TRANSCRIBED FROM THE COLUMBIA BANNER JANUARY 8, 1918 P. 1
Nov. 28, 1918.
Dear Sister:
How are you and all the folks? Well I hope. I am well and doing fine. Guess Carl is well long before this, is he not?
“My days work.” Yes, I work on the trucks and cars. Have not done any other work since arriving in France, except drill for the first few days we were here. Here are “old castles” like you read about in novels. All the houses, I’ve seen over here, were built from rocks. Some of them are covered with vines. I can see from where I sit, by looking through the door and across the street, an old house probably several hundred years old, that has some kind of tree, looks like a pear tree, growing up against it. The tree spreads out flat against the wall. The body of the tree is small, but the top spreads over most of the side of the two story building. It has roots from most every limb growing into the dirt between the rocks. The buildings are put up of rocks with dirt between them–mud I guess it was when it was first put up. Some of them have real mortar in them.
I was very much impressed by the first house or castle I saw over here. It was at the Port, where we disembarked. Most of the town in on a hill just back of the harbor. A cliff, I should say, for at places, it is several hundred feet high, perpendicular rock too. The road or street that we went up, was hewn from the rock most of the way. There is an old rock house built against the cliff. It has round towers to it. It’s built from the same colored rocks as the cliff walls are. Has white cement between the rocks. It’s all covered with moss just as the cliff walls are. Anyone could hardly tell it was a house if it was not for the windows. It has a rock wall around it from the cliff on one side out to the street, then along the street to the cliff where the street goes into a short tunnel. On top of the wall they have broken glass cemented on it. Has a iron gate in the wall with a large lock on it.
Yes, there are some animals around here. Most of them resemble a human though. Most all of the farmers have horses, cows and goats. Imagine goatmilk and butter. There are some deer, not many, squirrels and rabbits. Some of the largest rabbits I ever saw.
There is not very much timber around here. Out from town one way there is quite a bit of timber a full kilometer out, while out the other way anyone might travel for a long way and see no trees, but what are on the fences (the fences are built of mud.) Most of the trees are scrub oak, or they closely resembled oaks, also there are some pines, haven’t seen any that were any size. There are some in the low places that look a great deal like sweet bay there.
Fought Germans yet. No, - I haven’t met any face to face, for that does not come in my line.
We repair the trucks for the drivers of the train to haul ammunition to the boys that (are) or were fighting.
Yes, the girls, boys, men, and women wear wooden shoes. I don’t blame them either, for anyone needs some kind of a mud boat to get through this mud sometime. Some of the girls are pretty, but most of them have awfully large feet, or they look that way.
A few days ago several of we boys of the Ord. Det. visited a very old church about seven kilometers from here. The church is over 600 years old. There are some fine carvings inside it. All done by hand. All of it was done by a monk when the church was being built. The church was about 400 years under construction. There was one of the sisters (nuns) that showed us all around, and told us about all the things. She could speak a little English, and some of the boys could speak some French, enough to make one another understand. They have an ivory crucifix there that is made of solid ivory.
The body, feet, legs, and head are made of one piece. The arms are made of other pieces, where they are joined you can hardly see the joint. It sure is a fine piece of workmanship. You can see the teeth plain enough to count them. Can see the palate of the mouth, pores of the skin, finger and toe nails. The whole thing isn’t over eighteen inches high, so you see what a great job it was to make. It took the Monk thirty-five years to make it. They also have the bone of the fore arm of King Arthur. Guess you have read of him in medieval history. He was the old king of Brittany you know. He reigned about 600 years ago. You see some of this country has just been settled.
The west has no comparison with this part of the world. The west, in its way, is as far ahead of here as a citron is an orange. While its vice versa with here in his way.
If you enjoy this, there is a lot of such to write about. I’m getting a few views of some places I’ll bring with me. Love to all.
Paul Jones.
NOTES: Paul Jack Jones was born in Magnolia, Columbia County, on February 15, 1896, and died on July 16, 1972. He is buried in the Antioch East Cemetery, Magnolia. His military headstone identifies him as a Pvt. in the U S Army during World War I. He enlisted on June 25, 1918 and was discharged on January 18, 1919. He was described as being of medium weight and height with blue eyes and light hair.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT.
