Sincerely, Joel C. Swisher

Dear Folks,

Got your letter of April 23 the other day.

We have been having some splendid weather lately. Getting repaid for last winter and spring I suppose. This country is wonderfully pretty now. Grass is knee-high in the meadows and in the hay fields the clover is in bloom. Hops are about 10 ft up the poles. A few cherries are ripe. I haven’t seen any ripe ones on the trees yet but about a week ago I bought a hatfull for a franc (20¢). They tasted like American cherries. They may have been grown around here or they may have been shipped from southern France.

I was in swimming twice last week. The water was not too warm by any means. Cool enough to make it invigorating. For the past three weeks I have not done much manual labor myself. Have been working a bunch of prisoners building platforms along the warehouses. It is quite interesting work and I am picking up quite a bit of the German language. There is usually an interpreter among them, when there is not I can generally find enough German words in my vocabulary to tell them what to do. I have to be very careful to speak to them only about the work as our military police are very careful to see that they hold no conversations with American soldiers. Nearly all of them are willing workers when some one is watching them but most of them take life easy when no one is around.

June 4

I am still in the same place as when I wrote last. May be here another 5 months or we may leave in a couple of days. It takes a wise person to be a prophet in the army.

With the Liberty Loan and other things you in the U.S. must be having stirring times too.

Who is tending to your garden and lot this year and how is it coming along. Yesterday I saw some potatoes in bloom.

I am having a day off today as a compensation for working on Decoration Day⁽¹⁾Now celebrated as Memorial Day which was supposed ·to be a holiday for the AEF. Our holidays have been Thanksgiving, Xmas, & New Years. I suppose the next one will be July 4th. I hope so at least.

Here’s hoping you are in good health and are having as fine weather as us now!

Lovingly,

Joel

P.S. What is Harry’s address.

J.C.Swisher
Co.B 25Eng.
Am E.F.