The start of 1918
saw my grandmother, Anna Bell Barnhart Calhoun, and her first husband James Calhoun, several states apart – she at home in Bovina and he in North
Carolina. He wrote her a long letter on New Year’s Day:
Jan 1, 1918
My dear Anna;
This is the first day of the new
year. It is a holiday all day with us at
Camp Greene and I am trying to make it such in the true sense of the word as
nearly as I possibly can. I came into
Charlotte early this morning on the trolley with one of the others from squad
13 who is an accomplished organist. We
went directly to the YMCA and took a good refreshing wash up which was free as
we furnished our own soap and towel. I
then went out and found a haircut and went from there out about town a little
and am now back at the YMCA at 11 o’clock AM writing in a nice cosy room God bless
the YMCA. They are the haven of rest for
the soldier boys. The friend who I am
with picks up a good bit of money playing the pipe organs at different churches
here Sabbath days and evenings. He often
is able to get $2 a day for playing outside of drill hours. I felt I must not eat lunch in town today as
it would be to[o] expensive but that I should go back to camp and eat Uncle
Sam’s fare but my friend is going to stay in all day and urges me to stay and
lunch at his expense and I have consented to do so explaining the circumstances
of course. I have plenty of money
here. Have nearly $10.00 left from the
$20.00 I left home with and will get $6.00 more probably when pay day comes in
about 10 days. I hope not only to be able
to save enough out of my monthly pay here but to lay a little aside.
I looked at the thermometer as I
came from breakfast this morning and it registered 6 degrees above zero. I am told this is the coldest weather this
place has experienced in 28 years. My
cold is much better today but some of the others in my squad have hard colds
this morning. My bed fellow from
Shinhopple, NY has a severe cold and I am afraid by the sound of his cough that
it is affecting his lungs. I got some
lemons last evening and made some real sour hot lemonade just before going to
bed. It seemed to do wonders in
loosening up the phlegm and taking the soreness from my throat. The sun is shining brightly today and as
there is but little wind. I think the
weather shall begin to warm again today.
I know from reports that a cold wave has extended throughout the
U.S. It has been quite cold throughout
the southern states even down on the gulf coast.
The chances for real cold of
great length is not great here and as we will probably stay here until nearly
spring we will probably escape much of the real cold weather this year. If we should go to France or abroad it will
be in summer which will make it much more pleasant. It isn’t nearly so hard to drill hard when we
are comfortable and not frozen to death.
My friend has finished his
letters and wishes to go so I will not keep him waiting. This will let you know I am well and my hopes
are rising. I am willing to be more
patient in waiting for a better day if I feel it is really coming. As ever your most loving husband
James
January saw no
major events in James’ life, but he saw a couple of changes of duty. There are
no letters that survive from Anna to James in this period, but James commented
on several things going on in Bovina, including some deaths and the start of a
family squabble in Anna’s family.
On January 2, he
wrote that “I enjoy your letters so much because you write all about
what takes place with you and that is where my heart’s interests are. I am so glad to hear all about what takes
place up there. You said by your last
letter that you thought you had better close as you had written enough
trash. Now dear Anna it is not
trash to me but every word of it is precious to me. Write me whenever you can and anything you
think would be of interest to me. I
think your letters are the best ever and I wish I could write such interesting
letters as you do.”
In a letter written
January 4, he explains why we have so few of Anna’s letters available to us
today: “I do not know how many letters you have written me as I destroy them
after I have read them thoroughly because it is unwise to carry them about
because someone would find them and read them but I have gotten a nice big
bunch of them. Yes they are our love
letters which we did not need to write when we were courting. No lover ever enjoyed his sweetheart’s letter
more than I have enjoyed yours to me.”
James was rather
self-effacing about himself, as evidenced by this passage: “It does not seem
possible that so many Bovina boys have gone to the army but their names tell
the story. I knew you would prove
patriotic, but I am not worthy of the star for you know Rev. Graham said I was
a slacker and you better have my name taken from the honor roll.”
