A combination of Sewing and Knitting

I am not saying I love what they came up with, but I am intrigued by the idea of combining knitting and sewing.

I was walking along a major thoroughfare in my home town and saw this in a boutique window:

Please forgive the poor quality of the image - I do not possess the latest telephone technology.

It is clearly meant to look like a sweater vest over a t-shirt, but why? Seems a rather nerdy style, but perhaps that plays in to a hipster sensibility.... but this just doesn't seem to work. And the necklace? - the stylists are trying too hard to be au courant. Look, now I am a fashion critic. (We know I have no credibility there....)

I guess my conclusion is that I am eager to see a good execution of the confluence, but that this is not it. Too bad.

Wikitree

I have gotten behind on Herb's letters because I am awfully surprised not to have letters from the Fall of 1917 before November. I need to take the time spreading out his letters around me with a scanner near by to sort through everything I have. That may not happen for a couple of weeks.

In the mean time, I have been researching a German branch of the tree. I am hindered by a) my internet connection and b) the fact I do not read German. I found that one cousin - Ida Heitmann - but I have plenty of others who were living in Germany at the time of WW1. (I told my nieces that we had neither Nazis nor slave owners in our family; I trust that statement remains true with this additional research. Certainly it's true on our paternal line - one good thing for having no wealth....)

I have been doing my best to add deceased family members to Wikitree. I am also learning about widgets. I just wanted to add this one below - for the fun of it; see what it looks like and what it does.

Join me @ WikiTree

Men in Section 580

And here is the list of men in Section 580.

I wonder which men were the rough necks living in what is now expensive NYC real estate...

#16 is Herb
#9 - Mr. Gray, well, he's the cook. There were several memos/letters talking about cooks. And I think poor Mr. Gray got scabies, or some such.... And given how often Herb talks about the food, well, of course it was interesting.

German surrenders to Ambulance Man

This is the only article I found in the files which was published in their Radiator newspaper. Apparently it was quite a surprise when a 'Boche Prisoner is Captured by Ambulance Man."

I love the idea of the poor German soldier, "hungry, tired and scared", grinning sheepishly when Mechanic Duval claims him as his own.

And I can not understand one iota about the second article entitled "Blowouts". Why is that funny or interesting for a newspaper; among the section, sure, but in a newspaper? Hmmmm. I suppose not enough of those newspaper men and cartoonists were sending in good copy.

The Mail

Given how much complaining about the mail delivery and the fact that Herb's Dad is a postman, this memo caught my eye. Apparently it was enough of an issue that an order had to be written so that mail could find the men. It seems a little late in the game - given it is dated November 3, 1918.

So, Commanding Officer, you are instructed "to insist upon the execution of this order". And, by the way, call it in, but if you aren't near a phone, well, then send a courier. Because you aren't clever enough to figure this out on your own.

The Source of the Sections

Herb mentioned a Section made up of Syracuse men. I thought that odd at the time, but it seems to have been very common; schools made up sections, even companies. Very patriotic. And I had no idea.

I didn't see a Syracuse section, specifically, though. Yale, Harvard, Penn State are represented, as are cities, New York, Allentown, Pottsville, Boston....

One of the largest contributors is the Stoneman Fellowship - at least 10 sections. A Google search lead me back to a web site I had visited long ago in my genealogical research. This site offers a ton of information on the Ambulance Corps, and they are the source of my information about this Stoneman Fellowship.

The Stoneman's Fellowship was a fraternal organization doing philanthropic work in the northeast section of the city for many years. [Philadelphia] They had first-aid classes and furnished ambulance service to their members. When the call was sounded for recruits for the new Ambulance Service, it was natural for this group to join up.

My, how things have changed. With our volunteer army, nothing like this would exit today. It makes me think about the world in which we live - with the world events as they currently stand - Israel on the ground in the Gaza strip and the Malaysian commercial airline scattered over a nine mile diameter of the Ukraine.... Israel existing, at least in part, on the events from WW1 which lead to WW2 and Israel, and the apparent desire of Putin to recreate a Cold War buffer zone around Russia. To what end, I ask.

Ida A. Heitmann

I was researching a German Maternal branch of my tree the other day and I came across this cousin who falls squarely in to my group of childless women about whom I want to write their stories as best as I am able. I never knew her, or of her, but her story has to be pretty remarkable: she was trapped in Germany during World War 1. Apparently she was visiting German relatives when the war broke out and she was unable to return home. I learned this from her passport application. When I can find the time I am sure it will be fun to piece together and imagine her life.

She certainly seems very stern, doesn't she?

the latest dope

In that skinny folder I did find this flyer requesting for input and announcing the launch of the newspaper.

I don't know, would this entice you to contribute? I guess this circular is the equivalent of Facebook in 1918.

I have found some lists of personnel in Section 580 - and all the other sections - but too many to include, but I wonder if there were any 'experienced newspaper men and cartoonists in the sections.' I hadn't thought about what professions these other enlistees followed. Would be interesting to know.

And, the newspaper would be/should be where one would learn 'just why you don't hear anything from that application for transfer"? Hmmm, I think I would want to learn that from my commanding officer, not published for the whole Ambulance Corps to read.

I do appreciate the mention of the Censor, though. Transcribing the letters is a bit of a challenge because Herb spends a lot of time telling his family about his health and about the weather. I finally saw a written mention about the Censors in his letters, so I can see why his letters are so thin in that regard. I just wish Herb would write more family news. I suppose the USA AS commanding officers instruct the enlistees to tell their families how they are faring and that gives nothing away to the Germans.

The Radiator

While going through the files at the National Archives the other day I came across a file about a newspaper/sheet that the Ambulance Corps put together so that they may keep in touch with one another. "The Radiator" Why that name, I have no idea....

The only copy of the introductory letter I came across was addressed to the commanding officer at Section 504 - Lieutenant Kenneth L. Blanchard. I found no copies of the newspaper, only one cut out of an article.

The Lieutenant Colonel in charge of this endeavor was Percy L. Jones. He wrote that he "feel[s] that an official newspaper will fill a long felt need, and [he] believe[s] that this is an opportune time to start the wheels of the press a-going." And, of course, he requires that each section buy the paper and, of course, send him 15 francs for the privilege.

AND, he also wants each commanding officer to designate a journalist amongst his group.... As if these guys don't have enough on their plates. I say that, but what a treasure, for me, it would be, if I came across some of these newspapers....

National Archives in College Park, MD

I have spent the day at the National Archives in College Park, Md researching the USA Army Ambulance Corps Section 580. As my readers can imagine, there is a ton of information in general - not to mention that there were many sections of Ambulance Corps. I was delighted to find that the information was the greatest on Sections 580, 581 & 582 for some inexplicable reason.

One fun item i found today which I thought I would share is the insignia of the Ambulance Corps. What I found looks hand colored.

I was only able to use a small camera today to make my copies. There was one heck of a thunderstorm which blew through and knocked out all the power in our country's archives. Researchers were working in the dark for a fair amount of time; lucky the building is new and flooded with light.