Boys Are Well Situated at Louisville (1917)

Columbia City Post ~ Wednesday, September 26, 1917

All the word back from them tells of the good times they are having - it is a jolly bunch from all reports - Other News.

The Whitley county delegation at Camp Taylor, Louisville, Ky., seems to be having a good time, according to all reports and the boys are having the time of their life. Frank Hull, Don Kennedy, Keller Sheeler and Fred Yontz were on hand to greet them Thursday evening and all of the boys from here are in the same barracks. The four fellows named helped the boys fill their ticks with straw.

Don Kennedy has been appointed acting corporal, as has Edgar Lorger. Bud Mygrant was out to the camp the other day, and he knew a number of the boys. The fellows planned to hold a reunion of the Whitley county boys Sunday. Lieut. Tom Pontius is in the same camp but about a mile away.

"Please pass the butter" is the call that the fellows give as they march into the mess halls at meal time. They are not given butter, so the boys have a lot of fun asking each other to pass it. The report is that you can hear the "Please pass the butter" run all the way down the line as the hungry young fellows hustle in and eat the good things which are offered them. The meals are good, according to reports.

Firmer R. Born writes the local conscription board that everything is satisfactory with the Whitley county bunch. His letter follows in part:

"We arrived all O. K. at the camp about 9 o'clock. Hull, Yontz, Sheeler and Kennedy met us at the door of our barracks in which all the C. C. men are located. The men were exceptionally nice and obedient. Not the least bit of trouble. Had plenty of eats out of Denver and out of Indianapolis. The boys were certainly a jolly bunch. We had lots and lots of fun. Lorber, Strouse, White and Harsbarger were the minstrels. Mr. McKnight proved himself a good sport and friend of the boys. We were 47 out of 414 men on the train and I dare say we were the best looking bunch in the lot. The conductor and brakeman told me he liked our bunch of men the best. Today, (Friday), we drill all forenoon. This afternoon, we were examined and vaccinated."

Fred Yontz has been appointed Supply Sergeant in the commissary department, and his is kept busy handing out goods to the new men as they arrive. Frank Hull, who is familiar with the dry goods business, is also in the supply department. The story is told that as the men were being fitted for shirts, they were asked what sized collar they wear. One fellow replied: "I don't know. I never wore a collar." Firmer Born has also been appointed an acting corporal for the present. These men who have been appointed to non-commissioned positions, may be changed at any time, according to the word from the boys.