University of South Carolina Libraries
A Group of Interest! Soldie Irving- Padgett Received Letter From Claude Lyon. Somewhere in France. Tuesday, September 13. Dear Irving: Your letter was received yester day and I was very glad to hear from you. I was beginning to be lieve the Mercantile crowd had de serted me. I am on the same old job, doing and feeling good. I tell the other boys thar. I endorse this place most heartily for various imasons. Get me? I heard that Big Jake Reel was on his way over several weeks ago. I sure would like to see him when he lands. I know lots of boys that are over here but can't hope to ever see them. You know one division never knows where the other is. I was in less than a mile of some boys last week that I knew very .well but did n't know it until I had moved. Did you see the souvenirs I sent home? I am making one now myself. One part of it has had quite a bit of history to it and I shall never for get the day I got it. Some of the or dinance boys, can make the prettiest tobacco cans I ever saw out of the same material my vases are. Speak ing of one thing and thinking of an other, can't you home folks stop this war for us boys so wc bucks can come back home? I know we can fin ish it but we would rather be where the watermelons grow. Comprenez? How are Uncle Charlie and the rest of the boys? Tell Mr. Key he will have to slide his head under the cov er to dodge the draft before long. You may tell him that even if his head is bald that don't make it shrap nel proof by any means. I have seen it go through several thickness es of two-inch timber and then have strength (or power) to knock his block off. I wish you could see how quick I can get in a dugout. Honest, this is no fun. I can dive right in like a frog head first. My helmet curved on my head one day and caught me right on the nose. I was very glad to get off that light. If you ever hear one of those sixteen inchers howl over your head you will never forget it. You know how easy it is for some people to memorize a piece of music, don't you? Well, you will find out at once that you have a wonderful talent similar to the mu sician. Tell Mr. Albert 'I certainly would like to be at the store now to sell him his supplies like I used to sell Mr. Powell. For Mr. J. D. you may tell him he will soon be a second Nor man Youngblood. Let me know whc your book-keeper is. I can't imag ine who she can be. Give my best regards to EVERY BODY and write to me again rea! soon. Your last letter was appreciated very much. Your old pal, Sergt. W. C. Lyon. John E. Agner Writes to H ii Parents From France. September 8, 19IS. My Dear Mother and Father: How are you getting on? Just fine I hope. Well, Mother, I am still Some where in France, drilling every day and enjoying this beautiful weather, We had a nice rain a few days ago. I guess it rained some there, too. Mother, have you all pulled ut those ground peas yet? I know you all will enjoy eating them this winter I certainly wish I could be there tc help you eat them but I don't gu?s I will be there. I imagine Papa ha* picked two or three bales of cottor by this time. I know he misses mc helping him. How is my cotton? When I was at home my cotton was bettet than his. I guess he is having a hare! time gathering both crops as you can't hire any hands. I know Papa will miss me this win ter getting up and feeding the mule. and milking the cows for him but 1 guess Brother Wiley is getting large enough to help him. Hov: much cot ton can he pick in a day now? Mother, I received Brother Eddie'.? and your letter on thc first day of September. Was so glad to hear from you all. You asked me if I had receiv ed all of your letters. Yes. I received all of them and certainly enjoyed reading them. You don't know how much ? enjoy reading a letter from home. I would like to write to all of my people but don't have time. You can teil all "Howdy" for me. Tell Bro. Eddie that I will answer hi. lettcr just as soon as I can. Give him and Sister Nettie and the children my love. Give my love also to my dear old Grand-papa. Oh, how I lone each day to see him. He seems tc think so much of me. I never will for get how much he has told me about the war that he was in. As he is fret ting so old and feeble I sometime.' worry about him and think that 1 may never get to see him anymore liere on this earth. Thc only hope 1 rig Letters From Our r Boys. have in getting to see him and you all, and in getting through this war is by trusting the Lord to carry me : through. The Lord has blessed us for so many years by letting all of us in ! the family live so close together and ! be together so if we will only trust in Him he will help us through the days that we will have to live here on earth. Well, Mother, I guess you all went to church today. I truly hope that it won't be long before I can see the Red Oak Grove church again. I know they miss me in the Sunday school as we all went every Sunday. I suppose Mr. George Bussey is still our teacher now and always will be. Mother, I wrote Sister a letter a few days ago. I guess she is well. How glad I would be to sit and hear her play the piano as she always liked so much to play for me. There is a man in my company who j has seen Mr. J. A. Holland but he ' did not get to talk with him. He lives ' 10 miles from Greenwood and his name is Parker. Mother, the