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Image provided by: New York State Military History Museum
THE WADSWORTH GAS ATTACK a n d RIO GRANDE RATTLER 17 “A WEEK IN SPARTANBURG” XJNIT NO. 96. C onsiderable im p etus was given the ac tivities in this unit tow ard the close of the week, w h en the quarantine was lifted from th e 108th Infantry, and it seem ed good to welcome back the friends of the unit from the 108th. W ednesday the building was turned over to Chaplain Edrop, of the 53d Infantry, for the benefit of the officers, an inform al dance and band concert being given, the 53rd Pio neer Infantry band furnishing the music. On Thursday Colonel Delam e ter, the new colonel of the 53d Infantry, gave a heart-to- h e a rt talk to his men. His rem a rks were greatly appreciated and brought forth an enthusiastic applause. Friday night is now featured by two events w e e k ly: First, the regular movies and sec ondly, the Bible classes of Chaplain Edrop, which are held weekly in the educational rooms. Saturday night was an open night, and this unit has found th a t the men appre ciate occasionally an open night. It gives them a whole evening in which to w rite letters or engage in games. Large groups are able to get around the piano for songs, while other groups are enjoying the open fire. Sunday, Chaplain Edrop, assisted by Rev. Mr Drysdale, conducted both services. The 53rd Infantry Band played at the m o rning service, and in the evening a “ sing” of the old songs was held before the regular service. Monday the quarantine of the 108th was lifted and the building was crowded. The first place the men of the 108th seem ed to w ant to go was to the Y. M. C. A. T u e sday evening there was the largest crow d at this unit in m o n ths. A regular “ holiday sp irit” seemed to be on every side. Many men w ere not able to get into the building. The regular movies were pre ceded by views of foreign countries, w ith rem a rks of explanation by J. L. Kingsley, of the Y. M. C. A. H e a d q u a rters. The Jazz band of the H e a d q u a rters company, 53rd Infantry, played during the movies. Be tw e e n reels Prof. Lilly, of Wofford College, gave his second lesson in French to the men. U NIT NO. 97. L a st Sunday night was certainly a gala n ight in 97. A goodly crowd gathered for the sing at 6:45, which was led by Secre tary Allen. D u ring the course of the sing, Dr. W oolsey, Camp M usical D irector came w ith Miss W oolsey and he took charge of things. Miss W oolsey favored the boys w ith two beautiful solos and she and Dr. W o olsey sang a duet. The m u sical num bers were both very much enjoyed and appreciated. Following a short service conducted by S e c retary Ford, Dr. R. J. D rysdale gave a w o n d erful talk, taking as his subject a m e s sage from “D ad” Garry, who gave his life in the service of his fellowmen a few weeks Dr. Jefferson, of New York, Came, Saw and Was Conquered by the 27th Divi sion’s Camp. E d itor’s Note.—W e reprin t in p a rt the story of “A W eek in Spartanburg,” an article w ritten by Dr. C h a rles E. Jefferson, of New York City, for “The C h ristian W o rk.” It gives us a chance to see w h at visitors think of us. Spartanburg is in South Carolina. ' You would not think it if you saw it in Decem ber. In D ecem b er it looks for all the world like a town in N o rthern Maine. The snow is just like the New England snow, and the wind has teeth which bite. T h e re is no doubt there is a Sunny South, but I advise N o rtherners not to look for it in December. W h en I w e n t to bed the first night I had prem o n itions, and consequently spread my overcoat over the blanket. At m idnight the cold had gotten as far as my bones. At ago. Dr. Drysdale told how, while m aking a last call on this wonderful old m an as he lay upon his death bed, asking him if he had any m essage for the boys, “Dad” re plied : “Tell them to keep looking up.” The talk was listened to w ith great interest and close attention. Chaplain Edrop, of th e 53d Pioneer In fantry, was the speaker last W ednesday night. He certainly made a great h it w ith everyone, as he told the simple story of the power of Jesus, using a story from the book of the Acts. The usual reel of movies fol lowing his address was enjoyed as much as usual. New classes in various subjects are con stantly being formed by Mr. Pafford, Edu cational Secretary. A class in stenography is in process of organization, as well as classes in telegraphy and m echanics and m a them atics. The 104th F. A. Band will hereafter give a concert each Friday night, instead of Monday night, as heretofore. The concert last Friday night was up to the usual standard. .* The quarantine against the enlisted men in Spartanburg has increased attendance at the building som ewhat. The num b e r of books circulated has taken a m o st decided jump. This is probably due to the fact th a t Oakes and Pafford have gotten them moved into their new quarters in the front of the building, w e st of the counter. New books are being catalogued and put into circula tion daily, and the library, when finished, will consist of about seven hundred volumes. Mr. Fitz, our efficient desk secretary, was the chairm a n of the com m ittee on banking appointed by the Camp Secretary. Mr. Fitz m ade several visits to nearby camps inves tigating this phase of activity. four o’clock in the m o rning it had reached the m arrow. The South Carolinian coldness is a colder sort of coldness for its size than any coldness I have ever known. W h en at the breakfast table I was told th a t the m e r cury had reached only eight degrees above zero I prom p tly put the therm o m e ter in the A n anias Club. Spartanburg is a city of 25,000 people. I was a long tim e finding it out. The South erners are not strong in figures. They take little in terest in such m a tters. Everybody I asked gave me a different guess. The low est was 16,000, and the highest was 35,- 000. I then appealed to a prom inent pas tor, and he assured me the correct figure is 25,000. An Upset City. It is the m o st upset city in America, a t least so far as my knowledge goes. It has been upset by Camp W adsw o rth, a new city of 35,000 inhabitants only four m iles away. This new city overflows into the old city. Twice a week there is a genuine inundation. I arrived on Saturday, and at first I was not certain w h e ther I was in the camp or in the city. Soldiers were every where. The streets w ere full. The hotels were crowded. The stores w ere overflowing. W h en I gazed on this m ighty host the over throw of the K a iser seem ed certain. In the m eantim e it is only the barbers, and store keepers, and hotel m a n a g e rs who are over thrown. They can not m e e t the demand. There is never enough of anything. The grocers can not lay in stocks which are suffi cient. Thirty-five thousand soldiers on pay day have a little town of 25,000 com pletely at their mercy. But of course the tow n s people are not altogether helpless. My first Malaga grapes cost me forty cents a pound. A camp is a bonanza—to everybody who has anything to sell. W ith a pay roll of over one million dollars a m o n th in Camp W a d s worth, it is needless to say th a t the inhabi tan ts of Spartanburg are convinced th a t we were justified in entering the war. But it is not business enterprises alone which are dem oralized by the camp. It is the social life of the city, and the church life also. It is not a propitious season for satis factory church work. Everything is disar ranged. So m any officers and their wives live in town, and such a m u ltitude of Spar- tanburgers are kept busy in an effort to make them com fortable, th a t church atten d ance is not w h a t it used to be. But be cause Spartanburg is considerably upset, do not im agine th a t Spartanburg is not happy. Men are seldom happier in this world than when they are tearing down their old barns to m ake room for larger ones. Bumping the Bumps. The road from the city to the camp is w o rthy of mention. Indeed there are sev eral roads, all of them equally bad. The one which seem ed the w o rst was alw ays the (Continued on page 24)
