Pennsylvania Game News - May 2010 - 16

DURING HIS STINT in the Navy Nick did art for war bond posters, probably designing and painting more than 20 posters. For his work with the war bond effort, Nick was given a special citation.

served six months with the CCC, the amount of time a person was allowed to be enlisted, then returned to Williamsport and eventually landed a job at a silk mill. In 1942, Nick married Grace and, within three months, WWII began. Nick enlisted in the Navy and was sent to Green Bay, Illinois, (near Chicago) for basic training. From there, Nick was assigned to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Shortly before he reported to Dutch Harbor Island, the Japanese bombed and strafed the island. Nick liked the assignment, and especially the long summer days, but said that the weather changed every ten minutes. At first, Nick worked in the laundry, but later was assigned to what he referred to as sheep patrol, which consisted of patrolling in torpedo boats. He was then assigned to repairing aircraft. When it was discovered that Nick was such a good artist, he and another sailor became the camp artists and were given a Quonset hut to turn into a studio. Nick designed and painted holiday cards, calendars and illustrated the camp’s newspaper, the “Osprey.” He also did art for war bond posters, prob16

ably designing and painting more than 20 posters. For his work with the war bond effort, Nick was given a special citation. After 19 months on Dutch Island, Nick was transferred to Wildwood, New Jersey. There he was trained to work on an aircraft carrier, but just as the training ended, so did the war. With enough points to get out of the Navy, he applied for discharge and it was granted. Back in Williamsport Nick was hired by the “Grit,” at the time a weekly family newspaper that also ran a fictional supplement. There, he illustrated the many westerns and other short stories that appeared in the paper. About this time, he met and married Grace Liberti. They had four children: Sharon, Albert, Gary and Nick. After 30 years of marriage, Grace died. A while later, Nick went to a church dance and met Cathleen Bower, and in time they married. After 29 years of marriage, Cathleen passed away. Nick told me that at 88 years of age, he didn’t think he would marry again. Although his father was not a hunter, Nick had a special love for the sport. After the war, he joined the Wallace Run Rod and Gun Club and has hunted every year since. Nick also added that he has killed a deer almost every year. Nick, who is a faithful reader of Game News, remembers an article written by Paul Matthews entitled “Dad’s Two Shots” that appeared in the June 2008 issue. In the article, Paul wrote about making his deer hunting debut during the 1939 season, in which he and his dad had been hunting in the Laquin area. The story jogged Nick’s memory, and he said that he remembers hunters coming to the Lost Horizon CCC camp around supper time and being invited to eat. Nick remembers asking the cook
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Pennsylvania Game News - May 2010

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