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Webster County
IAGenWeb
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DEAR JOE: Its June in January in your home town. It’s been raining
for a day or two—not much, more of a mist than anything else. In California they’d
call it a high fog or a heavy dew. And it’s warm. Yesterday it was 63 and today
it’s 48 or so. It’s been warm all this month. Yesterday boys were playing baseball
and shooting marbles. People are salvaging paper, selling bonds, doing their own
work. Even five-year-olds are out with their wagons hauling scrap paper. The best
movie we have seen lately was Bette Davis in “Old Acquaintance”—not a war picture.
Fellows being drafted now belong in two classes—eighteen-year-olds and fathers,
most of them 25 to 38 years old, a good many with more than one child. Got a new
sponsor this week. Tom Roderick and Art Olson
at the Iowa Illinois Gas and Electric said “Sign us up.” They are on the team now.
May have another rookie or two next week.
TOWN TALK. The 100 finest war photographs are on exhibit at the
Blanden Memorial Art Gallery. Selected by Graflex, they are being displayed by KVFD.
They were all taken by the navy, army, marines, coast guard and air corps ... Darned
few fires in Fort Dodge last year. Chief Grant says the lowest in history ... They
sent Jim Dennery’s wings to his wife, the former Jean Fowler.
He was killed last fall four days before he was to have gotten his commission .
. . Mr. and Mrs. Thos. Dolan, of Clare, celebrated their 71st wedding
anniversary last week . . . Successor to “Pistol Packin’ Mama” is “Shoo, Shoo, Baby”
. . . Company G, the state guard, is still drillin’ away. Had an inspection last
week and an open house ... The Walter Zeims had a housewarming
the other night at their new home a half mile east and south of Badger... Bonds
in the fourth war loan are really selling. Every clerk in every retail store in
town has a quota of $200 and they are meeting it. Every movie theatre is selling
a bond for every seat. The new bonds are worth just as much but are only half the
size of the ones we used to get . . . Eugene and Owen Larson, of
Webster City, were found guilty of stealing a car in Fort Dodge. They will be sentenced
this week . . . Bill Jarrett of Gowrie disappointed five hundred
people who crowded the courtroom last Saturday. Everyone wondered why he had killed
Everett Warden. Jarrett pleaded guilty but when asked why he had
killed his former employee, consulted with his attorney, Francis Mullen,
and refused to answer the question. He will be sentenced February 5th ... Dr.
Hines is just back from a three weeks’ trip to California. He went
out with his son Cpl. Don Hines. Don is with the Marines near San
Diego . . . Lanyon is the first Webster County town over the top in the fourth war
loan drive. The top $2,700. They sold $15,000. Dave Carlson is
the bond chairman.
SCOREBOARD. Sacred Heart takes it on the chin from St. Cecilia’s
of Algona, 28 to 15. . .Tight game, Lohrville 28, Gowrie 27. It was Gowrie’s best
for the season ... Show ’em no mercy. The Gowrie girls in the county tournament,
which they won, defeated the Duncombe girls at one point in the tournament, 90 to
7. They were almost as rough on Dayton, in the final game. Gowrie 94, Dayton 44.
Maxine Pohl, Gowrie sharpshooter, got fiftyfour points all by herself.
The gals from Gowrie set some kind of a record by amassing the total of 295 points
for the four tournament games . . . Somers defeated Corpus Christi 31 to 24 . .
. It was the biggest crowd, the wildest, toughest, tightest game of the season,
and the last appearance for Tom Pray. The Dodgers’ opponents were
the Lynx of Webster City, last year’s near state champs. Early in the season, the
Lynx took us, but bad. The Dodgers were out to get back some of their own. We won
by a nose. Dodgers 33, Webster City 32... And now Barnum goes on a rampage. Barnum
27, Sacred Heart 15 . .. A week ago, the matmen from Eagle Grove were too tough
for the Dodgers. Last Saturday night they weren’t so tough. Dodgers 20, Eagle Grave
12. Dick Woodard, making his last High School appearance, threw his man in one minute...
Corpus Christi loses again to St. Cecilia’s of Algona, 48 to 20. Pocahontas wins
over Sacred Heart, 22 to 17.
