“I didn’t say hobby horses. I said they called us Mrs. Hobby’s horses. Don’t you see?” Betty’s voice dropped. “Mrs. Hobby is director of the Corps. And they say she’s a wonder. All of us raw recruits must spend a week in these stables before we go to live in Boom Town. So you see, they call us Mrs. Hobby’s horses.”
“But Boom Town? Where’s that?” Norma demanded.
“Oh! Come on!” Betty exclaimed. “You want to know too much too soon. Let’s get our bunks made. We have a lot of things to do this day. One of them is to eat breakfast. That cold air made me hungry. Let’s get going.”
A short time later they found themselves caught in a brown stream of WACs pouring toward a long, low building. Once inside they were greeted with the glorious odor of frying bacon, brewing coffee, and all that goes with a big delicious breakfast.
And was it big! In this mess hall twenty-five hundred girls were being served.
As she joined the long line that moved rapidly forward Norma was all but overcome by the feeling that she was part of something mammoth and wonderful.
“It’s big!” she exclaimed.
“Biggest thing in all the world.” Betty pressed her arm. “We’re in the Army now!”
Yes, they were in the Army. And this was Army food. On their sectional trays, oatmeal, toast and bacon were piled.
Their cups were a marvel to behold. Half an inch thick, big as a pint jar, and entirely void of handles, they presented a real problem. But Norma mastered the art of an Army coffee drinker in one stride. So too did Millie, the girl from a department store.