"Back at the Gap" BACK AT THE GAP Major General Frank H. Smoker, Jr. (USAF, Retired) Donald Duck becomes mascot to Indian mural 19th article in a series Although the training at IGMR was very intensive, soldiers were able to enjoy a little recreation now and then. They could be seen waiting in queues at the four theaters operated by the Army Department located in Areas 3, 4, 9 and 12 which presented the latest in motion picture attractions. From time to time, the troops were entertained by some very notable movie actors and musicians. On April 26, 1941, Gene Autry, the singing cowboy, gained distinction of being the first movie personality to entertain on the Post when he gave a show for the Gap soldiers. Throughout the following war years, Judy Garland, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa and Joe Louis were among the entertainers who performed for the troops at Indiantown Gap. For those who could obtain passes, long lines of soldiers from Fort Indiantown Gap could often be seen at the Bus Terminal located along Clement Avenue near the center of the camp waiting patiently to catch a ride on one of the three bus lines serving the Gap. The Capitol Bus Company operated passenger service between the Gap and Harrisburg. The Greyhound Company stopped at the Gap on their New York to Pittsburgh run, while the Lebanon Auto Bus Company provided direct service to Lebanon, with connections to Reading and Philadelphia. Built in 1939, the NCO Club was the Service and Enlisted Men’s Club during World War II. Available for military personnel, relatives and friends, the club once had a cafeteria, library, auditorium and writing rooms. Dances were held, often attended by girls from nearby towns. On other nights and Sunday afternoons, organized entertainment and games were provided. The Service Club has undergone many renovations since that time and is now designated as the Community Club, and provides services for both officers and enlisted personnel (the Officers Club, more recently called the Hilltop Club, was demolished during the past year as a result of termite damage). The Community Club is currently open to the public and military members and features a newly renovated lounge, ballroom and other rooms for meetings or receptions, as well as a light food menu and weekend entertainment. The Community Club still features the famous mural across the front wall of the ballroom of local Indians painted in 1943 by Sergeant Frank Borth, who was stationed at the Gap. When his commander found out that he had been an artist in civilian life, he was asked to help create a training aids department. Subsequently, Borth learned of a competition to produce a mural on the stairwell of the Service Club. He won the assignment. Originally, he planned to paint the mural on his off-duty hours. But events changed his plan, and he was assigned to do the painting for three months full-time when it was learned Pennsylvania’s Governor Martin was to be the host for a convention of all 48 Governors the following summer. Since Indiantown Gap was a Pennsylvania Guard facility then being used by the used by the U.S. Army, the Governor intended to bring them to the Gap for an inspection visit. Taking his inspiration from the name “Indiantown”, his first concept was to depict a military motif of a war party of Indian warriors in full war bonnet head dresses charging on horseback at full gallop right into the room. However, after doing research, he discovered that the Lenni Lenape Indians in this area did not wear full war bonnets, did not own any horses and did all their traveling on foot. The plan was to paint the Indians twice human size. Gradually the concept evolved of a scouting party on a high point looking down into a valley. This proved to be an inspiration as it allowed him to draw this composition of figures looking straight at the viewer. This caused a lot of people to roam all over the room, up in the balcony and back in the corners. They couldn't understand how he managed to paint those Indians so their eyes could follow you wherever you went. Sergeant Borth had a lot of kibitzers watching him during the painting of this mural as he worked on it all day and even at night. GI's off duty, relatives waiting to see their husbands or sons, even German POWs who cleaned the place were watching the progress. When questioned about the faces of the Indians, Sergeant Borth explained that they were not portraits of anyone he knew, that he just wanted each one to be a person all their own. He really didn't have time to do an in depth study of the natives of this area other than some of them wore Mohawk hairstyles and some didn't. He did say that his favorite was the long haired warrior just next to the lookout's left knee. He's also the one that watches every one in the room at the same time. He may not have been the head honcho of this outfit but you can tell he was the top sergeant. As famous as this historic Indian mural is, it is also known for a very unique feature - a picture of Donald Duck tucked into the corner of the large painting. The mural is roughly diamond shaped and continues from wall to wall at the balcony level, where it is pierced by a door on each side. Thus the space beyond the door really is not part of the composition but just a continuation of the landscape on each corner. Sergeant Borth’s account of how this twist to an otherwise serious Indian painting came about is an interesting part of the history of this 60 year old painting. He wrote, “These were areas I left for last to finish as I could paint them without the need of scaffold. On this particular day I was just drawing in the rocks and vegetation beyond the open doorway that led into the base library at that time. I knew the librarian and everyone else in the Service Club staff, and when she saw me working outside her door, she called out from her desk, ‘Watcha doin' out there, Mister?’ “I answered in the same sort of kid's voice, ‘I'm paintin' a pitchure of Donald Duck.’ She said, ‘You wouldn't DARE!’ So I quickly sketched in Donald as a fierce Indian warrior and said, ‘C'mon out and see for yourself.’ She did, and had a laugh but said, ‘You're not going to leave it there, are you?’ Well, I had to do the other side as well, so I did leave it there until I finally got back to it. However, during the interim, everybody kept asking me the same question, so by the time I had to either paint him out or paint him in, I said, why not? So he was in. Well, Donald proved to be the mural's mascot. Everybody got a big charge out of seeing him there. No visitor who only saw the mural from the main floor was ever allowed to leave without going up the steps to see Donald. I wasn't present when the Governors finally made their whirlwind inspection of the Gap, but I was told that they got a kick out of it. As long as Walt Disney didn't make me remove it, it has continued to captivate viewers ever since.” -- 30 -- Published in the Lebanon Daily News, Wednesday, 4 August 2004 (published one week late due to technical difficulties) © 2004 Frank H. Smoker, Jr. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of the author.   Go "Back at the Gap" Index