Raining.
Changed things a little. Made a kitchen. Put up a piece of canvas and a stove. The stove is about 24 by 24 by 12 inches and burns wood. This is the kitchen stove. We had two tables, three chairs, and a box that holds the wash basin and inside is the scrub brush and so on. Another box has the water pails on and inside are the fry tins, the vinegar bottle, and a few other things. On the table we keep the dishes in a basket with the knives and so on. Our butter is kept in a quaint crock about 12 inches long and ten wide, colored brown. The dish pan is a little foot tub. Back of the stove is the wood box. This completes our kitchen.
In the dining room is one table made of two put together and a rug like they have on the porch at home. The sugar and salt are in glasses and the pepper in a box. These things stay on the table. We have a white cloth on the table and this completes the dining room.
Was busy fixing things up. Heard very loud reports, and at four two planes passed over the village. We heard that seven thousand Germans had been taken and 22 Americans killed.
We had a very good evening.
More Information
The following section provides historical context and is not part of the original diary entry.
Likely location: Demange-aux-Eaux, Meuse, France
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In October 1917, the AEF was establishing its training camps in the Meuse department of Lorraine. Margaret and Helen Purviance set up one of the first Salvation Army huts near Demange-aux-Eaux, serving soldiers of the U.S. 1st Division. This was the beginning of the famous donut-making tradition.
Research Links for Further Study
- Library of Congress. (n.d.). The American Expeditionary Forces. Library of Congress Digital Collections.
- Boissoneault, L. (2017, April 12). The women who fried donuts and dodged bombs on the front lines of WWI. Smithsonian Magazine.
- Cantwell, C. (n.d.). Doughboys & doughnut girls: The Salvation Army and WWI. National WWI Museum and Memorial.
Diary of a World War I Donut Girl 