The Parker post., 1918-05-18

The following interesting letter
written by John H. Flood, a former
Parker boy, now serving with Uncle
Sans U. S Engineers, somewhere in
France, was received by Mrs. j. B.
Flanagan, secretary of the Parker
Branch of the American Red Cross.
Some weeks ago the ladies of the
local branch prepared an elaborate
box of candy for Mr.. Flood and sent
Fit cover there" His letter follows:
SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE.
Mrs j. B. Flanagan, Parker, Ariz
my Dear Mrs. Flanagan
"Your kind letter under date OF
February sixteenth was received sew
eral days ago, and. the candy almost
as soon-you will be glad to hear
this am sure, for your "chance" was
not in vain, after all.
81 wish I could tell you how much
happiness your own thOughtfulness
and that of every member of the Par
ker Red Cross Branch has brought
me. 1t is not possible for me to write
each one but know you will be glad
to convey my thanks and apprecia-
tion to ALL
You could not have made a better
selection, and, although the package
was damaged, the candy was in good
condition and secure. Many pack
ages have gone estray, it is true, but
| have been fortunate in receiving
those addressed to me. Recently a
decided Improvement has been made
in the mail service.
''Now if you could only send us
some Arizona unshine we would be
delighted to offer you an abundance
of rain in exchange, which | believe
would be very agreeable to all and we
would even add some cool weather,
too Just include great worlds of
mud and you might have some con-
ception of the landscape over here.
81 wish I could tell you of many
things here, but it is not pos
sible to write of conditions on this
side. You at home wonder why the
troops prefer candy and sweets to all
else We are we'll fed and Uncle
Sam is a good provider, bue the mess
is lacking in some things which can
not be obtained here-poOr broken
France is struggling to supply her
own.
81 wish you might all have a
glimpse of this war torn country:
One looks down the narrow, winding
street (there are no sidewalks) and
the small stone cottages with theil
red tiled roofs look very gray with
age. Great stone troughs at inter
walls along the roadway, filled to over
flowing with water from the foun-
tains that never cease, afford the
bathing convenience for the troops
and a washtub for the women of the
village (just think of doing the fam
lily washing in the depth. of winter
xarOund such washboard) and these
women wear wooden shoes. The
church (Roman Catholic) occupies an
eminence and above rises the spire
There are no electric cars to run
over the ducks and geese and chick
ems that give the streets the appear
ance of a barnyard, but great stacks
of manure complete the impression.
You know, the French peasantry
occupy the same building as their
stock, and likewise the American
soldiers now, for the barn lofts and
the deserted cottages have been our
billets during the winter campaigns
no fires to dry our wet clothes nor
to warm by, but we struggled through
1t all without losing a day, regardless
~of the weather and every man in good
health-only one man wounded and
one man dead is very slight casualty
list for the company to date.
by the side of the road at each
entrance to the village stands
SHI1HO (CTOSS) VI SIOuC Wu0Fc Tie
pilgrims of centuries ago worshipped.
The description is cOmplete-you
have seen one village-yOu have
seen France-progressiv yet med
ieval; hospitable to the extreme
their firesides and even their scant
food supply always for the we'll fed
American.
There is much that would inter
est you, particularly things military
of such | am permitted to say
nothing. Sometimes the sun shines
: out the promise of a clear day-that
is early in the morning I am
always awakened by the bursting
shells high in the air, which the
enemy planes are lodging in their