Nov. 28, 1918.
Dear Sister:
How are you and all the folks? Well I hope. I am well and doing fine. Guess Carl is well long before this, is he not?
“My days work.” Yes, I work on the trucks and cars. Have not done any other work since arriving in France, except drill for the first few days we were here. Here are “old castles” like you read about in novels. All the houses, I’ve seen over here, were built from rocks. Some of them are covered with vines. I can see from where I sit, by looking through the door and across the street, an old house probably several hundred years old, that has some kind of tree, looks like a pear tree, growing up against it. The tree spreads out flat against the wall. The body of the tree is small, but the top spreads over most of the side of the two story building. It has roots from most every limb growing into the dirt between the rocks. The buildings are put up of rocks with dirt between them–mud I guess it was when it was first put up. Some of them have real mortar in them.
I was very much impressed by the first house or castle I saw over here. It was at the Port, where we disembarked. Most of the town in on a hill just back of the harbor. A cliff, I should say, for at places, it is several hundred feet high, perpendicular rock too. The road or street that we went up, was hewn from the rock most of the way. There is an old rock house built against the cliff. It has round towers to it. It’s built from the same colored rocks as the cliff walls are. Has white cement between the rocks. It’s all covered with moss just as the cliff walls are. Anyone could hardly tell it was a house if it was not for the windows. It has a rock wall around it from the cliff on one side out to the street, then along the street to the cliff where the street goes into a short tunnel. On top of the wall they have broken glass cemented on it. Has a iron gate in the wall with a large lock on it.
Yes, there are some animals around here. Most of them resemble a human though. Most all of the farmers have horses, cows and goats. Imagine goatmilk and butter. There are some deer, not many, squirrels and rabbits. Some of the largest rabbits I ever saw.
There is not very much timber around here. Out from town one way there is quite a bit of timber a full kilometer out, while out the other way anyone might travel for a long way and see no trees, but what are on the fences (the fences are built of mud.) Most of the trees are scrub oak, or they closely resembled oaks, also there are some pines, haven’t seen any that were any size. There are some in the low places that look a great deal like sweet bay there.
Fought Germans yet. No, - I haven’t met any face to face, for that does not come in my line.
We repair the trucks for the drivers of the train to haul ammunition to the boys that (are) or were fighting.
Yes, the girls, boys, men, and women wear wooden shoes. I don’t blame them either, for anyone needs some kind of a mud boat to get through this mud sometime. Some of the girls are pretty, but most of them have awfully large feet, or they look that way.
A few days ago several of we boys of the Ord. Det. visited a very old church about seven kilometers from here. The church is over 600 years old. There are some fine carvings inside it. All done by hand. All of it was done by a monk when the church was being built. The church was about 400 years under construction. There was one of the sisters (nuns) that showed us all around, and told us about all the things. She could speak a little English, and some of the boys could speak some French, enough to make one another understand. They have an ivory crucifix there that is made of solid ivory.
The body, feet, legs, and head are made of one piece. The arms are made of other pieces, where they are joined you can hardly see the joint. It sure is a fine piece of workmanship. You can see the teeth plain enough to count them. Can see the palate of the mouth, pores of the skin, finger and toe nails. The whole thing isn’t over eighteen inches high, so you see what a great job it was to make. It took the Monk thirty-five years to make it. They also have the bone of the fore arm of King Arthur. Guess you have read of him in medieval history. He was the old king of Brittany you know. He reigned about 600 years ago. You see some of this country has just been settled.
The west has no comparison with this part of the world. The west, in its way, is as far ahead of here as a citron is an orange. While its vice versa with here in his way.
If you enjoy this, there is a lot of such to write about. I’m getting a few views of some places I’ll bring with me. Love to all.
Paul Jones.
NOTES: Paul Jack Jones was born in Magnolia, Columbia County, on February 15, 1896, and died on July 16, 1972. He is buried in the Antioch East Cemetery, Magnolia. His military headstone identifies him as a Pvt. in the U S Army during World War I. He enlisted on June 25, 1918 and was discharged on January 18, 1919. He was described as being of medium weight and height with blue eyes and light hair.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT.