Rogers Family

World War I Letters

1917-1918

Hanover students from His336 "The Search for Order, 1877-1945" (Fall 2017) , taught by Sarah McNair Vosmeier, transcribed these letters, which are a sampling of letters exchanged among the Rogers family during World War I.  The Rogers family includes Hanover College alumni, and their home, Bird Haven, is in Hanover, Indiana. The originals are available at the Duggan Library Archives, Hanover College (Hanover, Ind.).

Additional letters (a sampling of letters from female correspondents) have also been transcribed.

Irene Rogers, letter to Alma Rogers, 7 Aug. 1918, Folder 1, Box 6, Rogers Family Papers, Duggan Library, Hanover College (Hanover, Ind.).
Transcription by Eric Woodruff, HC 2020.

Note:  This letter was written on University of Michigan memo paper.  At the bottom of each sheet is "As a war measure of economy, this inexpensive standard letter head is provided and its use suggested for all intra-university correspondence."

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Aug. 7, 1918

My dear Mother: If you forgive my "business" paper, I'll try to write a bit to you all; you know I take turns in my letter-writing and it is your turn now. With Speed and Brother and friends and you folks to write to, I do not find the time to write as often as I would like or as often as I think of you. I try to get a letter to Speed every [strikeout: week] day but once in awhile skip a day; he is in Camp with nothing to do and the time passes slowly for him. And I try to write to Harris often because he is in the trenches now and letters mean so much to him. So you see if you do not get very many letters, you will know where my efforts are being used.

I keep thinking of your home and the splendid spirit that I found there and I get lonesome, sometimes, for you all; each of you fills a particular place in my heart, I am loving you all for different things but I am loving you all. Mother and I, alone do not furnish the comradeship there was amongst so many and I am remembering my few days there with you in a very happy way; they seem to be an incentive and an inspiration for me to be 'up-and-doing'. You maybe noticed that I was not very demonstrative and I have tho't since I left you that such a reserve on my part might be taken by you as disappointment? I feel sure you understand that reserve and know that there is a great big love in my heart for each one of you and as a family I am certainly proud to be made to feel so much one of you and it is my desire to be worthy of the place you have given me in your hearts and family.

Our weather-man is favoring us with some fine warm weather; today is quite bearable because of the wind but the last two nights have been "unsleepable". The breeze today is very welcome; as I sit here on the fourth floor of the museum there is such a strong breeze, I have to keep a weight on every paper in the room -- if it gets much stronger I'll have to weight myself down.

The elevation of Hanover and your splendid location seem quite enviable, now. Don't work too hard but just enjoy your summer comforts.

We had five letters from my Brother one day; I went home at noon to find Mother and Florence (Harris' best-girl) in tears over these letters; he has done two tricks in the trenches of two weeks each, with a two weeks interval and has of course endured the hardships of the infantry soldier -- on whom falls all the hardships. He writes of his troubles in a very humourous way but is so tired of war & longs for home so much, that the funniness doesn't cover it all up. The last dug-out they were in accommodated five hundred; when they wanted to go from one place to another, they jumped on a rat and rode -- there were about 40 waiting beside their "beds" for use.     I try to keep Mother cheered up -- I tell her it is a good thing the Lord gave me a heart of rock because he gave her one of ice cream and she needs me to offset her. There does seem to be lots of wisdom in the way folks are put together.

I suppose you have received the picture by this time; I never was so disappointed in a picture. I have mine sitting on the piano and every time I go to the piano I look at it and say -- "My Speed -- you don't look like that"! I'm going to remove it -- I prefer the picture I have of him in my mind & heart to that one. I am very sorry about it.

I enjoyed your good letter and Sallie's, which came along later and I am hoping for more of theirs; I can realize you are busy tho' & if it is between writing to me and Speed -- why -- write to him.

Give my love to Aunt Spencer and Aunt Curraleen and Frances and Jane and Sallie and Father and here's a lot for your self.

From your new-daughter,

Irene.

Byers Burlingame, letter to Alma Rogers, 10 Aug. 1918, folder 7, box 5, Rogers Family Papers, Duggan Library, Hanover College (Hanover, Ind.).
Transcription by Morgan Livinghouse, HC 2018, and Caroline Brunner, HC 2018.

Note:  This letter was written on YMCA stationery.  At the top of each sheet is an American flag, the YMCA symbol, and "Army and Navy Young Men's Christian Association, 'With the Colors.'"  At the bottom of each sheet is "To the writer: Save by writing on both sides of this paper.  To the folks at home: Save food, buy Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps."

Camp Paul Jones

Aug. 10, 1918

Dear Mother Rogers,

I received your letter about a week ago and was certainly glad to hear from you. I saw Carter the Sunday afternoon after he came and we had a nice chat for about an hour or two. I haven't seen him since then as each of us I think have liberty only once a week and we never happen to see each other.