HOME TOWN BOYS MAKE GOOD. To Lt. Frank Griffith,
flying transport in India, the air medal . . . Promoted to flight lieutenant and
squadron commander, A/C Edward Flattery at the air field at Santa
Maria, California . . . To captain, Robert Burleson in the medical
corps in California ... To first lieutenant, Dick Gadd,
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somewhere in the South Pacific. Dick has flown thirty missions . . . Wings for men.
They'll get them soon, A/C John V. Shill, of Harcourt, and
Lt. Mervin Danielson, of Lehigh, at Pampa, Texas . . . A/C Bob Armstrong
will get his wings at Kirtland Field, February 4th.
HERE AND THERE. Pvt. Walter Schuh is now a laboratory
techincian at Bushnell Hospital near Grigham, Utah . . . After 22 months in the
South Pacific, T/Sgt. Roland Wheat is now stationed at Santa Ana,
Cli., at El Toro Marine Base. In the South Pacific, he was a member of the Hell
Hawk Squadron . . . Capt. Hanrahan, commandant of the Iowa pre-flight
school at Iowa City, died very suddenly last week . . . Bud Patton,
of Gowrie, is back in the United States after 28 months in the Aleutians. He’s going
to become a fighter pilot in the air corps, He hopes for a furlough soon . . .
Three Joes named Joe. They are first, second, and third pilots on a
navy patrol boat flying in the West Indies. Ensign Joe McTigue
is one of them . . . Pfc. Virgil Richey, of Dayton, has been wounded
in the South Pacific. He and Jack LeValley, also of Dayton, were
both at Tarawa; but Richey has been wounded in some engagement since them . . .
Tom Moore is with the medical corps, at Camp Grant, Ill. . . .
S/Sgt. Carl Sandahl went to a basketball game in Belfast, Ireland.
Saw Wilbur Strauss rack up twelve points as high man for his team,
the Pillrollers . . . We told you about Denn Richey shaking hands
with Mrs. Roosevelt. Well, he not only shook hands with her, he
also took her picture and sent home some of the prints. Mighty nice. That’s his
job in the Army, photos. Hopes to be doing it soon overseas. He’s getting his training
now in the Pentagon building in Washington and is stationed at Ft. Meyer, Va. .
. . Lt. Don Tierney is stationed at Flora, Miss. There’s three
in the family now, Don, Beverly, and the little one’s name is
Colleen . . . Carl Ricketts is playing a hot trumpet
in the Seaman Guard band, at Norfolk, Va. His brothers are both in service,
Lyle in Sicily, and Kenneth in North Africa.
NEW ARRIVALS. In Italy, Pfc. Robert Bowers . .
. In India, S/Sgt. Ray McCoy. He is a parachute rigger in the air
corps. His brother, Marvin, is with the engineers in Elton, Va.
. . . She is in England with the Red Cross, Ellen Thorson, of Badger
... In North Africa, Pvt. Lester Evans . . . He’s in the South
Pacific, Lt. Harold Gallob . . . Somewhere in England, T/Sgt.
Maurie Lind . . . Somewhere in England, Pvt. Bernard Grimes
. . . In North Ireland, Pfc. William Muenster. Bill’s with the
paratroopers. His brother, Werner, is at Great Lakes . . . In the
New Hebrides, Robert Russell, S 1/c, of Clare. His sister,
Elaine, is in the WAVES and is stationed in Washington . . . In the
New Hebrides, Lt. John Rhodes . . . Now in North Africa, WAC
Pfc. Betty Vosika, of Moorland.
ENJOYING HOME COOKING. Lt. John E. Morrow, from a flying field
in
Florida . . . Lt. Robert Cahill, from Camp Leonard Wood, Mo. Bob
is training two post office units and has been there since November . . . Ensign
Jean Dennery, from Texas . . . From Edington, N. C., Marine Florence
Dixon, of Gowrie . . . Pfc. Paul Panzi and RM 3/c
Gerald Timmons, both of Lehigh. Paul is at Camp Reynolds, Pa.,
and Timmons is at Shelton, Washington . . . Ensign Charles Heileman,
from Tucson, Ariz., on his way to Norfolk, Va. . . . John Otten,
S 1/c, from Baltimore, Mr. . . . Pfc. Milo D. Voss, from ASTP, at Ohio State University
... S/Sgt. Kermit Olofson from Muroc, Calif. His wife is working at the Douglas
Aircraft plant at Long Beach, Calif. She is home with him . . . Ensign Willis
Staton from Jacksonville, Fla. He's a flight instructor there . . .
They were all home visiting their folks at Clare recently, Mary Isabel Strait,
S 1/c, stationed at Hutchinson, Kans., Pfc. Lou Strait, from Vancouver,
and A/C Gilbert Strait from Amarillo, Texas . . . Sgt. Lester
Challberg from Jackson, Miss. . . . Pvt. Carl L. Kling,
from Punta Gorda, Florida . . . Pfc. Bernard Bilskemper, Ft. Dix,
N. J. . . . S/Sgt. Bob E. Knapp, radar man with the marines . .
. Pvt. Ernie Zuerrer, from Pittsburg, Calif. . . . Durwood
Burtis, from Farragut . . . Sgt. Don Busk from Ft.
Bliss, Texas . . . Pfc. Jack Steyer, from Fort Meade, Md. . . .
Cpl. Majel Eckerman and her brother, T/Sgt. Cecil Eckerman
of Duncombe. She is stationed in San Francisco and he is at McCord Field, Washington.
Ray is at Camp Howze, Tex. And another brother, Joe,
is in the S. W. Pacific . . . Dean Harris Dickey, now a Lt. in
the navy, from Notre Dame where he is an instructor in the Midshipman’s school.
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RENDEZVOUS. They met in North Africa. Lt. Don Culver
and S/Sgt. Earl Larson, both of Harcourt. Don is now in England
... They met in England, brothers James and Mervin Cain,
of Barnum. Mervin is a cpl. Jim is a lieutenant in the air corps.
HE IS RUNNING FOR U.S. SENATOR. Rex Nelson of
Counceil
Bluffs. When he isn’t politicking, Nelson runs a hamburger stand. He’s out of ration
points and says business will not interfere with his campaign.
THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM FOR FLYING MEN: The Lord is my pilot; I
shall
not want. He maketh me to rise up in the Heavens: He leadeth me through clouds of
stardust. He re- storeth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of wonderment for His
Name’s sake. Yea, though I fly through the dangerous and sickening air pockets,
I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy stars and Thy moon they comfort me.
Thou openest lovely vistas before me in the presence of the angels; Thou fillest
my heart with delight; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life, and I shall fly in the elouds forever. Robert Cashman.
HERE COMES THE BRIDE. Suzanne Sherman and
Paul Hannon. No date has been set. Paul is at Jacksonville, Fla. tak-
ing
officer’s training . . . Elvina Booth and Pfc. Alvin E. Cook
of Dakota City, January 14 at La Junta, Colo. . . . Merle Oppel
and J. Donald Boyd of Norfolk, Nebr., at Los Angeles, Calif. Boyd
is serving on a destroyer with the Pacific fleet . . . Helen Miller
of Humboldt and Daryl Burtis, this week at Humboldt. Burtis is
an instructor in the navy . . . Beulah Lybarger of Twin Falls,
Idaho, and Marvin Newman, at Twin Falls, January 10. Newman is
a fireman first class in the navy, stationed at San Diego.
FROM PVT. DON HARING this week, we received a phonograph record
saying hello to everyone. Nice going, Don. It sounded swell and we put it on the
air. Don has just earned his paratroopers winged boots. He’s at Ft. Benning, Ga.
SERVICE PAPERS. This week we received from Pfc. Floyd Zeka,
“The Rattler,’ published week at Rattlesnake Field, Pyote, Texas. And from Red
Moreland’s mother, a copy of “The Lukomunique,” published weekly at
Luke Field, Arizona, “Red” writes a column called “Form One.” Sample: “When the
Lord made the world he came through here with a bucket of sand and a couple of cactus
and promised to return, Well, fellows, frankly, we're still waiting.” Thanks guys.
