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Webster County
IAGenWeb
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DEAR JOE: If you and I were crouched in a fox hole on the outskirts
of Fort Dodge this morning we’d be a_couple of wet Sad Sacks. Yes, sir! This is
a country rain, started last night, still coming down and on purpose. It’s rained
a lot lately and been cold, too. Drove to Des Moines yesterday. There wasn’t a farmer
in the fields. Too wet and too cold. Of course we’ve needed moisture. After the
winter we had—mild, open, no snow, the ground was unusually dry . . . Des Moines
looks about the same as ever. Lots of guys and gals in uniform, the cafes are crowded
and so are the hotels. Saw Cy Clifton and Jim Russell
of the Des Moines Register. Cy is about to take off on a political swing around
the state, although as he says, “What's there to write about?” And Jim is still
the farm scribe . . . The Dodge Theater closed sometime ago but the other theaters
are playing to full houses . . . Chas. Rubenstein is seen these
days on the Avenue in a new pork pie hat—very elegant—and much slimmer than he was.
. . Frank McTigue is becoming the town’s most successful impressario.
Within a year under his management, the Men’s Glee Club has presented Roland Hayes,
Alec Templeton, the Russian Cossack Chorus, and the Apollo Boys’ Choir to sell-out
houses at the high school auditorium.
OVER AT THE LARAMAR, they’re dancing to these: “It’s Love, Love,
Love.’ “I Love You.” “Besame Mucho.” “Shoo, Shoo, Baby.” It’s still around. “Poincianna.”
“When They Ask About You.” “Mairzy Doats;” yes, indeedy, still with us and still
silly—it’s the top tune on the juke box parade. “I'll Get By’—an old one coming
back strong and still as singable and sentimental as it was when I was young. “I
Couldn’t Sleep a Wink Last Night.” And “Long Ago and Far Away.” Gone with the songs
of yesteryear is “Pistol Packin’ Mama.”
BUREAU OF SCRAMBLED WORDS, Red Faces and Unread Proofs . . .
Bill Carroll and Judge Elmo McCormick, are not burglars.
What we wrote in our crabbed hand was burghers. You know what we intended to convey—that
well upholstered appearance of fellows who live well and enjoy good food.
AROUND THE TOWN. Dorn Machovac, 15 year old high
school sophomore of Renwick, formerly of Fort Dodge, who killed, his step-father
January 8th, was sentenced by Judge Stillman of Algona to life
imprisonment at hard labor last Saturday. Maurice Breen, of defense
counsel, moved the court for a withdrawal of the plea of guilty. Father Flanagan,
of Boys’ Town, had appeared in court at Humboldt asking that the lad be paroled
to him. The plea was ignored. Court is now considering motion of defense counsel
. . . Charlie Simmons, formerly with Plymouth, is now manager of
the General Mills plant here . . . Frank Frost, Jr. , has gone
to Mason City to become chief clerk of the Cerro Gordo O. P. A. board. . . Mr.
and Mrs. Walter Casteel are visiting Capt. and Mrs. Roland Stahr
in Washington . . . The farmers of the county voted overwhelmingly last Saturday
to establish a soil conservation district. Elected as directors were Edgar Hovey,
Art Sollie and Ivan Slater . . . Walter “Mike” Dalton,
of Manson, died last Saturday. He was 41 years old . . . Mrs. Nels J. Fridell,
94, oldest resident of Gowrie, died at her home Monday . . . The Elks had a party
Monday evening—600 for dinner—and a wonderful floor show, ushering in the club’s
new officers . . . The season is late—only about half the oats planted as of April
18th . . . The Senior High band did a concert at the high school Sunday. Did a number
from “Oklahoma,” today’s greatest musical comedy. Very nice . . . It’s being rumored
that Frank Leahey, Notre Dame’s football coach, may enter the Navy
and coach pre-flight at Iowa this fall . . . For an opener, the Dodgers shut out
Thor, 3 to 0. Knack fanned 11, allowed only two hits . . . Wake robins are in bloom.
A pair of flickers are building a nest in a soft maple over in the park . . . The
junior-senior banquet of Harcourt high will be held at the Country Club in Fort
Dodge this evening . . . Floyd Dettman delivered a sewing machine
by plane to the Lewis Kirchoff farm at Humboldt last week. He landed
in a nearby field, loaded the machine into a truck and took it up to the house .
