A $5,000 Gift for the Eighteenth Engineers
A Seattle businessman reunites with old railroad friends at American Lake and donates $5,000 to the regiment bound for France.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
John T. Hefferman, president of the Hefferman Engine Works, visited the camp at American Lake to see the 18th Regiment of United States Engineers, commanded by Colonel J.B. Cavanaugh. A former railroad man, Hefferman was surprised to find over thirty old acquaintances in the ranks, ranging from former railroad presidents to other high-level professionals who had enlisted for the war effort. Moved by the quality of the men, Hefferman donated $5,000 to the regiment as a discretionary fund for their needs before they departed for France.
“It's one of the finest bunches of men ever brought together. Everyone of them experienced, some of them masters of their craft.”
This story highlights the early mobilization of World War I, where professional skills were repurposed for the war effort—a massive industrial and personal shift for the region.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.