CHAPTER NINE Lemmon, South Dakota Town Hall meeting at Lemmon Elementary and High School Friday, August 30, 1917 Mayor Christian had on his red, white, and blue tie again tonight. His son, Jimmy, was at his side. Jimmy was required to sign up for the draft, but Jimmy was not like the Dolan boys. He did not want to go into the service. He had a fiancée and had planned to go to college that fall. Not many children from Lemmon went on to college and this was quite an honor for our town’s Mayor to have a son accepted at Harvard. Jimmy, like his dad, was going to law school, but reluctantly accepted the fact that his life would be put on hold for a year or two until he returned back home from the war. Mayor Christian welcomed us into the basement cafeteria of the school. We were perched on round metal stools the school district had purchased from Sears and Roebuck. With blackboard behind him and chalk in hand, Mayor Christian asked for suggestions on what our town could do to help the War Department’s request. Several men stood and suggested we should have our own parade and picnic to support the bond effort and then sign pledges. The mayor passed out the brochures describing the bonds and together we read the details. The bonds were in very small denominations and it seemed like everyone in town could buy at least one. I stood up and made a suggestion. "I think that a parade and picnic is a wonderful idea, but instead of just signing pledged, why not take home the bond information tonight decide how much you can afford to give and after the picnic we can all turn in the money and actually buy the bonds at that time," I had everyone’s attention so far so I continued. "Mr. Barlow, our banker, can take the money that day and deal with the paperwork. Would you be willing to do that?" I turned to Mr. Barlow. "I would be most honored. I have been trying to find out exactly how to purchase the bonds and should have everything in order by next week. I will need the assistance of three women to help fill out the papers and collect money." The women talked amongst themselves. Our two teacher-boarders, Miss Huntington and Miss Tandy, were very anxious to volunteer and stood immediately. Two more ladies stood in support. I thought Mayor Christian was going to cry. He got all teary eyed and blew his large nose into a blue handkerchief. "The City Council members and I will prepare the lot behind Ernie’s Furniture store for a picnic. We had been thinking about making that lot into a public park, but we will have to wait now until the end of the war," Mayor Christian choked out. "I can envision the parade," he was now going into his Mayor-style talk. "We can start at City Hall. I, of course, will lead the parade. We will walk in the street past each business and house in town. The farmers can park their cars or buggies anywhere and as we pass your rigs, you too can join in the walk. We will then walk in uniformity to the temporary park. We will have music and speeches. Be sure to bring lots of food, blankets, and of course, lots of money," he joked. Mayor Christian scratched Saturday, September 7, 11:00 a.m. on the blackboard, as the day he had decided would be the parade and picnic. "This is just wonderful," he cheerily said to the crowd. "Now what other things are you and your families planning in the way of rationing and such?" Several families got up and said their children had vowed to give up all sweets until the end of the war. Others said their vegetable gardens were to share with others that had none. The little meat we had would soon run out and none of us expected to see any more for a long while. Other families said they would be happy to share the canned goods they had been putting up all year. We really came together as a community that night. Mayor Christian spent most of his time tearing up, blowing his nose, and wiping his eyes. I guessed sending his son to war was having a very hard effect on him. Then Thomas Dolan stood up. Every person in the room fell silent as Tom whispered, "I am sending my two sons off to war next week. They have received their orders. I had no idea they would be going so quickly. With my wife gone, and my sons at war, I will do my part with the food rationing. I won’t need much. And I will always welcome spare food if you have any from your family meals." His head hung so low we could barely hear him. He continued, "I never got to thank all of you for the wonderful food and visits after Ellen died. I will never forget your kindness." A few women had their heads together and one stood up. "What a wonderful idea, Thomas Dolan. We should all be combining smaller families to make larger ones. That way we can conserve our food and even our coal. We can make sure we utilize our resources we have to the utmost. Tom, you can come to stay with us. We have two extra rooms and would love to have you stay with us." That did it; Mayor Christian sat down and sobbed into his handkerchief. With that, the meeting broke up. Great sacrifices were about to be made by the entire town. Everyone was behind the war effort 100%.   