Historic Hood River
“Bob’s Bunk”
Notes
This is a great view of what I believe were the barracks for Oregon National Guard members training near Astoria for deployment in World War I. Based on the context I think “Bob” was Edgar Franz’ friend Robert K. May. Hopefully with a little research we can learn a little more about Edgar and Bob’s service. You can see a list of the men who returned home with Edgar Franz in this 1919 article from The Hood River Glacier. Edgar Franz later married Wilma Thomson, who I suspect played a major role in producing the George Thomson family album.
The crate below the bed is from Mt. McKinley Brand canned salmon. It’s probably a fair bet canned salmon made up a good part of their diet during training. I’m a little surprised they would be bringing salmon from Alaska to Astoria, considering the major canneries in Astoria at that time.
Jeffrey Bryant
I’ve sent some of Edgar Franz’s military records to Arthur. He married Wilma Thomson on 14 October 1915 in Hood River County, so they were married before beginning his service in WWI.