Can. Army Medical Corp.
Vernon B.C.
June 30th 1916.
My Dear Olive
You will be having a birthday on Tuesday and I am going to send you a letter to wish you many happy returns of your birthday. Im sorry you hurt yourself when you were in Vancouver but I think you had a good holiday didn’t you?
I have just got a letter from Mama and in it was a pretty paper flower from Olive and I showed it to the men in my tent and they thought it was nice, so was that mat you sent me. Now let me tell you something One evening when it was just about dark, one of our men was walking near our tent when he saw something moving It looked like a big flat stone, a little bigger than your head. It moved along very slowly and he watched it for a while wondering what kind of stone could move like that. Then he went up close and saw a little head poking out from underneath the big hard shell. He touched it and in went the head. Then he knew what it was. Do you know? I dont think you ever saw a tortoise or a turtle. Thats what it was. The man picked it up and put it in a big pail all night and in the morning we let it go and it walked away accross some puddles into the bushes and began to look for some flies or snails and things to eat, I think it was hungry. I hope nobody killed it. Another day a squirel came right in amongst our tents and ran up a mans leg when he was lying down. It ran from one tent to another and then went under some boards and has not come back. Another day when we were up the hills I say something on a rock It was a funny little fat flat little fellow but when we came near he bobed down his hole. It was a ground hog. There are golfers and chipmunks here too.
Tomorrow is 1st of July and a holiday and 3 of us are going to hire a row boat and go fishing on Long Lake. I wonder if we will catch anything Most of the men are going on an excursion to Armstrong but it costs too much money for me, but if it is a fine day we will have a good time
Now Olive I have just got a letter from Mama and I must write to her too so Ill just hope you will have a happy birthday
Your Loving Dada.
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