January 14, 1943

C. P. S. #59
Elkton, Oregon
Jan. 14, 1943

Dear Folks,

This won’t be much of a letter, I don’t have anything to say. I guess I’m just writing to get one back. I sent 18 carbon copy letters and now have only five left to answer so in a few days I’ll have the letter writing sewed up.

They are sending new men in here thick and fast, there were ten came in last week and today and tomorrow there are supposed to be 8 new ones. One new man came from Iowa today. His mane is Shoemaker and he’s from New Providence and knew Dillons and one of the other fellows here in camp.

I wouldn’t be supprised if Warren would land out here and maybe some of the other fellows that I knew in the past. They seem to be trying to fill this place up. It has a capacity of 200. Now the score is around 80 or 90.

Elkton is on the same road that Drain is I think. It is a good black-top road. I don’t know which direction it is tho, we came in the dark and it rained ror 2 weeks and the sun don’t shine much so I’m completely mixed up in my directions. For about 10 days now it hasn’t rained and the sun has shon some but as far as I can tell it has been coming up in the west and setting in the east. I can’t get straightened out. Wait till summer I guess the sunn shines all the time and we will wish it would rain. But don’t get me wrong I think this is a very pretty country. Nothing like tall pine trees. They say that it is really beautiful here in the spring.

Thanks for sending the sugar book. They just went to buy sugar the day it came but I guess the stamp was gone anyway so I’m glad you got it. I got the cookies from Grandma A. I havn’t eaten the jelly yet but the cookies went.

The eats here aren’t quite as good as they were at Coshocton. We had an extra good dietician there. They have one of the campers for a dietician here that has had some training in that sort of thing. He isn’t so bad but the main thing it that till the camp gets up over 100 they cant run it as economically.

All those corn figures were interesting. You sure put out a slug on dough for picking this year, lots of corn tho.

I hope you can get a IV-F for Charles. They have two guys here now that have IV-Fs and havn’t got their releaces yet.

I am very happy with my new job but it is a big one. I’m busy as the dickens. We have a lot of good tools here and I am in charge of them and up to now they have been taken out by any one and never brought back and I have to get them all back and make a place for them then keep track of them and keep them sharp. Besides that there is plenty of repair work to do and new little items of improvement to make. It is the best suited job to me that I have found in CPS so far I think.

Well write soon and keeping praying.

Yours,
Bernard

P.S. I’ll write to that guy in Eugene as soon as I get to it. It should be interesting.

Ps again---We heard from Coshocton that on the 10th they knew that the SCS had said 35 men plus overhead and AFSC had said 50 plus overhead men. The only way the Service Committee would let 35 stay was to have the Gov’t pay part of the expense. Paul Furnas was to come out the next day and tell them what had been decided. So Ab may have writ on something. My guess is that Coshocton is doomed.

Thanks for the Buck and for the check.