In 1918, many of Ridgeway’s young men and women left their hometown to serve their country during what we now call World War I. As these were the days before texting, emails and unlimited long distance, they wrote letters home to their families and friends to update them on what was happening overseas. Many of these letters were published in the Ridgeway Journal for all to read.
Dolph Cain was “Ridgeway’s First Representative in France” and he sent his first letter to the Journal editor, published January 18, 1918: “I presume that I am the first of our boys to come across. We landed safe and sound, so we all have a warm spot in our hearts for the navy “for taking care of the submarines. He also wrote “Everything here looks much different that in the U. S. A. All the fields are green and it looks like summer.”
Ira B. Chapman was in Camp Hancock, GA for training and wanted to let everyone know that “they have not killed me yet”. He exclaimed about the higher prices for that he was paying for food and was “getting anxious to see the waters” on his way overseas.
In May, Garland Johnson wrote his father, C. E. Johnson, from the ship that he was sailing to France: “Well, here I am on the sea and no land in sight yet, however we are all patiently waiting and anxiously watching for said soil.” He thought he would be very happy to get his feet back on “some good firm soil”. There were about 3500 soldiers on board plus a crew of 400-500. “Talk about a crowd—it is worse on this ship than the streets are in old Ridgeway when she has a rip-roaring big crowd July 4th. We are packed like sardines.”
O. P. Bennett shared a letter from his sister Ruth who was serving overseas in France in the Army Nurse Corps. She was stationed at a camp hospital near Bourdeaux and wrote “they have never had nurses here before. We have very comfy quarters with running water and hot bath and good menu.” She also wrote “All night long I can hear the troops coming to or leaving camp and try to realize what a big job this war is.” She was grateful for the food they got: “It is great to know that we are really getting what you are doing without that we may have. We have canned butter and canned milk, plenty of sugar, but they say the fruit is getting very scarce.”
I have several more letters that I will share next week. If you would like to see the full text of the letters I have collected, including several others and a list of local residents who were serving as of June 1918, please check out the RCBA blog: ridgewaycba.blogspot.com.
