Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1922-01-04

miss Mary Gaines Writes of
Christmas in Boise, Idaho.
tDear Edgefeld:
Merry Christmas and Happy New
|Year! The West sends Christmas
tgreetings to the East.
las we opened our eyes this morn
ling we gazed. upon a white and snow
lowered world. We are reminded of
fLowell's 1First Snowfall" everywhere
1--WE look. The roofs are covered with
E"carrara," and every twig "wears er-
mine too dear for an earl" You will
Ibe surprised when I tell you that this
fis Boise's first snowfall. Most people
think that we have very cold wealth
Ter here, but our winters are very lit
tie colder than they are there. Our
deepest snow last winter was about
flour inches, and the ice on the ponds
Twas froken hard enough for skating
Flor period of about two weeks only.
fThe first week / landed here had
IA letter from home with this sem
stence in it: ooh, how / hate to think
Eof your being so far away; way out
there in that cold region" The next
Sunday the temperature was 1O7
|Fahr., in the shade. Feature that! I
didn't start out to write about the
weather though.
S Everywhere over the city this week
I'VE have been seeing Christmas trees
of fir and balsam that were shipped
in from the North, or brought down
from distance of twenty miles or
more back in the hills. There are no
natural trees in and around Boise.
THE foothills lying north and south
Just back Of the city are bare of any
vegetation on account of the dryness
of the climate. In the spring of the
years for a short time only, after the
winter SHOWS, the hills are covered
with fine, short grass. All summer
long we have. scarcely any rain, SO
the life of this verdure is short-lived.
The SHOWS of the winter furnish wa
ter for farming; this water is slowed
up. in the irrigation bitches and is.
flooded over the ground as the. crops
demand it during summer months.
In IN my next letter I viii write more
of the crops and the FARM I;
ing. e e .s.s7
Now, I want to tell you about the
Christmas activities for the boys here
at the barracks. Many of the organi-
cations and private families of the
city join in on special occasions with
appropriate and significant gifts or
entertainments. At the hospital we
have Red Cross and K. G. Several
ladies of the city give, gratis, almost
all of their time to the Red Cross
work; helping the boys get their COM
pensation Strengthened out; provid-
ing flowers for the wards and indi-
viduals who are very sick, or have
undergone an operation; providing
entertainments and serving refresh
ments and doing innumerable unre-
corded kindnesses. The K. G. secre-
tary and his wife, Mr.. and Mrs. Muir
ray live at the K. C. hut and give all
of their time to the work. There is
weekly movie here and the Communi-
ty Hall at the Hut is used by various
organizations for dances and other
entertaining.
[ This year the Red Cross is fixing
Christmas trees for the boys in each
ward. A prize was offered to the
ward furnishing the best ideas for
decorations, gifts and entertain
ment, and in this way there were
many helpful suggestions. Besides
this the members of the Junior Red
Cross are giving little play in the
hall and "open house" will be OBJ
served all day Sunday and refresh
ments will be served by the ladies.
On Monday night the Royal Neigh
bors gave an entertainment and
dance in the K. C. Hut. Prizes of
glasses of homemade jelly were CIV
en- the winners in a blind-fold pop
corn-eating contest-two boys were
blind-folded and each had to feed
the other popcorn with spoon; to
the lucky one of four who first emp
tied the milk from a nursing bottle,
"baby styles" and to the winner in an
I'll fo,,rs roco The barracks has its