Renfrew's Record (Alva, Okla.), Vol. 16, No. 44, Ed. 1 Friday, September 7, 1917 Page: 1 of 8
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Historical Boc'ey.
RENFREW’S RECORD
VOLUME 16
ALVA, WOODS COUNTY, OKLAHOMA. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7. 1917.
A LETTER FROM CAMP FUNSTON
ROSS- FUGITT
IN HONOR OF OUR BOYS
September 2, 1917.
Renfrew's Record,
Alva, Oklahoma, ,
Dear People:
We are still hitting the marks at
every turn. Everybody getting along
fine aside from a few bruises, and
blisters occasioned by carrying our
packs and rifles.
The pack load consists of one
shelterhalf, which is one-half of a
tent, one Poncho, which is a combi-
nation of-.a raincoat and sleeping
mat, one Springfield, 1903 model Rifle
one mess kit, one knife, fork and
spoon, one pair of socks, one towel,
tooth brush, tooth paste, comb, 5
tent pins, one condiment can, one
meat can, 4 sticks of hard bread, one
bayonet, one suit of underwear, one
blanket, the pack carrier and the
haversack. This composes the full
ration pack, which is supposed to
weigh sixty pounds, but of course
after we walk about five or six miles
it weighs one hundred and sixty
pounds. I forgot to mention the
first aid pouch and canteen of water,
each worn on the belt.
On these long, dry, dusty hikes, we
are allowed one canteen of waiter,
this supply on yesterday's bike was
exhausted by many during the first
hour, and as a result the ambulance
touted in many to camp. I refused
myself a drink, and when .we were
oae-half through the hike, I had not
touched my canteen. I took
mouthful and gargled it in my dry,
parched throat and made that suffice.
It is the thoughts of an empty can-
teen which creates a thirst, and our
imagination is then stretched to the
breaking point on thirst. Twenty
were fired from our company yester-
day even though many of them were
doing their best; these were men
whom the officers thought would not
make good officers; the office calls
them every day for discharge. At
the rate they have been discharged
in the last few days, we will not have
a company in one week thor- they
will all be at home." The other com-
panies are losing in proportion to
ogrs. I feel that if I can stick for
fipther week thht the ground will be
slfcr; however, we-may be sent home
any time during the three months
we are here for various things.
Most of the boys are gaining the
Sept. Sth, 1917, at 8 P. M.,,Miss Olive honor of the first contingent of
I Fugitt and Mr. W. E. Ross, both Woods county boys called to the
of Alva, Rev. E. V. McCormick pro- colors. The entertainment was glv-
nounced the words that joined the en under the auspices of the Woods
lives of these happy young people. County Council of Defense and the
The lecord joins many friends in lad.es of the community. The din-
and best wishes for a happy andpros ner was prepared under the man-
perous life agemenl of the Red Cross. The
guests of honor were the boys
ARMY FLEDGLING I called to the colors, the G. A. R.,
diel-vanamon
Married Wednesday, Aug. 89, 1917,
at the M. E. Parsonage, Mr. Adam
Dial and Miae Pearl Vanamon, both
of Ingersoll, Rev. E C Andersdn
pastor of the. First M. E>-Church,
officiating. Only a few college
friends of the contracting parties
pere present to witness the cere-
mony. Many friends extend con-
gratulations.
A LETTER FROM FORT RUGER
Through the courtesy of L, G.
White we are permitted to give this
good lettjwf to our readers l
i
i ~----—
wfBlXKS FROM CAMP ex-Confederate Veterans and Span-
_4 j ish-American' war > •veterans, the
Aviation Sec., Signal Cprps, ministers and speakers.
San Antonio, Texas. The soldiers gathered in front of
J. W. Monfort, Red Cross headquarters about six
Dear Friend: o’clock, headed by the fife knd drum
I am still in the sunny south en- corps, tnarched to the Methodic
; oying the music of mosquitos, rattle church where the dinner was serve
snakes and flies. in three courses. The dining room
Kelly Field is a camp of great ac- was beautifully decorated with Flags
tivity. At almost any time in the I and bunting and the tables looked
morning from three to fifteen air- pretty with their white linen, flowers
planes can be seen soaring, dipping, and cut glass. Rev. Anderson, pas-
running upside down and going tor of the church, in a fervent pray-
through the various maneuvers te- er asked a blessing on the boys who
quired by the U. S. of a war air pilot, were the guests and were so soon to
At present I am living in tem- leave for service. After the first
porary wooden barracks and they are I course had been served, Mr. A. W
superior to the tents. About ten I Kavanaugh, chairman of the County
thousand men are in this camp now. Council of Defense, introduced Floyc
About a mile north of beta Foa l Welch, who is at home on furlough
Travis is being extended to take care [from the officers’ trsninig camp at
HAM. W. A- DURANT
^ VISITS ALVA
Hon. Win. A. Durant, of Durant,
waa . an Alva viaitor Monday. He
came on the Invitation bf the Coun-
ty Council of Defense to address the
soldiers who leave this week, at the
sinquet given them Monday evening.