. . Mr. and Mrs. Scott Barrett are back from Florida. With them
came their daughter, Mrs. Chas. F. O’Connor and her daughter,
Janet.
Lt. O’Connor is in New Guinea . . . Between 500 and 1000 German
prisoners are now interned at the camp west of Algona . . . This evening the Gowrie
seniors will present as their class play, “Little Women” . . . Iowa liquor stores
now permit the purchase of one fifth of whiskey per month . . . Frank B. Ulish,
head of the American Legion’s child welfare department spoke at the state convention
of Iowa Social Welfare workers last Saturday . . . Tom Griffith,
of the Telephone Company is now state president of the Independent Telephone Companies
Association . . . The Rainbow Girls will hold their Sadie Hawkins dance at the Wahkonsa
Hotel April 21st . . . The Fort Dodge Country Club is carrying on satisfactorily.
ENJOYING MOTHER’S COOKING. E. M. Goodspeed, GM,
from Norfolk . . . Cpl. E. C. Flinkinger, on sick leave from Chil-
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dress, Texas . . . Chas Spencer, from Farragut . . . Kenneth
F. Boots, painter with the Seabees, from the Aleutians. He'll go from
here
to Camp Parks, Oakland, Calif. . . . 2nd Lt. W. D. Porter, from
Lincoln, Neb. . . . Pvt. Tom Dorsey, from Camp Livingston, La.
. . . Pvt. George Davidson, from Camp McCoy, Wis. . . . Dick
Muhl, from Great Lakes . . . Willis Belknap, from
Chicago . . . Pvt. Bob Johnson, from Camp Livingston, La. . . .
Pvt. Mark Fennessy, from Davis, Calif. . . . Pvt. Bill Armstrong,
from Camp Livingston . . . Don Gawtry, U. S. C. G. from Manhattan
Beach, N. Y. . . . Pfc. Ernest Chambers, after two years in the
Southwest Pacific . . . S/Sgt. John Suer, Jr. , of Otho. He’s been
in Panama and Puerto Rico for two years . . . Sgt. Dallas DuBois,
of Lehigh, from Camp Shelby. Miss. . . . Pvt. Pat Derrig, from
Camp Atterbury, Ind. . . . Julius Kolesar, with the merchant marine
. . . Pfc. Carl and S 1/c Mabel Leiss. She is stationed at Great
Lakes. He is at Lowry Field, Denver, Colo. . . . Edwin Olson, M.
M. M. 3/c, of Vincent, from the west coast . . . Kenderick Swenson,
of Dayton, from Farragut . . . Sgt. Robert Schweiger, from Camp
Shelby, Miss. . . . A/C John Dowd, from Drake University . . .
Henry Kallansrud, from active duty . . . and 2nd Lt. Charles
Swanson, from Texas.
DOWN THE CENTER AISLE. Vera Frye, of Callender
and Don Winders, S 2/c, of Lehigh, April 15th in Lehigh . . .
Patricia Danielson, of Ottumwa, and Merle Dayton,
WT 2/c, of Lehigh, April 13th in Fort Dodge . . . Wilma Johnston
and Cpl. D. W. Hunefeld, of Portland, Ore., at Fort Dodge, April
13th . . . Harriet Plant, of Bath, Me., and Robert Daehn,
5 1/c, in Cambridge, Mass., April 2nd. . . Margaret Sorenson, of
Somers, and Ens. John Telleen, of Gowrie, April 3rd, at Corpus
Christi, Texas . . . Ruth Kurtz and Cpl. Arthur Ferkin
of Des Moines at Fort Dodge, April 9th . . . Ruth Sawyer and
Leonard Fuller, U. 5S, N., April 10th at Fort Dodge . . . Katherine
McMurray, of California, and Sgt. Marvin Pugh,
March 6th, in California . . . Dorothy M. White, of Badger, Cpl.
Kenneth Newbrough, of Alden, Minn., at Fort Dodge, April 8th.
MOVIN’ AROUND. To Groose Ile, Michigan, from Iowa City, A/C
Eldred Adams, U. S. N. Air Corps . . . To U. S. Naval Air Station at
Alameda, Calif. Cervia Vandi, AMM 2/c, from Norfolk, Va. . . .
He’s made five moves in three months of army service, the last three being from
Iowa City to Louisiana to Kansas, Pvt, Kirsten Lyngstad is now
at Camp Phillips, Kans. . . . To Cherry Point, N. C., Pfc: Olin J. Maage,
with a Marine night fighter squadron of “Hellcats.” . . . To Camp Hood, Texas from
Fort Revere, Mass., Pvt. Harry P. Jochimsen . . . From Atlanta,
Ga., to Seattle, Wash., Grenevere Swanstrom, SpT 2/c, with the
WAVES . . . To Ardmore, Okla., 2nd Lt. Lloyd O. Vevle . . . From
A. S. T. P. at Columbia, Mo. to Camp Rucker, Ala., . John D. Wittman
. . . To Camp Gordon, Ga., Pvt. Carl “Al” Rumme. He’s a radio repair
man with the cavalry. Rumor is they’re running the horses by remote control. How
about it, Al? . . . From the air corps (one of the 36,000) to Ft. Jackson, South
Carolina, Pvt. Jerry Coughlon . . . To Fort Dix, New Jersey,
Pfc. J. Pat Brodsack, from Los Angeles, Calif. . . . From Memphis to
Jacksonville, Fla., Robert Wales, S 1/c. He’s a radioman at the
air base . . . From Amarrilo, Tex., to Dyersburg, Tenn., Sgt. Richard M. Vohs
. . . To Ft. Knox, Ky., Cpl. Frank Valashek, Jr. He is conducting
demonstration firing for the school . . . Cpl. Roger Olson, from
Australia to New Guinea . . . To Yankton, S. D., from Liberty, Mo., A/C Jim
Williams.
GOOD FELLOWS GET TOGETHER. Don Carlson, Hockey
Hill, Willard Whitecombe, Clayton Bremer,
and Ed Christenson are together at Farragut. Don and Hockey are
attending gunners’ mate’s school . . . At Truax Field, Madison, Wis., Geo. Timmons
and Gould Campbell. They are in the same squadron. Thanks Gould
for “The Radio Post” . . . In North Africa, Lt, James Rhodes and
John Klinger . . . At Sheppard Field, Texas, Jim Collins, Jim
Cannon and Bob Courtright. Jim Collins
is now at Amarillo Air Field . . . In New Guinea, Everett Erickson, Carlyle
Macken and John Laska. They have been together ever
since they were inducted . . . In England, Cpl. Duane C. Anderson
and Pfc. Carl Wrede, of Dayton . . . In Elkins, West Va. Pvt.
Fred Miller and Marvin McCow.
OVER HERE. He's feeling fine now. In the hospital at Camp Cooke,
Calif., Pvt. Ronald Enfield is recovering from the flu and expects
to be out any day now. . . Pvt. Dorothy Sweet is at Mitchell Field,
New York . . . Sgt. Earl D. “Bud” Bock is now at Schick General
Hospital at Clinton, Iowa . . . Art Chantland, A/S at Farragut,
Idaho, is in the hospital with pneumonia, but is recovering and hopes to be home
on sick leave soon. The Indians called the place where Farragut is located “Fever
Valley” and refused to live there . . . Pvt. Wilbur Springer is
now at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Mrs. Springer is with him, living
at Mount Holly, New Jersey . . . Cpl. Eugene H. ‘Curl is at Camp
Kearns, Utah . . . Pfc. Dean Wright is stationed at Fort Knox,
Ky. For the past year he has been working on tanks as a mechanic. . . He’s in mates’
school at Camp Peterson, Farragut, Idalio. Robert Ault,
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S 2/e . . . Sgt. Bernie Nyguard is back in the states and stationed
at Fort Jackson, South Carolina . . . Magnus Notvedt, Jr. , is
in V-12 at Notre Dame . . . Mrs. Harold T. Larson, Pvt. in the
Marine Corps, is now on duty at the P. X. at Bremerton, Washington. Lt. Harold
Larsen, her husband, is in the Southwest Pacific.
HOME TOWN BOYS MAKE GOOD. 1st Lt. Art Johnson,
now in England, has been awarded the Presidential citation for his work in North
Africa. This is in addition to the air medal, four oak leaf clusters and D. S. C.
which Art had previously received . . . From Cpl. to Sgt., Duke Skophammer,
with a bomber squadron at Dyersburg, Tenn., and now most likely on his way to England.
Thanks for the book and paper, Duke. Happy landing! . . . From Pvt. to S/Sgt.
Fred Heidick, somewhere in Italy. Fred had a front row seat for the
eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. He saw Francis Carlson the other day.
First time since April, 1942 . . . He’s now an ensign with wings. Lee Holdren
was commissioned March 3lst at Pensacola. Now he’s at Fort Lauderdale flying T.
B. F’s . . . T/Sgt. Chas. R. Bickford has received the Distinguished
Flying Cross for courageous service in the Southwest Pacific area from January 23,
1943, to December 18, 1943 . . . To PhM 2/c, James O'Connor. He’s
in the Marshalls . . . Dale Sperry now has his wings and his lieutenant
commission. He graduated at Pecos, Texas, April 15th. He’ll go to Roswell for training
as a pilot on a Fort. Bruce E. Ramler got his wings and commission
at Chandler, Arizona and Floyd Vevle graduated to wings and a commission last Saturday
at Marfa Field, Texas . . . To Capt., Ronald McEwen with an intelligence unit in
Italy . . . To Lt. Col, Carl A. Youngdale of Harcourt. He’s with
the Marines in the Southwest Pacific. Saw action when his outfit invaded and captured
Roi and Namur in the Marshalls . . . To S/Sgt., Dick Schnurr
with the 8th Air Force in England.
OVER THERE. Rudi R. Anderson, with 5 missions
to
his credit in Italy, crashed on the 5th in the B-24 they were flying. Everyone got
out all right. Rudi survived not only that but 6 great Italian operas as well, His
squadron’s title, “The Devil’s Playmates.” . . . “Somewhere in the Aleutians is
Pvt. Chas. S. Walker. Even up there they had turkey for Easter
Sunday dinner . . . Sgt. Everett L. Bock is somewhere in Italy
. . . T/4 Chas. W. Graffunden, of Webster City, who has served
in the army from the Aleutians to Italy writes “tell everyone hello from the Anzio
beachhead, the hottest spot on earth at present.” In his outfit is R. C. Johnson
. . . T/Sgt. Dean Wilcox, writing from England to Bob Hughes
of Tobin’s and to Larry Geer says he’s been getting Y. L. F. H.
regularly
and really enjoys it. Larry also had a letter recently from Sgt. Don Cain.
Don is in England and says thanks all around to the sponsors . . . Pvt. Robert
Baker is now in England with an infantry unit . . . Lt. Marvin Vinson
is in England . . . So is Pfc. Henry Dornath . . . He’s in England,
Cpl. Howard Merryman . . . Capt. Jack Douglas
is in Italy piloting a Fort . . . They are somewhere in England—Lt. Dorothy
Anderson and Lt. Martha Swanson, both of Harcourt,
and both in the Army Nurses Corps . . . Lt. Richard Sternitzke
writes “ye editor’ that after some two years in the army he has finally reached
a place “somewhere in New Guinea.” . . . Walter L. Caskey, of Lehigh,
is now based in New Guinea. He’s an engineer gunner on a light bomber and has been
on most of the islands between the U. S. A. and New Guinea and down into Australia
. . . To 2nd Lt. O. D. Walton with the U. S. Army Air Force,
we are indebted for a colored post card of Picadilly Circus. We've heard so much
about it—especially after dark, we've always been curious to know what it looked
like. Looks harmless and conventional enough on a post card. Thanks O. D.
PFC. GENE PETERSON, now in Panama, was a member of the honor guard
for Mrs. F. D. R. on her recent visit.
ORCHIDS. They were cabled from Italy by Capt. Steve Manchester
to his wife—and a plant to his mother-in-law, Mrs. John Mooney,
for Easter.
FROM THE FIVE CORNERS OF THE WORLD. Major Charles J. Baker,
M. C., APO, New York, “Having enjoyed to the fullest the last eighteen copies of
“Your Letter From Home,” I thought that it was about time that I wrote you to say
what a grand thing it is and how greatly it gives a little taste of the old home
town to those who have been away from it and especially those of us who have sweated
it out in foreign places for more than two years, as I have. The people who conceived
the thing and those who back it, I am sure, are blessed every time that an issue
of it arrives to those of us who are away from home by many thousands of miles.
May its good work continue. Please give my best personal regards to the backers
of it and all else about the city. My very best to you.
Lt. R. F. Stewart, FPO, San Francisco, “I met Rex Perkins
in Sydney—Supply Corps, Navy (j. g.). He and I had a nice “beer bust” one night
and talked all about our Junior College football and our high school experiences.
A while back I met two other fellows, Sgt. Spotvold and Johnny
Schaupp. “Spotty” had a nice band entertaining us and I was going to
see him for a long talk session but we moved closer to combat a short time later.
I met Johnny under peculiar circumstances. Had to use their field for a “belly landing”
coming back from a mission. Boy, we had quite a talk and do they have good food
on that island. Johnny really looked in good condition.”
Capt. C. B. Hamilton, South Pacific, “I was with the 8th General
Hospital in New Caledonia for ten months. In that time I saw two Fort Dodgers. Ran
into Dick Gadd in an officers’ club in Noumea. We did a bit of
arm bending and spent a few days together at different intervals after that. Not
so sure, but I think every pilot who came through after that called me, saying he
was a friend of Dick Gadd’s, should they come out as my guest.
Reason: we had numerous attractive nurses and after a stay up north they really
look good to the boys. The last two weeks I was there, Dr.
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Eldon Hoover was a patient in our hospital and was doing fine.”
Cpl. Dick Wallace, Camp Wolters, Texas, “Iowa is pretty well represented
in this headquarters. Clint Carr, from Fort Dodge, is one of our
most efficient payroll clerks. Fort Dodge and N. W. Iowa are our main subjects in
our slack time bull sessions. He's a corporal and came out of Clerk’s School too.
Algona, Sioux City, and Spencer are also represented. I expect to leave here within
the next month for a point of embarkation. Cpl. Carr leaves next week.”
Morris D. Nicholson, S 1/c, Southwest Pacific, “I am in a construction
battalion, and stationed in the South West Pacific. We put a few months in New Caledonia,
about three months in Guadalcanal. I am now stationed on one of the islands in the
Solomon Group Things were pretty hot for us boys in the early part of the months.
Nights are pretty lonely in the foxholes. Those Jap boys kept us pretty busy getting
in and out of them.”
Betty E. George, S 2/c, Crane, Indiana, “During my boot training
in Hunter College, I had an opportunity to go out to the Statue of Liberty, also
to visit Staten Island, and view the city from the top of the Empire State Building.
I think the “Waves” is a wonderful opportunity for any young girl who wants to serve
her country. I can say from my own experience that if I had known how, much good
we really are doing, I would have been in the service sooner.
Lt. Oliver H. Smith, England, “I’m sitting here trying to make England
feel like Iowa, but it can’t be done. Even if you shut your eyes it’s hard to be
fooled. If you have just four of these Eng. Pence in your pocket you have to lean
the other way to balance their weight.”
Dick Brunnenkant, San Francisco, Calif., “In my travels in the islands
I met only two boys from the Home Town. I met Ross Tierney in Honolulu
last spring and Bob Patterson in the Ellice Group. Bob and I had
many enjoyable chats over a warm beer. I missed Bob Wasem in Los
Angeles last winter when he was passing through, but we have corresponded as regularly
as possible. He is quite busy at present. Carl Tierney is fine
as is Raynette, his wife. Jack Pontius is with
Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, and doing a grand job there. Ed Law
is to receive his commission in the Army in June. I also chanced to see Don
Welch in Honolulu last summer. I’m now stationed with Pan American,
in San Francisco, and ordered to proceed to Honolulu in May for another year tour
down South. This Stateside duty is fine but you get the itch to go down again where
you feel you are really helping things along, so no regrets.”
