Search

This collection consists of over 300 letters that Private Albert Starke Drischell wrote to his family in Baldwin, New York, while serving in the United States Army during World War II. The collection also contains letters and postcards that Drischell received during his military service. Drischell wrote about his experiences while training in various camps, participating in an educational program, working with army theatrical groups in the United States and England, and serving in Germany during the last months of the war and the first months of the occupation.

The bulk of this collection (1 linear foot) consists of over 300 letters that Private Albert Starke Drischell wrote to his family in Baldwin, New York, about his experiences in the United States Army from January 21, 1943-December 6, 1945. The collection also contains letters and postcards that Drischell received during his military service and a few ephemera items.

Drischell addressed the majority of his letters to his parents, and occasionally wrote to his younger siblings, Ralph and Ruth. He composed his first letters while at Camp Upton in Long Island, New York, soon after entering the service, and provided his impressions of the camp, his companions, military life, and training exercises. At Camp Swift, Texas, he wrote about his experiences at Texas A&M University, where he was among a group tested for entrance into a selective educational program. After being accepted, he moved to New Mexico and began taking college-level engineering courses at New Mexico College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts. He and many others found the coursework difficult, and by November he had failed a course and was removed from the program. While in New Mexico, he shared his determination to succeed and gave his opinions of other men in the army, particularly his negative opinions of those who drank to excess (July 8, 1943). He also mentioned his moral objection to the war.

Drischell left New Mexico for Fort Custer, Michigan, where he attended courses in military government and occasionally guarded German prisoners. In one letter, he expressed his fear that soldiers would have difficulty readjusting to civilian life after being schooled in "mass murder" (January 23, 1944). In early 1945, Drischell moved to Camp Reynolds, Pennsylvania, where his unit awaited overseas deployment. He continued to describe his experiences, offered his opinions on the army, and mentioned trips taken to the surrounding towns while on temporary leave. In mid-May 1944, Drischell arrived in Scotland, though he was transferred to England soon after. As part of a replacement battalion, he occupied much of his free time by accompanying women to dances and befriending local families. He also acted in a play put on by the army, and briefly toured with an army theatrical group in the fall of 1944, an experience he enjoyed and hoped to continue in his post-army life. Many of his letters from this time focused on the economic and physical hardships of the war, and other letters mention a visit to London (February 15, 1945), his support for Thomas E. Dewey in the 1944 presidential election (August 6, 1944), George Bernard Shaw's views on capitalism, communism, and democracy (August 8, 1944), and his efforts to obtain conscientious objector status.

After being deployed on the Continent in March 1945, Drischell shared his impressions of the devastated French and German countryside, through which he advanced as part of the 318th Infantry Regiment. After the war, he described the small Austrian town where he was stationed, in which German children born out of wedlock were being "raised for use in foreign lands" (May 16, 1945). Drischell also accounted for the gap in his letters between April and May, when he advanced deep into Germany and Austria and participated in active combat (May 31, 1945, et al.). Freed from the constraints of censorship after V-E day, he reported on some of his combat experiences, and he believed that he never directly killed an enemy soldier. Throughout his European service, Drischell continually voiced his appreciation for the United States and compared it to Europe, occasionally calling his native country a relative "utopia."

Drischell sometimes enclosed souvenirs from his European travels in his letters, including a French 50-franc note (March 25, 1945), German stamps (June 20, 1945), and clippings from the Stars and Stripes and other papers. By late August 1945, he was in Paris as a member of a traveling dramatic troupe, and he wrote less frequently. His final letter, dated December 6, 1945, reveals that he went on tour in Germany.

Additional items include 2 printed church programs from 1944, a newspaper clipping featuring an English unit's canine mascot, and a list of men from St. Peter's Church who served in the war, including Albert S. Drischell. One undated letter fragment from "Iggie" discusses his experiences as a soldier in India, and another by an anonymous writer concerns Drischell's acting and a mutual acquaintance named "Fip."

The Aronson-Grant papers contain correspondence, financial records, photographs, and ephemera related to Calvin Aronson and his wife, Pearl Goldblatt (later Grant) Aronson.

