SHELTON, Sgt. Joseph C.

There is a movement on foot to form a drill squad such as they have at Ladoga and several neighboring towns. Anyone over 16 would be eligible. Mr. JC SHELTON who served 3 years in the army will be glad to give his services as drill master. We hope that such a squad can be formed as the exercise is a good thing, especially for growing boys. Learn to walk and march like a soldier. it may come handy before long.

JC SHELTON, our ex-baker is now at Ft. Harrison where he bakes 250 pies every day. That is some pies. We should think Old Doc Hurty would get after the US for feeding the soldiers such indigestible stuff :)

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LETTER FROM Joseph C. Shelton

J. C. Shelton who used to be our baker is now making bread and cookies for the soldiers in France. He writes the following very interesting letter. Gievine, France, Loire-et-Clier June 22, 1918 Mr. Robert Glover, Waveland, indiana Dear Sir: No doubt you will be surprised to hear from me. I am here at last and feel more satisfied now. I just couldn't stand back and see all the boys coming over and me stay at home. I am really doing better than I expected. I draw $54.20 per month and my wife gets $42.50 from the government making a total of $96.70 per month and my board and clothes and lodging and medical attention. Of course if it had not been for my family I would have been here regardless of the pay $13 or 14 a month just the same. We were at Nevers, France for awhile then came here. We have only been here a short time. A soldier can never tell one day where he will be next. I was to hear a lecture delivered by a Dr. Foster at the YMCA last night. Subject,"The Crusades. "It was fine. This is a very historic country as every one knows and the buildings here prove it. I have seen buildings Napoleon built for his soldiers; a church which is still used for worship built during Caesar's time. There are roads made during Caesar's time and granaries in a good state of preservation known as Caesar's granaries.

There are many chateaux (castles) which were used by the lords during the feudal time of France. I hear they are magnificent inside but so far I have not had the pleasure of visiting the interior of one. The cathedrals here are second to none. Some of the chateaux still have the moats around them. The cities look fine at a distance. They look like white spots on a hillside, and around them are spots of green gardens that give them a picturesque appearance. The port that we landed in reminded me of some paintings i have seen; the points of land with lighthouses on them; the city on one side and small green patches surro unding. It is a sight worth seeing. The railroading here is quite ancient to our method. The people in fact all over Europe travel in classes 1st, 2nd and 3rd class and cars are much smaller. Signals are given by whistles and horns instead of the hand and lantern way. Referring back to the chateaux they are arranged so that in ancient times they could withstand a siege for an indefinite time and also have all instruments of punishment in them. Some of the walls, especially the towers and dungeons are 160' across and the walls are 30' thick, leaving a center of 40' as a prison and a watch tower from the top. We had a very nice trip on the water. The only excitement was a man over board. He was in the water 48 minutes. Had h3e fallen over the day before he would not have been found because the seas were so high. And had it been a day later the boat would not have stopped for him for on that day we entered the real danger zone. We had not the good (or some say bad) luck to encounter any submarines and see a little real action, but wedid see some which had been captures; also some French subs on duty and many sub chasers. They seem like greyhounds skimming the water. We had one or two bright days. The rest were cloudy and damp. We had much better accomodations and eating than we did in 1900 when I went to the Islands. Give Mr. Rinehart my best regards and tell him the money which was raised there for the YMCA has been put to a good cause. If it weren't for the Y's here there would be many lonesome hours for the soldiers, tho I believe some of them could be conducted different and the men made more welcome. The one here is fine and we can buy a great many things to eat and all kinds of tobacco. They have a great deal of reading material and plenty of writing material. Some Ys have movies every day and some have them twice a week and in between they have lectures and entertainment.

The Red Cross is doing some great work here. They are people to be looked up to. Almost every place a soldier gets hecan find hot coffee to be had from the Red Cross and there is nothing more a soldier enjoys than a cup of good, hot coffee. It puts vim and vigor into him. The people here are very polite and industrious, but their methods are many ways behind ours. Many of them drive oxen; some of them drive small jacks and some drive very fine and powerful horses. I have seen these horses draw a load which would seem almost impossible for one horse. In fact, no teamster at home would load a team as they do one horse here. When they do drive two horses, one horse is hitched in the lead instead of by the side of each other. The method of farming and tools is primitive although they raise some very nice crops. Truck is the main crop. The fields are small one or two acres and near the coast there are no fields but patches and around each patch a mud fence about 4 ' high and in many cases shrubs grow in these fences. The houses are mostly of stone and cement with high stone walls aroudn them and a large iron gate at the entrance, which in most cases is k ept locked and a person wishing to enter must announc ehimself by using a knocker or bell provided for that purpose.

The stores here are not the bustling, busy kind like at home. They are mostly small concerns and the clerks are never in a hurry. They take their time and sometimes a person has to wait a long time to get waited on. The markets are very much unlike the ones we see in Indianapolis. In many places they are held in a park. Some places have their market building and in many cases live stock is found for sale, such as chickens, rabbits, goats and in some places they have small jacks on sale. The money here is based on centimes. There are no coins of that denomination. 5 centimes equals 1 sou (cent); 25 centimes, 5 cents; 50 centimes or half franc, 10c; 100 centimes, one franc which is used the same as our dollar. One dollar of our money is equal to five francs and 12 sous, French money.

The boys at the front are certainly going through the Boche. They are much afraid of the cold steel of the end of our boys guns. They had been taught that the Americas were no good but the boys had a new lesson for them when the little book was open. One officer and 40 men made a raid on some Germans and wiped all of them out and captured their machine guns, 12 in all. The officer returned with four men & himself. They went on housetops after them. This is only one stunt pulled. There are many stunts of similar bravery and courage shown by our boys. One case 30 marines cleaned up more than 200 Germans. When you have fnished reading this you may give it to Chas. Demaree and let him read it to the boys at the K. P. lodge for they are the boys who look after their members. Since I have been here I have received from the Grand Lodge, Domain of Indiana receipt for my dues, good for the duration of the war; also a bronze identification tag with my name and the number of my lodge on it; and better than all they have seen that my family wanted for nothing. They have a headquarters here in Paris open to all the boys here and those who may come. There is no praise too great for the Knights of Pythias at home.

Tell Wm. Patton I didn't get to him before I left Waveland and I take this means of thanking him for his favors shown me and hope to deal with him in the future. How is Dean making it by this time? I hope he is doing well. He should be in the army and get some experience as a baker. I hear you are working for the Denk Bros; also hear that albert has been sick. Give him my best regards. In fact, you will have to let this letter do for all as it is impossible for me to write to everyone I would like to. Tell Woodcook, 'Hello" for me and ask him if he has had to go over on the hill anymore. I would enujoy a Waveland paper very much. My wife sends me the Crawfordsville paper occasionally, but about the only thing of interest in it is the Wavleand items.

How was the Girls' BasketBall team last winter? Did they hold their reputation? Well, here is regard to Waveland, hoping to be among you in the near future. Resepctfully and fraternally, Sergt. Joseph C. Shelton Bakery Co, 343 NA

Joseph Shelton, the 20-year-old son of J. C. Shelton who at one time lived here and ran a bakery for John Smith of New Market, died in the Watseka, Ill., hospital on Wednesday night of last week of injuries received in an auto wreck on the preceding Monday. His injuries were not at first considered dangerous but gangrene developed. The father has the bakery in Kingman.