next time you write send me one of your j pictures. As I sit here and write this letter it is raining real hard. It is now about 2:30 o'clock and I am wondering where you all are. I was so sorry to hear of Mrs. Sintha Doolittle's death. I knew it before I left Camp Upton as I received thc last letter you sent me a few days before leaving there. I will write every chance I get and you must write me a letter once a ! week and tell me all the news. Well, ! I will close with many good wishes to you all and much love. Your loving son, John E. Agner. Jasper Corley Writes Letter to His Mother. September 15, 1918. My Dearest Mother: I received your most highly appre ciated letter a few days ago. I am aiways glad to get a letter from home. We have been having a lot of rain for the last few days, but hope it will soon fair off and we will have some pretty weather. I guess you will feel lonesome af ter having so much company. I was surprised when I saw that Cousin Fannie had been up on a visit. I don't guess she gets out very much. I received a nice long letter from ! ' Uncle James a few days ago. He 11 said that he was going to make a big 1 ' crop this year. I hope that everybody ' j will come out all right. Mother, Free ? . man surely was lucky, wasn't he? ? I He certainly can write a nice letter. ?J Was so glad to hear that Cousin (Lillie was getting on so well. Hope .ishe will continuue to improve. I j Mother, you asked me if there I ? were any grapes over here. Yes. that J is one of the main products. I have inever seen many of their farms. Ev erything is still looking pretty over here. -, I have been expectinsr to see Capt. j Hankinson here for the last two or three weeks but have failed to run upon him. I would give anything to ?see him. ' j Wc had a big game of ball with ' the army boys yesterday afternoon, j The score was 0 to 5 in favor of the ?navy so you see wc beat them, j Wc have a fine station and get j plenty to eat so you may know that I am getting along fine. Well, I guess I had better close for this time. Love to all. Your son, Jasper K. Corley. P. S. Oh. yes! Mother, do send me one of your pictures for I am so anxious to see you. I would be more than delighted to gc-t one of you and Papa too. Tell Linnie and Georgia I will write to them before long. Corpora! W. F. Manson Writes Letter to His Mother. August 24, 1918. My Dear Mother: Your kiter dated July -2?th was received on August 21st. This makes the third one received from you since arriving. You say you have written more but i have not received them. lz is very hard to get mail sometimes though it is getting so that we have better service. My address is, Cor poral W. P. Manson, A. P. 0. No. 749. Co. D., l'l4th M. C. Bu.. A. E. P. "A. P. O." means Army Post Office and should always be added. I was glad to know you were doing all right and ? certainly hope you will hold out in health. I know you are not strong at your best. Mother. I have written you a num ber of times though you say you have not gotten many. I guess prob ably you will get them some time. The last letter I wrote you was about two weeks ago, hardly that long. I am well and doing fine and am cared for as weil as could be expect ed under war conditions. When i last wrote you I was at the front. We stay so long at the front and then come out for rest. Of course we are never out of the war zone but are always close at hand. We are having some of our warm est weather just at present. It feels like our old summer back home. I received a letter from Grady just two weeks ago. It was written from Camp Sevier. I answered at once but I guess from what you say it will be some time before he re ceives it. I suppose he is over here now. I hope we will have the chance to see each other over here though it will be very doubtful. I have received several letters from friends back home telling me about seeing my letter to you publish ed in the paper, and expressing their appreciation of me. I feel very grate ful to all. I am not much of a writer but I shall sometimes try to write you some that will do to publish. I guess you know that I have to con tine myself so that I would not give any information away. There is plenty to write- if one takes the time. I hope the cops are still good. I guess the fleecy staple will soon be in .abundance. Mother, I have also written my sisters. Well, I am in a hurry and don't know much just at present.. I shall close. Will write later. With love to all the family. I am still in the best of spirits and looking for ward to the future. With love and best wishes to you, Mother, I am Your son, W. F. Manson. I Fred Mims Writes Letter to His Mother. My Dear Mother: Don't worry about me for I am all right and getting along nicely. I like being over here much better than I thought I would. The climate is fine and is neither too hot nor too cold, just like autumn at home. I think this would be a nice country in which to live in time of peace. Tell Papa I wish he could see some of the wonderful stone work here that has been done for ages. Everything is built of stone as there is very little wood, only enough for fuel. Mother, I've only received one let ter from home, the one addressed to me at Camp Mills, N. Y. I cannot tell you how glad I was to hear from you and the folks at home. You all must write to me often for I'm anxious to hear