The Aronson-Grant papers contain correspondence, financial records, photographs, and ephemera related to Calvin Aronson and his wife, Pearl Goldblatt (later Grant) Aronson.

The Correspondence series, which comprises the bulk of the collection, mostly consists of letters addressed to Pearl Goldblatt between 1921 and 1934, as well as some letters that she wrote to her husband. The letters reveal much about the couple's personal life and relationship, including Aronson's joyful reaction after hearing that Goldblatt had accepted his marriage proposal (February 14, 1924). Pearl Goldblatt Aronson tended to use her adopted surname, "Grant," in her later letters. In contrast to the couple's courtship correspondence, many letters by Grant's friends hint at marital difficulties between Aronson and Grant, including a brief threat of divorce. Some items have enclosures such as drawings and the couple's wedding certificate (February 26, 1927), and one letter is on stationery with the caption "Shh- Mr. Aronson is in deep thought" (April 6, 1926). Three letters enclose photographs (July 16, 1924; August 3, 1924; and May 14, 1929). Many of the postcards within the series have pictures of scenes in Europe.

The Business and Financial Papers series (57 items) contains receipts, bills, cancelled checks, and other items pertaining to the Aronsons' fiscal affairs, including their accounts with the Mechanics' Bank in Brooklyn, New York.

Most of the Photographs (61 items) show scenes around Como, Italy, and several are pictures of young women posing near water and in rowboats.

The Printed Items and Ephemera series contains greeting cards, newspaper clippings, invitations, calling cards, programs, and other items. The newspaper clippings concern politics, playwrights, and human interest stories. Other items include a printed map of the "Harbour of Nassau" and Act IV of Will Shakespeare, a play by Clemence Dane.

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, newspaper clippings, and other items related to Salem, New York, and its residents, primarily from the 1780s-1890s.

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, newspaper clippings, and other items related to Salem, New York, and its residents, primarily from the 1780s-1890s. Many of the items were once bound together.

The Correspondence series is comprised of around 60 incoming and outgoing letters related to Salem, New York, and to the history of the state of New York. Early letters between residents of Salem and other locales concern a wide range of topics including education, political offices and appointments, and legal cases. After 1856, most items are incoming letters to James Gibson, a native of Salem who was state senator, judge, and president of the Washington Academy. Three letters written during the Civil War concern military commissions and officers. Many of Gibson's incoming letters, particularly later items, relate to his genealogical work; some correspondents offered or requested information about their ancestors.

The Documents series contains over 140 indentures, financial records, petitions, and other items, primarily related to residents of Salem, New York, in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the indentures concern land ownership in Washington, County, New York, and personal financial agreements. Other material relates to the Washington Academy, including a list of pupils. Legal orders largely concern private debts, and one document pertains to a local election. Some documents have newspaper clippings pasted onto them, and others were once bound together. One item is a diploma that the Washington Academy issued to James McEl. A group of land indentures is housed in a large bound volume.

The collection's Printed Items include articles, programs, and newspaper clippings. The majority of newspaper clippings concern the Washington Academy in Salem, New York. Other articles concern the "Bench and Bar of Washington County," the Bancroft Public Library, and the family of William Williams. Some clippings are pasted onto large sheets of paper, with manuscript annotations; a small number of complete newspapers are present. The series also has several copies of a program from the dedication ceremony of the Bancroft Public Library in July 1890.

The Photograph, Essay, Notes, and Fragments series is made up of items pertaining to Salem, New York. The carte-de-visite photograph depicts J. B. Steele. The various notes, essay, and fragments pertain to genealogy.

This collection is mainly comprised of letters that Sergeant Stewart F. Laurent wrote to his wife and other family members while serving in France during World War I. The collection also includes documents, postcards, photographs, and ephemera.

This collection (0.5 linear feet) is mainly comprised of letters that Sergeant Stewart F. Laurent wrote to his wife and other family members while serving in France during World War I. The collection also includes documents, postcards, photographs, and ephemera.

