The Press., 1918-12-26
UNION

Paul Booth of Stafford called on friends in town Saturday evening.
 In school Nc. 1 Miss Winnefred Newell received the prize for best polling. Miss Louise Burnham entertained a party of friends from Southbridge at her cottage on Marcy Hill Thursday evening.
 E. M. Horton attended the funeral If his grandson, Mason Hewlett, son of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Hewlett, at Holland last Tuesday.
 Miss LaFleur, teacher in Dist. No. l closed her school Friday afternoon with a Christmas tree and exercises V the children. A number of friends were present with the children. Ed win Knowles, Jr. took Santa Claus's place in distributing the presents. Miss LaFleur will spend the holiday recess with her parents in Williman- tic.
 The following letter from J. B. Sel- .ers was received by Mrs. F. L. Upham )f Stafford:
 Blois, Loir-et- Cher, Nov. 30, 1918.
 It having been such a long time since I have heard from you thought [ would write you a nice long letter low that we can write more what we are doing and where we are. I sup pose you know that the war is fin ;shed now and I suppose you will be expecting to see me drop into your house at any time now, but I guess it will be quite a while before I will get there, but was in hopes to be at home for Christmas, but can see right now that that will be impossible. Well, a year ago at this time I was drilling my head off getting ready to go into the trenches, putting in nine hours every day in the snow and mud and coming into the barracks with wet feet and no fire to dry them and have to go to bed with wet feet and get up in the morning and put our shoes on l just as wet as they were the night be- iore Many the morning last winter l had to light piece of paper and stick inside of the shoes and thaw them out tefOre I could get them on. On the Sth of January, 1917, we made our 1 first trip to the front which was on the Chemin des Danes sector, and it vas some place, too, about foot of snow and two feet of mud under that, and cold "Wow!" It would freeze a brass monkey in five seconds, but we had to stand it just the same doing guard duty in the front line for four hours straight without a relief, and 1t caused many of the men to have trench feet which was caused by standing so long in that cold mud up to our knees, but I was very lucky in that respect, but finally got mine the 17th of March when l was gassed and sent to the hospital after returning to my outfit we were called to the TOul sector where we had it quite easy for about a week, and then Fritz thought ne would come over and see us, which he sure did, and so on the 9th of April -ound us engaged in the battle of Seichprey of which you probably have read. This scrap kept up for three days, resulting in the defeat of the BOche and causing quite loss on our side. This was another time that 1 was lucky, for I did not get scratch ill that mixup, and believe me there was something doing all the time. After we had driven them back sev- eral kilOmeters we settled down for little rest which lasted for about a week and then we decided to pay this visit back which resulted in the cap ture of Apremont woods, but there was a lot of blood spilled in that bat tie. It was in this scrap that I was shot in the hip, and as I was being carried from the lines on the stretcheI one of my bearers was shot as dead as door nail which forced me tC crawl into shell hole for shelter fol the machine gun bullets were playing