from you. Are the g' year? How is . is better now. Has Tillman 1 him to write to Uncle Will and I heard the c to 45. Is it tru( ceived The Adv to please forwa Gee, I wish I nad studied French, so I could converse with the pretty girls here. Their language is hard but I'm doing my best to learn to j talk to them. I see Partlow and Neigloff every ?night. Wadley is not far from me but I've seen him only once since we landed. I have not seen nor heard from Ben, Clyde, McKie Wood, nor J any of the boys from home I see I Major Collett every day as he is with in one hundred yards of mc. I talked with him last Sunday and he said he had not heard from home either but he hoped to hear in the near, future. How are the crops this year ami what is the price of cotton? It has begun to rain and it's awful ly muddy but not cold. We get plenty of good food to cat, also cigarettes and stationery so you see we are not suffering but are well provided for by Uncle Sam. Has Fred Anderson been called yet, or has he gone to an olliccr's training camp? If permissible, I am going to send you my photo soon as thc- one I sent from Camp Mills is not good. I am enclosing a certif?cate of French mo ney, the value of which is ten cents, that \ou may see the currency of this country. Mother, 1 will write to you again soon. Give my love to all and tell them to write to me. Heaps of love lo you, dear Mother, from Your only, devoted son,- !j Fred Minis. W. A. Bryan Write.? to Kia Sis ter From F ra'.-J cc. August 29, 1918. Dear Ethel: I I received your letter and am writ ing again as it takes mail so long to ; go and come. We boys are faring fine. We get plenty to eat and colfee twice a day. That is as well as a fel- ! low could expect. We also get an in- j crease of twenty per cent, on what we draw which is for overseas ser vice. That is nice, isn't it? 1 have learned to speak few words cf French. Some of the girls are very pretty. Ethe!, I have been up to thc front lines and they are all O. K. Anywhere suits me for I know I can do my bit. Anywhere I hang my hat is home for me. I take everything easy and dread nothing for ? feel that the Lord is with me. Thc Carolina boys are doing "Force, to the Utmost "j That plunging squadron of Ger man Cavalry, expecting to carry all before it in one mad rash, learned to the full, from a little body of American troops, the meaning of the President's words. Force, greater even than tho military rulers of Germany can imagine-the overwhelming, ir resistible force of a great, freo Nation aroused to fight for its Lib? erty and the Liberty of the World *6Force to the Utmost cTWen by the Million ! Shot, shell, guns, airplanes, tanks, ships - anything and everything required to drive home the meaning of the President's words to make plaint to the authors of the war, the fact that with such force, of men and of spirit, we must inevitably win. Are YOU adding every ounce you can to the force behind our ?ghting men - the force we must exert to win the war? Lend the Way They Fight - Buy Bonds to Your Utmost This Space Contributed to Winning the War by* . j oft Drinks, Candies and Tobaeeos .... r part. They are doing frood work and always will. When it comes to a "show down" we Carolina boys are "on the job." Wc can't be downed in anything we start. Wc certainly have had fine wea ther up until now and also the best of luck. j I have had two letters from Annie ; Mae Bryan. I have received lots of mail lately and certainly enjoy get jtin<r it. As lonjr as I can hear from home I am satisfied. You all must write me often and I will write as often as ? can. There are lots of things I would like to write about. I have just eaten dinner and will take a hath this afternoon. I am feelinjr fine. I will close for this time. Much love and many kisses for you all and don't any of you worry about me for I will take care of myself. You can bet on me heilig back home some time in 1010. May God be with us until we meet again. Your devoted brother, W. L. Bryan. Letter to Miss Roberta Bailey From Her Brother. My Dearest Sister: Camp Jackson, S. C. I will answer your sweet letter which was just received and I was so delighted to hear from home. Was so glad you and Scrap got the chance to fro to The Grove to church. I am still under quarantine and it will last until the loth. I had my sec ond inoculation Thursday and it (Continued on Page 3) ??ry >aii? Cl -vr^JKT} "TO ?un o a i -i s 1 <M 1 Attentio i Wc desire lo announce In our Edgefield friends 'liai wc are well supplied in every I department io supply their needs. I Have a Large Stock of Plows and Harrows ? . i Just what vou need lor turning vour lam! in the lall. \ Our Sleek of Harness, Saddles and Bridies is Con?stete hi Anything von want in harness, wagon or buggy harness, single or double, we have. j? I it-WITH PRICES RIGHT. Large stock ol' NAILS and all kinds of Builders" Supplies. If yon need shop tools ol' K all kinds come to us. Poultry and pasture fence wire till widths. | v A Bj p Large stock of carriage and wagon material. The best roofing on the market. 3 Shotguns. loaded shelis and eartrides of all kinds, ij'wc have not in stock what you I need wc will < rder it for von at once. ? Come in to see us when in town. Mr. J. Ii. P. Kuper is with us and will give Ins ? friends a cordial greeting. I S^hittl fi 1239 Broad Street Augusta, Georgia