing especially when fellow was "sea-
sick. Our stay in England was short
stopping at several camps for a rest
The country layout looked good to
every one, but they can't match our
Minnesota soil. Many farms are fenc-
ed in with stones and most of them
are divided into small sections. One
Cathedral was seen which was built
in 1898. While there I bought some
English newspapers, and it's hard
problem to figure out how they can
exist. The Give news" usually is
plugged away on the las. or inside
pages. Advertising is poor, and al
together the paper looks something
like the --(censored). They
print from two up to six pages and
the price is cents and 10 cents. The
paper supply is limited both in Eng
land and France.
! Just at present we are at camp
called Camp Clayton, which is from
eight to ten blocks from Chateau -du
Loir, a city of 5000 population. This
camp is in France. 1t is hard to
write letter, because there are so
many interesting things to write alb
out and l really don't know where
to start. Besides the mail is still cen
sored, and that helps to make a long
story short.
France is far behind the times, and
seems to think "there is another day
coming. Most of the houses are
built of stones and in an old fashioned
way. In the afternoon we went out
on hikes and saw many people who
live in hill-sides. 1t appears to be an
econmical way of building, just put
ting up the front wall of the house
Barns are dug in the same way. II
seems 70 be style over here to have
ia stone wall around the house, five to
eight feet high. Wooden shoes are
| L4r
hard times throughout this war, car
easily be seen. Women are taking the
place of men on street cars farms
deliveries, taking care Of business
places and other kinds of work.
This is a newly built camp and they
haven't 60. enough barracks to accom-.
modate them all. Our company was
"lucky in getting tenNL" although
the nights are very cool. Over here
the weather is similar to what we
have at home in November, with out
snow. The first days at this camp
our bunch scraped many tin cans to-
gether and made small fire. The
heat felt good, not saying anything
about the smoke we swallowed. Other
companies bunk in barracks and bill
let's
Didn't the war wind up in hur'
ry? Well, the news seemed too gooc
to be true. A. England aeroplanes
circled and looped over the city (about
fifteen of them) throwing down sky
rockets. At France many cannons
were fired. Flags were displayed ev'
erywhere among them many American
flags.
And how is everybody in The Ga,