\jdr. Durant is one of the most
prominent men in the state. When
the constitutional convention or-
ganised at Guthrie In 190b, Mr. Du-
rant was elected sergeant-at-arms.
He was elected to represent Bryan
county in the house of representa-
tives, first state legislature, and has
been re-elected to the same posi-
tion at each subsequent genkral elec-
tion since that time. He also serv-
ed, a term as speaker of the lower
Ib^Mtse. While speaker of the Okla-
homa house he also held the posi-
tion of Speaker of the ‘Choctaw
tribal legislature, this double honor
sr isrr ksssst=K E&assfSi:
ten work day and night. I short description of camp life and
We had a little wind storm the gave some of his personal experi
other day that flattened about half ences. Among other things he- made
of the tents, but we escaped lucky as — “* *k“*
no rain fell. It can blow in Te^as as
well as Oklahoma.
I am considering transferring to
aerial photography so that I can get
to fly a little. Every other man in
the Signal Corps is an electrician and
the rest are mechanics. I will go to
New York soon. Address me,
Chester V. Savage, 61st Aero Squad-
ron, Kelly Field,
South San Antonio, Texas.
METHODIST IMSOOML
CHURCH DEDICATED
Mr. and Mrs. Tallman of Keystone
were in AlVa Monday. They were
delighted, with the dedication ser-
vice which was held at Keystone
Church last Sunday. It was an all
day service. The people had .their
Most ot tne ooys arc *•■>•**■» pocket books with them as well as
spirit here, and I believe that we will Lheif bibles and Rev. Pittenger told
all fall in with willing hands into the L),em bow much was needed to finish
hard work as soon as we are harden- paying for the splendid building
ed a little more. My back is one wjtj, ajj Df its modern conveniences,
solid mat of blisters and my feet are 1 $4^20000 was raised almost as by
blistered practically all over, but magic. The building is large and
those are only minor defects here, I has , basement under the entire
we might go right on, just the same, building. In this basement is the
I am patched up all over with adhes- light p]Mt| the furnace, the dining
ion tape, which modifies the pain to room an(j bitchen. The latter rooms
u small extent. ^ are fully equipped for the social part
Yes, when this camp is ov£r we will of the church life. The Church is
be hardened physically to withstand well furnished and seated with op-
any ordeal. era chairs. It has various Sunday
We haven’t time to think of com- School rooms. This Church is a
missions, we are too busy thinking of credit to the enterprising people of
the thousand things we have to do. (Keystone.
an interesting statement that only
one out of fifty men engaged was
killed. This is about the ratio in
every day life when there is no war.
AfteJ all had been served, the
guests and visitors were invited to
the church auditorium where the
mass meeting was called to order by
Chairman Kavanaugh. Rev. G. G.
Burns, pastor of the Presbyterian
church, opened the exercises with
;^rayeC.. Miss. Lois .Wiggans in her
sweet contralto sang the solo, “A
Million Strong" Mrs. W. E. Tanner,
Alva’s sweetest soprano singer, sang
feeling thfc beautiful National An-
them, “The Star Spangled Banner”
answering the encore with the popu-
lar air,“When Sammy Cotnes March-
ing Home.”
Mr. Kavanaugh, after a fe\4 ap-
propriate remarks on the' occasion
that had brought the people together
closed by introducing Hbn. W. A.
Durant of Durant, the speaker of
the evening. Mr. Durant made a
splendid address, reciting the causes
that had forced our country into
war with Germany. The speech was
full of patriotic sentiment and the
speaker gave the best of advice to
the boys who are’ going forth to
help make the world safe from the
aggression of tyrants. The following
is a list of the boys who have been
drawn for the first call, who register-
ed Monday evening:
prnbaW never been, held by any
citizen of the Uhited States before
Mr. Durant’s grandfather was
Frenchman and his grandmother
was a full blood Indian, a member
of the Choctaw tribe, and his fea-
ures khow very distinctly his Indian
origin. As a member of the legis-
lature he has always been a warm
friend of the Northwestern State
Normal School and his vote and in-
fluence was always ready to aid lib-
eral appropriations for its support.