CHAPTER TEN Lemmon, South Dakota Saturday, September 7, 1917 The big day had arrived. What had originally started out as a simple parade and picnic had now evolved into a parade, picnic, and a going-away party for the Dolan boys. The troop train sent to towns to carry our boys off to war was scheduled to be at the railroad station at 9:30 a.m. that morning to pick up the Dolan’s. We went ahead with plans for the parade as scheduled with a few changes. The leaders of the parade would include the Dolan boys as well as the Mayor and we had to start it a little earlier than anticipated. The previous week was a blur of activity. All the men and boys in town were at the makeshift park behind Ernie’s funeral parlor/furniture store and all the women and girls were at home making food for the picnic. Added to their burden was the news that the troop train would be stopping in our town. The women were making breads, doughnuts, cakes, cookies, and other homemade baked goods as fast as they could. The troop trains carried ravenous young men who looked forward to each stop along the route to the war as their one last piece of home before the shooting would begin. Katherine, Ilga, and the girls were making baskets and platters of baked goods and Ilga was up all night making fried chicken for the picnic. Eddie at just six months old was crawling around the house and into everything. Mary Helen tried her best to keep Eddie in check, but he didn’t want to be held or corralled. He wanted to crawl and get into mischief, something he was very good at. Ernie, Mark, Tim, and I were at the park everyday. We made a large gazebo for the community band and the mayor to make his speeches. We made picnic tables and benches, not enough for the entire town, mostly for the elderly. The young people could sit on blankets and quilts. We had farmers mowing the grass. Miraculous flower gardens appeared where only moments ago a weed patch grew. Some farmers did nothing but carry root-balls of flowers and a few young trees in their carts through town to the park. The younger boys had the fun job of watering the park and newly planted flowers and trees, but seemed to get themselves more wet that the greenery. The boys had scavenged rubber hoses from several homes and Ernie obliged them to hook up to his funeral parlor hose bibs. Ernie had a good well and the water pressure was one of the best in town. As the boys sprayed the park and everyone in it, their laughter rang through the streets. It was a glorious week of community effort and I was proud of all our accomplishments. Saturday morning arrived, whether we were ready or not. The townspeople were dressed in their Sunday best waiting on their porches for the line of revelers to come by. Katherine and the girls were shined up and standing in a row, each carrying a basket or plate of baked goods. Ernie was straddling on Katherine’s hip and was in his new Sunday outfit complete with a tie. Poor little Eddie—I wouldn’t wear a tie, but Katherine insisted she was bringing up her son to respect the dress of men. I thought he looked very uncomfortable the knot on his tie barely visible under the folds of his chin, but I wouldn’t dare say anything to Katherine. She was so proud of him and had his curly blonde hair piled high on his little round head. Ilga had the baskets for the picnic. I stood proudly as the girls waited for the crowd to get to our house. The excitement rose the closer the crowd got. When we were to join in, the girls couldn’t hold their excitement any longer. They ran down the stairs giggling with anticipation. The girls had their beautiful long curls tied back from their faces with large ribbons. I noticed the young boys in the crowd were looking at my beautiful Kelley girls joining in the group. I felt a little protective at that moment and I puffed myself up a bit more than usual. I herded the girls into a smaller group closer to me and eyed the young men. Each one gave me no notice whatsoever. Katherine came up behind me and swatted me on the rear. "Walt," she smiled. "Just remember when you were that age. That is if you can remember back that far." I pretended to be very serious, but yes, I could remember back that far. I remembered when I met Katherine and how her father treated me with his warmth and compassion. How could he have done it? How could he have been so understanding? Then I remembered Katherine’s mother. How cold and unfriendly she was. I vowed at that moment to be more like Michael Maloney and nothing like Mrs. Maloney. I backed off my posture and let nature take it course. The whole town sang and walked through the town picking up parade participants along the way. With Tom and his sons leading the group, we got to the train station just as we heard the passenger train arriving about a mile away. We heard the mournful whistle sound a warning at an intersection. We crowded onto the platform. Mayor Christian quieted the crowd. "We don’t have much time. The train is very near. As joyous as this occasion is for all of us to be together, it is also a solemn time for our town as we see our first boys off to the war. If we could just bow our heads in prayer for our Dolan boys and all our young men we will be sending to join the fight." It remained unsaid, but a logical thought would follow that they would never return again. The casualties in this war were enormous. Their chances of coming back in one piece, if at all, were slim. But no one wanted to dwell on that gruesome picture so we wished the boys well and all our prayers went with them. The train slowly crawled to a stop at the platform. Tom Dolan was hanging onto his boys, crushing them with his hugs, not wanting to let go. The boys, flushed in the face with excitement, couldn’t wait to get on board. Tom finally let go, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop them. They rushed to their oncoming fate. As the train grinded its way to a halt, the young men in the cars stuck their arms through the open windows as the girls and women raised high their baskets and trays. Arms with no heads were waving through the windows that only opened halfway down. Six or eight arms waved frantically through the small openings and grabbed hands-full of goodies. There was laughter and yelling as the train started up again. The women and girls were running alongside the cars trying to make sure everyone got something to eat. One young man saw my Mary Rose and leaned out the window to shout, "I love you." Mary Rose was embarrassed and stopped chasing the train. Upon seeing this, Mark quickly went to her side. She didn’t say anything, but looked at Mark as if she were going to break out in tears. Mark, sensing the impending tears, reached down and took Rose’s hand and turned her toward the platform. He whispered to Rose, "He had no right to