Cooks' School

the Franklin Evening Star - 16 May 1952
Lewis Completes Course at Camp
Pfc Glen E. Lewis, son of Mrs. Lillian Lewis, 95 Lynhurst Ave., Franklin, graduated from Camp Atterbury's Fifth Army Food Service Sub-School today.  He spent two weeks in classrooms studying cooking, met cutting, conversation and nutrition; and the next six weeks in Post mess halls and in the field, cooking and baking under the supervision of experienced Army cooks.  The eight-week course qualified him for assignment to an Army unit as a first cook, able to turn out appetizing hot meals under almost any condition.  Pfc Lewis entered the Army in February, 1951.  Before entering the service he was employed at the Park-N-Bowl, Franklin.
Franklin Evening Star - 19 June 1952
G.I.'s Learning To Cook at Camp Atterbury "By the Numbers"
CAMP ATTERBURY, June 19  Army and Air Force cooks attending Camp Atterbury's Food Service School learn how to prepare food scientifically "by the numbers."  A comprehensive eight-week course, in which a student learns every phase of cooking for large numbers of men, is held for Army personnel from the 13-state Fifth area and for Air Force men from bases throughout the U.S.
Oddly, the course starts out with the soldier preparing only enough food to feed one person. Students spend one week in the classroom getting the theory of cooking, and then e,) into the School's Small Quantity Kitchen during the second and third weeks.

The Small Quantity Kitchen, an ultra-modern classroom, is the highlight of the course. Here, every student is assigned to a four-burner stove, the same size used in most homes. Next to it is a sink in which he washes his own pots and pans.
13 Units Used
Thirteen stove-sink units are in the classroom. Students work at 12 of them while No. 13 is used by the instructor who is on a platform in the front of the room. Large mirrors above the instructor's stove permit students to see just how he is preparing his food.  Another instructor roams through the classroom giving instructions by the numbers, and offering helpful hints to students who need them.

Maj. Harry S. Decker, the School's Commandant, feels the Small Quantity Kitchen is one of the biggest steps in properly teaching Army and Air Force cooks the right way to prepare food and at the same time not take the chance of spoiling many dollars worth of food.  "If something goes wrong, the cost is only a few cents compared to a few dollars if the student were working on enough food to feed a company."  Once a student masters the methods of preparing a small amount of food, he steps into a field kitchen setup. This takes care of the fourth week.
Graduates to Mess Hall
During the next three weeks he %N arks in a company-size mess hall as an assistant cook. All during the course. Army or Air Force food service specialists are on hand to supervise the work of the school's students. Students return to the field kitchen  for another week of cooking out-of-doors.

Nearly 2,500 Army and Air Force cooks, bakers and butchers have graduated from the school since it opened early in 1951. Many of the Army students have been National Guardsmen and Reservists from the Fifth Army area. Late last Fall, the entire Army quota for the School was taken up by National Guardsmen from the: 44th Infantry Division of Illinois, which had been alerted for active service and now is stationed at Camp Cooke. Calif. One of the highlights of the Small Quantity phase of training is that all cooks must eat the food they prepare.  "It's surprising how little food is spoiled when the student knows this," Maj. Decker said.

Franklin Evening Star - 28 June 1952
Honor Students Chosen at Camp

CAMP ATTERBURY, June 28 - Camp Atterbury's Food Service SubSchool has chosen one student from each class to be "Student of the Week." The first five, soldiers and airmen chosen as "Student of the Week" are shown with their First Sergeants and the Adjutant of the 3262nd Training Squadron. (Left to right) AF Staff Sergeant James R. Riddle, Franklin, Ind.; Airman Third Class Harvey L. Douglas, of Detroit and New York City; Airman Third Class Thomas G. Plesa. Rockville, Conn.; Pro. Warren H. Goldman, Kingston, N. Y.; 1st Lt. Vincent R. Burns, Mobile, Ala.; Sgt. Bentley L. Thomas, Arkadelphia, Arkansas; Cpl. Donald H. Nadeau, Saugus, Mass., a no First Sergeant Samuel D. Pitzen, Washington, D. C., Sgt. Riddle lives in Franklin with his wife, Mona, and son, James R. Riddle, Jr. These men receive special privileges for a week. They will be honored at a supper party cooked for them by a cook with 15 years experience.-Official U. S. Army Photograph.


16 May 1952

Page last revised 03/14/2013
James D. West
www.IndianaMilitary.org