Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection is made up of incoming and outgoing correspondence pertaining to Mary Flavin and her grandson, Charles A. Robertson of Albany and Berkeley, California, who served with the United States Army in Europe during World War II. Robertson wrote letters to Flavin about his experiences in Western Europe and received letters from Flavin and his fiancée, Naomi Watson ("Dee"), who wrote about her life in Oakland, California, during the war. Later letters pertain to Robertson's compensation from the Veterans Administration and to romantic relationships between soldiers. The collection also contains ephemera.

This collection (1.5 linear feet) mainly consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence pertaining to Mary Flavin and her grandson, Charles A. Robertson, who served with the United States Army in Europe during World War II. Robertson wrote letters to Flavin about his experiences in Western Europe and received letters from Flavin and his fiancée, Naomi Watson ("Dee"), who wrote about her life in Oakland, California, during the war. Later letters pertain to Robertson's compensation from the Veterans Administration and to romantic relationships between male soldiers. The collection also contains ephemera.

The Correspondence series, which comprises the bulk of the collection, is primarily made up of Robertson's incoming and outgoing correspondence, particularly during his military service. The earliest items are family letters and greeting cards to Robertson's grandmother, Mary Flavin ("Mother May"). From September 1943-March 1946, Robertson wrote letters to his grandmother and received letters from his fiancée, the Veterans Administration, and acquaintances. Between September 1943 and July 1944, he discussed his army training at the Presidio of Monterey; Camp Lee, Virginia; Fort Washington, Maryland; and Fort Omaha, Nebraska. From August 1944-April 1946, he wrote about his experiences in England, France, Germany, and Belgium with the 48th Machine Records Unit (Mobile), 29th Machine Records Unit (Mobile), and 65th Machine Records Unit (Fixed). He occasionally mentioned attending mass and communion and responded to family news, such as the death of his Aunt Lizzie. His letter of December 9, 1944, has diagrams of his quarters in a building formerly held by German troops and a cabinet, and his letter of April 10, 1945, encloses several German monetary bills. Some of Robertson's later letters are written on stationery with printed cartoons about military life. Flavin received many greeting cards for Mother's Day, her birthday, and other holidays throughout the World War II era. The collection also has a small number of letters from Flavin to her grandson.

Much of the series is comprised of letters and greeting cards to Charles A. Robertson from his sweetheart and fiancée, Naomi M. Watson ("Dee") of Oakland, California. She regularly wrote to Robertson about her work, social activities, and life in Oakland, particularly after he was sent to Europe. She reported news of her family and his, whom she occasionally visited or with whom she corresponded, and discussed their relationships and her hopes for their future. A few of her letters enclose newspaper clippings, often with cartoons about military life or photographs of herself and friends. In the spring of 1945, she celebrated the one-year anniversary of their engagement and V-E Day, which she hoped would lead to Robertson's quick return home. Her letter of October 29, 1945, has drawings of cartoon mice representing Watson and Robertson. Watson's mother sometimes wrote personal letters to Robertson, whom she referred to as a "son." One large group of newspaper clippings is enclosed with correspondence dated July 1945, and other enclosures include advertisements, telegrams, a program, and an invitation. Watson stopped writing to Robertson after February 1946, and later correspondence indicates that their relationship eventually ended.

Charles A. Robertson occasionally received letters from fellow soldiers and other acquaintances after the war. A group of letters from the Veterans Administration, including some drafts of Robertson's responses, pertains to financial compensation and to Robertson's health in the late 1940s. Charles F. Foley ("Chuck") wrote a series of letters to Robertson while stationed in Tokushima, Japan, with the United States Army in July and August 1948. He frankly discussed his reluctance to visit prostitutes, despite the threat of derogatory epithets from fellow soldiers, and mentioned the possible effects of giving up the "gay life" (August 7, 1948). Foley's later letters apparently went unanswered, and he ceased to write after August 25, 1948. Later items, dated as late as 1951, concern Robertson's financial compensation from the Veterans Administration.

Dee Watson compiled 2 Scrapbooks entitled "Army Life of Charles A. Robertson 1943-1946." The volumes have picture postcards, train timetables, travel ephemera (including guides and visitors' maps), souvenir folders, performance and church service programs, and newspaper clippings. Additionally, several items relate to a trip taken on a United Air Lines "Mainliner" aircraft. The postcards have images with humorous mottos, paintings of army bases and other locales, and photographs of army bases where Robertson was stationed. The clippings and other materials pertain to his service in the United States and Europe.

Most items in the Ephemera series pertain directly to Charles A. Robertson's military service, such as his service record and military documents. Among the printed items are a French/English dictionary, a religious pamphlet, newspaper clippings, and pocket guides to Paris and Birmingham. Other items include, but are not limited to, a record with a message for Mary Flavin from Robertson, name cards, and photographs.

