The San Bernardino County Sun from San Bernardino, California • Page 20

D. 2, 19T9 shave maruelis Army cook revisits Presidio after 62 years GRANITE BRONZE Q3 TMI SUN New York City. "But 1 wanted to come back to Southern California because it is so much like Sicily and in 1930 I moved out here to become a chicken rancher. In 1955, 1 sold the ranch and retired and bought this duplex." With that the interview ended and Ruvolo returned to his reading of the Presidio history. FRANK I.

RICKER, MEMORIALS MOoNT MANUFACTURE AND SALIS 991 N. Wrmon Ave. 4868 Commerce St. San Bernardino. Calif.

92410 Riverside. Calif. 92507 884.3018 683-4868 North Wiirman Ave. 7 Wxs South of 14th Street at 10th Street East Side of Railroad -J DESIGN COUNSELING WALLPAPER CARPETING CUSTOM DRAPERY HARDWOODS Give Your Home a Holiday Gift "We cooked on oil stoves in camp and over pits on the rifle range, getting up at 4 a.m. and sometimes working until after supper.

"Generally, however, we worked in two shifts and the early men were off duty by 1 p.m." He said today's soldier obviously fares better than his World War I counterpart Following the tour of the mess hall, the three generations of Ruvolos were Hall's lunch guests at the officers club. On the way, someone asked him how much of the post he recognized. "I told them nothing, really, but then I saw a familiar looking building," he said. "It was the one that housed the cooks and bakers school. They told me it was now the Presidio headquarters." The day was topped off with a visit to the museum and Hall's giving the old veteran a copy of the Presidio's history and a faded photograph of the post taken in 1918.

Like a lot of veterans who were stationed in California during recent wars, Ruvolo wanted to return to the Golden State. After World War he continued working as a machinist in Chicago and PEi-B-iril in A A I pricesgood THRU DEC. 8 Sale Prices Throughout Store Antonio Ruvolo checks out a rifle at the Presidio Museum By CHUCK PALMER Sun S' Writer BLOOMINGTON Ruvolo was scared when he arrived at the Presidio in San Francisco Nov. 9. After all, he had been gone 62 years.

He had nothing to fear. He left the Presidio, honorably, as an Army cook in 1818. His return was Just as honorable. As the guest of the post commander, the 89-year-old veteran toured the historic Presidio In a limousine, visited the Army museum and lunched at the officers club. Even before California part of the United States in 1850, the high ground overlooking the 'Golden Gate had been used for fortifications.

The fort, or Presidio, was established by the Spanish in 1775. It is now the headquarters of the 6th Army, the major command in the West. We found Ruvolo at his Slover Avenue home in Bloomington, reading the history of the Presidio, while his wife, Fortuna, sat across the room, knitting. He said that when the United States entered World War he was a In Chicago. He joined the Army in October 1917 and was sent to a camp at Rocky Ford, 111., for basic training.

After a month, he said, he was transferred to Co. 108th Engineering Battalion at Houston, Texas, as part of the build up of the 33rd Division. Within four days, an at-tack of meningitis put in the infirmary, where he remained for six weeks. "When I came out of the hospital, I was so weak I couldn't train anymore. So they sent me to the Presidio at San Francisco made a cook out of those days they cooked a lot of potatoes, roast beef, beans lots of goulash, stew, macaroni and cheese and scrambled eggs.

"Each company com-mander planned the menus for his men, using the food issued him for the day," he said. 20 OFF VERESOL SUN SCREENS FURNITURE DECORATOR ITEMS CUSTOM BLINDS WOVEN WOODS DRAPERY RODS DRAPERY FABRICS ACCESSORIES MIRRORS CUSTOM-MADE DRAPERY WOVEN WOODS MINI BLINDS WALLPAPER CUSTOM SHADES TO ORDER LOUVER DRAPES VdL ci BITS PIECES OF WALLPAPER II CUSTOM BEDSPREADS SHUTTERS CUSTOM AREA RUGS DOOR PRIZES! ueSt An ome 823-0S31 nM1 (Trip)ToTa 'yr I manding officer, Col. F. Whitney Hall, who wrote that with Veterans Day approaching, it would be "fitting and a privilege to have you visit your old post. "I feel It would be a unique opportunity to welcome back one of our own, but also to express to all veterans that each of you are not and never will be forgotten." Ruvolo was reluctant to go.