A/C Ken Moreland, Dothan, Ala., “Once again I'm stationed with
Bob Marsh
, from home, but not for long, as Bob graduates a week from today and will get to
see all of you swell people back home. If all goes well, and chances now are about
50-50, my class will graduate May 23rd, and I may also have a chance to see you.
I haven't had any time off in 18 months and could really go for a few days of rest.”
Jack H. Jones, MoMM 3/c, Port Hueneme, Calif., “Have been getting
your letters regularly for quite some time and have really appreciated them. Now
I'm going overseas within the next few days and want you to know my change of address,
so that I will be able to receive them where I’m going. Your Letter From Home will
be particularly looked forward to because there are three other Iowa boys in my
outfit and they get almost as much enthused about it as I do, even though they are
not from Fort Dodge.”
And there was a flood of other letters, most of which we've acknowledged one ‘way
or another in this letter. Other letters that we enjoyed came from Sgt. Ted
Rule, Ft. MacArthur, Calif. . . . Cpl. C. F. Youngren,
APO new York . . . Cpl. Robert Horton, England . . . Pvt. Floyd
Stanek, Arcadia, Calif. . . . Pvt. Verl Pugh, APO,
San Francisco . . . Julius Andrew Krebs, G. M. 3/c, FPO, New York.
. . Pvt. Joseph Rutledge, Italy . . . Sgt. Duke Skophammer,
Dyersburg, Tenn. . . . S/Sgt. Hubert Skoog, Australia . . .
Lt. (j. g.) Francis Collins, San Diego, Calif. . . . Cpl. Ralph Christenson,
Chandler, Ariz. . . . Arthur Raymond Cote, S 1/c, FPO, San Francisco,
Calif. . . . Henry Thomas Pliner, MM 1/c, FPO, New York . . .
Arthur S, Holmer, S 2/c, Camp Peary, Va. . . . N. S. Beminio,
S 1/c, FPO, San Francisco . . . Sgt. Oren Craven, New Guinea .
. . A/C L. B. Adams, Kingsville, Texas . . . Pvt. Robert Lentsch,
New Guinea . . . Pfc. Floyd Zeka, Pyote, Texas . . . Ensign
Robert Welp, Corpus Christi, Texas . . . Adam Reis,
S 2/c, Farragut, Idaho. . . Sgt. Glen Farmer, Camp Polk, La. .
. . Pvt. Jerry Coughlon, Ft. Jackson, South Carolina . . .
Cpl. Warren Shelby, APO, San Francisco . . . Leonard Drake,
Oakland, Calif. . . . Pvt. Marvin McCoy, Elkins, W. Va. . . .
Cpl. Eugene Curl,Camp Kearns, Utah . . . Sgt. Fred Vannoni,
New Guinea.
In the mail sack, too, were camp papers—a lot of them. We'll have a great collection
for you when you come back . . . “The North Islander” from
Ens. N. E. Carroll, Coronado, Calif . . . “The Falcon News”
from Pfc. Ron Folvag, Stout Field, Indianapolis . . .
“The Forward Observer” from Sgt. Robert E. Riggs,
Camp Joe T. Robinson, Ark. . . . “Guinea Gold” from Cpl. Tom
E. Merryman, New Guinea. . . “The Pine Bur” from Pvt.
Wm. Armstrong, A. S. T, P. Basic Training Center, Ft. Benning,
Ga. . . . “The Western Signal Corps Message” from Pvt. Eric
M. Nelson, Camp Kohler, Calif. . . . “The Spindrift”
of the pre flight school at Iowa City, from Eldred C. Adams, U.
S. N. R., Groose Ile, Mich. . . . “The Radio Post” from Gould
Campbell, Truax Field, Madison, Wis. . . . “The Florence Windsock”
from Pfc. Bill Roberts, Jr. , Florence, S. C. . .
. “Guinea Gold” from Sgt. Fred Vannoni, New Guinea
. . . “The Ramp-Age” from Lt. Francis Collins
. . . Thanks so much for all of them.
FLASH—Lt. Bernard Gillespie is a prisoner in Germany.
First pilot on a Liberator based in Italy, he had completed 10 missions. So long
every one. Good luck. God bless you. Be seeing you next week, same time, same place.
Your home town correspondent,
ED BREEN.
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