Salinas Armory
The Salinas Armory, the headquarters of Troop C of the local militia cavalry, was more than a military building; it was the physical and emotional center of Salinas's experience of World War I. It was where the town's young men trained, where the Home Guard drilled, and where women gathered to roll bandages, making it a place where the distant war was brought home and where the community's collective grief and determination were forged. The building's significance is most powerfully revealed through the story of Olive Hamilton, who, after the death of a neighbor boy, declared war on the German empire from within its walls and used it as a base for a bond-selling campaign that would earn her a ride in an army airplane.
The Armory as a Community Hub for War
The armory was the site of the local militia cavalry, Troop C, which was called out at the start of the war. Its members, like the shy, red-haired Martin Hopps, who had joined simply because the armory had a basketball court, were ordinary Salinas boys. The building was also where the Home Guard drilled, men over fifty who took setting-up exercises twice a week and wore Home Guard buttons and overseas caps. The armory was not just for soldiers; it was a place where the entire community participated in the war effort. Women put on Red Cross uniforms and met there to roll bandages and, as the narrator notes, to "unroll reputations," making the armory a social as well as a patriotic center.
Olive Hamilton's War from the Armory
The armory became the launching pad for Olive Hamilton's personal war. When Martin Hopps was killed, Olive, who had liked him because "he had never hurt anyone," declared war on the German empire. She cast about for a weapon, and knitting helmets and socks was not deadly enough for her. For a time she put on a Red Cross uniform and met other ladies similarly dressed in the armory to roll bandages, but this was not driving at the heart of the Kaiser. She wanted blood for the life of Martin Hopps. She found her weapon in Liberty bonds, and she began to sell them by the bale, bringing a ferocity to her work that made people afraid not to buy them. Her sales skyrocketed, and the Treasury Department began to notice this new Amazon, sending her letters of commendation signed by the Secretary of the Treasury.
The Armory's Role in the Changing Mood of War
The armory was a barometer of the town's shifting emotions. At first, the war was a source of excitement, with songs about knocking the hell out of Helgoland and hanging the Kaiser. The armory was where this bravado was rehearsed. But as the reality of the war set in, the mood changed. The songs became mournful, like "Hello, central, give me Heaven, 'cause my Daddy's there." The armory, where the Home Guard drilled and where the families of the soldiers gathered, became a place where the town confronted the fact that the war was not a quick, heroic charge but a slow, incredibly complicated matter. The building itself witnessed the transition from the flag-waving excitement of the early days to the doggedness and sorrow of a long war.
The Armory and the Prize of the Airplane Ride
Olive Hamilton's extraordinary bond-selling campaign, which she conducted from the armory, culminated in a prize that was both an honor and a terror: a ride in an army airplane. The flight was scheduled to take place at the Salinas Race Track and Rodeo Grounds, but the armory was the origin of the story. Olive, who did not believe in the existence of airplanes, prepared for her death, making a will, burning her love letters, and buying all new underwear. At the armory, she was fitted with a padded coat, a leather helmet, and goggles, and was hoisted into the cockpit. The pilot, thinking she was a thrill-seeker, performed a series of stunts, which Olive endured with a fixed smile, believing she was encouraging a frightened young man before their inevitable crash. The armory, as the site of her initial war work, was the first step on the path to this bizarre and heroic flight.