He told his wife the planned events sounded like a lot of unnecessary fuss over him. To make it worse, several representatives of the San Francisco press telephoned him at his Bloomington home to interview him about the invitation. "I was scared to go up there," he said candidly, but with an embarrassed little laugh. "Now, I'm glad I went, even though I didn't recognize much of the Presidio and nothing of San Francisco. In 1917, you know, what city there was still showed the effects of the 1906 earthquake." His son, Frank, and another grandson, Steve, both of Bloomington, flew to San Francisco with him.

Arriving at the Presidio about mid-morning, they were met by a staff sergeant and a major who escorted them to a mess hall. They wanted Ruvolo to compare the 1917 menu with 1979's. He explained that in COMPLETE RETIREMENT Private semi-private rooms Private baths call systems Special diet medication Physical therapy spa Daily activities recreation Transportation van Beauty shop Non-denominational Convalescent center adjacent Daily 10 to 5:30 (CLOSED SUNDAY) I SAN I BERNARDINO 10 FRWY I LU I COLTON WASHINGTON ST. a J4ome Await Jrom JJt 11100 S. MT.

VERNON (SUITE 'B') COLTON CA. 824-0387 (on the Cooley Ranch) ome 9448 CITRUS, FONTANA me. Speaking with an ac-; cent that echoes his birth in Sicily almost 90 years ago, the compactly-built and still energetic veteran said, "After I completed cooks and bakers school the Presidio, I was assigned to the kitchen of the officers training school in Menlo Park. I was there when World War I ended." Hundreds of men must have gone through the school at the Presidio. Why was Ruvolo selected as guest for Nov.

His grandson, Rick, formerly of Bloomington and now an advertising agency representative In San Francisco, said he knew his grandfather had been at the Presidio in World War but had never been back. "I called the information office there late in October to ask if he could visit their museum sometime and that started the ball rolling," he said. That it did. The senior Ruvolo received a letter from the Presidio's com- EI CARPET YOUR HOME FOR The Holidays mm ng a MMr way tor Mngtn to am 7 Here are just a few of die specials: town you lOOvsrn nwmbn AS SIIH IV, COMTIACT (MKT Off Kl VISIT IIQIHII mi iintiMM roaoSV IMJMt 5 MM micoitaTit Sculptured Plush A carved two-tone texture of greens and beige continuous filament nylon 1 2' IHITI 11 IIIMNIM. 12x17-3 Blue nylon commercial 12x15-3 Ml "oil width.

Keg. 8.93 yd. Sale $54Sjh. Textured Cut Pile hi-lo nylon in varying tones of nutmeg 12' width. Reg.

8.95 yd. s5n 12x24-6 Gold hi-lo nylon 12x23 9 Caramel Plush nylon 12x11-6 Suntan nylon Plush 12x19-0 Brown-rust candystripe nylon 12x19-6 Gold-rust embossed nylon 106x15 Gold hi-lo nylon Plush Textured Twin-Tone nylon in earth tone colors of Heather 1 2' width. IS 1 Alii Keg. 8.9.- yd. Scle Reg.

Sale 195.00 nooo IF 1 I ceo 225.00 I 295.00 18900 7 150 10 coo 295.00 I Mm 234.00 I 122.50 i 7Q50 144.50 189.00 129s0 Ion 153 00 14250 7Q0O 189.00 IV 270.00 I 160.00 JU lees Carved Textured Two-Tone nylon. Parchment Gold, Acorn Brown, Ginger Fawn 12 width. hi-lo nylon 12x14-9 Cedar Brown Plush nylon 12x13-0 -v Reg. 9.95 yd. Sale Lees Open House Frieze Texture hard wearing yarns.

Heat-set twist nylon. Golden Embers 12' width. Reg. 12.95 yd. Sale Lee Good Feelings Embossed Twin-Tone antron nylon.

Oiivewood, Bronze Brown, Willow Bronze 12' width. Reg. 13.95 yd. Or ana 12x17-7 Caramel Plush nylon 12x15-5 Chestnut hi-lo nylon 12x184 Green Print Vinyl Linoleum 12x1 64 Gold Rust Vinyl Linoleum Add body or go curly with our fabulous, easy care perms. Only 25.

R0GIS HAIRSTYLISTS 334 W. Baseline 884-401 3 (Next to Aipm Bta).