This collection is made up of letters that Evelyn and Jan Thompson wrote to their parents in Brookline, Massachusetts, from 1930-1936. The bulk of the correspondence consists of Evelyn's letters about her education in Paris, France, and at Bryn Mawr College, and about her life and editorial work in Washington, D.C. Evelyn's sister Jan wrote 4 illustrated letters from Bermuda in the fall of 1935.

This collection is made up of letters that Evelyn and Jan Thompson wrote to their family in Brookline, Massachusetts, from 1930-1936. Evelyn's letters comprise the bulk of the collection. From September 1930-July 1931, she described her travels in England, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and discussed her life in Paris, France, where she attended school. Evelyn also wrote about her experiences at Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, from November 1931-May 1935, and about her daily life in Washington, D.C., from November 1935-May 1936. While in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., Evelyn shared news of her studies, her social activities, and her work for the United States Department of Agriculture. She mentioned her intent to marry David Riesman, and some of her later correspondence contains brief references to politics, communism, and current events. Evelyn also wrote while traveling in New England and Arizona; her letter of July 8, 1935, encloses several small snapshot photographs of buildings in Rouen, France.

Jan Thompson wrote 4 letters while visiting Bermuda in the fall of 1935. She described many aspects of her travels, including a meal featuring "strange slabs of meat. hippopotamus or elephant probably" (September 20, [1935]). Her letters include ink sketches of bathers on beaches, Bermuda scenery, horse-drawn carriages, and a woman attempting to remove a large spider from a window curtain. Additional correspondence from Jan to her parents is scattered throughout the collection. The Thompson letters include postcards, official correspondence from Bryn Mawr officials, and telegrams.

The Helen Buchanan papers contain incoming correspondence, financial records, ephemera, and photographs related to the life of Helen Buchanan (later Jones) in the early 20th century. Much of the correspondence is from her friend Juliana Conover, who discussed women's issues and her life in Princeton, New Jersey, during World War I, and from Buchanan's suitor and eventual husband, Walter McKnown Jones, who wrote about medical treatments he experienced and life on his coffee plantation in Puerto Rico.

The Helen Buchanan papers contain 5 linear feet of incoming correspondence, financial records, photographs, printed items, ephemera, and writings pertaining to the life of Helen Buchanan (later Jones) in the early 20th century. Much of the correspondence is from her friend Juliana Conover, who discussed women's issues and her life in Princeton, New Jersey, during World War I, and from Buchanan's suitor and eventual husband, Walter McKnown Jones, who wrote about medical treatments he experienced and life on his coffee plantation in Puerto Rico.

The Correspondence series comprises the bulk of the collection and contains incoming letters and postcards addressed to Buchanan between 1906 and 1919, while she lived at Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, Virginia; Washington, D. C.; Rome, Italy; and Hacienda Limon (near Villalba, Puerto Rico).

Helen's friend Juliana Conover wrote 258 letters advising her much younger friend on love and courtship, providing updates on her life in Princeton, New Jersey, and commenting on current events. In one early letter, she shared her horror at the recent Titanic tragedy (April 16, 1912). Much of Conover's correspondence concerns Helen's courtship with and engagement to Walter McKnown Jones; she often reported on his health, and she supported the relationship despite misgivings on the part of Helen's father. Conover dispensed candid advice on a variety of topics, including intimacy and birth control (April 12, 1916). Along with sending personal updates and news of friends in Princeton, she sometimes mentioned the war and the families whose sons served in the military (May 14, 1917). After the war, she worked with the American Library Association's Library War Service at Camp Dix, New Jersey.

Walter McKnown Jones, Helen's friend, fiancé, and (later) husband, wrote approximately 200 letters to her between 1914 and 1919, largely concerning their courtship and engagement. Early in their acquaintance, he spent considerable time attending to his ill health and undergoing medical treatments. After recovering in the United States, he returned to his coffee plantation in Puerto Rico, where he described his work and efforts to sell coffee; these included trips to New York City and other destinations throughout the late 1910s. Many of his later communications with Helen are telegrams reporting his current location and attempting to make plans to meet his wife.

The Family Correspondence subseries holds letters from many different writers, including several regular correspondents. James A. Buchanan, Helen's father, wrote 45 letters between 1906 and 1919, often regarding her financial situation and family news. He described his European travels, which included witnessing a review of German military troops in Berlin (September 2, 1908) and visiting a military cemetery in Brest, France, where war casualties and influenza epidemic victims were buried (March 4, 1919). John and Francis Buchanan, Helen's brothers, shared stories of their academic and athletic experiences. John wrote about Yale's stringent entry requirements and his preparation for entrance exams (August 14, 1911). Other family correspondence includes letters from aunts, cousins, and extended family members, who told Helen about their lives in various New York cities and in Ilchester, Maryland.

