100 years ago in The Saratogian
Saturday, Nov. 3, 1917
The mother of Walter N. Barrett of Saratoga Springs gets the first letter from her son, a U.S. Marine, in more than a month today.
The letter, dated October 8, reports that Walter has arrived in France for the war with Germany “without any excitement whatsoever on the way over. The subs must have seen the Marines or heard they were coming and made themselves scarce.
Barrett is the first Marine from the Spa City to make it to Europe as part of the American Expeditionary Force since the U.S. declared war on Germany last April. “It seems strange to be ‘over here,’ he writes, “We’ve been singing and singing ‘Over There’ but now it is ‘over here’ for us.
“I cannot begin to describe the sensations that pass through one as he lands for the first time in another country, thousands of miles from home and sees no newspapers containing American news, meets a people talking an entirely different language, and knows that American goods and sweets are not to be bought. Even the money is hard to figure out for the first few days.
“On the whole, accommodations are better than I expected them to be. We Marines have American food, shower baths, a fine place in which to wash clothes and our faces, and pretty good sleeping quarters. I haven’t any complaints to register so far as things go.”
Barrett asks his mother to send over soap, tobacco and writing paper, among other things. “Jam, cake and fudge from America would be wonderful Heaven-sent blessings in this war-worn, poor old France,” he writes.
High school football
“A large number of students and their friends saw the Saratoga Springs High school football team triumph over the Troy High school in the best game of the season Saturday afternoon,” The Saratogian reports.
If there’s a larger turnout than normal, it may be because cameramen are filming the action, including the cheering section, for a documentary film to be screened at the Broadway Theatre later this year.
The sportswriter may consider today’s 7- 0 victory the best game of the season, but it seems fairly one-sided. Saratoga’s defense dominates the Trojans, who never cross the home 40 yard line and complete only one of eight passing attempts.
Saratoga returns Troy’s fumble of the opening kickoff to the three-yard line but gives up the ball on downs. They score the game’s only touchdown on the second play of the second quarter, on a two-yard run by fullback Frigelette. Troy’s defense otherwise makes a good showing, but their offense never really shows up.