Camp Devens, Mass,

Monday Night

Dear Brother:-

Behold! you now, henceforth call or address your "kid" brother as Corproal Dennett. I received my warrant this morning and also my two stripes for my arms. Gee! but I'm pleased. My next step I'm to work for now which will be Sergeant. It may be a long time coming but I'm on the trail now. I'm tickeled to death almost. I was going to write you yesterday but I had an inkling I would hear something to-day, so I waited to write you to-night.

I was mighty glad to get your nice long letter last week. Gee! this quarentine is awful, but I won't kick a bit if I only can get home Christmas Day at least. Orders came from Headquarters yesterday and was posted that we are to have from Saturday noon December 22nd until reveille Wednesday morning practically four days. Oh! I am just longing to be home then with you and mother dear. I sent my last payment the other day on the Boston Bank for that Christmas check for mother, so there is fifty dollars and seventy-five cents waiting for me. Sometimes it has come rather hard on me to keep it up, but oh! I'm so glad I have, and I'm quite positive mother does not know a solitary thing about it. I supposeshe will feel badly that I saved it all for her, but I bet also it will seem nice to her to have it.

We have just got paid to-day. I only got ten dollars out of my thirty this time as I allotted twenty to mother and the government sends that direct to mother plus ten more. I hope they hurry up and send it to her, as I guess she needs it.

Have you written Mrs. Osgood yet for the money? I imagine if you explain to her how everything is and that is your last year, that she will lend you all you need.

I really think you had better refrain from working in the office or shop this vacation. It is a matter of but a few days and you can cut wood and do a lot for mother around the house to help her. I hope you have some "cuts" you can use so that you can stay a day or two longer at home. This is your last year in school Win, and you might as well enjoy your vacations, if possible,

Was glad you liked the snap-shots I sent you. I've had my "physimalogouy"[?] taken severl times in uniform, and they all are punk, although Aunt Stella took one of me which came out pretty good. I believe she is saving one for you.

You must have had a dandy party at the house Thanksgiving eve. Just enough for a good time I imagine,

Don't for the love of all that is sensible talk about cold and snow in Maine for we have plenty of both right here at Ayer. This morning it was seven below zero, so cold we could not stay outside to shovel snow. We had a grand snowstorm again here Saturday night, and we shoveled all day yesterday and tried to this morning.

Doris Barnard took ether yesterday morning and had four teeth pulled out. She could not stand it without ether and I got a line from her to-day saying it was all over and she felt punk though.

We lost our Lieutenant of Artillery to-day. He was ordered to go to Florida and started this morning. We feel so mighty sorry to lose him, as he was so mighty pleasant and smart. You ought to hear him reel off the figures and all sorts of scales and tables by heart, used in field engineering. He was teaching us non-coms one hour every day to do military map drawing and he's a wonder. We gave him three rousing cheers when he left us this morning, and I'll bet we were heard all over the camp. Our captain hated to have him go I guess, too.

You ought to see the fellows playing poker and rolling dice to-night. You know, when pay day comes they are not satisfied until they can see of they can double it. Most always they nearly lose it. In a few days their funds will be so reduced that they will have to come down to penny-poker. Pretty poor business I think. Believe me they don't get any of my precious money.

Perhaps you have heard that the fifteenth of the month Raymond Piper starts in for a commission in the Aviation Corps. It includes a six week course at Massachusetts Tech. Doris writes that he appears in uniform already, as he has to buy his own clothes, but gets twenty-five dollars per week. By-the-way, beginning the first of this month I begin to get six dollars more a month for being a corporal. Gee! I'm glad for the raise, believe me.

Well, Win, I guess I will close now. Mother has had a bad cold but is a lot better now. I am fine and hope you are. God bless you and may we be toghther soon. Lots of love to you from

Your Brother.
(Corporal) Mort.

P.S.. Enclosed you will find a little comical poem I cut out of a magazine.

[Who is Mrs. Osgood and why would she lend money to Win Dennett? Several references to Osgood on Hopedale History website]
[More info on Raymond Piper on Hopedale History website]

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