WITH OUR BOYS OVERSEAS

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4646, 29 June 1944, Page 3

WITH OUR BOYS OVERSEAS

AIR TRAINING IN CANADA L.A.C. -Norman A. Pearce, son of Constable A. D. Pearce, Arrowcown, writes an interesting letter to his relatives from Penhold, Alberta, Canada concerning the journey there from New Zealand. L.A.C. Pearce says they had a good boat trip. The meals on board varied from exceedingly indifferent to quite good, though the American idea of small quantities of this, that and the other queer mixtures, wasn’t very satisfying. Fortunately there were plenty of oranges and apples and ice cream was served almost daily for dessert. American baked beans, corned beef hash and coffee were featured regularly on the menu, but very few of our boys could go them at all and even now I am not very keen on coffee. Their salads (chopped raw cabbage, cucumber, onion and other raw vegetables- were not very popular with us either. I may say that from the time we landed, most of us had insatiable appetites and every wayside stopping place was almost cleaned out of edibles. Our sleeping quarters in the holds were crowded, there being rows and rows of bunks four and sx deep, with just sufficient roqm to roll into them and lie. don. Despite ventilating fans it was hot and stifling at night until we reached the cooler waters of the northern, seas. During the day wo lay round the decks reading or playing cards. Quite a number of chaps lost practically all their money playing poker and dice. I guess a paper dollar doesn’t have much monetary signiiicance at sea where there isn’t anything to spend it on. A small movie projector was set up in one of: the holds so that we were able to see films twice a week, but the first time I attempted to sit through a program I had to leave the stinking hold and go into the fresh air or else I would have been sick. We were also given various guard duties standing-by the watertight hatches to close them incase of emergency, a very boring but not particularly strenuous task. The ship was very dirty and our shorts and battlcdrcss were a real mess by the time wo reached port. When we crossed the Equator there was quite a good deal of talk about initiating us in the time honoured manner, but as they had commenced to paint the ship, the captain “ wouldn ’t play.” We weren’t exactly disappointed either, though I guess we would have taken it all in good part. The painting, by the way, was a nuisance as we were herded from one section of the already crowded deck to the other while the painters used their spray guns to coat everything in sight with blue-grey paint. The officers and other passengers had the comparatively roomy boat dock, comfortable cabins and good food. 1 had often wondered what it would be like to be in the middle of the ocean with nothing but sea and sky around and now that I know I don’t think it very interesting. There was “water, water everywhere —and not a drop —” to wash in, or at least only salt water, so that hot showers were most welcome when we landed. We had a short leave in ’Frisco, a city where one could have a very good time, given a sufficient length of time. The things that arc most in my recollection of the city are its two huge bridges—marvels of engineering without doubt, and quite typical of the big way in which Americans do things; the San Quentin prison on the isle of

Alcatraz, grim ami forbidding in the harbour mists, the big buildings, wide streets and swft moving traffic. Wo found the shopping rather confusing. That unique American institution, the drug store, seems to sell almost everything—soiling drugs and dispensing proscriptions scorns about (he least of their functions. They all have lunch counters, have soda fountains, sell ice cream, fruit, confectionery, cigarettes, stationery and goodness only knows what else besides, .lust by the way, we found the cost of meals higher than at home. a good meal can bo had for ,S0 cents to I dollar and a half (4/0 to !)/-), but in swanky places it may cost much more, or at a snack bar a meal of sorts may cost a little loss than 80 cents. Many quaint customs prevail as regards the culinary art in America. If you ask for tea in a cafe, they hang a small bag of tea over the side of the cup and then pour boiling water over *t. Lemon seems to be a substitute for milk, though the Yanks drink large quantities of milk in the raw. We only had time to wander down one or two of ’Frisco’s principal streets but I was surprised at the apparent absence of large departmental stores. I suppose there were some, but what I noticed was that there wore small branches of large concerns every few blocks. It -was most unfortunate that we didn’t have time to really get acquainted with many of the citizens as I’m sure we should have been royally treated. As it was, every one we met was friendly and interested, and often not surprisingly ignorant of our nationality and in other cases surprisingly well informed as to our country. .The trip from ’Frisco to Calgary made up for all the discomfort we suffered previously. American and Canadian trains are the goods and a journey by Pullman coach is u real pleasure, especially after our Now Zealand trains. I believe Mr Nash is in the States. Let’s hope ho absorbs a few of their best ideas for railway travel and applies a few of them at Home. A coloured porter makes up the roomy berths at night, brings card tables, cleans the coach, performs errands and generally makes himself useful. The coaches arc large (,24 people to a sleeper) well-heated and well ventilated, while at the end of every few carriages.is an observation platform where one can stand to view the scenery. The dining cars arc first class and you can admire the country while you cat. Surprisingly enough, I didn’t find the trains as large as I had expected. They arc big, of course, but not so much larger than our own. There was so much to see we begrudged the long hours of darkness, but fortunately we passed over some of the most interesting sections of the route by daylight. When we awoke one morning we found ourselves , among the peaks of the Cascades, at an altitude of 4000 feet to 5000 feet. All the morning and afternoon we passed goods trains holding up the long climb over the mountains and saw the snow plows at work clearing the lines. The scenery is magnificent—wild and grand like our South Westland —miles upon miles of Xmas trees weighed down with snow. Sonic of them were great trees, but I think New Zealand native bush has it all over the coniferous forests of North America. Lumber mills are built all along the rivers and on the shores of the lakes on which float rafts of Jogs being towed to the mills. There they arc confined by booms to await being dragged to the saws. In some parts where the mills are some distance from suitable rivers huge races and flumes arc built to float the logs to the mill. The forests extend dftwn to the city boundaries and frequently the train ran out of heavily-wooded country into cleared land, then the outskirts of quite large towns almost before we wore aware of it.

In the open valleys there were small farms, few of which had the well-kept and prosperous appearance of me average New Zealand farm. We saw v ry little stock except a few shaggy ponies and one or two ilbby cows, most of the animals being kept in large barns during the winter. What surprised me was that, although fruit- and vegetables seemed plentiful and a -vs cheap considering the season (lettuce 10 cents, 7d.) very few pr;va*e homes seemed to base gardens while in ninny places there were large market gardens wi'h huge greenhouses. In the States, no matter how poor or mean )001 iug the house was, and believe me a lot of them looked real hovels, there was always a shiny new car parked somewhere about the yard, and frequently caravans as well, some of them verybig—much too large for our rough, narrow roads—hut quite suitable in a country where all the main mountain routes are well .surfaced, wide and easy graded. Along the banks of the rivers and shores of the lakes, shacks are built on piles above the water. Indeed there must be constant danger of their being washed away during spring flooding. Of all the damp, unhealthy situations to build, it would be hard to imagine worse, though, if they are fisher folk the position must, have some use. After seeing some of the wretched shanties I can understand what problems the American and Canadian health authorities must be up

against in trying to improve living condtons when faced wth the ignorance and poverty which obviously exists. Summing up my impression of the States, I thought that the States arc big, physically, industrially and commercially, and the people typical of the country; they talk big, moke a big noise and are big-hearted. Canada on the other hand seems a somewhat different proposition, a change wc all sensed as soon as wc arrived in Vancouver. The border between the two countries being an entirely imaginary lino you wouldn’t expect to find clear cut differences; nor are there, except that the English influence is noticeable in Western Canada. Shopping is not so confusing—the drug store being not nearly so common as below the border. Customs and habits of living, too, arc more like those we’ve been used to. (To be continued).