Webster County

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HOME TOWN—Over the top went the county’s. November 11th scrap drive. Gowrie got three carloads, Dayton, Lehigh, and Badger a carload apiece. More than 500 tons collected in one day and it’s still rolling in . . . Someone in town is advertising for firecrackers . . . Don Peterson, school board member and photographer, died Wednesday night of meningitis. He was ill only a day or two . . . Kirkberg, H. C. , acting commander of the Civil Air Patrol, is out recruiting more lads for aviation cadets. EVERY RESTAURANT, hotel, cafe, had turkey on the menu last Sunday. Price, $.60 to $1.20, and that included everything, cranberry sauce, chestnut dressing, winding up with pumpkin pie . . . Paul Leaverton, state game warden, finds we have fifteen beavers in Webster County and is starting another colony near Lehigh . . . Halver Halverson and Rasmus Rasmussen; Webster County pioneers, both of Badger, died this last-week . . . BASKETBALL IS STARTING. Harcourt defeated Gowrie, 63-20, last Friday . . . Mr. and Mrs. E. T. Lawler of Clare celebrated their silver anniverstary. Irene Lawler came home to be with them . . . Bill Clark, Reverend W. P. , is now secretary. of the C. of C. He has resigned his pastorate . . . Bob Caldwell, former secretary, is now with the War Chest, USO, etc., in Des Moines . . . WE'VE BEEN A GOOD BOY. We bought nearly 700,000 gallons less of whisky this year in lowa than last. Answer is rationing. The Fort Dodge Store now has a gimlet eye from the state‘office who sees that regulations are strictly-enforced . . . Ivan Slater of Dayton is the new president of the Webster County Farm Bureau. Other officers are Sofus Hanson, vice-president, Callender; Irving Black, secretary, Otho; Herbert Rothe, treasurer, Fort Dodge . . . BILL SPIELBERG is back home. He spent the season with the band in Ringling Brothers Circus. The circus came no farther west than Chicago, but made plenty . . . Vernon Hanson, a 12- year-old, fell off the Herring viaduct the other day, landed in the mud, was not seriously hurt . . . SAILOR JAMES HARING of Fort Dodge, doing his composing in the Solomons now, has turned out a song, “The Moon Shed a Tear,” that Bing Crosby: will soon record . . . They had a lutefisk supper at the Lutheran Church in Callender Wednesday night . . . A fellow, over in Rockwell City wants to sell a gun and a case of shells. Most of us can’t even-get one box. SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO—the Firemen’s Ball Thanksgiving Eve. Yep, I got two tickets . . . County supervisors have let a contract for the surfacing of roads in Yell, Burnside, Otho and Elkhorn townships . . . John H. Moe, college student who has been receiving the Kenny treatment for infantile paralysis for the last year, is recovering. John may be able to go back to school text semester . . . Arthur Sandlers and Dan Hanrahan are both, back home, honorably retired. Art was a Sergeant in the Southwest Pacific and took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, Dan was a Corporal in North Africa.

HAPPY LANDINGS. Frances “Bill” Ramsden, somewhere in England. “Bill” was back in Fort Dodge not long ago. By the way Bill, if you have have been getting two of these letters it is because we have had your name twice, once as Bill and again as Frances . . . Earnest Partello, somewhere in Italy with Anti-Aircraft . . . Capt. Arthur J. Schwidder, somewhere . . . P.F.C. Ralph Boge in Australia . . . P.F.C. John R. Cummings, somewhere.

His older brother, Chet, is an Army Chaplain at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana . . . William Parent, from boot training at Farragut, Idaho . . . BROTHERS HOME. George and Harold Gerard— George from Fort Taylor, Key West, Florida, Harold from Farragut, Idaho, . . . Marvin Nelson, 1/C Petty Officer, Miami, Florida . . . Pvt. Clarence Julius from Camp Mackall, North Carolina . . . LT. KEITH CROUSE, Mrs. Crouse, and baby, visiting at Lehigh from Jacksonville, Alabama . . . Stan Oleson of the Seabees, from Camp Perry, Vermont . . . Pvt. Earl L. Murphy from Fort Story, Virginia . . .. Cpl. Earl Grannan from Camp Adair, Oregon . . . SEABEE MORRIS MOORE from Camp Peary, Virginia . .. Sgt. Ev Maly from Muroe, California . . . Charles Mattice, 3/C Petty Officer from Ana-Capa Island, California . . . Aviation Cadet. Don Ellinger from San Antonio, Texas.

BEFORE: AND AFTER. Page, Charles Atlas! Page, Bernaar MeFadden! Al Breen, after two months with AA at Camp Callan, California, has, gained 22 pounds. Bob Williams, of KVFD and Dayton, with the Air Corps, at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., in one month has gained 15 pounds and is an inch taller. Al is now in E.S.S. and Bob is going to be a pilot or a gunner in the Air Corps.

DODGER FOOTBALL. They’ve hung up their shoes—the shoulder pads are back in the moth balls. But thousands cheered as they left the field at the end of their last game. And in the hot stove league, for years to come, we oldsters will be plaguing the younger generation with the tales of Woodard and Pray and Knack and Carpenter, and the other fine lads who played on the Dodger team this year. Estherville hadn’t been beaten in two years. They had rolled up mountainous scores against their opponents. Inspired by no background of traditional rivalry, the Dodgers took the Midgets easily, almost too easily. The final score, 58-14, Estherville needn’t feel too bad about it. They were playing the best team the Dodgers have had since 1919. A team that should today be sharing state honors with any team in the state. WEDDING BELLS. Lanora Lane, formerly of Fort Dodge, now of Cedar Rapids, and Clanton W. Kydd of Gilmore City, now boatswains mate 1/C, U. 5. Navy- some time after the first of the year . . . Delores Weiss and Royal H. Evans, both of Fort Dodge, a week ago Saturday . . . Betty Jenson of Otho and Pvt. Ray V. Jordison of Fort Dodge, November 21 in Fort Dodge. Ray is at Moore Field, Mission, Texas. . Doreen Hanrahan and Aviation Student Harold Stewartboth of Fort Dodge, at St. Louis, November, 6th.

CPL. HAROLD ARMSTRONG, present address India, urges us to raise lots of food. He says they are starving over there. Lt. Frank “Hay” Griffith says about the.same thing. His mother is sending him, at his request, plenty of vitamin tablets to help with his personal food problem. He’s flying a transport ten hours a day.

POST WAR WORRY. Maybe you don’t know it, but the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars are going to be looking for you with membership blanks in their hands when you get back. VFW is advertising its intentions now. American Legion has been working quietly for a long time. Worry at home is that you may have an idea that you'll want your own outfit with a name something like, “The Legion of American Veterans.”

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE? Lt. Dr. Martin Van Patten is being given special training in parachute dropping for assistance to crash victims at Missoula, Montana . . . Lt. Comdr. Emerson B. Dawson is at the Naval Training Station at San Diego . . . Lt. (s.g.) Harold Larsen is in Medical Aviation training at Pensacola, Florida . . . Capt. C. J. Baker, in Ireland . . . Capt. E. S. Burch, just embarked for foreign duty . . . 1st Lt. M. W. Burleson, Presidio, Monterey, Calif . . .. Major C. H. Coughlan, Ft. Des Moines, Iowa . . . Lt. Comdr. O. N, Glesne, New River, N. . . . Lt. Comdr. H. C. Kluever, Pensacola, Fla. . . . Major J. C. Shrader, San Bernadino, California . . . Capt. O. D. Thatcher, somewhere in England . .. Capt. W. C. Thatcher, in Italy.

CAN YOU TIE THIS, SOLDIER? Pvt. Berwin Goodrich, Camp Hood, Texas, is a member of the escort guards. He has been in 32 states, North Africa, and Canada. Come on, someone beat that. Some of you G.I.’s have really traveled.

ARMISTICE KID. P.F.C. John Pershing Skoland of Dayton. He was born 25 years ago on November 11. Now at Camp Santa

Anita, California, His brother, Verne, is in the Seabees in the Southwest Pacific. Alice, their sister, former laboratory technician at Lutheran Hospital, is a Lt. in the Army Nurses Corps.

THEY MET IN IRAN. Sgts. Milford Jenison and Ralph Mooney. Mooney prepared a feast—gazelle steaks, ice cream, cake and pie. The steaks were the first fresh meat Jenison had seen in 11 months . . . THEY MET IN THE SOLOMONS. Johnny Schaupp and J. M. Wingert. John is servicing a plane for the Navy. He calls it “My Monstor.” Wingert is with the Seabees.

COMMISSIONED. Lt. Carl D. Scharf in the Army Air Corps at Fredrick, Oklahoma . . . Richard K. Johnson, 2nd Lt. in the Army Air Corps at Yale University, a communications officer. His brother Art is a navigator and a Lt. He has been in in North Africa, was in one of the raids on Rome and has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in the raid on the Polesti Air Field. He was down once in Portugal and was interned for a few days, but is now in England and has been on many raids over Germany. Bob Johnson, brother to Art and Dick, is getting pilot training at San Antonio, Texas . . . Ensign Earl D. Henderson, as a naval aviator at Pensacola, Florida . . . Ensign John B. Talleen of Gowrie in naval aviation at Corpus Christi, Texas.

THE LADIES, C.B.E. Vanna Hoffman, former danseuse, has finished boot training at Hunter College. She is at the naval air station at Atlanta, Georgia, for training in radio tower control work . . . 2nd Lt. Rita McCarville is spending a 10 day furlough with relatives at Moorland and Duncombe. She is at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas . . . Lt. Caroline Sehiil, Army Nurse, of Harcourt, is in Sydney, Australia. ist Lt. Herb Smith saw her there while on leave.

DECORATED. Lt. R. V. Gadd, the air medal for outstanding achievement and heroism in the Southwest Pacific. He is on duty in the Solomons area . . . Ist Lt. Herb M. Smith. the air medal for ouistanding achievement and heroism in the New Guinea area. He was in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. He’s home now, after flying 52 missions in the Southwest Pacific. He flew back as the pilot of the “Reedy Betty” in 28 hours, a ship with 107 missions and 17 Zeros to her credit. His twin brother, Howard, is also in the Air Corps . . . Distinguished Flying Cross for S/Sgt. Cliff McCarthy in the Southwest Pacific, aerial gunner in a flying fort. Cliff had previously been awarded the air medal. He has done 200 hours of flight missions.

MARENE CORP. WM. K. JONES, who wrote to us last week from Great Lakes Hospital, has completely recovered after several months in hospitals from the Southwest Pacific to Great Lakes. He’s back at Quantico, Virginia. His brother Jack is a seaman 1/C at San Diego . . . Pvt. Hugh Carlson of Company G is listed as “missing in Italy” . . . Archie Smith of Lehigh writes from England—"Everything here naturally is rationed. We have our ration eards and are allowed seven packs of cigarettes, a box of candy, two razor blades, a bar of soap, and a little gum each week” . . . Duane Ulstad, now at Kingman, Arizona, has his wings as a gunner. His brother Ken and his wife are at Camp Crowder, . A fire a few days ago destroyed their trailer and all their belongings . . . 2nd Lt. Ed Hotek flew in the other day from Hutchinson, Kansas. He is a flight instructor there . . . Back from over there is Cpl. Paul McDonnell, and fit as a fiddle after service in England and Africa.

Dear Joe: This is your wandering and errant correspondent. About. this time last week, I went hunting—pheasants. “Your Letter Srom Home” was written, Gloria, she’s the Titian beauty who makes with the L. C. Smith in the front office, was typing it. Then it would go to the printer, she’d read the proof, and the letters would be on their way again. I left as light-hearted as a kid out of school. Ten shells might not get three pheasants, but I could try, couldn’t 1? Besides, Swaney, Kempley, and McCormick would be along. They’d knock ’em down if I couldn’t. It was a beautiful day. We got some pheasants, had spice cake and whipped cream with Hans and his wife at Bagle Grove and got back about four o’clock. I took a look at “Your Letter From Home.” Gloria is not football fan—she goes more for Frank Sinatra and Harry James. How was she to know that Johnny Lujak had never seen the Black Hills or the Rosebud Reservation? Certainly, N. D. could stand for North Dakota as well as Notre Dame. We didn’t get Rey. Harvey’s title or commission in either. He’s a Chaplain, and incidentally, a captain. We'll make many more boners, I suppose Joe, on the spelling of names, and sometimes information from a long way way off is apt to be a little garbled, but we’ll do our best.

YOUR LETTERS TO US. Lt. C. T, Johnson, (New Orleans, Louisiana, enclosing a Fort Dodge Creamery canned milk label) — “For your info, here’s the canned milk we're using down here . . . I hope I can be using some of it in Berlin one of these days.”

Cpl. Ned Ackerson, (Shreveport, Louisiana) “I’m in a half track outfit, the first of its kind to go on maneuvers down here. I think this outfit is tops and wouldn’t trade it for any other branch of the service.”

Sgt. Ed Millang, (Waterboro. South Carolina)--“At present I'm Assistant Mess Sgt. and what a job! Especially keeping those K.P.’s in order, but we manage.”

R. E. Viers, G.M. 3/C (armed guard center, South Brooklyn, New York)--“Sgt. Bud Bock of old Company G was injured in the Mediterranean area sometime this summer. He had his spine badly hurt and was paralyzed for some time. We are all anxious to know how he’s getting along.” (Note “Bud’-Sgt. Earl Bock is in Percy Jones Hospital, Battle Creek, Michigan. He’s getting along fine. He may be home for Christmas.)

Sgt. Emfried V. Johnson (A.P.O., c/o Postmaster, Minneapulis, Minnesota)--“I cannot tell you where we are or the name of my post. We are set up out here in a vast wilderness, many miles from real civilization,”

2nd Lt. Golda Iowa Van Tassell, WAC, (Montgomery, Alabama)--“I was formerly manager of Gates Millinery Department and hold dear, pleasant memories gained from my connections in that splendid store . . . Our motto in the scervice is ‘Join the WAC, Speed them back.’ That’s why I’m here today, so the boys and girls may come back home, pick up the loose ends and carry on in a normal life we all want with all our hearts.”

We've also had grand letters from Sgt. Mary F. Welch, Pyote Air Base, Pyote, Texas; Cpl. Otto V. Rohr, Victorville, California; H. W. Mattfield, Army flight instructor, Ocala, Florida; Sgt. H. L. Davidson, Warner Robbins, Georgia; P.F.C. Howard Jordan, Camp Adair Oregon; Pvt. Rosetta A. Harp, Camp Roberts, California; Cecil L. Wills, Farragut, Idaho; Barbara Steenblock, Y 3/C, Portsmouth, Virginia; Cpl. Matthew Spievie, Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas.

Thanks so much to all of you. Keep on writing. We're just as anxious to hear from you as you are to hear from home. We only hope you enjoy our letters as much as we enjoy yours, Until next week, so long and good luck. About twice as much as you need. Your Home Town Correspondent, EDWARD BREEN .

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