| Home | Search | SBButler Letters |
March 3, 1918
March 10, 1918
March 18, 1918
March 24, 1918
Letters between Sylvester and Eva
Dear Mother,
My week went off considerably differently than I anticipated
inasmuch as we were suddenly informed Monday afternoon that we
would begin range practice the following day, and I and all of
us have spent the greater part of the week on the target range.
The men have averaged up pretty well on shooting. I slunk off
privately and did a little myself from time to time, just doing
average work. The new rifles are first rate shooting rifles,
except that the sights are not as good for target work; there
is no recoil to the rifle at all.
Yesterday I rested up considerably and to-day jumped in earnest
into the Major's & Lieut. June's book, having general criticisms
ready on the whole thing by tonight. The Major dropped in at
5:00 or so, and the three of us went over it. They adopted most
of my suggestions, and seemed to be pleased with them. For the
next two days I hope to have most all my time to devote to working
out the details. I have secured Lieut. Taylor to look after my
company on the target range.
Sam Sewall died Feb. 13th and was buried in Portland, Maine.
I just got the news to-day. He has surely had a long hard battle.
Jim Cooper died only 3 days later, which makes three men gone
out of our class now since the spell was broken the day after
Christmas. [ Sam Sewall was Sylvester's roommate at Yale, and
a fellow graduate in the class of 1913 -- David ]
Aunt Elizabeth has sent me up a nice box of chocolates which
I am enjoying to-day.
I am considering a week-end down in Jersey in the near future
if we are here long enough.
Ralph has probably told you of the Major's being detailed to
the Officers' School this last week; this leaves Lieut. June
again in command. The epic has never come out complete as the
illustrations are not forth-coming very fast. Lieut. June's is
out and I gave the Major his just before he left. He insisted
I must have something far worse tucked away for publication after
he left.
If you see Willis, tell him I have been trying to get hold of
Lieut. Means, but have not yet been successful. I'll be glad
when they get her straightened out. [note- I have no idea what
this means]
Lots of love to all
Sylvester.
Dear Mother,
I like this new paper of mine first-rate and thank you very much
for it. [note - paper has gone from cream colored to a pale khaki-green]
I'm also much obliged for the pie and cake and chocolate sent
up by Ralph & also earlier in the week.
All my spare time during the week has gone into the Major's book
and I had it nearly ready for him when he came down to-night.
He looked it over decidedly hurriedly and authorized its being
sent to the printer, but will undoubtedly give the next proof-sheets,
when they come back, a much more thorough examination.
I am acting as a sort of a near half adjutant to Lieut. June
attending, adjutant's meetings when he is not able to himself,
and helping him out on a number of things which come up, such
as weekly schedules, letters he wants written, &c. This with
my company and the book isn't making life any more like a summer
holiday. But the more the merrier, as they say.
Thursday I went to the automobile show in Boston, which Ralph
has probably told you about. I only stayed during the day and
started back home about four o'clock with Lieut's June, Fox,
& Spaulding in the Major's car. Deck wanted to stay in town,
go to a show, & come back late, but the rest of us didn't
care about it. I'm not strong for mid week parties up to one
& two in the morning, with a useless working day as a sequence.
I forgot to acknowledge Dad's lyrical lilt which he sent me week
before last. Tell Dad I trust he won't think I'm unappreciative
of budding genius.
This will have to be all for to-night, I have a heavy day to-morrow.
Lots of love
Sylvester
Dear Mother,
This is a some what belated week-end letter. Yours came to-night
and I was surely surprised to hear of Dad's being on his back;
it seems so strange to think of him that way. I am mighty glad
he's coming along so well.
Probably Lucinthia and Aunt Lucy will have written you something
of their week-end. I enjoyed having them ever so much, and hope
they had as good a time as they seemed to. A variety of partners
was naturally very difficult to get, with only a few there whom
I knew, and very few unmatched. With two or three men I turned
down chances to trade dances because I didn't dare take the chance
of dancing with unknown, uncertainly critical maids. The majority
of our dancing was trading between Lieuts. Travers, Taylor &
myself; we were the only dancing officers of the Train there.
I received a box of dandy pop-corn balls this afternoon from
Catherine Hubbard on behalf of the Camp-Fire Girls.
I am surely glad to get the hint of good news you convey from
Binky. But wish he could let me know more about himself, whether
he is a 2nd lieutenant or a 1st lieutenant, what outfit he's
with, and what he's doing.
This is a short letter to write of nine days' doings, but they
have been full, I can assure you, and with plenty of varied activities.
Lots of love
Sylvester.
Dear Mother,
This has been a very quiet week-end; only three of the officers
have been around most of the time and one of those sick - Lieut.
