Name/Title
Letter to Bill Crooks from friend, dated April 21, 1920Entry/Object ID
2021.8.2Scope and Content
Letter to William Crooks from a friend stationed in Manila, dated April 21, 1920.
Mentions the "Flu"...which may be referring to the Spanish Flu of 1918, which lasted until 1920. The writer is clearly an enlisted soldier writing from Fort William McKinley, Manila, Phillipine Islands.
"Dear Friend Bill,
I received your kind and welcome letter some time ago and will try and answer it now. I was very glad to hear from you and glad to hear that you are well. I am certainly glad you all got over the 'flu' without any deaths.
It was too bad Mrs. Church died with it, but she was getting pretty old any way wasn't she?
I am sorry to hear that Beatrice Berkeley died she was such a nice young girl. I would feel sorry if Mrs. Bonar died. It would be hard on her children.
Yes Bill I certainly would like to be there to buy a few of those baskets, Bill do you remember the basket supper the grange gave shortly before I enlisted when I bought a basket and thought I was buying Ruth's basket all the time and then later I found out which one really was Ruth's and I bid it up to about ten or twelve dollars and then sold the first basket I bought for three dollars, I found out later the first basket I bought was Gertie McKees'. I sure had fun that night. No I guess I don't know Broomfield when I get back there if it is growing so much.
I certainly am glad to hear that the Broomfield Drill Team won the flag again. Give them my congratulations. I suppose though that there is very few in the team that remembers me. The last time I served the team drill was at the Stock Show in 1918.
I am glad you done so well trapping, that is making good (jingy [DYEHN'-gee]) which is money in Russian.
You wanted to know what I done xmas, but I sure celebrated Russian xmas which was about 2 weeks later. During any holiday the Russians all believe in getting drunk (girls and all) and believe me I sure got drunk. In Siberia they have what they call vodka, it is something like gasoline. In fact they can run a motorcycle on it and it sure has a kick.
Yes Bill I am afraid I won't know Ruth by the time I get back, they say she has got to be quite a young lady by this time. Well I should worry. I have got a nice girl in Council Bluff Iowa.
Yes you can be looking for me this fall alright for I am coming home. I must close for this time. I remain as ever your friend.
C??????"
07/14/2021
The writer of the letter may have been Clarence Graves, who was born in 1893. He appears in a Grange photo said to be from 1917-1918 (ph.870), and was in the military in 1919 according to Ancestry.com (both his WWI and WWII draft cards are digitized in Ancestry). He was born and died in Broomfield. Also, Clarence's older sister Bertha married James Crooks. However the signature, which clearly begins with a C, doesn't really look like "Clarence." -E. BeaudoinCollection
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Apr 21, 1920Relationships
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Person or Organization
Lavica Bonar