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HELLO EVERYONE—this is Santa Claus! Not really—just pretend. But
we wanted to ask, Have you done your Conia shopping yet? Now listen, Joe, and this
is strictly G.I. No one expects you to do any Christmas shopping. If we just know
that you are well and happy, it will be the swellest Christmas present we've ever
had. You haven’t the time to go Christmas shopping. Maybe you are a thousand miles
from anything that even looks like Christmas. But we know it’s in your heart. And
maybe there is something that you’d like to do for someone that we could help you
with. If it’s the last minute and all other plans fail and you want to see that
someone gets a box of candy or a tie or a book or something not too difficult for
a Christmas present, air mail or wire us your order and we’ll do our best.
HOME TOWN. Business property is changing hands. A short time ago,
the Gralnek Motor Company sold the building it had been occupying on First Ave.
North to Max McCoy for the Iowa Electric Supply Company. Gralnek’s moved into the
Heath building and now they have purchased that building. The Home Furniture has
purchased the building that the Pilcher Auto Company has been occupying on First
Ave. South and Pilcher will move next door in to the building formerly occupied
by the Iowa Electric Supply Company. In another deal over on First Ave. North, Lloyd
Williams bought the Rehder building for the Warrier Motor Company . . . The sewage
plant that we built a few years ago is overloaded. Reason—increased industrial use
because of war activity . . . Local stores are now selling field jackets, sheep
lined wind breakers, navy pea jackets, navy buttons and all. They are strictly G.I.
. . . Howard Rohrer went to the lower dam late the evening of November
30. Took one final cast after he had dumped his bucket of chubs. Finished the season
with a seven pound, ten ounce wall-eyed pike. It was 271/4 inches long. One of the
best fish of the year . . . Everybody’s advertising for men, women, almost for children.
Men for the Alcan Highway in Alaska. Butchers, bakers, cooks for the Seattle ship
yards. Girls for the army and navy in stenographic jobs in Washington. Women under
forty to work at cigar counters . . . Pheasant hunting was good around Gowrie. Last
Tuesday, forty-six of the town’s business men had themselves a pheasant dinner in
the school house . . . First it was the laweyrs, now it’s the doctors. Dr. T.
J. Dorsey is in Mercy Hospital, down with pneumonia and recovering
nicely. Dr. D. G. Tepfer is there recovering from an operation...
M. J. Cuff, Sr. , died last week . . . Jay Mitchell
is in the University Hospital at Iowa City, recovering from an operation...
M. D. Gurnett, well known Fort Dodge insurance man, died early last
Saturday morning . . . Pete Salvadore and James Swaney,
a couple of 14-year- olds under parole, haven’t had much respect for the law. They
broke into Ralph Bastian’s apartment, locked since he went to the
navy, stole his overcoat, a tuxedo jacket, and his wife’s fur coat. Then they went
over to the police station and stole two bicycles. Now they are in Eldora . . .
The Study Club has announced that the Charity Ball will be held Wednesday evening,
December 29th at the Wahkonsa ball room... A service flag showing seventy stars
has been presented to the Lehigh high school by the alumni association. At the presentation,
D. L. Williams showed motion pictures of the boys in service .
. . The Fort Dodge Cooperative Dairy Marketing Association has purchased the Gold
Bar Creamery Company. The store is not affected by the sale . . . The Farm Bureau
is out to get 1200 members . . . The Messiah was given Sunday night at the high
school. Very fine performance and an appreciative audience . . . High school and
junior college got together for a party last Monday evening Bernard Brennan
and Don Chalstrom had charge of the pop bar. Juke box dancing in
the gym. Magic of George Staples for entertainment, 350 came .
. . Several weeks ago, the people of Lehigh sent fifty cartons of cigarettes to
the boys overseas. This week they receivd “thank you” cards from Pfc. Edward
Bukoveckas and Lt. Harlow P. Spencer.
THEY MET. They met in Guadalcanal—Sgt. Joe Stapleton
of the Medical Corps and Roy Vieg of the Navy Hospital Corps .