Thorpe, who's having a miserable time with piarrea, or some name
like that, some infection of the gums; and with it lots of trouble
with his teeth. John Achorn has been sick for a month, ever since
he had his tonsils taken out, in order that he could be accepted
for transfer to aviation. On top of his illness, his application
for transfer was disapproved. When he came back from the hospital
he tried to get back to work, but just caved in, seeming to have
something like pleurisy. He went home for ten days and seemed
to get a lot better, came back last Wednesday and in a couple
of days went right down again, developing fever, coughing blood,
& what not. So now he is in the hospital again, and seeming
to improve. A long rest seems to be what he needs. [note - these
two cases show just how tough it was to be sick in the days before
antibiotics.]
It surely seems good to have these beautiful Spring days. The
cold out of the air, and the mud almost dried up, let us manoeuver
outdoors at will. To-day has been perfect, and I have enjoyed
it, even though from the inside looking out most of the time.
The Misses Cook and a Mr. Stanley from Worcester stopped to see
me a short while this afternoon.
Every morning at 10:30 now the Supply Train goes up to Headquarters
of Trains where they go thru calisthenics together with the Ammunition
Train, Sanitary Train, and Military Police, to music by the Ammunition
Train band. After calisthenics everybody double times around
the drillground a few dozen times. Thursday there was a moving
picture man taking views of the proceedings, so if you see "calisthenics
at Camp Devens" widely advertised at some motion picture
house, even if perhaps my name isn't prominently mentioned in
connection therewith (for the absent minded cinematographer neglected
to ask my name), it might pay you to go & see in the left
background m'athletic form and m'commanding mein towering over
C co., 301st Supply Train, even if you don't hear "Together-r!"
bellowed forth in bovine tones.
Ralph and a Serg. Callahan are having a busy time straightening
out Andy's room and job while he is away on a little trip. Andy
surely had things in a mess, and there were matters which should
have been taken care of as much as 3 & 4 months ago which
have come to light. Andy is the Supply Officer for the Train,
a chap we all like tremendously, but he surely is no business
man. I am exercising sort of general supervision over his job
while he is gone and signing papers galore as acting Supply Officer.
I'm rather shaky about having my name on some of those 4 mo.
old papers.
I surely meant to write to Dad on the 20th, but when it came
to the end of the day went back on my resolutions. Ralph tells
me Winnie wrote Dad had started back to the office.
I have nearly perfected a little scheme in which I have taken
a great deal of interest for some time for my company - what
I am pleased to call a Company First Aid Service. I have bought
from the Company Fund about $60.00 worth of standard medicinal
accessories for the most common ills likely to beset the men
- including a huge bottle of iodine, a thousand quinine pills,
and the same quantity of aspirin pills; several jars of mentholatum
(a frost-bite preservative); a thousand cascara sagrata pills;
iodoform; collodion; bandages of varying widths; absorbent cotton;
adhesive plaster; oil of clove; and a huge jar of unguentive
- that's all I happen to think of now; at any rate I think we
are pretty completely equipped. We have also bought a number
of small individual bottles & tin boxes for individual allotments
of the most standard of the above - unguentive, iodine, cascara,
quinine, & aspirin pills. Each chauffeur is to be issued
a special packet of the articles I am going to issue individually,
to use with his assistant chauffeur, and men with other functions
in the company - cooks, mechanics, truckmasters, messenger -
who operate separately will each have one. Then in each of the
3 sections of the company there is a First Aid Non-Com who has
a larger packet with other of the materials which we have in
smaller quantity but may need to be used; and it will be their
special duty to assist in all cases where needed. At the head
of the Service I have the company clerk, Serg. Fernald, who will
keep the main stock, and thru whom all material will be issued.
I hope it will prove a workable scheme, and that it will be of
value; it has seemed to me that such a scheme would be absolutely
necessary when we were likely to be so far away from a doctor,
and also for simple ailments it will save time & trouble.
Naturally the Company Order which establishes the Service contains
regulations regarding the use of the packet, so that the men
won't be tempted to use it wastefully, and will be careful to
keep it - they will be required to make reports to Sergeant in
charge whenever they have used a quantity, and the reason for
their use. The Sergeant will keep the record for me, and I shall
have this on any company inspections we shall be able to have;
at such inspections the packet will be shown, and men called
to account where there is a large quantity of material gone without
a report in the Sergeant's record.
I am tired of those Travelers' Insurance Co. letters. I dropped
that accident insurance because it was no good overseas, and
I am covered by my Covenant Insurance. I informed them to that
effect but they didn't seem to connect Lieut. B. with Mr. B.;
in this last letter of theirs I wrote on the same sheet they
sent me, which I hope will enable them to connect me with my
former self without too great a strain of the imagination.
Tell Uncle George, please, that the ladies enjoyed his candy
very much.
I am sorry about that laundry last week; one thing or another
kept me on the jump all day Friday & I just could not get
it off. This week however it went the first thing Friday morning
and I hope it got to you on time.
I have been asked to write Sam Sewall's obituary for the Class
Record.
I have another letter yet, and must get going. Good night.
Lots of love
Sylvester
| Home | Search | SBButler Letters |