The Earl Campbell Story - Life in King during the war

Aug 19, 1918, King letter from Mary L. to Earl

Dear Earl,

Received your letter and was very glad to hear from you . I was sorry to hear you went back to France. I was down to your place last Friday (16th) for my music lesson. Pauline was helping with the harvest. She was a good farmerette. She had the overalls on anyway. It is wary day here, but not as warm as we have had. We are drawing in today. We will be through soon. The farmers around here have started threshing and that stops the harvest. It won't be long until exhibition time. I think I am going down for a day. I was glad when holidays came. I was down in the city for two weeks. You should not make fun of our school photos. Flossies and mine are the best of the rest ha-ha. I will get a snap taken of myself sometime and send it to you. There has been a great many of the boys called up. Most of them has until November. Two boys up the sixth has to go the first of September. I never saw Charlie Williams in his uniform. Did you see Ed Teasdale over in England. Well I think I will have to close for now.

Yours truly Mary L.

Aug 25, 1918 postcard sent to Earl from his brother Harold


Aug 28, 1918, King letter to Earl from his half brother Colin. Martha (McMurchy) Campbell was the mother of both Earl and Colin. Colin's father was Alexander who died in 1882. Martha then married his brother Jerome, who was Earl's father.

Dear Earl,

Your letter dated July 12 from France arrived here in good time, and we were glad to hear that you were well. And I suppose by this time you will be dodging shells of all description. Although by the papers the German gunners are getting shaky, we are glad. Can't say how glad to see the Allies are winning now. First the Americans trounced them, then the French, now the British are hitting them heard. And the Canadians: Biff: The news today is that they have broken the first line of the old and famous Hindenburg line. Well I hope they keep them on the run till they reach the Rhine. When we could "Wind up the watch on the Rhine", etc. I would'nt imagine your work would quite so dangerous in an advance as it would be in a retreat. But then there is no telling I suppose.

Well we have finished the harvest but among the first to do so there is large quantities of grain out yet. The threshers are all busy. Henry H. threshes tomorrow if its fine. He and I changed work this summer got along fine. Of course you know Henry and Merle live in King City now and has bought the Nightingale place as well so his ranch as he calls it adjoins ours on the south, he keep the black polled Angus cattle.

I suppose you will know that Arch has been granted extension of leave until the 1st of Nov and a good number of others as well, so after all their howling the farmers have got off mighty easy I think. There isn't a bunch of men in Canada that can make as big a holler, over a small thing as a bunch of farmers can. I am just as glad as anyone that Arch has practically been released and the other fellows as well as Arch, but it's the darned narrow, selfish spirit that so many have shown. I don't mean Arch is that, so many of the boys in the class called out, but it's the older men owners of farms and employers of help. These are the men that I call narrow & selfish. They are afraid they won't have the chance to make such big money if they loose some of their help of course they say they are producers. Yes for the money there is in it for them. Then there are others that are endeavouring to make political capital out of it. Calling down the Government for forcing men to fight, finding fault with the conscription of food & daylight saving: complaining about the way returned soldiers are treated, etc. I think men that talk and act like that in a time like this, are anything but Patriotic.

Well Earl I hope you still pull through, the men that are overseas are keeping the name of Canada bright whether the ones at home do or not. And it may be that the war will not last many months longer. Of course (It's a long, long way to Berlin) yet I think the Hun will cave in before we reach Berlin. Ella is writing some. So I will close.

Wishing you the best of luck and safe return home. I am … Bro. Colin

Aug 28, 1918, King letter to Earl from Ella. Ella writes of the drowning in King of Gilpin boy and also mentions the death of Neil McMurchy.

Dear Earl,

I am sorry I have been so long in letting you know I got that lovely centerpiece you sent over. It certainly was good of you to work it for sure, I know from looking at it that it must have taken a lot of patience and time to complete it so perfectly, we have it on our parlour table and it looks very pretty; I suppose you do not get time for any such work now, nor would you have the material to work with. I don't get time either for fancy work now either, although I am very fond of it, I was out picking berries early very day for two weeks, of course just a part of each day. I preserved 35 qts of berries besides what we used on the table with was three times a day often, and in pies; so that wasn't so bad was it for being alone and having a baby to take care of. Of course she plays out of doors a lot with the other two, they were greatly dissppointed this morn they were to go to your Mother's today with Hazel and so went to bed early to have a good rest ready for the walk, and Henry rang up after they were asleep and said they would be threshing so they could not go, but anyway it is wet and so they are not threshing and the children are better at home. I guess Baker's lived up the 6th when you went away, didn't they? There is another family there now Gilpins is their name, and a couple of weeks ago one of their boys a lad 16 years old went to Boys lake on Sunday to have a swim, he and the ?? boy of McCallums, and somehow, no one knows what happened, but the Gilpin boy was drowned, the other lad was so frightened he went all the way home before telling anyone to try to get him out. Also Neil McMurchy who has been sick so long, is dead. He is to be buried tomorrow.

Well I guess Colin has told you all the other news, and this letter willlikely be pretty full so I'll close. Yours with love, Ella

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