. . They met in Hawaii—Brothers Francis and Bill Hartman
and spent Thanksgiving together. It was the first time in three and a half years.
Francis is a boatswain’s mate 1/c, Bill is a corporal
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with the field artillery. Their brother, Lt. Kermit, is in North
Africa, with the field artillery . . . They met in Pine Bluff, Ark 1st Lt. J.
C. Culligan and Dr. H. C. Kluever, Lt. Commander in
the Navy. Dr. driving from Farragut to Pensacola, Fla., his new base. He went through
Pine Bluff, Ark., where Jerry is with the chemical warfare service. He passed Jerry.
Jerry saw the 94 number, gave chase, and they had a few minutes’ chat on the road...
They met in Australia—Sgt. R. W. Gilchrist and Preno Bisacchi.
Gilchrist is anxious to hear from any other Fort Dodgers in his part of the world.
CAPT. PETE ALGER, back from the S.W. Pacific where he shot down
five Nips, says the best radio programs in that part of the world come from Japan.
He says the “Jap Zero Hour” heard in the Pacific every evening at 8:15, is a honey,
carrying all the late recordings of Tommy Dorsey, Bing Crosby, and other top bands
and crooners. The little fellows with the big teeth have the idea that it'll make
us so homesick we'll pick up our guns and go home.
ON FURLOUGH. Sgt. Ronald Wheat back Guadalcanal after 22 months
in the S.W. Pacific. Feeling fine . . . Pfc Tom Keenan, from Will
Rogers Field, Oklahoma City, Okla. . . . Pfc Verne Cloud from
Fort Dix, N. J. . . . Pvt. Wyatt D. Anderson (the location and
the next name are in a fold and unreadable) Fort Fisher, N. C. . . . Lt. and
Mrs, Carl W. Abel (location is unreadable) . . . Pfc. Charles Vitt
from Camp Pendleton, Va. . . . Corp. J. W. Jamison of Lehigh from
Camp Shelby, Miss. . . . Robert Netlund, from Farragut, Idaho .
. . Pfc. Patrick J. Derrig from Fort Jackson, S. C. . . . Sgt.
Joe Nemechek from Pine Camp, N. Y. Joe is the commander of a tank .
. . William “Bill’ "Nelson from Farragut, Idaho . . . Corp.
Leo Casey
from Waycroft, Ga. Since coming home, he’s been promoted to Sgt. . . . Ensign
Francis J. Coughlon of Clare from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. . . . Corp.
Lloyd Whiting from Santa Maria, Calif. His brother Kenneth
is a Sgt. with an armored division at Camp Campbell, Ky. . . . Don Sperry
from A.S.T.P. at Georgetown University in Washington, D. C. . . . 2nd Lt. George
Antolik, Jr. , air navigator, is home from India,
He will report to Homestead, Fla.
MAN WITH WINGS—Gaylord Larson, commissioned at
Foster Field, Victoria, Texas, last week. He’s home on furlough.
PROMOTED. To corporal, Majel Eckerman of Duncombe,
with the women marines in San Francisco . . . From Corporal to Sgt., Warren
Edwards with the marines in the S.W. Pacific . . . From Corporal to
Sgt., John Asherl of Dayton. He’s in the South Pacific with a field
hospital . . . Promoted to petty officer in the WAVES, Katherine Saunders,
now in Washington, D. C.
HERE AND THERE. Long Call—Sgt. Tom Welch, somewhere
in the Pacific doing radar with an A. A. unit, called his folks a few days ago .
. . Continued story from last week’s YLFH. The Olofson boys, Merle and Arnim,
finally got together over there in Italy. Arnim got there first, via Sicily. When
Merle arrived from North Africa, he wrote a letter to Arnim. The censor saw the
address and directed Merle to a field hospital nearby. When Merle got the headquarters,
there he found Arnim waiting for him. Both got passes and went into town. Hadn’t
seen each other for nineteen months . . . Dale McConnell, formerly
with the music department of junior high, is now with the navy in its music department,
in school at Washington, D. C., as a student . . . Mary Dolliver,
Jim’s sister, has been made assistant director of personnel for all Red Cross workers
in Africa, Sicily, and Italy. She preferred to stay at one center with the men in
service, but Norman Davis himself insisted that she take the job.
It will mean much traveling throughout the area to which she is assigned . . . Prisoner
in Germany is S/Sgt. Dale Reichert. He writes that he is well and
that the Red Cross is doing a swell job of sending them food and cigarettes . .
. Back home and in the hospital at Fort Sam Houston, Pfc. Gerald V. Anderson
of Dayton. He was shot in the left leg in the fighting in New Guinea, last December
. . . Elwood O’Brion, electrician’s mate 1/c, is a prisoner of
the Japs. First he was reported as missing in action last May. He was with a submarine
in the Pacific . . . Jim Rigby is a civilian flying instructor
at the army’s air school at Chickasha, Okla. . . . Pvt. Arthur DuBois
of Lehigh is reported missing in action since November 6th. He was with the fifth
army in Italy . . . Leo Jacoby, after serving eleven months, is
home with an honorable discharge.
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Pfc. Warren Horner, a prisoner of the Japs, writes that his health
is fair and that he is uninjured. He was at Corregidor and was awarded the silver
star for gallantry under fire . . . Corp. Clyde E. Legg of Duncombe
was with the Marines at Tarawa, It is thought that his buddy, Corp. Jack Saeger
of Fort Dodge was with him... Rena Ulm of the WAVES has been assigned
to the accounting department in the naval yard at Brooklyn, N. Y.
HAPPY LANDING. Somewhere in the S.W. Pacific, Pfc. Robert
McGough. His brother Emmett is at Camp Pinedale, Fresno,
California . . . Lt. John M. Rhodes, somewhere in the S.W. Pacific.
He is with a medical unit . . . Pvt. Robt. J. Lentsch, somewhere
in Australia. His brother, Tom, is still on board ship somewhere . .
. Corp. Tom Merryman in Australia, He is with a mapmaking outfit.
Since arriving, he has run on to two Fort Dodgers, Robert Lentsch
and a boy named McFarlane . . . 1st Lt. Cole McMartin,
former newscaster with KVFD, now with an ordnance outfit, overseas somewhere.
WEDDING BELLS. Florence Parks of Moorland to
William Joesckhe, Jr., of Callender, in Moorland Thanksgiving Day.
Bill
leaves for the army December 18th . . . June Arliss of Clare to
Robert Fraher of Fort Dodge, Route 2, in November at Fort Dodge
. . . Wedding Bells Overseas: Richard Stoddard of Gowrie, the
first man from Gowrie called under the selective service, has been married in England
and to an English girl . . . Kathleen Kleber to William H.
Johnson, no date has been set. Johnson is with the navy ship repair
unit . . . Lulu Painter of Jacksonville, Fla., and George Tullis,
navy ordnance, of Fort Dodge, at Cecil Field, Jacksonville, Fla. Oct. 21 . . .
Emma Shipman to James Armstrong at Princeton, Mo.,
Dec, 4th . . . Audrey Marie Skein to Roger E. Viers,
gunner’s mate 3/c Dec. 10th in Fort Dodge . . . Doris Marie Thomas
to Athol B. Cuckie of Lehigh, Nov. 27, in Fort Dodge.
IN PAT O’BRIEN’S NEW PICTURE will be seen the A. A. battalion of
which Pvt. Al Breen is a member. Battalion was loaned to Hollywood
for an army picture being made at Oceanside, Calif., a few miles from Camp Callan,
where the battalion is stationed . . . Pvt. Don Cobb writes from
New Guinca to his wife and parents: “We have a nice camp set up here. The mess hall
is all screened in; has tables to eat on, and is really nice for being in the jungle
. . . We have plenty to do in the way of recreation, We have shows, plays, baseball
games and other sports.” . . . Tech. Sgt. Merlin Rufer writes his
wife a vivid description of a day and night under artillery fire in Italy—it was
his first night there. Greeted by bullets and shells, he says he knew they were
playing for keeps. He crawled into a foxhole as soon as he could find one and so
he says did everyone else. After a terrible night he crawled out as soon as it was
light. The first person he saw, was Sgt. Steve Valassadies, former
proprietor of the Blue Bird restaurant in Fort Dodge. He says they were very happy
to see each other.
COMMISSIONED. Willis S. Brokaw, second Lt. in
the
coast artillery. He just finished 0.C.S. at Camp Davis, N. C. His brother, Milburn,
is a Sgt. at Greenville, S. C., and Gordon is there also, back
from Trinidad. Their sister Doris is with the government in the
Panama Canal Zone.
BASKETBALL. Dayton 27, Gowrie 22. The Gowrie girls, however, took
their game, Gowrie, 55; Dayton 34, Harcourt took Lehigh last Friday night 29 to
17. That made it five straight for the Harcourt quintette. The Dodgers dropped their
opener to Boone in a thriller—23 to 22. Davidson at center was a high scorer for
the Dodgers with 8 points. Starting for the Dodgers were Jansen and Pray at forwards,
Davidson at center and Sells and Beers at guards. The Dodgers were ahead throughout
nearly the entire game and were leading 22 to 21 fifty seconds before the final
gun. The play of the Dodgers was not finished but it showed powerful possibilities.
The Dodgers went to Webster City Tucsday evening. Got mauled and clawed by the Lynx,
38 to 22. Webster City, incidentally, was in the finals of the state tournament
last year and looks like a repeater for this year. Their revolving figure 8 had
the Dodgers wondering what it was all about . . . More basketball—Corpus Christi
31, Barnum 25. Harrington of Corpus Christi was high scorer with 13 points, Fonda
21, Sacred Heart 20. DiNoto of Sacred Heart was high scorer with 12 points.
SICK CALL. Sgt. John Frandsen was wounded Nov.
10th while in action on the Italian front with the fifth army. Not serious he writes
. . . LeRoy Davis of Lehigh, chief petty officer in the navy,
is in Oakland Navy hospital for malaria contracted while in the Solomons . . .
Pvt. Thorlief Thompson of Badger is back from Africa and in Halloran
General Hospital, Staten Island, N. Y. Trouble, pleurisy. He says he is getting
wonderful treatment and that the food is fine.
STILL IN THE NEST—Lloyd Vevle, Clarence E. Moreland
and Dennis Weideman have finished basic flying training at Marana,
Tucson, Arizona.
HE’S SINGING IN ENGLAND. Pvt. George C. Brown
with
a choir made up of Yanks.
AND SEE THE WORLD. Pfc. Kenneth H. Leiss, Fort
Dodge, Route 2, has been having a look at the pyramids and the sphinx.
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CORP. FRANK VALASHEK of Lehigh is doing a Dead Eye Dick at Camp
Campbell, Ky. He has two expert’s medals and a sharpshooter’s for high scores with
different weapons. His brother Turney is at Nashville, Tenn., for maneuvers.
SOLDIER’S CHRISTMAS POEM from Overseas—Lt. Col. B. G. Marchi
says that more than 7,000 copies have been distributed to the men in the battalion
of which Company G is a part. ““Where will we be next Christmas, Is the question
that enters our mind. Will it be the good old United States; Or somewhere along
the Rhine? We have seen the mountains of Morne, And the shores of old Lough Neigh,
Seen the bonnis land the Grampian adorne Where the bagpipes play every day. Yes,
we’ve been to merry old England, Drank the traditional spot of tea. Now we’re still
in another land By the Mediterranean sea. But regardless of where we be next year,
If we’re still across the blue, Just say a prayer and have no fear, God will bring
us back to you.”
YOUR LETTERS TO US: Corp. C. E. Dueker, Davis,
Calif.: “T have two Fort Dodge men in my company, Pfc. Rickard Trucken
and Pvt. Dick Donly . . . Pvt. Fennessy, a former
employee of Tobin’s, is in Company A of this camp. We see each other often to talk
about the good old town of Fort Dodge.”
Ens. C. D. Heileman, Tuscon, Ariz.: “Had Sunday dinner with the
Chas. Yosts last week and a very enjoyable time. Just missed the
Fred Hagen family by a few minutes.”
S/Sgt. V. A. Spinharney, Fort Warren, Wyo.: “I am probably the only
Fort Dodger in a graves registration company . . . Incidentally my brother,
Lt. R, J. Spinharney with the naval air corps, is now in North Africa.”
Pvt. E. N. Eggen, Camp Reynolds, Greenville, Pa.: “Dear YLFH. I
just had to write and tell you how much I appreciate your masterpiece of news about
the old home town which you call ‘Your Letter From Home.’ It’s hard to realize how
much a fellow in the service enjoys reading about what’s going on back home and
what his old buddies are doing in the service, unless you are away from home like
most of us are.”
A/C K. E. Moreland, Albany, Georgia: “I had the good fortune to
run into Lt. Eugene Fortney. He is taking pilot training here with
me. We both have twenty-five hours on one of these PT 17’s. They are very similar
to planes flown in World War I—big biplane, open cockpit and 220 h.p. engine.”
John Ault, AMM2c, c/o F.P.O., San Francisco: “I'd like to tell you
a little about this place but because of strict censorship, I cannot. I sure would
like to get back and see all my friends and one thing else I’d like to see loads
and loads of, is snow . . . Sure wish I could have been there to see the game between
Mason City and Fort Dodge. Hope the game with Estherville comes out the same way.”
Wish we had more room for quotes from the letters that you write to us. We do the
best we can with the space we have. Your letters are all grand. We go for them like
a trout rising for a fly. We wait for them just like you wait for letters from home.
Other swell letters that we got this week were from Will Chantland,
one time county attorney of Webster County, Capt. in the Spanish- American war,
Colonel in World War Number 1 and now at the age of 73 plus seaman first class in
the coast guard at Fort Lauderdale, Florida . . . Orville Walters,
S2/c, Cuddihy Field, Corpus Christi, Texas . . . Corporal Keith G. Nordeen,
A.P.O. Los Angeles, Calif . . . . A/C Robert E. Johnson, San Antonio,
Tex. . . . Ensign Biythe W. Stanbra, Great Lakes, Ill. . . .
Pfc. Robert G. Porter, Mt. Home, Idaho . . . Sgt. Don Buck,
Fort Bliss, Texas . . . Corp. T. J. Dowd, Sheppard Field, Texas
. . . Sgt. Julian W. Messerly, Davis Monthan Field, Tuscon, Arizona
. . . and our first Christmas card from Pvt. Donald E, Haring,
Fort Benning, Ga., and our first V-Mail letter from Orville H. Jensen,
c/o F.P.O. San Francisco. The weather stays beautiful here. It’s perhaps one of
the nicest falls we’ve ever had. Most of the corn is harvested. Ninety-five per
cent of it, Weatherman Reed says. Stores are crowded with shoppers and Mothers and
Dads are wondering what to send to Joe . . . There are lots of uniforms on the
strects these days, fellows home on furlough from almost everywhere. Once they are
home the guy they miss is you. You are the fellow they want to see. You’re not there
and so the old town is not the same. And never will be until you come back. We are
awfully proud of you but that doesn’t take the edge off you being gone. The empty
place is still here. But until you come back, Joe, we'll do our best to keep the
home fires burning bright. And when you do come home we'll throw on another log.
If you know of someone from home in your outfit who isn’t getting this letter send
us his name and address, And when your own address changes, let us know. We don’t
want you to miss a single issue and when you have a moment, we'd like to hear from
you . . . Until next week, good luck and so long.
Your home town scribe, ED BREEN.
P. S. We really mean that about helping you to play Santa Claus. If you need help,
fellow, just holler!
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