Mr. Durant has been mentioned
frequently irt the newspapers of the
state M • prebabla candidate for
the democratic nomination for gov*
ernor. • Whether he announces his
candidacy or not, Mr. Durant is big
enough for the job and if nominated
and elected would fill the office
with credit to himself and his party.
Houolulu H. 1.1 Fort Ruger,
Aug. 20, 1917.
Dear Friend Lynn:—
Well Whiter as I have nothing
etse to do at the present time, I
thought I would drop yod' a few lines
Everything is about the same here.
Our Company is leaving for the
island of Helo the fifteenth of S«pt.
on a hike. ' That’s what the Captain
says, but everybody in the Company
thinks they are just telling us that
for a stall. They say that’s the way
they always do when they are going
to ship you away. They tell you,
you are going some place on a hike
and when you are loaded on the
transport and tell you, yow are on
your way to France. Of course if
we go we will probably lay over a
month or two in the states and then
will have time to write you all
about it. There is an active vol-
cano on the island of Helo and if
our Company really does go over
there on a hike it certainly will be
some trip. There are so many false
reports strung around a fellow don’t
know what to hnltev* and theta is
no telling we might stay right here
until the war is over. We only fired
eight thots in target practice and we
got six hits out of that many. But
we arc going to fire again the fifth
of September and I think we will do
NUMBER 44
SOME CORN
Mr. Charlie Thomas who formerly
lived weet of Alva, came Monday
from his Iteme in Missouri to visit
and look after business. Mr. Thonaa
made the Record office a visit anil
left on display an ear of corn he pull-
ed out of a field of 200 acres. Tim
ear was a fine specimen and wei^nt
214 pounds. He said he did not pick
the best but that he got a good aver-
age ear.
better then. My position is about Alester.
TEACHERS AND
WHIRR THEY TEAflfl
Mis Byrdie Dyer, Gage, Okla.
Miss Mabel Carmen, MarahalL
Adam Siebert, Apache.
Miss Justine Harmea, Tyrone.
Louis Wilkie, Shattnck.
Ray Ballard, Helena.
Frank Hess, Helena.
Ross Burns, Dacoma.
Miss Alice Fennessey, Mooreland.
Miss Ruby Skeen, Marshall
Miss Pearl Boling, Shattuck.
Mrs. Edith McCrory, Mirabite.
Miss Thelma Dunn, Ingersoll.
Mrs. Maud Chambers, May.
Misses Lucile and Mildred Grose;
Shattuck.
Maurita Wallace, Shattuck.
Mr. H. A. Vetters, Fairview.
Miss Della Brunstetter, Waynolra.
Miss Gail Sleeth, Noble.
Mis* Anna Thomas, Curbing.
Miss Fern Welch, Lone Wolf.
Miss Bessie Davis, Vici.
Clinton Barron, Carmen
Miss Neva Jane Hanford, near Me
1
I
two feet from the gun and when
the firat shot w»a fired I thought the
whole battery had Mowed up. I
think we will fire at night the next
Each Battery has a big search light
that throws a light about ten miles
so you can imagine what they qce
like. They coat fifteen thoquM
dollars each. Boatman and l if§v«
been attending church every Sunday
since we’ve beep here anf that’* on*
place »W n-ahld-
ier fine! On#e « month every thing
is done by service men except the
preaching. We took a trip to the
Miss Marie McElhaney, LoneWoM
*
.1
AVARD RED CROSS
DOING GOOD
Anyone of them left undone, and we
will be sent home.
We take a cool bath every after-
noon, which is in the form of a show-
er. This helps us to withstand the
terrific heat and dust here. It has
been cloudy for the last two days
ENTERTAINED TO
SUNDAY DINNER
WORK
& W. S. M.
The refular Monthly Meeting of
he C. W. B. M. was held last Tuea-
|ay |t flu pre»tty home of lire. Al-
ien Doughty. 813, ‘4th street Mrs-
McCormuk, present of the C. W*-
M. had charge of \he meeting. After
.twteine, of bhlinete,
resting talk
• 4
Study period was Opetod
Doughty giving su teterei
study subject for the
m the —i-— — -t-i ..—
preaching. We took a trip tothe ^ fi„(,hing which was “The Spirit
mountains a while back and believe , . . Americ- - Uri. W. & Hum-
Mr. and Mrs J P. Renfrew enter
taired Jo dinner Sunday Mrs.,Luthie
been clouay ior me -j-. McElwain and sons* Bruce and Van
which has materially aided in damp- of Nampa, Idahoa, and R O. Renfrew
ening the terrific heat of “Old Sol’s” and daughter Edith and Miss Ruth
rays t - J Rainor of Woodward, J. A. Renfrew
WeH I fear that I have gone into and daughter Clara of Alva. Mrs
detail too much, but this is my meth- Renfrew was assist ;d by her sister
od of disclosing our tragic story Mrs. Linne Alleman. Mrs. McElwain
here, but withal there are some ja , niece of J. P. Renfrew and lived
laughable things, here; for instance, for several years in Barber county,
some fellow drops his gun in line. Kansas^ She has visited relatives
Everybody prepares to glance out of and friends in Colorado, Kansas
the corner of his eye to see and hear Missouri and Oklahoma. She is a
the fun, for we know that this means sjster of R. I. DeGeer of Farry. Mrs.
