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DIGITAL SCRAPBOOK OF LETTERS
WORLD WAR I 1917-1919
 “No
more fitting nor appropriate gift could have been given at this time,
and especially to one from the sunny plains of Texas. I don't know how
to express my appreciation, but I shall try to show it by getting a
German for each sock given me!” Roy
Lee Grogan, 1st Sgt Co. E. 21st Engineers |
| The
letters express appreciation for the hundreds of hand-knitted sweaters,
scarves, hats and, especially, socks, made by the women of Wilmette
for military personnel at nearby bases and to a few units already
in France.
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| “Poor
children, if a gun goes off while we are talking, one sees them cringe
and their eyes stare until all is quiet again. This has been going
on for three years. It is a wonder that they look as well as they
do.”
Dr.
Alice Barlow-Brown,
France, November 25, 1917 |
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 "...Eugene
Jones, one of our Wilmette boys, has graduated from here and left, and
I'm expecting, or hoping, that "Bill" [William] Rich, another
Wilmettite, will soon be here after his preliminary work at the ground
school in Champaign..."
H.D.
Hill, Chanute Field, Rantoul, Illinois
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"I never had
any conception as to how much joy a helmet, sweater, wristlets and socks
could bring into a camp--until upon my arrival here was made to mount
a snow pile and told to clear it away dressed in the clothes a chap
wears in his home life and never built for the hard and rough usage
it gets in a place of this kind."
Joseph
Bassi, Camp Decatur, Great Lakes, Illinois
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 "The
other articles are absolutely indispensible in this very cold weather
we are having in Boston. Three hours drill in the open ... is quite
severe and the helmet in particular is a life saver."
E.
A. Hurlbut of 715 Greenleaf Ave., Wilmette, Ill. at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass. |
 "I
was home on a 24 hr [hour] leave last Sunday. I only wish I could have
stayed 2 or 3 days. ...I would like very much to hear from you if you
care to answer. Yes, I recorked your clutch and it should have oil about
every two weeks and be adjusted once in a while. I wil thank you again
for all the things you sent me."
John
C. Slown of Wilmette, Mechanic, 333rd Field Artillery, Battery
E., Camp Grant, Ill. |
 "My
line of work [engineering] keeps me out in the open from sunrise till
sunset and often late. Thinking of and thanking the Wilmette Guard
for the socks & especially the helmet."
Joseph
A. Kilian of Wilmette, Lieutenant Engineer U.S.A., Co.D, 508 Service
Battalion, Camp Pike, Ark. |
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U.S.S.
Wilmette
History
of the U.S.S. Wilmette
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"I've
been trying to get some socks but I guess it takes lots of them
to supply the boys ...”
Charles
Lyons, Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Glenview, Ill.
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“... I
haven’t any folks in this country. [I] was born in Ireland
& have 3 brothers on the firing line now in the English army
that is the whole family of us ...”
John
Keegan, Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Glenview, Illinois
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“It
gives me great pleasure to tell you that the Christmas bags packed
by the Women's Corps of Wilmette have been shipped to Washington to
be shipped from there to France.”
Women's
Section Navy League
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"...If
[you] make cake or candy as well as articles already mentioned I'll
truly assure you they are welcome. I thank you."
Arthur
A. Niemi, Great Lakes Naval Station |
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"I
just came off a 4 hr. [hour] sentry watch and believe me it was mighty
nice to have a sweater on as it sure done a world of good in keeping
my body warm."
Harry
Kjellberg, U.S.S. Gopher |
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"Yesterday
I was fortunate enough to be given a pair of warm socks knitted by
yourselves. As I haven't received by uniform yet, they are something
I have needed for the past week."
Philip
Smith, Great Lakes, Illinois |
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"Right
now the various articles come in very handy and are of greatest assistance
in helping combat this 20 degree below zero weather."
Harry
Lincoln Flentye Jr., 729 Lake Avenue, Wilmette, Ill., Priv. Co.D
Dt. Div. A.O.B.D.F., Camp Dodge, Iowa |
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Somewhere
in France, January 1918
"I am single and only
26 years old, but not looking for a girl, for I left a dear sweet
girl at home a way down in the South, and when I come back home I
will claim her, for I know she will be waiting for me."
Private
Edward P. Martinez, Co.F, 21st Enginers A.E.F. |
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"I
assure you the articles come in very handy out here as it is pretty
cold around the ship yards and we have very little heat aboard the
boat just now but expect better conditions later."
Lester
J. Zousius, U.S.S. Wilmette, South Chicago |
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