Much of the Friends Correspondence subseries consists of letters by Etta Dunham de Viti de Marco and her daughter Etta, with whom Helen lived while studying in Rome, Italy. The elder Etta frequently discussed her work with Italy's Montessori movement, and her daughter provided Helen with updates on her life at school in Ascot, England. Etta Dunham di Viti de Marco shared her opinions of the war and expressed her desire for U.S. intervention (July 4, 1915). Nora Davis Farrar, the wife of Frederick Percival Farrar, an English chaplain to King George V, wrote 44 letters between 1908 and 1914, describing her life in Pennsylvania and British Columbia. A variety of other correspondents related news of their lives in various European countries and in the United States. Several postcards depict black-and-white views of "Il Cerro" in Italy.

The Financial Records series (140 items) consists of bank receipts, notifications of charitable donations, and additional receipts for clothing, books, and household items, dated from 1908-1918.

The Photographs and Negatives series includes approximately 50 individual portraits of Helen Buchanan's friends, family members, homes, and properties. One photograph album contains 375 pictures taken between 1928 and 1935, depicting scenes from family vacations in Canada and people, dogs, and horses. Many photographs show men and women in equestrian competitions, and some later images depict Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, Virginia.

A "Theatre Record" chronicles Helen's theatrical excursions in Washington, D.C., between December 25, 1907, and December 25, 1908. She recorded her opinions of productions and players. Programs are pasted and laid into the volume.

The Printed Items and Ephemera series consists of calling cards, picture postcards, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and other items. Ephemera includes pamphlets and printed letters related to the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Drama League of America; postcards and programs related to the Societa Romana della Caccia alla Volpe; and other materials. Twenty-nine picture postcards from Italy and Puerto Rico are present.

The collection contains approximately 15 Writings and Fragments. These are poems, a manuscript speech on the play Candida, an inventory of articles owned by Helen, and other items.

This scrapbook contains correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to the soldiers' canteen that Katharine G. Prest hosted at her home in Lancaster, Massachusetts, between June 1941 and August 1945.

This scrapbook contains around 120 pages of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to the soldiers' canteen that Katharine G. Prest hosted at her home in Lancaster, Massachusetts, between June 1941 and August 1945.

Soldiers stationed throughout the United States and in both major theaters of war frequently wrote to Prest, expressing their gratitude for her hospitality and sometimes reporting on their experiences after leaving Massachusetts; soldiers' wives and mothers occasionally thanked Prest as well. Emily J. Nichols, who worked for the American Red Cross at Fort Devens, corresponded with Prest about upcoming events for wounded men. The servicemen sent manuscript letters, V-mail letters, postcards, and Christmas cards. Many of the postcards include cartoons and other illustrations, most frequently regarding military life. Snapshots and formal portraits show groups of young men and women relaxing at the Prests' home, often near the pool, and soldiers in uniform at various locations.

Prest collected newspaper clippings about her wartime activities and about the war, particularly related to soldiers' experiences in the European Theater. Some clippings include photographs of Prest. The scrapbook contains a small number of printed programs, song lyrics, insignia patches, and a pin from the 101st Cavalry Regiment. One page consists of several soldiers' drawings, including a caricature of Adolf Hitler with target values printed on various parts of his body. A colored illustration commemorating the 101st Cavalry Regiment and several portraits of unidentified individuals are drawn directly into the volume. Later items include awards and certificates of thanks that Prest received from various organizations (undated, WWII era), an award celebrating her commitment to fighting cancer (1951), and a birth announcement (written on a photograph) (January 25, 1954).

Two items pre-date United States involvement in the war: a 1930 group photograph of the "Lawyer's Club" (including William M. Preston), and a 1940 book entitled Yuletide in Many Lands.

The Olga and Jesse Smith collection is made up of photographs, correspondence, and other materials revolving around this couple's work at the Ironwood and Ponca Schools for Native Americans, in South Dakota and Oklahoma, respectively.

The Olga and Jesse Smith collection is made up of photographs, correspondence, and other materials revolving around this couple's work at the Ironwood and Ponca Schools for Native Americans, in South Dakota and Oklahoma, respectively. The largest portion of the collection dates during their time at Ironwood School, 1909-1912, and the Ponca School, 1912-1914.

The centerpiece of the Smith collection is a photograph album, apparently kept by Olga Smith. Consisting of 304 mounted snapshots, this album is divided roughly into two parts: photos from South Dakota and photos from Oklahoma. The first images were taken in and around the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Their subjects include the Ironwood and Upper Cut Meat Day Schools, portraits of school children and other male and female members of the Lakota tribe, Native Americans in tribal costumes and on horseback, an excursion to the Badlands, and other subjects. Photographs taken in Oklahoma include views of the Ponca School and its school children, and other portraits.

This photograph album is valuable in its entirety, and for many of its outstanding individual images. Some of the most impressive photographs are casual portraits of Native Americans, snapshots of a Catholic "Indian Funeral," views of school buildings and grounds, and Native American rituals and encampments. The album also provides insight into what the Smiths deemed important enough to photograph and retain.

The collection also contains 39 loose photographs and images, including tintypes, real photo postcards, picture postcards, a cyanotype, studio portraits, and other miscellaneous photographs. These include family photographs, portraits of Native Americans (some in full regalia), Ponca and Ironwood schools and schoolchildren, images of Native American women cooking out-of-doors, a Rosebud Reservation hotel, a cemetery at the St. Francis Mission, and a several commercial picture postcards of locations on reservations in Oklahoma and North Dakota. See the Additional Descriptive Data for a more thorough list of subjects and names represented in the photograph album and loose photographs.

A small group of 10 letters accompanies the Smith collection. These include six letters and postcards from Olga to her parents and sister at Anderson and Graysville, Indiana, 1909-1910. Two of Olga's letters provide extensive details on life in Cut Meat on the Rosebud Reservation in February 1909. These letters describe the surrounding area, the school, the responsibilities of the Smiths' students, interactions with Native Americans, language barriers, the daily routine, and carriage and train travel. One of these two letters was printed in an Indiana newspaper. In the remaining four letters, Olga provides further insight into life on the reservation, pleads with her parents to visit, and offers advice on how to smuggle a child onboard a train without paying their fare. Smiths' daughter Mildred wrote a letter to her grandparents, in which she discusses her pets and expresses hope that they will come to visit (dated June 1909). Finally, two 1912 letters from Ironwood students to Jesse Smith in January 1912 discuss their chores and school attendance, and a single telegram to Jesse Smith in October 1914 regards his transfer to "Kiowa Schools," Oklahoma, to serve as supervising principal.

A selection of miscellaneous materials completes the Olga and Jesse Smith collection. Six of these nine items relate to the Smiths' school administration and their own efforts to learn and retain Sioux names and vocabulary. These include pages of typed names, titled "Indian Names That is Good for the Soul and Body," and "Sioux Indian Words from Memory"; two pages hung in the Ironwood school by Olga Smith, which list the female students cleaning and sewing responsibilities for two weeks; and a 55-page typed list of Native American names (possibly students). This last item contains approximately 1,450 names. Other miscellaneous materials include a commencement program for Olga Byrkett's graduation, 1898; a card with a hand-drawn teepee and tent which advertises a Progressive Dinner Party given by the Mission Ladies at Colony, Oklahoma, December 1916; and a Grand Secretary's Certificate for Jesse W. Smith, Master Mason, Ponca, Lodge No. 83, December 1924.

The Pope-Horn papers consist primarily of letters exchanged by future United States Senator James Pinckney Pope and Pauline Horn during their courtship. The couple's letters reflect their daily lives, their relationship, and political issues in Idaho and throughout the United States. Additional material includes postcards, photographs, and other ephemera.

The Pope-Horn papers (2.5 linear feet) consist primarily of letters exchanged by future United States Senator James Pinckney Pope and Pauline Horn during their courtship. Additional items include postcards, photographs, and other ephemera.

The Correspondence series is made up of letters and postcards between James Pinckney Pope and his future wife, Pauline Ruth Horn. Horn described her daily life in Des Plaines, Illinois, and often attended theatrical productions in nearby Chicago. Pope, who pursued careers in law and politics in Boise, Idaho, likewise shared details of his life, such as his work experiences and attendance at local sporting events. In one emotional letter, he expressed his feelings about the Titanic disaster (April 17, 1912). During the 1912 election cycle, the couple increasingly discussed political matters, sharing their views on Theodore Roosevelt and the dominant parties, including the fracturing of the Republican Party. Pope also paid attention to local politics, and wrote of a proposed Idaho law for regulating morality that would ban buttermilk ("a fermenting and intoxicating liquor") and bar women from wearing wigs or makeup, particularly during wedding ceremonies (February 23, 1913). The couple continued to write after their marriage, though less frequently, and often recounted news from their travels. Several letters throughout the series enclose newspaper clippings, and the series also holds 25 postcards Pauline and members of her family received from numerous acquaintances.

The collection's 22 Photographs and Photographic Postcards includes pictures of an unidentified woman and her family (1912), snapshots that appear to have originated much later than the other material in the collection, and unsent photographic postcards of an unidentified woman and her dog.

• Red envelope containing colored pictures of various sights from the American West, such as buffalo and scenes from Denver and Salt Lake City (November 5, [1905]).
• Business card advertising "Arthur Hodges For Mayor"
• Business card for Henry C. Doolittle
• Brochure advertising Des Plaines, Illinois
• Unused picture postcards