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Show LIEUUILU WRITES HOME j... x The following letter Is from First w"JeutenantDon G. Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. O. 6. Williams of J. C. Penney Company. Lieut Williams Is with 145th Field Artillery and the letter was written Just before moving - to present training camp where the regiment Is under very heavy training preparatory to service in the front: My Dear Father and Mother. Have left school at Sougn and am now back with my regiment and in command i again of O Battery. I have one first ' Joeutenant and three second lieutenants, lieuten-ants, but they have all gone to Sougn to school, so I am alone with the battery. bat-tery. We leave here Friday for another camp where every one takes' intensive training In school and field for a month or so and then we leave for the front. (My battery Is billeted on a wonderful estate of Madame De Gron. the wife of a Bordeaux Ice manufacturer. manufac-turer. I have a room all to myself in ' their Chateau, a beautiful big white house and such a big fine soft French bed which is wonderful. The Chauteau is situated In a big forest In front of the chateau, Is a , pretty, garden with all kinds of flow-ers, flow-ers, in front of that Is small lake surrounded sur-rounded by big shade trees. In the back are the farm, houses and stables sta-bles of the people who work fcr the madam, that Is where my men live. They have very good quarters in bay lofts and big rock houses. Our section sec-tion Is billeted in the old estate chapel, chap-el, a very pretty little church all by Itself out in the woods, tfarther aown in front of the lake are the vineyards, acres of grapes, a big wide road over half a mile long leads from the main highway to the chateau. The road is lined with big tall fir trees, it is sure a wonderful place to live. Today I let my men gather the grapes for making the wine. They have no men here now. Each estate makes its own wine and it Is very good. The grapes are gathered and put in big square boxes about 115x15 feet then the old French men walk around on the grapes In their bare : feet and crush out all the Juice, it is then put In big vats to foment The Madam says they make about ! A ti barrels each season. This wine v they do not touch for three or four years. I eat all of my meals with the family, fam-ily, except breakfast (petltts de .'uue) that the maid leaves on a table every morning near my bed before I get up. Very swell. It always consists of a -very big cup of hot chocolate and ' . v toast No more, no less, i The family consists of papa and i Y mama pe Gron and Marie, a very ' f pretty girl about 24 years old, , then ! . Jack, who is a very fine young chap, a soldier back on a furlough from the front he is about 19. Then Ihe two younger daughters around 18 and 15. They treat me like a long lost son I go into the music room after dinner and one of my men play the piano and one the violin and I sing. They applaud and apparently enjoy A it very much, even my singing. , N Imagine me eating dinner with a French family and cannot speak French. But I do now, and get along Immensely. Marie is teaching me, and I am learning fast. She and I eing a duet She in French, I In English. (Some duet) I tell you. ' They always serve rare old wine for dinner and the maid always leaves me a bottle or good old "Vln Blanc" In my room daily. Some war." I have taken the battery on some - long hikes and we have seen a little x. old France. It is a beautiful green country, but we sure have lots of Tain. ... (Well, dear folks, this Is a great experience. ex-perience. I am "well and happy, but would Hke to have this all over and "be home again. -General Pershing has on his auto, Heaven, Hell or Hoboken, by Christmas.". Christ-mas.". And I think the Yanks will do it too. They are fighting fools, ee-j ee-j -secally the Doughboys, and it really will be all over before Christmas and . we all hope to be back by June. . Lots of love. ' CON. |