“I got a gold inlay put in my front tooth. Cost me $5.00. I am going to get the rest fixed in town. The dentists [at Camp Lee] don’t suit me…”
In his twenty-fifth letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, to his sister Minnie Riggle, US Army Wagoner (mule team driver) Lester Scott, a World War I soldier from Wheeling, West Virginia, writes that it’s “warm as summer.” He took a trip in the country with four other soldiers on some mules. Two “got throwed off” but were uninjured. He paid $5.00 for a gold inlay in his front tooth. He’ll get the rest fixed in town, away from the army dentists. He says he can’t figure out why his teeth keep decaying. He takes good care of them. He’s also going bald and getting fat eating veal and pork. He hasn’t heard from his girlfriend Cleo lately. The men shaved off half of a new man’s mustache, forcing him to shave the rest. The fellows in the other squads call Les and his boys “hard boiled mule skinners.” They have a new Victrola, a football, and boxing gloves. Les doesn’t want to leave the army now.
Elsewhere on the same day, Russia accepted Germany’s peace terms (they would sign on March 3), and the German cruiser “Wolf” returned to port after having sunk 11 ships.
Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, where so many Wheeling soldiers were trained. And, like so many of his Ohio Valley comrades, he served in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his twenty-fifth letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, February 24, 1918.
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February 24, 1918 Letter – Lester Scott to his sister, Minnie Riggle
at Camp Lee V.a.
Feb 24, 1918
Dear Sister,
Rec’d your welcome letter today and was more than glad to hear from you. I am feeling just fine. hope you all are also. this has certainly been a fine day. warm as summer. there were five of us boys took a trip out in the country on some mules. mabe we didn’t have some time. two of the fellows got throwed off but escaped any injury. Believe me I am having the time of my life. I was in town yesturday and last night. I got a gold inlay put in my front tooth. cost me $5.00. I am going to get the rest fixed in town. the dentists here don’t suit me. they are some dentists in their. I have another front tooth that has decayed since I came here. I dont know what makes them decay so. have been taking good care of them. I am nearly bald also. I will get some more pictures taken soon. I am getting fat again now. we sure do get some fine eats now. we had roat veal for dinner. fresh pork yesturday too. I havn’t heard from Cleo lately. J.B.H. was transferred out of this regiment. dont think anyone cared much. it was announced the other evening at retreat that this regiment was only detached to this division. it is a unit of its own. there will be no more transferred from our company. I dont look to leave her fore a good while yet. dont think there has been many of the boys from here went over yet. they only go to some other camp. some of our boys got a letter from John Wise. he was in the same bunch W.T. went with. they are other camps. There are some fine fellows in the new bunch that came in our co. we have lots of fun with them. one fellow looks like kaulbaugh and just as windy. he had a mustache when he came. we told him if he didn’t take it off we would and he wasn’t long taking it off. we just shaved the half of one fellows off. he had to take the rest off himself. the rest of the fellows in the other squad rooms calls us the hard boiled mule skinners. I heard about the wedding. some couple. I suppose Jim will start plowing soon. I plowed some in this month last spring. dont think I will do much this. I dont think I would like to leave the army now. I like it better every day. we have a new victrola now. we bought it ourself. We have a foot ball boxing gloves every thing for sport. well I dont know much to say this time so I will close. hoping to hear from you soon.
Good Bye
ans Soon
hope you have a good time when you take your visit
From the Kid
Listen to Episode 34 of “From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle”
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From Camp Lee to the Great War: The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle” is brought to you by Archiving Wheeling in partnership with the Ohio County Public Library (Wheeling, WV) and the Wheeling Academy of Law & Science (WALS) Foundation.
Jeremy Richter is the voice of Lester Scott. The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle were transcribed by Jon-Erik Gilot. This podcast was edited and written by Sean Duffy, audio edited by Erin Rothenbuehler with music courtesy the Library of Congress.
[Music for February 24, 1918 episode: “At the Ball,” Hill, J. Leubrie (composer), Prince’s Band (performer), 1914, https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010713/]
Many thanks to Marjorie Richey for sharing family letters and the stories of her uncles, Lester Scott and Charles “Dutch” Riggle, WWI soldiers from West Virginia.
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