Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1919-06-13
Cre.co Welcomes Hero in Royal Style.

"OAh VI IIS SOuIuSASloA SiOO oAAN AsSu
Cross organizations in its concluding
words, Say. boys, let's move to
Cresco." Come on, boys, you'll find q
town that will treat YOU right.
Incidentally, we might call attention
ito the great value to the community OF
such an organization as our Commercial
Club which originated and carried out
the idea of giving Private Culbertson q
substantial appreciation of him as q
tcitizen and soldier in the gift of the
check mentioned in the Post article.
''Say Buddie, how many times = day
lido you dream about going home? just
before you go to sleep at night, don't
tyou like to let your fancy have free
play and then build air castles about
that wonderful day when you will GO
home for the first time for months?
And don't you always associate Won
derful times, big feeds, band music,
and auto rides with these dreams?
Maybe you say to your Buddie in the
bed next to you that you don't want
any of these blowouts when you get of
the train at your own home town. And
you might laugh and tease some fellow
about whether his whole town will be
ct the station when he comes home.
All these things may be true, but Sc
cretly way down in your heart, you
have dreamed of . wonderful and joy
Gus home coming.
Now let me tell you Of home.com-
ing celebration which was royal one.
It happened in the town of Cresco,
Howard county, Iowa. This town
boasts Of q population of about 1000.
They had sent their boys off to war o.
avery town throughout the United
States has done, and as the loyal citi-
gems that they are. they boosted everv
Liberty Losn drive and subscribed to
every Welfare War organization CAM
tp6gn in sxiatsnce They. wanted to DO
Svsyything that they could to help the
boys. r
Itso happened that one Of the SOL
diers from that county was wounded in
the battle in the Argonne forest, Nov.
8, 1918, and his left leg was smputated.
He was . married man and was among
the first to go, having enlisted Sept.
ls, 1917. r..> e..
4 And this soldier was coming home!
Cresco turned out en- masse. Every
man, woman and child was there. All
business places were closed. The
schools shut their doors and the farm
ers in Ill the country around turned
their big horses out in the. pasture and
acranked up their cars and Joined in the
'cela6ration. ~ rE
When the train pulled in, the soldier
gasped. What was the matter? Why
were the streets so black with people?
What was all that cheering and flag
waving for? And the band music! He
hobbled off the car with his crutches
and an immense cheer that was not
confined to that little depot but spread
out and out until it was heard blocks
away, broke on the air. And his wife
was there! a-..
The garage owner in Cresco had
looked over his line of cars and had
picked out his best limousine. This
was waiting and the hero was pushed
into it and through narrow lane, each
side Of which was thickly lined with
shouting people, he was conducted,
with his proud wife at his side, to his
little home. The band took them all
the way there. and the troups of boys.
There were speeches by all the nota-
bles from al the country around. AT.
ter the dinner. he was conducted to the
opera house. which he found packed
with people. There wasn't even stand
ing room. On the stage were all the
returned discharged soldiers of the
county. He was given . conspicuous
place in one of the boxes. And there
were more speeches and then the Presi-
dent of the Commercial Club presented
the bewildered soldier who so proudly
wore that gold chevron on his right
arm, purse cont aining-can you
guess? No. No, you couldn't guess,
for it even took him long time to
realize that there was really two thous-
and and fifty dollars in it!
That is q royal home coming, isn't
it? And they told him that when he
was discharged. any job that he want
ed was his. All this may sound like .
fairy tale to you, but it's 80. For the
soldiers name is Pvt. r. E. Culbertson
and he is down in Ward now. He re
turned from . wonderful ten days in
Cresco last Monday, June 2. Say fell
lows, lets move to Cresco. Fort Des-
Moines Post.