James and Elizabeth
Boggs
On January 5, James
comments on Anna’s sister Edith helping at the home of James and Elizabeth
Boggs. “I am glad Edith likes her place and I always liked Boggs people
very much. James was always especially
jolly and good natured. So, they are
expecting something to happen next summer are they?” The assumption here is that Elizabeth was
pregnant. Sadly, it appears that complications set in. On January 12, he
comments that “I am sorry for Boggs’ people if Mrs. Boggs has the fever and the
trouble of which you spoke. She has almost too much for her physical ability
and scarlet fever will make it hard for the entire family.” The scarlet fever
led not just to the Boggs family being quarantined but Edith had to join them. A
few days later, Anna reported that it wasn’t scarlet fever, which let Edith out
of quarantine. But worries about Mrs. Boggs continued. On January 14, he wrote
“I am so glad that Mrs. Boggs doesn’t have scarlet fever. It means so much to you all. I am extremely sorry for Boggs people and may
God grant the sparing of Mrs. Boggs.
Should she be taken away it would almost kill James. They have had hard luck with their family
indeed.”
Mrs. Boggs’
illness worsened, turning into blood poisoning. Elizabeth died on January 17.
James learned of her death on January 21:
“I cannot tell you how sorry I feel for James Boggs and all of his and her
friends. It is very hard indeed and all
have my sincere sympathy who have to pass through such an experience. You know it is only those who have suffered
who can full sympathy with suffering.
This will prove a terrible blow to all of their people.” James continued
to mourn for his friend. On January 24, he wrote “I cannot help but think of
poor James Boggs and God only knows how I pity him. I suppose I should be very thankful that you
are spared to me and realize that we are really blessed and spared in
comparison to what some of our fellows must endure.”
In February,
he still was struggling over writing a letter of sympathy to James Boggs “but
really I feel I can hardly do it. I
think sympathy letters are hard to write. Give me a few pointers on the subject please.”
Other deaths
On January 12, James wrote about two deaths
in Bovina. His aunt, Jane McNair Doig, died on January 5. “I was sorry but not
at all surprised to learn of Aunt Jane’s death.
She is surely better now and she was a good woman and lived a life of
supreme Christian character.”
The other death in
early January was a shock to all. John Irvine, former Bovina supervisor,
committed suicide on New Year’s Day. Irvine was the father of Isabell Russell.
It was his son-in-law Cecil who found him. James wrote “Mr. Irving’s death was
especially sad. The way it happened made
the entire affair much more sad. It
seemed as though he had very much to want to live for, but he had lost his
health and he couldn’t not see life in a way to really enjoy it. Money is a good thing to have but good health
and a true love works for more to make truly happy lives, doesn’t it?” In a
later letter, he speculated whether or not the suicide was caused by Irvine’s
fear for his sons going off to war. Clifton already had gone off to camp
(Clifton did serve in the war in Europe, coming home in 1919).
Family issues and
Life at home
James had been
commenting on the relationship his brother-in-law Ralph had with Ruth Ormiston.
He learned in early January that they had a falling out and hoped “it proves to
be only temporary.” He went on to note that “No we have never had any smashes
in our love affairs and I trust and feel that we never shall…. We surely are
getting the chance to write our love letters now but I think our letters are
more confidential than those of any two unmarried lovers possibly could be and
as man and wife our letters should be perfectly confidential. [Ruth would marry Henry Monroe in 1920.]
Later that month, he became concerned about
another issue concerning Ralph. This was the draft. On January 14, he wrote
that “I am not fully informed with regard to the new draft papers that are
served on the young men but I am glad to know that Ralph is attending to his
promptly and feel he should get exempted from service on excellent
reasons. It is a grave mistake for the
U.S. to call any of the boys from the farms because the worlds people are short
of food stuffs now and next years will be much worse than this has been.”
In his letter of
January 24, James makes the first reference to a family squabble that developed
with Anna Bell’s mother and her uncle John Miller. His letters do not provide
any detail to the squabble, but occasional references show up for some time. John
Miller lived next door to Anna Bell’s family farm [this is the farm that later
became Suits-Us farm]. James writes “I was not injured in the least by the way
Uncle John’s have treated us and I am not afraid that I shall ever be injured
by anything they may do or say are you?
I sometimes think it is only jealousy and not us. We will heap coals of fire on their heads by
returning good for evil. Am I right in
so saying?”
