The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1919-12-05

Tho 0cC0e0 car went GOWN 10 lU
doom on the glorious pathway opened
BY the Americans to Sedan. but It
DIDN'T fail until Just at the very end,
altar It had done Its duty noble"
Uncle joe n back In America, hale
and hearty, sixty years young, patrol
Ling the Bowery looking for and ind
ing soldiers he met On the seethins
rims Of the cauldron Of enemy hate
over there. Oh, yes, by the way, the
two Tuxedo costs and the two evening
suits are here also. ~
NleI<namsd "UneIe Jes."
He wasn't "Uncle Joe" until after he
had gone to France. He loves the nick
name, for 1t was given him by Ameri-
can soldiers-in fact he likes It better
than any pet name ever bestowed up
on him in the days he spanked the girls
Ut old-time dances. However, prom
lsed not to tell about that.
Mr.. Herman is the son Of Francis
Herman, once United States senator
tom New York. He was appointed an
overseas secretary by the Knights Of
Columbus in March, 1918. To him fell
the honor Of establishing the first K.
IF G. hut in France, in May, 1918.
From the start the possibilities of serv-
Ice Of the kitchen car appealed to his
imagination and he couldn't be torn
8svay fyom the front where he hAda
I rltAncssatO work for the soldiers with
the kitchen car as base Of opera
~, IN hnA rv1nrnA cnuoHo1 ia
If G. huts, he went to Paris, took pos
session Of q kitchen car and went up
to Cherry with it. There the Seventy
seventh division was fighting and 1t
was the men Of that division who nick
named him "Uncle joe" He insists
that full credit must be given to Fred
erick Bundschau of Louisville, KY.
and to Louis Lasage for the able and
devoted assistance given by them.
Here is his story as he tells it him.
self:
when I started for France I was
told there would be considerable EN-
tertaining' to be done on the other
side. I realized very quickly, once I
get foot in France, that the entertain
ing to be done was along entirely Diff
ferent lines than those with which I
had left New York. For example, I
started out with several, trunks. One
If them held two Tuxedo coats and
two evening suits. On my arrival in
France I promptly forgot all about
that trunk. 1t didn't fit in with the
scheme Of things as saw it with my
own eyes. I'll tell you more about the
:runk later.
Gets Kitchen Car.
Immediately after landing I went to
Baccarat, in the Luneville sector. With
ne was Fred Bundschau of Louisville,
4 splendidly loyal and efficient man.
We opened hut at Baccarat. Then l
went to Camp Devre' known correctly
rs Mud camp
"Some time later I went to Paris,
where seized X. G. kitchen car and
carried it off to the front at Cherry.
That was the thing to do your enter
aiming with and I'll tell the whole
vide world that Tuxedo or an eve
ling coat would have been as funny
there as a suit Of overalls at the opera.
"You see the car began work at
1awn-in the summer that means four
o'clock in France. We weren't allowed
to build a fire before daylight-it
might have aided the enemy. We got
out of our hunks. Fred Bundschau,
Louis Lasage and I, at little after
three, started the fires going as soon
as we could get permission and then
moved the car to point where the
men going out to the trenches and the
men coming back would pass each
other. i
"Our greatest pride was that we
we're able to serve and did serve 1000
= cups Of hot chocolate there every
morning, besides giving out cigarettes
and other supplies to the soldiers.
And we kept it going, too, every day. .
NJ. nc. 80 Hard to Get Sugar. -, VI. d:
There were difficulties to be sur
mounted. Z The greatest Of these was
to obtain our own supplies Of choco-
late and sugar. Many times our trucks
could not get through because there
was so much artillery and ammunition
on the move. We simply had to have
the supplies for the boys. After some