Thoughts of War ... And Peace

Thoughts of war are seldom pleasant. From my Aunt Margaret Thomas Marchant's life history comes this description of events surrounding World War I. The setting is Swan Lake, Idaho, where my grandparents operated the Thomas Mercantile, a general store that still serves Swan Lake today.
“It was January of 1917 . . . The North wind whistled over the Red Rock Valley. The snow lay crusty and glazed over its entirety. The world seemed to lie in silent terror, waiting. Waiting. Only the wind expressed openly its feeling of deep anxiety. War, fear, tanks, guns!
Ours was a little town whose young boys had volunteered - - boarded the local train mid tears and good-byes, and found themselves, homesick, frightened and alone in France. Tonight the wind howled the grief of a frightened world. Victory for America tottered - - but was there not yet a great ocean between us and our enemies?
The pins on the big map behind the pot-bellied stove in our general store had been arranged and rearranged. The town fathers had spoken sadly as their crusty hands had gently place the pins in their new positions. ‘This is where our boys probably are tonight,’ they had said wistfully.

There would be little news now until the local train arrived tomorrow or until a freight train went by. There was always a chance that a conductor or brakeman might drop in while passing through. Trains stopped often to take water, flush out the hoboes and readjust cargo. On occasion, the train men ran in to pick up a few dozen fresh eggs and leave a bit of recent war news.
Darkness fell with a foreboding heaviness. Feeble kerosene lamps struggled to lift the gloom. One by one the men of the village filed out into the icy night. Dad and I were left alone. We’d check the fire, turn out the lights, bolt the door and brace ourselves for the walk home.
We tucked our collars in, covered our ears, put on our gloves and left the dying embers of the tiny fire. As we faced the windows, we heard the distant whistle of a train. Quickly, Dad relit the lamps and turned them high.”

To be continued.