The Correspondence series (67 items) contains 65 letters that Laurent wrote about his service in France from March 10, 1918-May 18, 1919; 1 letter that he wrote on January 10, 1918; and 1 letter by other military personnel confirming Laurent's good record as an automobile driver (April 30, 1918). Laurent most frequently wrote to his wife Alice, discussing their separation and anticipating their life together after the war. In other letters to Alice and to his mother, aunt, uncle, and siblings, he described his travels around the French countryside and reported military rumors, particularly those related to the end of the war. He vacationed at Aix-les-Bains in September 1918 and was stationed in Abainville and Haussimont after the Armistice; he also visited Nice and Paris. On Thanksgiving Day, 1918, after the relaxation of censorship requirements, he recounted his passage to France on the USS President Lincoln and enclosed a dinner menu from the journey. Other enclosures include a photographic postcard; snapshots of Laurent, other soldiers, tanks, and places in France; a booklet celebrating Mother's Day; and a political cartoon of an American soldier awaiting his return home. In 2 letters from March 1919, Laurent drew pictures of artillery shells that had been turned into vases.

The Postcards series (11 items) is divided into 3 groups. Stewart F. Laurent sent 3 postcards to his wife Alice between January 8, 1919, and February 17, 1919, of which 2 show the interior and exterior of the Château de Valençay; the third informs Alice of her husband's reassignment to Haussimont, France. The second group of postcards depicts soldiers and scenes from Paris, France, during World War I. The final group of 4 postcards pertains to the Laurents' candy store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1940s.

Items in the Documents series (9 items) mostly relate to Stewart Laurent's military service, including 4 items about his discharge (May 1919), a Treasury Department document about the War Risk Insurance Act and related financial allotments (undated), and instructions for troops sailing from the United States to France onboard the USS President Lincoln [February 1918]. Three items, 2 of which are dated November 18, 1914, concern the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

Printed Items and Ephemera (15 items) pertain to Stewart F. Laurent's military service and personal life. A 1908 program for an event at Glenolden Grammar School and an unidentified photograph from 1907 are enclosed with an invitation to Laurent's wedding. The remaining items are from the World War I era, including 2 newsletters about the French Riviera in the spring of 1919, a group of ticket stubs with a parody song ("Silver Threads Among the Black"), Laurent's pay book, a program for a variety performance in Aix-les-Bains, and 3 booklets: a guide to the French Riviera, a history of and guide to Paris, and a soldier's French phrasebook. This collection also includes 2 realia items: a string of beads and a private's chevron.

This collection is made up of correspondence, military documents, photographs, printed items, and ephemera related to Dr. William Jason Mixter, who served in the United States Army during World War I, and his wife Dorothy.

This collection is made up of correspondence, military documents, photographs, printed items, and ephemera related to Dr. William Jason Mixter, who served in the United States Army during World War I, and his wife Dorothy.

The Correspondence series (1.75 linear feet) comprises the bulk of the collection. The first group of correspondence is made up of 48 letters and postcards that William Jason Mixter sent to his wife Dorothy from March 9, 1915-May 21, 1915. He described his voyage to Europe, his brief stay in England, and his experiences working in French hospitals near the war front. His letters include details about his work with specific patients, comments about the sinking of the Lusitania, and other war news.

William Jason and Dorothy Mixter wrote most of the remaining correspondence to each other between May 1917 and April 1918, while William served with Base Hospital No. 6 in France and Base Hospital No. 204 in Hursley, England. He shared anecdotes about his experiences and reported on his medical work. Dorothy provided news of their children and life in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Their correspondence includes letters, telegrams, and postcards. Other writers include Samuel J. Mixter, Jason's father, who wrote from Boston, Massachusetts, about his daily life and about his work as a medical inspector. Other soldiers, former patients, and acquaintances also wrote to members of the Mixter family.

The collection includes 25 picture postcards depicting French scenes during and after the war; 3 are integrated into the Correspondence series, and the remaining 22 are housed with the Printed Items and Ephemera series.

