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Newspaper
Elgin Echo
Location
Elgin, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Dec 26, 1918
Page
2
In the local column is a note about ad display and local ads running consecutively until discontinued. Subscription rates are listed as one year in advance at $1.60 and six months for 75 cents.
Elgin residents share Christmas gatherings and a quiet holiday with no church programs due to flu. Otto Stoehr visits Dubuque for a job lead while Jake Pfister returns home, recalling good crops nearby. Local officers pursue impostors wearing unearned service stripes as Red Cross drives renew for January, urging renewed dues and a strong wartime spirit.
A long readers’ letter from Corporal Ernest L. Bauder details his WWI service in 1918 from Brest to Toul including camps at St Maxine and Colombier La Belle, aircraft duties, a near armistice, and daily life with planes and crews. Additional letters describe crossings to France aboard the Konigen Wilhelm, Brest campaign, and front-line experiences with dangers, transportation, and hospital duties.
A map of Europe shows widespread hunger as postwar food shortages erupt. Belgium, northern France, and Serbia face famine centers while Ukraine holds stores. Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Spain rely on American supplies. Germany may fare if trade resumes. 40 million Russians and many others are at risk. Immediate relief and vast exports are urged to avert peace-threatening famine and unrest.
A wartime letter describes a town without a functional post office, mail from another town arriving instead, and widespread destruction with houses blown apart and log dugouts outside doors. The writer asks about family, Helen’s schooling, stock and grain sales, and notes hospital construction delays while anticipating possible relocation to the old front.
Christmas greetings echo through Dubuque as U S service members and families return from camps in Georgia and Camp Dodge. Harry Nicklang arrives safely from overseas, while William Wenger reads the home paper after discharge. Local residents plan holiday visits, health notes, and a timber haul at Oak Grove Threshing Co. The Smiths swap land in a Dakota exchange through Thus Knudtson.
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