There must be other papers. We'd like to see ’em, too. Yes, we know there are. Here’s
“The Seabeecon” from Carl E. Theiss WT 2/c with the Seabees in
the S. W. Pacific and inside a very lively shet, a gorgeous Varga girl almost life
size drawn especially for the Seabees.
FROM THE FIVE CORNERS OF THE WORLD. A quickie note from Pfc.
Paul R. Haye, with the Marines somewhere in the S. W. Pacific. It
was written Nov. 27 and is just being received January 25. “Today I received my
first "Your Letter From Home.’ I send my sincere appreciation to all who are sponsors.”
Pfc. Arleigh Kullberg, Panama, “I've been down here in Panama for
eighteen months now. I remember the radio station very well as I used to deliver
telegrams for Western Union and I’ll sure never forget the trips I made on opening
night of good old KVFD.” Sgt. S. Spotveld, South Pacific, “Had
a very pleasant experience the other night. Our band gave a concert for one of the
units on the island and after we finished a young lieutenant came up and spoke to
me. It was none other than Bob Stewart. He is located a short way
down the road from us and will have a real gab session one of these days.”
Roger Viers, GM 3/c, Just back from Russia, “Flash! Pvt.
Douglas Viers of North Africa was married to a French damsel by the name
of Sylvette. (Last name unknown). Marriage took place January 15 at Algiers.”
A/C Ken Moreland, Greenwood, Miss., “I mentioned in my last letter
that I was flying with Lt. Eugene Fortney from home. He was held
back at Albany, due to not having suffient flying time. But the same day I arrived
here, I bumped into Rob’t Marsh, from home, and of course we sat
right down (We met in the Mess Hall) and had a bull session.”
Floyd N. Ewing M 3/c, FPO, San Francisco, “I haven't, in the past
six or seven months, seen any of the Webster county boys except one. I very unexpectedly
met Harold Linn EM 3/c, from my home town “Lehigh” on the street
in town and we had a pretty good chat about old times back home. That was about
three weeks ago and I haven’t seen or heard from him since. For the past couple
of weeks I have been in the hospital but I’m now quite well recovered and expecting
to return to duty any day now.
Verne Skoland S 2/c, Tarawa, “We have a ships store for cigarettes,
candy, etc. Also we see a show every other nite, and they sell us beer twice a week.
All we need now is Fort Dodge for liberty. We give the native kids cigarettes for
climbing trees and getting us
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cocoanuts. They’ve really got a racket now as they sure like cigarettes. The women
sure looked funny running around in grass skirts the first few days we were here.
Most of them wear dresses now.”
Pfc. Kenneth A. Fuller, Tropics, “My buddy that came in the service
the same day that I did is now in North Africa. He is from Fort Dodge, Pfc.
Clarence Albright. His brother is in the navy: Leonard Albright
also is in North Africa. They met there and spent a 24 hour leave together, lucky
boys.”
T/Sgt. Don Erb, India, “A short time ago while:on pass a missionary
made it possible for me to have dinner at the home of a rajah. To say that he served
a delicious meal would be slighting him. His home would compare favorably with a
millionaire’s mansion in the States. He had several guests, and the women were dressed
in saris, for the most part. Several were in European clothing. The affair reminded
me of the ‘What’s Your Country’ club.”
Cpl. Wayne Lanferman, Alaska, “Walter Vargason
and I were trained in the same company at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. After our training
we were separated. Buck went south to Africa and I was sent North to Alaska, but
through this letter from home I have kept very close tab on him. At the present
time I’m in the Aleutians.”
Lt. L. C. Zens, Camp Crowder, Mo., “I've no battle experience to
relate since the “chair borne” army here in the USA claims first choice on my services
at present.”