an hour lecture with a genteel good McElwain and sons will soon return
cussing thrown in. Another appear? J to their home,
with a bit of dust on his gun, or
John M. Lyons, J. H. Mapes, Luth-
er A. Hurt, W. T. Bryson, Ralph
Wiseman, Charles Harth.Carl Smith-
son, James E. Lindsay, Floyd Bixler,
Arthur G. Meyer, A. J. Farris, J. D.
Lee, Jr., Alfred Pinkley, Edw, F.
Stoner, Grover F. McArthur, Paul
Savage.
The. people of the little town of
Avard have made a splendid record
in Red Cross work. It was the first
chapter organized In Northwestern
Oklahoma weft of Enid. The ladies
have already made bandages suffi-
cient to fill a box 3x2x2 feet, the first
box 'filled by any auxiliary in the
state. They have also done some
knitting for the soldier boys and
have began to fill another box with
bandages. The government will see
to it that these supplies reach the
boys who need them. Mrs. Ed Ro-
berts and other ladies of the Avard
Red Cross furnished 41 fried chick-
ens for the supper furnished the
boys at the Methodist church, Mon-
day evening. Avard has set a pace
that will be hard to follow but this
country cannot do too much for the
boys who go to the front.
GLEANER CLASS ENTERTAINED
somebody has a bit of'dust on his
shoes, all of which, are crimes which
almost merit being shot at sunrise.
Well I must close this time dear
friends. ’ When you sit down to a
Taken To Her Home
Mrs. Clyde Morris, who has been
fn the hospital here the past four
menus. *-----— I weeks, was taken to her home on
good meal in your cozy, comfortable Monday afternoon. Mrs. Morris
homes, leave a place fixed for the ab- had a severe case Gf appendicitis and
sent ones, who cannot enjoy the 1 - ' >-J- —*« “**•
great blessings of home life, and
when you are enjoying the social
pleasures of our little city, stop a
moment and give a thought to the
boys, whose social pleasures consist
of a few brief moments on Sunday
mornings in chatting on what is com-
ing next day.
her many friends will rejoice with
her family that she has so fftr re-
covered and can be at home once
more.
The Gleaner Class of the M. E. S. S.
was entertained last Thursday even-
ing at the pretty home of Mrs. W. G.
Share, 824 4th St., by Mrs. Share and
Mrs. Mel Provost as hostesses. This
Class is composed of married ladies
with Mrs. W. W. Starr as teacher.
The home was beautifully decorated
and the lawn was bright with pretty
Japanese lanterns. The evening
was ideal. Games were played that
the most of the ladies had played
when they were girls in school and
from the peals of laughter were en-
joyed just as much as in days gone
by.
The hostess assisted by their dau-
ghters, Maud Share and Mary Pro-
vost served sherbet and cake.' All
departed at a late hour thanking
Mrs. Share and Mrs. Provest for the
delightful entertainment and are all
looking forward to the next social
meeting.
MAUD DRAKE IN THE CITY
• r » 1 —
Mrs. Maud Drake Bingham, for
many years head of the department
of expression in Nortnwestern, was
in the city a few hours last week.
She was accompanied by her hus-
band, J. F. Bingham, and her par-
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Drake,
whom they are visiting at their ranch
twelve miles north of 'Quinlan.
Mr. and Mrs. Bingham are with
Elias Day’s Lyceum Arts Con-
servatory, Chicago, and Mrs.
Bingham has had almost entire charg
of the home office tnls summer while
Mr. Day was abroad. Mrs. Bingham
is one of the brightest members of
the Northwestern Alumni and her
many friends arc pleased at her *.on-
tinued success.
fended and vc are the ones who can
aftd will do It
Goodbye exerybody. I will be
But'for these principles of Liberty with you next week if I do not get
dear to the American heart we could canned. THOMPSON
toV!to!!* "he Fu£ W b\ £ j *»d Iitortrf. Camp Fuaateo. Texaa.
me,we certainly did see some beauti-
ful acenery. There are places that
are atraight down for hundreds of
feet and should one happen to slip
and fall he certainly would be a
goner. I am going to say a few
words for the benefit of the fellows
that are drafted. If your boy is
drafted you needn’t worry about him
getting sick, if he does he is given
the best of medical attention. Every-
body is examined once a week and in
case he is sick he is immediately
sent to the hospital. When .you
join the army you are given plenty
of clothes so you can keep clean
and believe me you certainly do keep
clean or they will find out the reason
why. All a fellow has to do in the
army to get along is obey his super-
ior officers and he will get along
alright. Everyone takes fifteen
minutes in physical exercise the first
thing in the morning and when
breakfast is ready he is reitey to eat.
If anybody knows the address of
Redman and Virgil Reed and the
rest of the boys, I wish they would
send it to me. I would like to write
to them. Letters from a fellow’s
home town are certainly a gpod cure
for the blues. If the people of Alva
who have friends in the army would
sit down and drop them a line or two
once in awhile it would make a fel-
low feel like he wasn’t altogether
forgotten about. I was down town
the other night and ran onto
one of the Felkie boys. He says
Lon Snitzer is over here but I have
not seen him yet. Well Whitey I
expect I had better close for this
time or I won’t know anything to tell
you the next time I write. If we do
go to France I will have lots of news
for you then. I have been receiving
the Courier regularly and it sure
looks good. Well will close. Your
friend, JOHN D. HAMILTON.
Fort Ruger, Fourth Co.,
Honolulu H. I.
of Latin America." Mrs. W. E Hum-
phreys read a paper on “Bibles te
Mexico," which was well received.
Mrs. Ed Francia told of the number
of books they haye in the G W. E
M. library on the subject for next
yeas’r lesson which is “Africa."
Miss Nary Monday gave a read-
ing and Mrs. Getting and Mrs. G C
Stewart sang a beautiful duett. The
meeting then adjonrnnd for the social
hour and during the serving of re-
freshment! Mias Edith Renfrew and
Miss Ruth Rainor furnished vocal
and instrumental music.
LEAVES FOR TRAINING CAMT
Irwin E. Affholdcr left over the
Rock Island, Wednesday, Sept. 5, for
Camp Travis, nesr San Antonio,Tex.
Mr. Affholder is Woods Count#*
first contribution to the National Ar-
my and it was at his request that
the County Board granted him the
privilege of being the first to go. Mr.
Affholder is a graduate of North-
western tnd it one of our most toe-
cessful teachers. He is every inch
a soldier and the fact that he is six
feet, seven inches in height will lead
additional prominence to hit other
qualifications. His many friends wish
him success and safe return when tto
war is over. The other boys for thr
National Army will follow daily from
Woods county and the prayer* of
their families and friends go with
all of them.
Eugene, elder son of President
Faulkner of Northwestern, arrived
Saturday and the entire family is
now here. The household goods
have not yet arrived but when they
come the new president’s family will
•00a be peraaaaeatly located ia Alva
Rev. and Mrs. Pittenger had as
their guests Friday, Prof.EG. Green
and Mr. R. E. Miller of Guthrie.They
had been on a prospecting tour in
the west looking for relics of an
extinct tribe who are supposed to
have enhabited the western part of
this country. Prof. Green has the
chair ofAncientClassicsin theEpworth
Univeriity at Guthrie and Mr. Mil-
ler it a student there. They traveled
auto route and left %turday for
Guthrie.
Quick Trip Acrota Kansas
Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Modlin, nephew
and niece of Enos. Jessup, and Mrs.
Alice Turner, sister of Mrs. Jessup,
arrived at the home of the Jessup s
ten miles northwest of AlvaWedoes-
day evening. They made the trip
in their car from J^Well county,
Kansas in one day, leaving homo at
five o’clock Wednesday moniagi
M. E. CONFERENCE MEETS
AT EL RENO-
Members of the local Methodist
Church arc somewhat disappointed bp
the decision which was reached a*>
Enid Tuesday, to hold the next ax-
nuaj session of Oklahoma Conference
at El Reno instead of Alva. It te
thought, however, that a unaninioiea
invitation will be sent up to F.1 Reno
from Alva Methodists to meet hesw
next year and that if such an invi-
tation is sent the conference will ac-
cept. The session this year will be
held on October 17 to 22.
Attradadl Isssylio*
Banker Ed Roberts and wife 0*
Avard attended the reception tend-
ered the Woods county soldier bogu
Monday evening.
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Renfrew, J. P. Renfrew's Record (Alva, Okla.), Vol. 16, No. 44, Ed. 1 Friday, September 7, 1917, newspaper, September 7, 1917; Alva, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1077907/m1/1/: accessed April 23, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.