Paragraphs
taken from letters written Oct. 17 and 26 by Howard C. Olson, son of Mr. and
Mrs. A. E. Olson
Somewhere in
France, Sat. Oct. 26, 1918
Dear Mother and
Father:
This is
Saturday morning and am not very busy so will drop you a few lines to let you
know that Elmer and I are all well and getting along nicely.
Herbert Hagen,
a young fellow who lives two or three miles South of Bird Island, was wounded
in three places in his body while sleeping in a church near the front. A high
explosive shell hit the church early last Sunday morning, wounding him in the
left shoulder and body, also killing twelve other fellows and wounding many. He
was sent to this hospital for treatment and I stood beside him at the operating
table while the pieces of shrapnel were removed. At the present time he is
feeling and getting along nicely, at a base hospital some hundred miles back of
the lines.
There is one
other thing I want to tell you and that is we have the record of all Evacuation
Hospitals in France. In twenty-one days we took care of over twenty-six
thousand and wounded soldiers.
A couple of
nights ago we were bombed close by, killing two Americans, four Frenchmen and
twenty-one women. Everybody was out watching the excitement as it does no good
to run and hide under some building because those bombs go thru anything on
earth.
The British
captured Lillie and Ostend the other day and got back some six hundred women
and girls who had been prisoners of the Germans for the past four years. They
had been tortured something awful.
A week ago today
Oct 13th I went up to the front and saw Elmer, somewhere in the
Argonne Woods. I left here by ambulance at eight o’clock and arrived in the
woods at twelve. He was going out on a detail with thirteen teams so I got
there just in time as he was already on his horse. I ran out and shook hands
with him and he surely was glad to see me and I surely was glad to see him. I
spent Sunday afternoon and all Sunday night with him. We slept in the woods and
believe me the boche shells were flying all around us. I thought sure one was
coming along and pick me off. Elmer has had several very close calls but has
been lucky so far. Outside of all the sufferings and hardships he is going
thru, he is feeling fine and still alive.
They are short
of food and clothes for the reason it is so hard to get it up to the front
lines. There is no city in the world that handles more traffic than the main roads
going up to the front. There is one continual stream of wagons, trucks, troops,
artillery, ammunition trains and ambulances for twenty-five miles back of “No
Man’s Land.”
The wounded men
are coming in fast again so I must stop and go to work. Hoping you all spend a
Happy Thanksgiving,
I am, your dear son, Howard.
Editor’s Note: We do not have a photograph of Howard C. Olson.
Posted: February 21, 2019 by Renville County Historical Society Leave a Comment
Minimum Wages, Fairfax Standard, 11-28-1918
The Minnesota Minimum Wage Commission has established a scale of minimum wages to be observed in Minnesota, in the employment of women or minors, as follows:
For mercantile, waitresses, office or hair dressing occupations, in St. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth, $9.00 per week; all other incorporated cities in the state, $8.50 per week; in the state outside of the cities, $8.00 per week. In manufacturing, mechanical, telephone, telegraph, laundry, dyeing, dry cleaning, lunch room, restaurant and hotel occupations the scale is 25 cents less in incorporated cities while outside incorporated cities it is $8.00 per week. All other occupations anywhere in the state, $8.00 per week.
For apprentices or learner in any occupation, girl or boy under 18 years of age, in the state outside of incorporated cities, $7.00 per week for four months, then $8.00 per week. Woman or minor 18 years or older, $7.00 per week for three months, then $8.00 per week.
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Posted: February 21, 2019 by Renville County Historical Society Leave a Comment
Counter Attack Halted, Fairfax Standard, 11-28-1918
January 9, 1894 – Febrary 1985
Corporal L. E. Whitmer, who is one of the boys from Fairfax to help bring an American and Allied victory over there, has sent the following clipping to his parents here. It gives a vivid description of how things have been done on a big scale to accomplish big results:
“We have just witnessed an interesting innovation, which provided a magnificent spectacle. It was reported that German troops were assembling east of the Meuse for a counter-attack. Immediately, 350 aeroplanes, with 32 tons of bombs, took the air to attack the German troop concentration. There were 200 bombing machines, 100 “chasse” planes and 50 triplanes.
It was a superb sight. The whole sky was black with groups of from nine to twelve machines “V” formation, like a lot of wild ducks. The sun was just setting and its rays made the aeroplanes gleam like gold and silver blades against the blue of the sky.
The aviators flew eastward and soon after the explosions of their bombs mingled with the sound of the cannon. The counter-attack melted under the terrible hail of metal and twelve German aeroplanes which boldly went to the encounter of our great armada, were sent to earth.”
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Last Updated: February 21, 2019 by Renville County Historical Society Leave a Comment
Letter from Claude Smith Morton Enterprise 11-15-1918
July 14, 1897 – August 7, 1954
Oct. 20, 1918
Dear Sister,
Well, I received three letters from you today and was sure glad to hear from you. I got two letters from home today. I think ma is worrying unnecessarily for I’m alright. This leaves me pretty well, had my tonsils removed a few days ago so my throat is still pretty sore.
I was in bed five weeks with diphtheria but couldn’t have had better care than I had. I don’t think I’ll have any more trouble with my throat since I got my tonsils removed. They were about as big as my fist.