Lt. Don S. Lehman, England, “Your weekly edition is not only looked
forward to by myself, but also by William Coons of Humboldt, and
Ted Yocum from south of Fort Dodge. The news seems to help us realize these are
modern times, for being here in England, well, just don’t! I don’t know whether
England has more bikes or baby buggies for they clutter up streets more than autos
did back home. The country, though, is very picturesque and quaint looking from
the air. So is Germany and France for that matter, but I want to be home next summer
to see Fifth avenue south and the shady trees. Tell all hello.”
Sgt. Bob Heater, Fort Ord, Calif., “I ran into Dale Skramstad,
from Stillwater, Minn., out here. He was in company G in Ireland, and we had a good
talk about all the fellows. He is now a lieutenant and, so far as I know, somewhere
in the South Pacific. I hope to have some news for your “Down the Center Isle” column
soon.” (Congratulations Bob. Please let us know.)
S/Sgt. Eldred Prang, somewhere in the SW Pacific writes a very amusing
letter home. After a long and solemn buildup, in which the suspense mounts from
page to page, he asks the awful question, “Do you think they will draft Superman?”
And we received other letters and cards from: Violet M. Holm, Army
Air Base, Blythe, Calif. (Glad to have your mame on the list) . . . Lt. (j.
g.) H. J. Kijarsgaard, U. 5.5. Murphy, N.Y. . . . Loren J. Rial,
W. T. 2/c, U. S. S. Dixie, San Francisco . . . Pfc. John L. Merrill,
APO New York . . . A/C Joe Dodgen, Pre-Flight, Iowa City. (Good
idea—see above. Thanks Joe) . . . Cpl. Harold Fortney, somewhere
in England . . . Pvt. C. A. Spittal, Camp Pickett, Va., . . .
Cpl. H. F. Zenor, De Ridder, La. . . . Pvt. Kalcie E. Lowry,
APO Los Angeles . . . A/C Wallace Wise, Victorville, Calif. . .
. Pvt. Geo. E. Belthius, Australia, India, Africa and now Italy.
(We'll take care of that anniversary, fellow) . . . S/Sgt. J. Semprini,
Camp Barkeley, Texas . . . Howard L. Brown S 2/c, Treasure Island,
San Francisco . . . Cpl. Donald J. Allen, Shreveport, La. . . .
S/Sgt. Walter Horn, Ft. Lewis, Washington . . . Pfc. R. D.
McNeilly, Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, Calif. . . . Pvt. Bobbie Williams,
Jefferson Barracks, Mo. (Let’s have your new address as soon as you get it, Bob)
. . . Orville Walters, S 2/c, Cuddihy Field, Corpus Christi, Texas
. . . Pfc. Ralph Stephen, ASTP, Lansing, Mich. . . . A. B.
Petrie, USN V-12, Notre Dame. (We're sending them to Roy now. Thanks,
fellow) . . . Pvt. Thos. E. Lande, somewhere in England . . .
Pvt. Wyatt D. Anderson, APO Nashville, Tenn. . . . S/Sgt. Ray A. McCoy,
India . . . Sgt. Leo C. Casey, somewhere in England . . . Rena
I. Ulm S 1/c, Washington, D. C. . . . Pfc. Sam M. Rhodes,
Keesler Field, Miss. . . . Pvt William J. Swanson, APO San Francisco
. . . Pvt. Joe Rutledge, North Africa . . . Baird J. Okey,
Island “X”, S. W. Pacific . . . Pvt. Raymond W. Nebergall, Newfoundland.
(You guys do get around) . . . Marvin E. Johnson AMM 1/c, APO San
Francisco. (The Gowrie girls’ B. B. team is doing all right) . . . and Cpl.
Harland J. Yates, Italy.
All of these letters are being read or acknowledged on the air. We plan soon to start
an evening program once a week on which we will read a selection of your letters.
Your folks, your friends, are as hungry for news as you are. We aren’t satisfied
when we read or hear over the air, “The Yanks crossed the Rapido.” We want to know
how it goes with YOU. You are always in our thoughts and in our hearts. We wish
you well and each aching hope is for your safety, your comfort and your happiness.
We are waiting, working for that great day when you'll be coming home. In the meantime,
we'll be writing you.
Your home town correspondent,
ED BREEN
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