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This collection consists of letters that Lieutenant Randal H. Crouse wrote to his mother, Lillie M. Crouse, while serving with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. Crouse described his experiences at Camp Hancock, Georgia, and in France, where he often commented on life near the front. The collection also has postcards, documents, photographs, and newspaper clippings.

This collection contains 85 letters that Lieutenant Randal H. Crouse wrote to his mother, Lillie M. Crouse, while serving with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. The collection also has 4 letters by other writers, 9 postcards, 4 documents, 15 photographs, and 29 newspaper clippings (including 7 duplicates) related to Crouse's time in the military.

The Correspondence series (89 items) comprises the bulk of the collection and consists mostly of the letters that Randal Crouse sent to his divorced mother, Lillie M. Crouse, from Camp Hancock, Georgia, and France between September 1917 and April 1919. At Camp Hancock, he discussed the reorganization of his Pennsylvania National Guard unit into the 112th Infantry Regiment and mentioned several specific training exercises, including some involving gas masks (January 27, 1918). He described other aspects of camp and military life and, upon his arrival in France around May 1918, provided his impressions of the scenery and people, as well as descriptions of his experiences at the front. Soon after his arrival, he reported hearing nearby artillery fire and shared his awe at the multicultural makeup of the allied forces, which included soldiers from a number of foreign countries (May 27, 1918). Though he remained optimistic about the war's imminent end, Crouse mentioned his participation in some difficult fighting, credited the Germans with putting up a strong resistance, and described airplane crashes he had witnessed (August 17, 1918). By October 30, 1918, he expressed his relief at being transferred to a safer area following weeks of hard fighting, and on November 3, 1918, he described a one-day visit to Paris.

Following the signing of the Armistice, Crouse revealed more details about military actions he had participated in, including movements near Metz, and expressed his surprise upon hearing of the large scale of the influenza epidemic, from which the war had distracted him. In his letter of December 4, 1918, he copied several pages from a captured German diary that described the advance on Paris in September 1914; the letter also encloses a printed map of a portion of the Western Front near the end of the war. Throughout the spring of 1919, Crouse continued to discuss his travels through France and his anticipation of a return to the United States.

The series has 4 letters by other correspondents, including 3 by Lillie M. Crouse, who wrote a letter to her son while he attended a summer camp (July 13, 1908), prematurely reported Germany's surrender (November 7, 1918), and expressed her wish for military volunteers to displace active service veterans (March 31, 1919). Jordy L. Stafer, a soldier, also wrote a letter to Lillie M. Crouse, whom he knew from York (October 9, 1918).

The Postcards and Greeting Card series (7 items) contains mail that Randal Crouse sent to his mother during the war. The postcards show scenery in Germany and in Glasgow, Scotland, and one is a photographic postcard of Crouse in uniform. The Christmas card has a drawing of an American soldier reading with a young girl.

Documents (4 items) include a memorandum by W. H. Hay commending the service of the 28th Division of the United States Army, as well as 2 items related to the allotment of Randal Crouse's pay to his mother. Also present is a photographic card identifying Crouse as a member of the American Expeditionary Forces.

The Photographs series (15 items) has 6 snapshots of soldiers, including 2 taken in front of a cannon; 2 larger formal portraits of Randal H. Crouse; and 7 small snapshots of a soldier smoking a cigar and an old European building.

Newspaper clippings (29 items) primarily concern the actions of the 28th Division of the United States Army, including several reprinted letters that Randal Crouse sent to his mother while serving overseas, taken from the Gazette and Daily (York, Pa.) and other papers. Seven of the items are duplicates.

The Wood family papers contain correspondence and other items related to the family of James A. Wood of Lebanon, Connecticut, and his descendants from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. Much of the content pertains to education, family news, and politics.

The Wood family papers (4 linear feet) contain correspondence and other items related to the family of James A. Wood of Lebanon, Connecticut, and his descendants from the mid-19th to the early 20th century.

The Correspondence series comprises almost all of the collection. Early items are incoming letters to James A. Wood, Rebecca D. Pillsbury (later Wood), and their daughter, Helen Elizabeth Wood, from family members and acquaintances. James A. Wood's siblings wrote with updates on their lives, such as Caroline E. Wood's teaching career in numerous towns throughout New York. Rebecca D. Pillsbury also received letters from her brothers and sisters, and both Wood's and Pillsbury's correspondents discussed family matters, religion, and local news. Margaret Ann's letter of December 3, 1860, concerns her affection for a deceased baby sister, and an unidentified author's letter of September 4, 1861, describes the recent death of a grandmother. James A. Wood received an increasing amount of business-related correspondence, including letters from Charles W. Pierce, in the 1870s.

After the 1870s, most letters are addressed to Rebecca D. Wood and her daughter, Helen Elizabeth Wood. Rebecca's children often wrote letters to their mother, and Helen received letters from cousins and friends from around the East Coast. George P. Wood, Helen's brother, often shared stories of his young son James and of his life in Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, D. C.; and Peekskill, New York. In one letter, George included a map showing the location of his home in Washington, D. C. (November 13, 1899).

In addition to family and social news, letters occasionally referred to current events. "Dana," one of Helen E. Wood's cousins, wrote from his United States Army post during World War I (December 28, 1917), and other friends discussed the impact of the war. Among Helen's correspondents were Ida McCollister of New Hampshire and Harry Sawyer, an old friend who shared news of his life in Kearney, Nebraska. In one later letter, George P. Wood expressed some of his political views about the 1924 presidential election (October 27, 1924). Correspondence was less frequent after Helen E. Wood's death in 1933, with most incoming letters addressed to Winchester R. Wood of Lynn, Massachusetts, a member of the family's Connecticut branch. Undated items include similar family correspondence, as well as one letter written on a printed program for the Public Meeting of the Philadelphian Society at Kimball Union Academy at Meridian, New Hampshire, on June 12, 1878.

The Essays series includes an "Autobiography of a Sofa," written by R[ebecca] D. Pillsbury, as well as a manuscript draft of the "Common School Repository...Published semi-monthly by L. J. Boynton & R[ebecca] D. Pillsbury," containing 8 pages of short pieces attributed, often only by first name, to various contributors.

Among the six Receipts, addressed to A. Wood (1 item) and Helen E. Wood (5 items) are two receipts for Helen E. Wood's educational expenses and two slips crediting her account at Citizens National Bank, Boston.

Maps and Blueprints comprise 7 items. These are several drawings of house layouts, one map showing the locations of two buildings, and two blueprints.

The Newspaper Clippings series has 6 items, one of which is an article entitled "What They Say: How Girls of Various Cities Behave When They are Kissed."

The Ephemera series contains 52 Christmas cards, greeting cards, postcards, calling cards, programs, and other printed items. Specific items include 2 Red Cross membership cards, a pamphlet advertising The Art of Living Long by Louis Cornaro, and a blank order sheet for Sears, Roebuck and Co. from the 1920s.