Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 302, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 December 1918 — USES HISTORIC RUINS [ARTICLE]

USES HISTORIC RUINS

Darky Chef Finds Good Race for Kitchen. IHot Beef and Fried Onione Replace Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI History. With the American Army in the Argonne.—A darky cook from Alabama Is turning out hot bully beef and fried onions tn Varennes to the rains of the inn where Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were captured by French peasants to their flight from the revolutionists. ..." The old- stone building Itself had fallen into decay long before this war. But the Germans had burrowed dugouts into its cellars and some sort of a German headquarters was established there until the terrific bombardment tbit preceded our greatest offensive completely leveled the ruins. Varennes Itself fell to the Yankees a

few hours later as the Germans retreated to the ridge of hills, beyond. For a few days American tanks had their headquarters in the rounding the ruins. Then moved up and colored detachments established . headquarters in Varennes while they smoothed over shell holes in the roads. What was left of one of the walls of the old inn struck a colored cook as a good leanto against which he could protect-his Are from the wind and in a jiffy he. had his kitchen going. Nbfrxa single building in Varennes has a roqf. During the first four years of the vrar the town escaped heavy shellfire, though it was within easy, range of French artillery. But the battering fire of our guns on the opening morning of the Argonne attack and the response from German artillery after we had captured the town laid the old church in ruins, flattened out the modern dwellings along the river and sent strong buildings in the center of the town sprawling.