I got my first pay yesterday-nineteen pounds-that’s over ninety dollars. Want to send some of it home when I get around to it.
I expect to be back on duty in eight or ten days and I hope I never have to go to a hospital again. Was sorry to hear that the baby got hurt. I never knew I was so close to Clarence Miller-his ship left as we came.
Well, I think I will close for this time.
With love, your brother, Claude S. Smith
P.S. Oct. 21st. Just got two more letters from you. U.S.S. Texas, Care of Postmaster, Box E.D., New York, N.Y.
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Last Updated: February 21, 2019 by Renville County Historical Society Leave a Comment
Letter from Howard C. Olson, Bird Island Union, 11-28-1918
Paragraphs taken from letters written Oct. 17 and 26 by Howard C. Olson, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Olson
Somewhere in France, Sat. Oct. 26, 1918
Dear Mother and Father:
This is Saturday morning and am not very busy so will drop you a few lines to let you know that Elmer and I are all well and getting along nicely.
Herbert Hagen, a young fellow who lives two or three miles South of Bird Island, was wounded in three places in his body while sleeping in a church near the front. A high explosive shell hit the church early last Sunday morning, wounding him in the left shoulder and body, also killing twelve other fellows and wounding many. He was sent to this hospital for treatment and I stood beside him at the operating table while the pieces of shrapnel were removed. At the present time he is feeling and getting along nicely, at a base hospital some hundred miles back of the lines.
There is one other thing I want to tell you and that is we have the record of all Evacuation Hospitals in France. In twenty-one days we took care of over twenty-six thousand and wounded soldiers.
A couple of nights ago we were bombed close by, killing two Americans, four Frenchmen and twenty-one women. Everybody was out watching the excitement as it does no good to run and hide under some building because those bombs go thru anything on earth.
The British captured Lillie and Ostend the other day and got back some six hundred women and girls who had been prisoners of the Germans for the past four years. They had been tortured something awful.
A week ago today Oct 13th I went up to the front and saw Elmer, somewhere in the Argonne Woods. I left here by ambulance at eight o’clock and arrived in the woods at twelve. He was going out on a detail with thirteen teams so I got there just in time as he was already on his horse. I ran out and shook hands with him and he surely was glad to see me and I surely was glad to see him. I spent Sunday afternoon and all Sunday night with him. We slept in the woods and believe me the boche shells were flying all around us. I thought sure one was coming along and pick me off. Elmer has had several very close calls but has been lucky so far. Outside of all the sufferings and hardships he is going thru, he is feeling fine and still alive.
They are short of food and clothes for the reason it is so hard to get it up to the front lines. There is no city in the world that handles more traffic than the main roads going up to the front. There is one continual stream of wagons, trucks, troops, artillery, ammunition trains and ambulances for twenty-five miles back of “No Man’s Land.”
The wounded men are coming in fast again so I must stop and go to work. Hoping you all spend a Happy Thanksgiving,
I am, your dear son, Howard.
Editor’s Note: We do not have a photograph of Howard C. Olson.
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Posted: February 21, 2019 by Renville County Historical Society Leave a Comment
Letter From Alfred Buckley, Renville County Journal, 12-5-1918
October 21, 1897 – August 5, 1970
Wm Buckley Recently Received the Following Interesting Letter from his Brother Alfred.
U. S. S. C. 128, an Italian Port, Oct. 4, 1918
Dear Brother:
Received your letter dated Sept. 2, sure glad to hear from you.
We are out on patrol, or barrage as we call it. Most of the time waiting for subs. We had a little excitement a few days ago so I have a nice little story to tell this time. Cannot tell it all but will sometime.
We left our Base No. 25 last Sunday and got here Monday P.M. We heard rumors of a raid on an Austrian base. We stayed here till Tuesday night when we left. We ran across the Adriatic and sighted the enemy base at 11 o’clock. A number of English and Italian cruisers and a fleet of destroyers came up then. I sure was glad because we were then only ten miles off shore. They started bombarding the place at 11:30. We were prowling around some British cruisers. Just about this time the Austrians began getting our range and we had some close shaves. Those big pills were dropping all around and over us. Our lookout sighted three or four periscopes making for the destroyers. We put on all speed and as we passed over them we began dropping depth bombs. We dropped six in all. The other two chasers in our unit dropped as many more. We got one sub and each of the other two got one apiece, and perhaps more. We are officially credited with three subs, with saving the British cruisers from being torpedoed, and with capturing an Austrian Hospital ship. We let her go again. The Allies destroyed half of the town, sunk all the important ships in the harbor and three or four Austrian cruisers.
Some Italian chasers ran right into the harbor and torpedoed some ships and got away again. I cannot mention our casualties but they were of no consequences compared with the damage done to the base. The air was black with airplanes. Altogether it was a most wonderful sight and one rarely seen, those battleships bombarding the beach and shells falling all around us, mines blowing up, I would not have missed it for a lifetime.
The depth charges cause an awful commotion. It shakes the engine room something fierce, the vibration being so great it stopped one of the engines. The best part of it was I didn’t get a bit nervous so I was able to appreciate it all.
Well I am satisfied now that I was in one battle and helped down a few Fritzes.
Well I wish you luck and hope you come across safely. Will close now, hoping to hear from you soon.
As ever, Your Brother, Alfred, M. M.1st C., U.S.S.C. 128
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