Wens, afternoon I had some visitors from home, Lula Catt, Edna Bell and Mrs. Willhiatt are on a two weeks trip so they stoped off to see me.

I have been here nine weeks tonight but it don't seem near that long to me. Almost every day since detention has been a busy one and have failed to do a great deal of writing but from now on will do better for you. You must know it is rather hard since detention to find time to write or if we do have time it sometimes happens am to tired to do so.

After spending my 3 weeks detention in Decatur I moved to Dewey for another week. These two have been sure good camps but since then the others I have been in are entirely different. From Dewey I went to New Aviation 1 wk then to Out Going Detention for 10 days and now nearly three wks in Camp Paul Jones. During this time we have worked seven days a week and instead of 12 hrs liberty a week and getting 12 noon sat. they made us work sat. afternoon's till 4:00 and then we could clean up and go on liberty. We all sure thot it was the limit the first wk, but each week we became more used to it and although our company should have gone to school some time ago we haven't given up but are sticking. The only reason we have been put here is to help make the new camps and a big athletic field and coming out of detention at the right time they took us. Others have gone to school ahead of us because after getting used to the labor they kept us rather than let us go to school and break in another bunch. I have quit working in the field (on the firing line we call it) the last week as have been appointed a regimental guard and guard nights.

There are now 11 camps on the station holding 68,000 men and work will be started at once on 4 more. Their aim is to have this a training camp of 100, 000 in a short time. I like the place fine and I surely will get to school in the next week as their are only 160 radio men outside of the school left. One way this camp is different from army is because [by?] volunteer men are always coming and going while in the army camp for the most part one bunch is in training together. They have been receiving recruits on this station nearly all summer at the rate of 2,000 a day which means they send out nearly as large a bunch each day. Although it is so large and handles the men so rapidly it is the most sanitary camp in the U.S. but everything that is done here is with the one purpose of making it the largest and best station army or navy.

We jacks are now posing before the movie camera each morning until all the flags of the allied nations have been formed. It certainly will be some wonderful pictures and I will be anxious to see them but they are to be shown in England and France before being shown in the U.S. The other morning, 40,000 posed for "America's Answer" 8,000 in white forming the letters and 32,000 in blue making  the field. In the morning another is to be formed (I don't know which yet) and our bunch will be in whites but there won't be nearly so many as in the one big one.

Every Wens. [Wednesday] afternoon is review day and 21 Battalions pass in review. After review they have drill exercise under arms and also sing for visitors in battalion square formation. We have 16 complete bands of about 70 pieces each besides one complete band battalion of over 300 pieces. They all are usually playing from early until late so we have plenty of good music. Another feature for the visitors is to watch the hydroplanes in practice flight. The people here surely deserve credit for they [do] everything in the world for us and never tire in it. On Wens. [Wednesday] reviews from 20,000 on up to 50,000 people attend and instead of decreasing the crowds increase so you can well imagine the intrest of the people.

The YMCA has some really fine buildings here and is establishing more and it is easily taking care of the men and doing fine work. Especially so in the detention camps where the fellows must get used to camp life. They have entertainments every night and usually it is the cleanest and best. Even people in nearbye towns try to come to some because great actors come here for practically nothing to entertain us which civilians would pay pay $5 dollars and up for same things.

If I ever get through school will get a 10 day leave and if I do I want to get back to Hanover and see you all. I would like to be back with you all again and go to school this winter but as that cannot be I will live in hopes I can in a very few winters. I like it very well the life, but am anxious to get to radio school so can leave for sea, and do something active in the war for up here so far and in some forms of work we feel like it isn't helping very much to end the war. Everything is so different in our new life that I feel even now that it will have a tendency to change us all.

I feel like I have strung out quite a lot in this letter so had better stop.  Give my love to all, Jane, Sallie, Francis (likely she doesn't remember me) Mr. Rogers and yourself.
Sincerely
Byers

Will be more than glad to hear from any of you quite often.

Byers A Burlingame
USN RF LER
Co 27  7 Batt  12 Reg
Camp Paul Jones
Great Lakes, Ill

Speed Rogers, letter to "Family," 12 August 1918, folder 8, box 6, Rogers Family Papers, Duggan Library, Hanover College (Hanover, Ind.).
Transcription by Katie Koopman, HC 2019.

Note: This letter was written on YMCA stationery.  At the top of each sheet is an American flag, the YMCA symbol, and "Army and Navy Young Men's Christian Association, 'With the Colors.'"  At the bottom of each sheet is "To the writer: Save by writing on both sides of this paper.  To the folks at home: Save food, buy Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps."