Thursday, February 15, 1945
Our Army and Navy Boys
Mrs. Elsie S. VanReenen received a telegram from the War Department on February 8 stating that her son Sergeant Cecil G. VanReenen was killed in action the 24th day of January, 1945 in Belgium. He was the second son of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert VanReenen, of Edray, age 19 years. He entered the service the 11th day of December 1943 and had been overseas since October.
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Mr. and Mrs. John Hively, of Dunmore, were notified Monday, February 12, by the War Department, that their son, Private First Class Burley Hively had been killed in action on the western front in Europe on January 26, 1945.
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Mr. and Mrs. Carl W. Slaven have received a couple of letters from their son, Sergeant Earl (Barney) Slaven dated November 19 and December 4, stating he is a prisoner of war in Germany. The Sergeant had been reported missing in action since last September.
Dear Mother and Dad;
Just a few lines to let you know that I am getting along all right, so do not worry about me. We all have hopes of getting home some time in February. We all are praying that the war will be over this month.
I hope you have received one of the letters I have written to you since I have been in this camp.
I would like to tell you what we have to eat but I do not think that the Germans would let it go through. But don’t worry for I can live on what we get. I think of you all the time and how I would love to have one of your butterscotch pies. We are getting a Red Cross box today so we will have plenty of smokes tonight.
Be sure to tell Allen Gay that we can only write so often and I want to write to you all as often as I can but I will try to write to him some time.
With lots of love,
Your son,
Earl
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Mrs. Virgil Gladwell, of Hillsboro, received the following letter from her brother, Private First Class Dale H. Hollandsworth, who is a prisoner of war in Germany, written under date of December 22, 1944:
Dear Sister;
Will drop you a few lines and hope you and your family are well. I am sure you will have a fine Christmas. I am well and in very good health. I am a prisoner of war. Tell Dad and all the rest hello for me. Goodbye and good luck.
Your brother,
Dale
FIELD NOTES
Mrs. Dan Beverage is again trapping foxes around her home on Bucks Mountain. At last report she had caught two reds and two grays. Much of the time this winter the traps were frozen up.
The last word I got from my fox-chasing friend, J. O. Kellison, of Jacox, was that he had killed twenty-one head of foxes so far this winter.
Sugar trees have been running pretty well now for over a week. Not many are being opened this year. On account of the cold winter, the sap should be unusually sweet.
Minnehaha Springs
Dr. W. V. Jarrett and Edgell Dean, of Richwood, Dr. W. M. Jarrett and Mr. Chandler, of Charleston, owners of the boy’s camp at Minnehaha Springs, were here over the weekend. Their big hotel building was destroyed by fire recently. They are taking steps to replace it with adequate buildings, when the necessary war time priorities, regulations and restrictions can be met. Last year, the first summer camp for boys was held, and it was highly successful, considering everything. The grounds have been increased to more than 120 acres by the purchase of an adjoining boundary of about sixty acres.