Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 March 1918 — INTERESTING LETTER FROM CAMP MEADE [ARTICLE]

INTERESTING LETTER FROM CAMP MEADE

'Camp Meade, Maryland, 21 25-18. Dear Friends and Editor: Having promised that I would write to you when I got settled in camp, I will now do so. On January 26, Edward Honan, E. C. Henry and I left Rensselaer for Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, arriving there the following day at four o’clock. We were ready for real soldier duty Monday morning. We were pleased to find Ed Parkinson, Lonnie Davisson, and the five of us Rensselaer boys occupied the same barrack.

We got notice February 10, that one hundred and twenty of the Signal Corps ypould be sent out, that included E. C. Henry and myself. We sure hated to leave the other boys. Tuesday, February 12, we were loaded for sdmewhere, none of us knew where. I was sure surprised when we passed through Chicago. We were switched on to the B. and O. road there, we went j through Gary, nearly home, but but they would not allow us to get off the train to phone home or even to mail a card, however, we boys wrote letters and cards and threw them out at the station and trusted some one in the crowds that cheered us as we passed through, to mail them for us. We passed through Cleveland and Pittsburg after dark so we did not know it until the next day, The sights along the road were sure worth seeing, we went through the Cumberland Mountains, and tunnejs after tunnels, we also saw the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, something I used to sing about, but never thought I’d see so soon. We got to Washington, D. C., on the 14th, had quite a stop there. It sure is one fine place, we were then moved on to our new home here at Camp Meade. When we arrived we were sure a disappointed bunch as none of us liked the looks of the place when we got off the train, but after getting settled and taking a hike around the camp we sobn changed our minds. The camp was built since last June. There are now 50,000 soldiers here so you can imagine what work has been done here. It is a wonderful camp and a very interesting place, beingonly nineteen miles from Washington and about twenty five from Baltimore, have cars running to both places. On Sundays the camp is crowded with visitors. Now this is about all I can tell you about our camp except that our division, the Signal Corps, is one of the most important in theT army. Later.—E. C; Henry broke out the measles and we are quarantined for 18 days, that’s enough to make anybody quit writing, ha! ha! • . I hope this finds you and all my friends o k, I am Sincerely yours, PVT. STANLEY L. LANE, Co. C, 324 Field Signal B-N, Camp Meade, , Maryland.