CHRISTMAS BOXES FOR THE FOREST AND 

 LUMBER REGIMENTS 



SOME time ago P. S. Ridsdale, of Washington, 

 District of Columbia, Secretary of the Ameri- 

 can Forestry Association and Treasurer of the 

 Committee having in charge the Welfare Fund for 

 Lumbermen and Foresters in War Service, cabled to 

 headquarters of the 10th and 20th Engineers (Forest) 

 in France and notified the military commander that the 

 Committee would be glad to have any of the men of 

 these contingents who were otherwise unprovided for 

 send their Christmas labels to the Committee. This 

 notification was posted on the bulletin boards of the 

 various camps and resulted in the sending in of 434 

 labels. Two hundred and eighty-three labels were 

 received in time, to send off the Christmas boxes, 

 but the remain- 

 d e r unfortu- 

 nately were 

 not received 

 until after 

 November 30, 

 the very last 

 day on which 

 Ch ristmas 

 packages for 

 the men over- 

 seas might be 

 mailed. The 

 Com m i ttee, 

 therefore, pur- 

 chased one 

 hundred and 

 fifty-one three 

 dollar express 

 money orders, 

 and one was 

 sent to each 

 man whose 

 label came too 

 late for a 

 Christmas 

 box, together 

 with a little 

 card bearing 

 the greetings 

 and good 

 wishes of the 

 Welfare Com- 

 mittee. 



A committee 

 of Forest Serv- 

 ice women, under the general chairmanship of Mrs. Henry 

 S. Graves, wife of the Chief Forester, very kindly volun- 

 teered to pack the boxes for the boys, and this work was 

 done under the personal direction of Mrs. Lilian T. 

 Conway. An effort was made to have each box a little 

 different but in each there was one substantial gift, like 

 a good knife, a fountain pen (six ink tablets were sent 

 with each pen), a nickel-plated watch with khaki strap, 

 or a flash light, together with the following: Khaki 

 handkerchief, Christmas card, one cake soap, one shav- 

 ing stick, one pack playing cards, one package Lucky 

 Strike cigarettes, one package Pall Mall cigarettes, one 

 tube tooth paste, one pencil with metal holder, one box 

 candy (one-half pound), loose candy, three packages 



741 



chewing gum, and three packages mints (Life Savers 

 or Scotmints). 



Everyone who has contributed to the fund which 

 made it possible for the Committee to brighten Christ- 

 mas a bit for the boys of the Lumber and Forest Regi- 

 ments will be glad to know that the Committee has 

 already received many enthusiastic letters of apprecia- 

 tion from which the following excerpts are taken : 



"A notice was posted on the bulletin board in our camp to the 

 effect that you would be glad to send Christmas packages to any 

 member of forestry organizations and since I have no relative 

 in the United States I am sending my coupon to you. I assure 

 you that I appreciate deeply your kindness in making the offer." 



"I will more than appreciate one of the 



PACKING CHRISTMAS BOXES FOR MEN OF THE LUMBER AND FOREST REGIMENTS 



Christmas boxes for 283 men were filled with good things from home purchased with money supplied from 

 the Welfare Fund for Lumbermen and Foresters in War Service. The articles were selected and packed 

 by ladies of the Washington office of the Forest Service, co-operating with the Welfare Committee. 



Christmas boxes 

 offered by the 

 Forestry Welfare 

 Fund. Thanking 

 you in advance," 

 etc. 



"I have read 

 your kind offer 

 and will take 

 advantage of it. 

 I am enclosing 

 m y Christmas 

 coupon. 



"At the rate 

 we fellow? are 

 going the Kaiser 

 ought to be hang- 

 ing on a Christ- 

 mas tree as a 

 display for the 

 A. E. F. that 

 would be our 

 best package. 

 We are all in it 

 to do our best 

 and lick him 

 good and proper. 



"My kindest 

 regards to all 

 back in grand 

 dear U. S. A. 

 and to yourself 

 a Merry and 

 Happy Christ- 

 mas." 



"Your kind 

 offer to send us 

 Christmas pack- 

 ages received at 

 our camp here 

 in France, if we 

 have no one we 

 would like to 

 bother, or who 

 than we do over 

 way so I 



that 



needs the cost of a Christmas box more 

 here. I feel as though the circumstances 

 will take advantage of your kind offer. I am sending my Christ 

 mas package coupon in this letter. I have been in France since 

 last January and have been working as cant hook man most of 

 the time. We have had a very pleasant summer but are again 

 due a rainy and nasty winter. Our hope is that the Kaiser will 

 kick in by next spring so we will be on our way home by next 

 year at this time. My home is in Montana. I am sending my 

 thanks in advance. With best wishes, 



"(Signed) A Lumberjack." 



"In accordance with instructions contained in your cablegram 

 enclosed please find a number of Christmas package coupons from 

 some of the members of our Company who have no relatives or 

 friends to whom they can send their coupons. These men re- 

 quested me to convey to you their deepest appreciation for any- 

 thing that you may send them." 



