Letter to Mother - 31 October 1917

Dear Mother:

Your dear letter of the 26th received. Am glad I can send you some good news for I got my first promotion today at Pay Roll Muster. I was promoted to Private 1st Class with a $3.00 pay raise. Read with considerable amusement that Ben Pollack was promoted to Corporal. That simply is not true - he's still a buck private and one can only assume that he's been talking over his head and out of turn in his letters home. So that's that...

Virgie wrote me two letters about the parade she saw. She sure is a clever little kid. Am very sorry to hear of dad's sickness again. Was worrying and thinking about him all the time of late. I hope he gets better again real soon.

So you paid $3.00 for the mending of my coat. That's a frightful charge. I distinctly told Budwig that I wanted the collar, sleeve and lining fixed. Don't let him get away with it.

Yes, I got the box of cookies Ed and Bess sent me and they were delicious! Any future contributions will be gratefully accepted at this end. Give my regards to John Campbell, our postman. So Herman Mautner hasn't been drafted yet. Did I write you that Ed Cohen was drafted, as well as some of the other boys in the gang?

Am sending you some pictures. One of these was taken last Sunday in the corral (the one with my horse) after we came back from a ride through Houston Heights. The others taken some time ago...

The other night it was awfully colde here. I think we would have frozen without our Army stove and it did manage to keep us comfortable and snug. We'll have an issue of woolen underwear in a day or two for the regimental supply has already arrived.

Gov. Lowden is coming down to visit us and we're going have a divisional parade in his honor. We're also due to get our Olive Drab (woolen uniforms) issued Saturday. And I mustn't forget to tell you that our cannon arrived today from the Rock Island Arsenal. They are 1902 model 3 inch field pieces. We're going out to the firing range soon for target practice.

Well I must close now. Remember me to Helen and Herman. Is Joe B at home? Has it snowed in Chi as yet? We found ice in the water trough in the corral yesterday morning.

With love to Ina and Dad -

Your loving son,

(signed) George