TRANSCRIBED FROM THE NORTH ARKANSAS STAR AND CARROLL PROGRESS APRIL 25, 1919 P. 1
Mayen, Germany.
March 29, 1919,
Dear Editor:
Just received a letter from Mother speaking about you so I thought I would write you a line and tell you a little about this part of the world. It is snowing here now; it snows or rains __ most of the time. We are located in an old Roman town that was built in the 16th Century and part of the old walls is still here. The country is of volcanic origin; you can see some of the old craters. This part of the country was in the hands of the French in the sixteenth century. I have had quite a bit of sightseeing. Along the Rhine are a number of old castles; some are still in use and other are in ruins; I had the luck to go through the Stolefelts, it is the property of the ex-kaiser and it is on the banks of the Rhine situated so as to get one of the finest views you ever saw. The Rhine is a fine stream; the banks are taken care of and you don’t see any of the rubbish and banks caving in like the streams at home. I first saw the river at St. Goar and came down the river to Coblence and then northwest about twenty-five miles to the town of Mayenquite; a town on the railroad.
Most of the towns in this country are in the valleys. Coblence is a fine town; it is where the Moselle river and the Rhine join. They have a statue of the kaiser at the junction of the rivers; it is some statue. It is about as high as a three stroy building and the Kaiser sitting on a horse made of brass. The hills along the rivers are covered with vineyards and it is wonderful how they grow on the sides of those rocky bluffs and the way they have to go up and gather them; they use a basket on their back and most all are reached withstair steps; it would be hard to explain, in a letter, just how it is done. But in everything they are far behind the times, such as farm machinery. The plows they use are a freak and most of them use their horses or oxen strung out on their carts and plows. I never dreamed I would see such things, I always imagined they were civilized but I have about changed my mind. The French are as bad. I will never figure out how they had the success they had in the war; they use about as many oxen and cows to work as horses and you seldom see an auto or a buggy. Will close, hoping you will tell me how old Arkansas is getting on now.
Your Friend,
Wm G Standley.
NOTES: William Glenn Standley was writing to the newspaper. He was serving as a Pvt with Ambulance Co. 5, 3rd Sanitary Train, 3rd Division. He entered the service on July 25, 1918 and was released on September 3, 1919. He was born in Carrollton, Arkansas and died on January 7, 1971. He is buried in the Sheldon Cemetery in Sheldon, Missouri.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT
Mayen, Germany.
March 29, 1919,
Dear Editor:
Just received a letter from Mother speaking about you so I thought I would write you a line and tell you a little about this part of the world. It is snowing here now; it snows or rains __ most of the time. We are located in an old Roman town that was built in the 16th Century and part of the old walls is still here. The country is of volcanic origin; you can see some of the old craters. This part of the country was in the hands of the French in the sixteenth century. I have had quite a bit of sightseeing. Along the Rhine are a number of old castles; some are still in use and other are in ruins; I had the luck to go through the Stolefelts, it is the property of the ex-kaiser and it is on the banks of the Rhine situated so as to get one of the finest views you ever saw. The Rhine is a fine stream; the banks are taken care of and you don’t see any of the rubbish and banks caving in like the streams at home. I first saw the river at St. Goar and came down the river to Coblence and then northwest about twenty-five miles to the town of Mayenquite; a town on the railroad.
Most of the towns in this country are in the valleys. Coblence is a fine town; it is where the Moselle river and the Rhine join. They have a statue of the kaiser at the junction of the rivers; it is some statue. It is about as high as a three stroy building and the Kaiser sitting on a horse made of brass. The hills along the rivers are covered with vineyards and it is wonderful how they grow on the sides of those rocky bluffs and the way they have to go up and gather them; they use a basket on their back and most all are reached withstair steps; it would be hard to explain, in a letter, just how it is done. But in everything they are far behind the times, such as farm machinery. The plows they use are a freak and most of them use their horses or oxen strung out on their carts and plows. I never dreamed I would see such things, I always imagined they were civilized but I have about changed my mind. The French are as bad. I will never figure out how they had the success they had in the war; they use about as many oxen and cows to work as horses and you seldom see an auto or a buggy. Will close, hoping you will tell me how old Arkansas is getting on now.
Your Friend,
Wm G Standley.
NOTES: William Glenn Standley was writing to the newspaper. He was serving as a Pvt with Ambulance Co. 5, 3rd Sanitary Train, 3rd Division. He entered the service on July 25, 1918 and was released on September 3, 1919. He was born in Carrollton, Arkansas and died on January 7, 1971. He is buried in the Sheldon Cemetery in Sheldon, Missouri.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT