The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 24, 1927, Page 15

RKEY, WINE, “VER THERE” - ON XMAS DAY L%e:l'x Veterans Discuss ristmas Celebration at the Front Turkey dinner, with, perhaps, a bottle of wine of ancient vintage to help it down sounds quite ap Petizing. Some of the American doughboys who were in France the Christmas Days of 1917 or ',? or both may have had thei gh hours, but in some cases ompensations helped make up for those hours, at least in the eyes of the people 6f prohibitior days who look back a decade. Many of the fighting ‘Americans who crossed the Atlanti¢ spent v of their days in-a sea of find shellholes, with bullet: »zing.around them, and didn't e much to eat uniless “Corned Voolly” can be called food.” How. ever, as a Christmas dinner, thc batting average of “Corned Wool- ly” was nothing to become oxcited over. Joe_Johnson, who is at present with the Thomas Hardware Com pany in Juneau, was among th. munnen on December 25, 1917 on the same day in 1918. He \was overseas but was enough to be among those w t e behind the lines, where yed a rather homelike Christ lucky Attended Church “There wasn't much happened Christmas Day ten years ago that Is worth relating excépt that a few of we hoys went ‘to church d had our turkey dinmer a’ter- ards,” Mr. Johnson declared b “We went to church as much fo the novelty of it as for raligiovs sons. “We were quartered fn ‘Larmont In western France near the town !mother had sent over | thigh school in Juneau when the of Saint Emilion at the time. Four or five of us decided to go into Saint Emilion and attend the serv- ices at an ancient cathedral sitn. ated there. It was a cold day. The French people, when they at- tend services in a structure like the one to which we went in which there is no heat, take warm bricks, wrapped in newspapers. “For seats there were little low chairs which also, when turnod around, served as platforms on which to kneel. The noise of the chairs being turned and of the paper-wrapped bricks being mov- ed, prevented us from hearing much of what was being said. Our presence created a great deal or interest among the French and we did hear a few remarks upon our being there. “After the services we went back to camn where we had a fine turkcy dinaer, We were fortun- ate enough to have been Jocated in Laimont for about a month be- fore Christmias so were in a posi tion to have some good rations in Mu(-k in time for the hig din- ner.” Jehnson was still in France on | the Christmas of 1918, staying in a small town in southern France, near the Italian border. He was fortunate enough once more fto! have a real Christmas, and he and | some of the boys in his outfit| went in to one of the big hotels | and had a French Christmas din | ner. Vestal Entered Early One of the youngest men to;| serve in the World's “War, who enlisted in his early teens, and who was dne of the very first to fight with the -Americans in France, was LeRoy Vestal, of the local Steamboat Inspector’s of fice. He had the fighting spirit | young, no doubt, for he was in United States declared war, anil lost litile time enlisting. “I'll remember the Christmas of 1917 for some time,” Vestal said “We were IH a little French town 5, one of the mud- dieat of the country—-; there was mud everywhere. M\‘ a box of food which I was fortunate to get before Christmas. In it, among other things, were two jars of chicken. Four other boys and I had a French woman fix us up a big dinner, which certainly was good after army rations, even making us forget the mud—tem- porarily.” One of Juneau's present resi dents, John Olsen, now working in Goldstein’s Emporium, did not fare so well with his Christmas celebration. Olsen was not in the service in 1917, but on December 25, 1918, he was with the artillery of the Thirty-Second Division, and the day before had -marched from Jubecourt to Delouze. “Corned Woolly"” No turkey dinner awaited th: doughboys in that outfit when the call to mess was sounded Christ- mas evening. A supply of food had been sent ahead so the troops would have something to eat on their arrival. “Corned Woolly" had been the bulk of their ra. tions for some time, and the boys were nct exactly overjoyed to find more of it waiting when they reached Delouze, especially when they had to make their Christmas {dinner of it. In spite of what gome of the Americans may have had to gc through with when they were in the Big Fight they were often within reach of that which is now {logally “Out Of Bounds” in th: good old U. 8. A. and if they did not take advantage of their op | vortunities and forget the “Corn ed Woolly” it was tough luck—or an empty pockethook. g Inquiring 0 Know" Blinks—It's grand to live in an apartment building where there i a janitor to look after the fur inace, empty the garbage pail and do the little odd jobs. Jinks—Gosh! With all those things looked after, how does yow wife think up things to ruin your evenings? i S A régular man s one who get a thrill from looking at a window full of toys and a chill from look g at one full of neckties. Life is made up of one thing after another, So if times are hard and you e blue, ar Think of the others worrving too; .Junt because your trials are many, Don’t think the rest of us haven’t any. ¢ 'Life is made wp of smiles and tears, ‘ Joys and sorrows, mixed with And though to us it seems one- Trouble is sided, etty well divided; If we could look in every heart, We’d find that each one has its And those who travel fortune's roads, ; ’Sometim ‘earry the biggest , DEC. 24, 1927, —— CELEBRATED IN | JUNEAU DANCE HALLS IN '89 Place So Crowded on Christmas Night, No Room for Fight Christmas in Juneau in 1889, To most of the settlers who “traveled alone” in the gold camp the town was at that time, the day had little meaning except for a gay carousal when perhaps the nostalgia inevitable to most folks at the Christmas time of the year, for the days before they had gone adventuring, might bhe swept away by hooteh and dancing and fighting. Louis TLund, one of Juneau' well known old timers, was one of the boys in that winter who had left relatives far behind when he set out for tho northland and s0 on the Christmas holiday he | followed the erowd, which lad him he said to Wheelock's dance hall In the Dance Halis The dance hall was owned and operated by S. O. Wheelock o was one of the largsst in eamp, ding where the Caul’s e is now loca of tha crowd was Ohristmas night of 1889, Mr. said, and the place was 80 crowd od it was impossible for a figh to take place and it ever Aiffieult to clear a space for danc ing. Whelock made $1,100 that night and Ceorge Miller, who w1 ‘he later quiet days of the town aperated the Cirele City hotel of Third strect, recently demolished de §400 during the night, i his restanrant which was aex loor to Wheelook's Only Two White Girls There were only two whit virls in the eamp who went t the dance halls then, Mr. Luni said, a French girl called Georgit md Esther Duffey. The othe yirls were Indians. After eac!. lance it was the custom in th dance halls to go to the bar for a drink and in the days. Mr Lund tells of, the men were giv en the whiskey and the I girls received an apple. were as ap ative of the oles as the white girls were the gift of a nugget. Recalling his first Christmas ir Juneau Mr. Lund related other in cidents of the camp in 1889 an’ vartfenlarly interesting were hi accounts of the location of various buildings at that time. 33 Saloons There were 33 saloons am lance halls of whi the most wominent were Wh ock’s; th New Zealand or Brady Bailding which stood where the Har paint shop i3 now located on Ser md Strect and was connectad by an alley to the Occidental Hoto' and to Front Street; The Opera House on the corner of Second and Seward Streets; the Missour! ‘ater called the Louvre on Fronf Street which until recently hous- al the Boston St and th Montana saloon next the presen Tuneau Billlards building, Frencl Pete, discoverer of gold on Doug 'ag and, whose claims was de veloped into the famous Tread well. mine and who died in poy rty, operated a dance hall on @ scow which was made fast on th beach where the present basebal nark is located in the Casey-Shat uck Addition. Old Established Firm It is interesting to note that ‘he C. W. Young Company wr.: one of the oldest establishe” firms, doing business until abou two years ago, in the samec loca ‘lon where it was started. Wher he came to Juneau In 1580, Mr Lund said the Young brothers had built a small store where the present building of the Juneau Young Hardware company now stands and conducted ‘a hardwar( husiness, gradually increasing their business as the town grew until they constructed the pres ant buflding. | The Sitka Trading eempany, @ zeneral store, stded where the Thomas Hardware company store i3 mow located. Decker Bros., op arated a store next to ‘where the Simpkins bindery now #tands an( Kohler & James had g stors where Goldstein’s Emmrlum i located. % One Boat a Month There was but one boat a month in ‘those days and it was in com mand of Capt. James Call. Kven in those days there were tourists, Mr. Lund said, and he recall sceasions when the captain called on his friend, Dick Willoughiy, sollege graduate and an tual man, who gave £ w the morth, to nw | tain the visitors. 4iby was well known {fing and played n i Hon the gullible % Lund | said. ; “Those were ~ Eres a‘ days.” said Mr. Lund, '"w went ough many rds and hal plenty of fun; M back Christmas;’ it cele ted as it been by crowd of o jurers awuy om all home £ - Bince the By:--- “Sam, the Sob Singer” ‘OH DEATH WHERKE IS THY STING! (Reading Time 0:0 because yow wont read it) It’s a tough job—this Ad writing for, a plumbiny: and heat- ing concern. Here I waste 25 hours a day and lots of the company’s money trying to interest readers; telling you that the plumber is an honest man, that the sheét metal worker is not destructive when he cuts up tin and that our heating man knows his stuff. - WHAT’S THE RESULT! The Boss answers this: “NOTHING.” Probably you think the boss pays me a princely snlary for this. What I get is usually a word with four letters—No: not “LOVE.” IT SURE IS. TOUGH. It is customary during the Christmas Time to be happy and make others happy. You can make me happy by writing the boss. Tell him you never fail to read our Ads; that they are as peppy as the Police Gazette or Whiz Bang. Tell:him you believe me when I state that the Plumber knows his Plumbum, the Tinner his Stannum, and the Blacksmith his Ferrum. AND DON'T FAIL TO .MENTION WHAT A FINE MACHINE "THE ELECTROL AUTOMATIC OIL BURNER IS. I wanted to commit suicide like the college boys do 'but the boss says it’s impossible for me as such a stunt requires an education. ; This Big Half Page Ad is my 'last Literary Effort.. The results will be “Slnk or Swim,” “Live or Die,” “Survive or Perish.” I can’t shuffle off this mortal coil and I'm tired of living. Guess I'll work for Chesterfield Cigarettes—“They' Satisfy.” I wxll mexvc your expressions of Condolenfo at the HARRI MACHINE SHOP ' fW: Na in *'GM‘ ¥ "l e mtham B ot hase ol . indebted Lo the ma who kit ip thumb