say that to you." Mark continued to hold Rose’s hand as they walked to the park. Rose was still very silent, but happy that Mark was by her side. I couldn’t have been more proud of Mark than I was at that moment. If I, her father, had done that it would not have had the same impact. Mark was exactly what Rose needed at that moment. I took Katherine’s hand and together we followed Mark and Rose to the park. "Thank you for not interfering," Katherine whispered to me. I smiled in agreement. The rest of the town picnic was glorious, however a dark cloud hung over the event as Tom Dolan was very depressed. We did everything to try to get his mind off the war, but after all, this was a war effort to raise bonds and it was hard not to relate the event to the war. We asked Tom to join our family on our quilts and he obliged. Mark’s mother and father also joined our group and we all ate until our stomach ached. I thanked Ilga for the great food. She was a little embarrassed as she was not accustomed to receiving compliments from men. Ernie had joined our group and also congratulated Ilga on her fine cooking. Now Ilga was really embarrassed, she had received compliments from two men. Ernie offered to help Ilga clean up the mess we had all made. Ilga hung her head in a coquettish way. Katherine leaned over to me. "Do you see what I see?" she asked. "I don’t know, dear, what do you see?" "Is Ernie trying to make friends with Ilga? You know, like a woman friend?" "Don’t be ridiculous, Katherine. Ernie is a confirmed bachelor and Ilga. Well, Ilga is our housekeeper. I think you are dreaming." But as I said this, I looked at Ernie and Ilga together cleaning up the plates and dishes. I had never seen Ernie with a woman or even next to a woman. This picture was too much for me to bear. Here Ernie, looking like Icabod Crane and Ilga, looking like a linebacker for Notre Dame, was a match-up I couldn’t quite comprehend. But love holds no bounds. "I don’t know, Walt," Katherine went on. "They are looking a little chummy, don’t you think? "Don’t keep staring at them, Katherine," I insisted. "And quit trying to play matchmaker. They are two adults and they can find their own way together if that is what they want. They certainly don’t need your help or interference." "Yes, dear," Katherine purred. I didn’t like the sound of that. I looked at Katherine looking at Ernie and Ilga, rolled my eyes, and rolled over on my side. It was then that I saw my Mary Rose and Mark walking through the flower gardens hand-in-hand. I was surrounded by young, starry-eyed love. Is this what I was like when I first met Katherine? Could I have been so dopey? If I had, it spoke as to why Mrs. Maloney had not liked me.   CHAPTER ELEVEN Fort Riley, Kansas Camp Funston Saturday, March 9, 1918 Spring in Kansas was always a mixed bag of weather tricks. Wind and blinding dust storms were common patterns for several months every spring. This spring day in 1918 was proving to be just another typical windy one. Along with housing 26,000 men on this 20,000 acre compound, Camp Funston was also home to thousands of horses and mules. Each month, close to 10 tons of manure accumulated from the stock. Each month, the soldiers would burn the month’s accumulation of manure. Today was the day scheduled to burn the large mound piling up outside the barracks. During the best of weather, the task of burning such a large pile of manure was unpleasant. Today, the task was made even worse by gusty winds blowing through the area. As the huge pile was burning, a black, threatening sky forecasted the coming of an enormous dust storm. One couldn’t predict these dust storms and this one seemed to take the compound by surprise. The wind and dust blew right at the men burning the manure. The only thing they could do was fall to the ground and cover their eyes. The wind had not only picked up the dust but also the ash of burning manure. The combination was a stinging, stinking, yellow haze that covered the entire area. The sun went dead black that fateful day in Kansas.   CHAPTER TWELVE Fort Riley, Kansas Camp Funston Monday, March 11, 1918   Just before serving breakfast to the men today, the Company Cook took ill. He reported to the camp infirmary complaining of a fever, sore throat, and headache. On his heals was a corporal with similar complaints. By noon that day, the camp surgeon had over 100 sick men on hand, all suffering from a horrific cold. By the end of the week, 500 soldiers at Fort Riley, Kansas had fallen ill. Forty-eight lay dead. In March and April 1918, over 200,000 American soldiers set out for Europe to fight against Germany. Many of these young soldiers were carrying with them the disease that had now spread to camps Hancock, Sherman, Lewis, and many others. Even while on ships at sea, many cases of this apparent influenza was taking its toll. At least six deaths occurred while sailing the Atlantic. Hundreds of soldiers were ill when they finally hit the foreign soil of Europe.   CHAPTER THIRTEEN World War 1 Europe June 1918 The influenza carried by American soldiers to the European war front proved to be as much a killer as any bullets fired. Thousands of cases of this influenza leveled men from all nations. War attack plans had to be altered because of a shortage of healthy men to carry out the operations. During the spring months of 1918, tens of thousands of citizens from Russia to North Africa, from China to New Zealand had taken ill and died. Then as quickly as it had come, the worst of the disease seemed to abate. Fewer and fewer cases were reported and the worst appeared to be over. War headlines still dominated the newspapers and very little was reported on the influenza that had killed so many people over the entire world. Little did America know, that while the influenza was making its way around the world, the microbe mutated. Each day it became increasingly deadly until it circled the globe and quietly returned to America.