Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1918-10-10
After a week had passed, the lieu

After a week had passed, the lieu
tenant sent me to mess sergeant
school and at once | got an appoint
ment into regular sergeant work in the
mess hall. My first duties were tC
take inventory of the stock and to get
the books started. | have working
with me two graduates of the cook
and baker school and under my SUI
pervision fourteen cooks and twelve
K. P.'s, or kitchen police (men whose
duty it is to work in the kitchen for
one day at time unless put in for a
longer time as a punishment). 1t is
my duty to make out the bills Of fare,
have charge Of the mess hall, inside
and out, order the groceries and keep
a record Of the materials used and on
hand. | have taken great pains to
make my stock sheet perfect. | made
all in mechanical drawing letters and
figures. l haven't seen any others,
but the major has said that my rec
ords are the best in the regiment.
l am going to give you a sample of
a bill Of fare to show you that we
feed and are fed.
Supper Beef pot pie, brown pota-
toes, lima beans, canned pineapple,
bread, butter and hot cocoa.
Breakfast: Stewed prunes, oat-
meal, milk, sausage, American fried
potatoes, bread and coffee.
Dinner: Vegetable SOUP croutons,
pork roast, American picked cabbage,
boiled potatoes, stewed tomatoes,
cherry cobbler, relish. bread, buns.
butter and ice tea.
Before | went into the mess work
my kitchen was rated rs % and tho
lowest in the regiment; now the grade
is 931a9o, and ranks second.
| have told all, | believe, but about
the meal hour. There are $50 to feeG
and they surely are hungry We put
everything on the tables and then
have the fellows go to it. l am to
preserve order-anything but order,
everybody hungry, everybody starry
ing, and yet they are we'll and gain
ing in weight. | feel right at home,
the work is very much like teaching
always so much to worry about
So much for what | am doing. NY
work is SO different from the rest
that | shall tell you briefly what the
company is doing. There are many
transfers each day so that our bunch
ic HIxyin
that We will all be gone in the next
few days-all of us cooks and mess
sergeants-to go across. One cannot
place any stress upon all he hears.
The men are taking physical exer-
cises, foot drill and now are working
with light machine guns and horses
[ don't get to see much of the work,
but | know the boys are kept busy.
We have all been in quarantine since
Labor Day for spinal meningitis and
measles. There were no deaths and
the patients are slowly returning to
duty. No one from Sank county has
taken sick.
We got our first months pay last
week and expect the second next
week. We have each gotten an extra
blanket and have had our measures
taken for our winter clothes.
| believe the weather here is much
like it is in Wisconsin-quite cool days
and very chilly nights-no frosts as
yet.
l have just received a notice to pre-
pare for an overseas examination as
mess sergeant Monday morning.
There are four of us to be examined
and if we pass believe We'll be ready
within few days to leave for the
east. There is a call for mess SER
geants and cooks for immediate serv-
ice. While this order may not be
filled at once, yet we know that we
are not to stay here very long, for
we are to be ready for service by the
end of the month.
The deadly Spanish influenza has
surely gotten sway in our camp. We
have examination for the disease each
day and each day some are taken to
the hospital. While the disease is
known to be severe, yet our soldiers
seem to have 1t very mild.
Perhaps this is enough of my re-
hashed war dope. l shall come again
soon
SGT. ERNEST A, WEINKE.