TRANSCRIBED FROM THE PRESCOTT DAILY NEWS APRIL 15, 1918 P. 5
Somewhere in France March 18-'18.
Dear Uncle Joe:
There is one thing that I have been intending to do ever since I got over here and that is to write to the man that so ably runs the Ozan-Graysonia Lumber Company's Prescott Planing mill. Well, I'm tired tonight, I'll just put it off till Sunday or another night and--well you know, I just never get around to that time. But, here goes.
As you perhaps know, we arrived in France about the middle of the month of January. We moved inland from there to some large barracks that were built by Napoleon where we stayed for about a week. We then came to our "seat" of operations and within a week we shipped our first carload of trench props. We erected a five thousand capacity bolter mill and we are running it 24 hours a day and are cutting out more than capacity, which would be 12M. We also keep a large crew out in the woods hewing ties and cutting out piling, poles, trench props and wire entanglement stakes. We are erecting another mill--a Clark 20 M American made saw mill with which we hope to cut 50 M daily. We have very nice timber to work with for this country but we would consider it pretty scrubby in the Ozan woods. But the lumber is very good. There is something about these trees that is noticeable, and that is that there is no pith and the percentage of No. 1 and better is very, very large.
Since we arrived in our present camp we have not done near so much military drilling as we used to, but we are going back to it and some of the men will train and drill daily. If it is ever our lot to be chosen to go to the front we are going to be ready though; from the attitude of the government that they consider our unit some important. Our orders are certainly plentiful and it is a cinch that they are shipping us over here fast enough. Well, without lumber it's a cinch they can't fight the eGrmans for this is a war of trenches, and they have to have lumber for trenches.
Talk about a husky bunch of men; we sure have them in Company F. The first five squads are over six feet tall and down through the 14th squad you will find them all over 5 ft. 10 in. Most all of the fellows are asking about their chances of going to the trenches and dozens are asking for transfers to the front line units. But there is nothing doing till we get some of this work done. If the first fifteen squads of F Company ever turn loose on that many Germans then there will be that many German soldiers out of luck.
From Mrs. Mac's letters, I am led to believe that Uncle Sam will have no kick on what Prescott, Ark., is doing in this war. Well, we are going to need all of the fellows with us if we are going to give the Germans all that is coming to them. Still, that's impossible, if the allies did all to the Germans that they have done to others, or rather if they were to start in, they would get sick and ashamed and would quit. It's absolutely hell to hear some of the tales of the French who have been fighting in Belgium. I don't wish them any bad luck, but I wish they could feel some of the heartaches that they have caused up on the front. Death isn't anything, it's the savage things that they do.
I hear that you have a pretty fine time-keeper in the office. When I first heard of it I was huffed but when I got Ruth's letters saying that she wanted to do something and that she hated to teach I decided I'd better shut up. But, I hate to have my wife go in my old job and show me up.
With best regards to Mrs. Morrison, Miss Alpha and little and big Joe, I wish to be remembered by all until we get this thing over and get back to Arkansas.
Your respectful friend,
ALLEN A. McCURDY.
NOTES: Allen Anderson McCurdy was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin on July 6, 1894 and died in Michigan on June 10, 1965. He is buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery in Lansing, Michigan. His military headstone identifies him as a Michigan 2nd Lieut. serving in the Corps of Engineers in WWI. He was working at the Ozan-Grayson Lumber Company in Nevada County, Arkansas when he registered for the draft.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD
Somewhere in France March 18-'18.
Dear Uncle Joe:
There is one thing that I have been intending to do ever since I got over here and that is to write to the man that so ably runs the Ozan-Graysonia Lumber Company's Prescott Planing mill. Well, I'm tired tonight, I'll just put it off till Sunday or another night and--well you know, I just never get around to that time. But, here goes.
As you perhaps know, we arrived in France about the middle of the month of January. We moved inland from there to some large barracks that were built by Napoleon where we stayed for about a week. We then came to our "seat" of operations and within a week we shipped our first carload of trench props. We erected a five thousand capacity bolter mill and we are running it 24 hours a day and are cutting out more than capacity, which would be 12M. We also keep a large crew out in the woods hewing ties and cutting out piling, poles, trench props and wire entanglement stakes. We are erecting another mill--a Clark 20 M American made saw mill with which we hope to cut 50 M daily. We have very nice timber to work with for this country but we would consider it pretty scrubby in the Ozan woods. But the lumber is very good. There is something about these trees that is noticeable, and that is that there is no pith and the percentage of No. 1 and better is very, very large.
Since we arrived in our present camp we have not done near so much military drilling as we used to, but we are going back to it and some of the men will train and drill daily. If it is ever our lot to be chosen to go to the front we are going to be ready though; from the attitude of the government that they consider our unit some important. Our orders are certainly plentiful and it is a cinch that they are shipping us over here fast enough. Well, without lumber it's a cinch they can't fight the eGrmans for this is a war of trenches, and they have to have lumber for trenches.
Talk about a husky bunch of men; we sure have them in Company F. The first five squads are over six feet tall and down through the 14th squad you will find them all over 5 ft. 10 in. Most all of the fellows are asking about their chances of going to the trenches and dozens are asking for transfers to the front line units. But there is nothing doing till we get some of this work done. If the first fifteen squads of F Company ever turn loose on that many Germans then there will be that many German soldiers out of luck.
From Mrs. Mac's letters, I am led to believe that Uncle Sam will have no kick on what Prescott, Ark., is doing in this war. Well, we are going to need all of the fellows with us if we are going to give the Germans all that is coming to them. Still, that's impossible, if the allies did all to the Germans that they have done to others, or rather if they were to start in, they would get sick and ashamed and would quit. It's absolutely hell to hear some of the tales of the French who have been fighting in Belgium. I don't wish them any bad luck, but I wish they could feel some of the heartaches that they have caused up on the front. Death isn't anything, it's the savage things that they do.
I hear that you have a pretty fine time-keeper in the office. When I first heard of it I was huffed but when I got Ruth's letters saying that she wanted to do something and that she hated to teach I decided I'd better shut up. But, I hate to have my wife go in my old job and show me up.
With best regards to Mrs. Morrison, Miss Alpha and little and big Joe, I wish to be remembered by all until we get this thing over and get back to Arkansas.
Your respectful friend,
ALLEN A. McCURDY.
NOTES: Allen Anderson McCurdy was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin on July 6, 1894 and died in Michigan on June 10, 1965. He is buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery in Lansing, Michigan. His military headstone identifies him as a Michigan 2nd Lieut. serving in the Corps of Engineers in WWI. He was working at the Ozan-Grayson Lumber Company in Nevada County, Arkansas when he registered for the draft.
TRANSCRIBED BY LAEL HARROD