James commented on things related to the
family farm: “You are having hard luck with the dairy but do not feel discouraged
because there are losses in every business.
Feed is terribly high and milk not high enough in proportion. You have a nice bunch of calves and the cows
must be milking well.”
Anna’s letters from
home delighted James and occasionally made him homesick. “When I read in your
letters of the work you people are doing up there it makes me wish all the more
to be there and take part and just for a chance to be with you. The
preparations for the future surely sound good to me and I shall try to wait as
patiently as possible for that time to come.”
He also delighted
in the food sent from home, as apparently did some others: “Your box of
delicious cookies came today and those who have sampled them proclaimed them
excellent and they surely were worthy of the credit they received.” One
gentleman named Charles told James “Your wife’s cookies are so good I must have
another.”
Life at Camp Greene
Some of James’ time
at Camp Greene was spent on kitchen duty. “I do not think kitchen work calls
for as steady work as camp orderly job.
This morning we came in and waited on tables at breakfast, then ate our
own breakfast. After breakfast we
cleared the tables and washed the dishes, carried up the kitchen slop and
cleaned up the floor. We then peeled 3
or 4 bu[shels] of potatoes and are through work until we serve dinner. I do not know the hour of the day but I think
it is about 10:30 o’clock. Our cook said
after dinner was served and the dishes washed we would not need to work again
until time to serve supper…Our regular eats here consists of lots of soup
(vegetable and meat) and stews. We get
plenty of potatoes, bread, butter and roast meat. The waste cuts of meat and the bones are
boiled up to make stew and soup. We also
use up lots of onions and beans. For breakfast
we usually have milk (solution of evaporated milk) and cereal, usually boiled
rice or wheat and corn flakes.
Occasionally we have hot cakes and syrup or hot soda biscuits.”
The second week in
January sees a sudden job change for James. On January 8, he writes that “We
are due to go out to the rifle range early tomorrow morning, so I can write but
a note tonight to let you know that I am fairly well.” James didn’t write again
for three days, an unusual occurrence during his time in Camp Greene. When he
wrote again, he reported his duty change:
Jan 11, 1918
My dear Anna;
…
After I reached camp today the first thing I did was get
some eats and then I sneaked out of sight and got a haircut and washed up. I had just gotten my toilet completed when I
was called to the orderly room and told to move my baggage to the orderly room
and prepare to become broken in there as clerk.
I will have to do a little drilling but will work here most of the time
and think I shall like the work and will see and learn a good bit that will be
useful to me when I come back to civilian.
James wrote again two days later, noting
that he was “back at the orderly room.
When I came back I found the sergeant and his company had gone and the
clerk was having a clearing out of papers and etc of his desk. He immediately gave me a job and I have been
busy since except when eating supper.” He went on to note that he was unable to
go to church because of all the work he was given. He assured Anna that “I am
not turning heathen for all of that and will not if I am in the army for
years. The teaching I received at my
mother’s knee has to firm a hold on me for that. There are many men who did not have religion
at all but what they believe and do doesn’t affect me at all.”
He commented again on the lack of Sabbath observance
a week later. He is working in the Orderly Room of the Army. “All the way I see the day differs from week
days is that the officers are not here nearly so much. I of course do as I am told but it goes
against the grain for me to do unnecessary work on Sabbath. I have worked all day and have not even taken
a moment to read. I shall not let that
affect me if I have to work every Sabbath for years. The men here are very good to me and I get
many favors in here I would not get if I was doing straight drill. I am going to do my best without complaint
here and when I am out of the army I shall keep my Sundays as I believe they
should be kept.”
In another
letter, he notes that he “shall not permit my duties here to keep me away from
church entirely.” He also hopes to get some of the men he is with to come with
him. These two men “both are careless people in more ways than one but they are
good to me and I am not blaming them but rather I do pity them. The clerk had
$3 pay day, he lost it all in about as many minutes gambling. I do not believe in gambling so let it
strictly alone besides I have no money to throw.”
James made
several comments about the gambling he saw. His preference for playing cards
was pinochle (misspelled in his letters): “Do you play pewinkle now. I have not played a game since I came from
home. They play cards down here and
shoot dice in place of playing pewinkle.
I do not though. I do not believe
in gambling and have no money to throw away anyway.” [Pinochle was a game my
grandmother continued to play into old age.]
Working as a clerk gave him access to a
typewriter. He used this to write some of his letters to Anna: “I hope
you do not mind getting a typewritten letter.
I am going to write my letters to you on the machine, so I can learn to
typewrite.… I have never written on
one before so excuse all mistakes. This
has been a beautiful day. The nights are
cold[cold] but not bad.” He found the experience too laborious and a day letter
went back to his pen. But he continued to try to use the typewriter and a
number of the letters he wrote were typed over the next few months.
In
mid-January, James reported that “Measles and mumps have broken out in this
regiment and many of our men have been placed in the detention camp. I think there are 60 men there now out of a
Co. of 250 men.” James noted that he was lucky that he already had had both
diseases. He also was glad he was in the orderly room, where there was only “the
clerk and the first sergeant and they are not likely to get sick as they are
old army men.” The reason he was glad was that when someone in a squad “is
taken with measles or mumps he is sent to the hospital and the others of the
squad are sent to the detention camp.” Word around was that the food at the
detention camp was poor.
James did
face quarantine around January 20 “because a man of the company who was sent
from here to the Detention Camp Jan 11 came down yesterday with spinal
meningitis. There was really no use in
quarantining the company as there has no one from here been with him since Jan
11 except those already in Detention Camp with him. So don’t let that worry you. Quarantine will probably last but a few days.”
A few days
later, the City of Charlotte was quarantined “because spinal meningitis has
broken out there. We cannot go there
except on official business and then must get a special pass. I for one shall not go very often because I
go very little when I am not quarantined.
It is a hardship on many of the however because they feel they are very
much misused if they cannot get to town nearly every night.”
He related
some little human incidents from camp. One morning he report that “Our first sergeant did not hear the bugle
call for reveille soon enough to dress and get out this morning so he pulled on
his rubber boots, hat and overcoat and went without pants. No one could tell but he was dressed.”
James
generally did not like the army and two months after going into service,
comments on some of the men he encountered. “I do not see how some of the
fellows can be so thoughtless and careless of home ties. Some of the boys do not even take the trouble
to write home occasionally to let their people know how they are. As much as I see the necessity for helping
win the war for U.S., yet I shall never forget the loved ones at home. I am willing to do all I can but there are
many things in army life that are really distasteful to me and I shall be that
happiest boy in the whole bunch when the glad tidings came that peace has been
declared.”
James found
being in the south a different experience. He noted in a letter that “I picked
up a few bolls of cotton yesterday on my way back from the hospital and will
mail them so you can see how cotton really is in the raw state. These are only bolls that were left from last
falls picking and are not good ones but will give you an idea and sometime in
the future we can look back and remember where they came from.” [The cotton
bolls were not in the letters I got from my grandmother’s estate.]
The irony of
Camp Greene was that it was established to give a better chance of good weather
for drilling and other training. It turned out to be one of the wettest and
coldest winters the area had experienced in years. In one letter, James writes
that “This has been a rainy day and the mud grows deeper and deeper but
nevertheless we keep on top. I don’t
mind the mud so much for the simple reason that I do not have to get out and
wallow in it continually. I feel some of
the boys are in it pretty bad down on the lower part of this street where the
mud is so deep.”
James
sometimes wrote about the mundane, right down to dealing with his clothes: “I
told you I would send my underwear home but have neglected to mail same. I shall do so before we move from here I
think as extra baggage is only a nuisance to a soldier or a man who is trying
to get to be a soldier. I have a good
place to hang up clothing here and our supply sergeant issued me a locker tonight,
so I can place what I do not wish to hang up within that and keep them neat and
clean.”
Keeping
clean was certainly a challenge. Working as a clerk gave James a chance for “a
dandy bath here. I put a part of water
to heat and took my dip in the tin wash tub we have. How good it seemed to be able to get a good
bath at my own shack. A tent is a poor
place to bathe especially when the tent is crowded with beds and other junk.”
The
Wheatleys
On January
19, James makes the first reference to a couple living in Charlotte who contacted
him. “I have a post card here from Prof. C.A. Wheatley of Charlotte, N.C.
stating that he and Mrs. Wheatley have a package of socks sent to them by the
Andes Red Cross for me and for me to call and get them. Mrs. Wheatley was formerly Laura Ballantine of
Andes, and a daughter of Geo. Ballantyne of the same place and a sister of Mrs.
John A. Gladstone of Albany. Mr.
Wheatley used to be principal of Andes High School and it was there he met Mrs.
Wheatley. I did not know they were down
here and was much surprised to know there were people I had known living in
Charlotte and I shall assuredly make them a call when I can find it convenient
to get to town.”
Within a
couple of days of this letter, “Mr. and Mrs. Wheatley…came out today and called
me to the head of the company street as they were not allowed to come into the
company. They brought me the two pair of
home knit woolen socks from the Andes Red Cross and they surely are fine.”
Mr. and Mrs.
Wheatley gave James a taste of home for the rest of his time in camp.
Going Overseas
James writes several times about the
possibility of his going overseas: “I know nothing about when we go to France
but I surely count on getting home for a few days. We may not go to France at all. I do not believe it is known where we shall
go.” James notes that he’s not supposed to write anything about “movement
or intended movement of troops but I know you will not say a word outside of
our family.” There is no evidence that letters he wrote while in the United
States were read or censored, unlike those he would late write from France.
Toward the
end of January, James also commented on rumors about peace. “I am watching the
peace talk of the dailies. I hear the
officers and men commenting daily on the war situation. They feel that Austria and Germany are tiring
of war but that the Allies will not give up until the world is made safe for
democracy and I am afraid the only perfect solution of the problem is to fight
it out to a finish unless Germany and Austria give way which I trust they soon
must do and hope they may.” In another
letter, he noted that “Austria is getting very short of food and there is but
little fighting over there. I have strong
hopes that the war will soon be settled.
I hope it closes before we get across because it would take a long time
to get home again should it close shortly after we went across.” In another
letter, he wrote that “I for one am ready to have peace but I don’t want it
unless it can be permanent. If we must
fight again in a few years we may as well fight it out now. America would be a poor place to live if the
Kaiser rules here which he never will do.”
At the end
of the month, James notes that if he does go overseas, his lack of drill
experience might mean that “they probably will not put me in the trenches until
I get some training.” He hoped that if he made “good as clerk” he probably would
not see “much fighting on the firing line. I do not wish you to worry any more
about this war business. I am sure it will soon close and if not we will get
out alright.”
January 24, 1918
My heart is very full tonight and though you
are miles away I can realize the your full true love so good and sweet to me
and if I had to go through again what we have gone through I should not want
our relation to be otherwise than it is now.
My God I cannot tell you how glad I am that you are my wife. You do so much to help me be faithful and
true and contented in every way.
January 27, 1918
I was over across the street to the company
C this morning and found or inquired about the boys I knew from Del or who came
from Dix with me who are in that company.
I found Bilby(?) And George Votie of South Kortright. Mitchell from East Meredith of C. Co. I find
has been sent to the hospital. Leonard
from French Woods NY is in the Detention Camp as also is Charles Houck of Grand
Gorge. I think I shall make a visit to
the hospital this PM and see if I may see Mitchell. I am not going if he has a contagious disease
but I can find out about that at Co C orderly room.
James last
letter to Anna in January was written on the 30:
…Dear girl it is difficult to tell when the
war will finish but if the time is not very far distant. There is talk, yes lots of peace talk now and
there has never been before since the war commenced. I feel as you do that we had better not buy
many of our supplies now but simply wait until we need them. Everything is very high now and many articles
will eventually become lower in price after peace comes. We are not making rich now but have a good
provision from Uncle Sam and am sure we can make ends meet.
….I am glad to see that you are called upon
for church work and are not omitted since you have taken such a disreputable
name upon yourself. I know you can make
that name reputable or rather make me live such a good life that I shall be
able to look my fellows straight in the eye.
There is nothing more tonight I think. I shall get ready to help Sgt Schneider do
some work.
Your most loving husband James
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