The Military Papers series is divided into three subseries. Chronological Military Papers (51 items) include memorandums, orders, letters, telegrams, and other items pertaining to William Jason Mixter's military service during World War I, particularly related to his discharge in 1919. The subseries contains a list of personnel who served at Base Hospital No. 6. The Account Book, Diagnosis Book, and Notebooks subseries (4 items) consists of William Jason Mixter's account book from the London City & Midland Bank (June 30, 1918-January 15, 1919), a diagnosis book regarding soldiers' complaints onboard the SS Northland from February 11, 1919-February 17, 1919, and a notebook with brief personal memoranda. William Jason Mixter kept a medical notebook during his time at Hursley Camp Hospital near Winchester, England. He recorded biographical and medical information about his patients, and information about medical treatments. The Hursley Camp Hospital volume enclosed numerous clinical record slips and other manuscript notes.

The American Women's War Hospital Documents (3 items), pertaining to an institution in Paignton, England, are comprised of a photograph of nurses and patients outside of the hospital (December 1914) and two bundles of letter typescripts that a nurse named Mary Dexter wrote to her mother about her work at the hospital (November 22, 1914-January 9, 1915, and January 15, 1915-July 16, [1915]).

The Writings series (10 items) contains 9 typed and manuscript poems, mostly related to American soldiers' experiences during World War I, on topics such as volunteering for the army, traveling overseas, and encountering death. The poems "The Americans" and "Only a Volunteer" are present in manuscript and typescript form, and "The Young Dead" and "The Woman's Burden" are attributed to female authors (Lilian Palmer Powers and Laura E. Richards, respectively). The final item is a typescript of a resolution presented at a social club encouraging its members to proclaim loyalty during the war.

The Photographs series (114 items) is comprised of 113 photographic prints and a 32-page photograph album; some images are repeated. Items include studio portraits of William Jason Mixter in uniform; group portraits of nurses, doctors, and other medical personnel; pictures of wounded and convalescent soldiers during and after operations; interior views of medical facilities; and views of buildings and destruction in France. The photograph album and 80 loose items are housed in the Graphics Division (see Alternate Locations for more information).

The Printed Items and Ephemera series (59 items) consists of 3 unique pamphlets; 18 unique newspapers, newsletters, and newspaper clippings; 28 unique ephemeral items; and 4 books.

The pamphlets include 5 copies of an article by William Jason Mixter entitled "Surgical Experiences in France," originally published in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 173.12 (September 16, 1915), pp. 413-418. The other pamphlets are an advertisement for an "Exhibition and Sale of the War Cartoons by Louis Raemaekers" (October 1916), including an introduction and small reproductions of the drawings, and "Welcome Home," a book commemorating the return of the 26th Division in April 1919. Newspaper articles and other publications (including 6 items housed in Oversize Manuscripts) pertain to aspects of the war, particularly concerning medical personnel, civilian relief organizations, and the medical career of Samuel J. Mixter. A copy of The Boston Herald dated November 11, 1918, announces the Armistice.

The 28 ephemeral items include programs and advertising cards pertaining to church services held in honor of Base Hospital No. 6; the collection includes several copies each of 2 programs. Other printed items include a small map of Cambridge and Boston, a circular related to the Boston Society of Psychiatry and Neurology, and a book of stationery with engravings of Belgian scenes. A few personal items relate to the Mixter family, such as visiting cards on which William Jason Mixter wrote personal messages, cards from Mixter's children with sewn pictures, a certificate regarding Dorothy Mixter's service with the American Red Cross canteen, and a small French-language almanac affixed to a card with colored illustrations of the Allied Nations' flags. Three additional items pertain directly to the American Red Cross: the cover of the December 1918 issue of The Red Cross Magazine, a Red Cross service flag for display in a home window, and an American Red Cross canteen worker patch. Other insignia items are a button and ribbon commemorating the 26th Division's return to the United States and two small pins that belonged to William Jason Mixter. Also present is William Jason Mixter's passport, issued on February 6, 1915.

The 4 books include: The History of U.S. Army Base Hospital No. 6 (Boston, Mass.: 1924), given to William Jason Mixter, Jr., by his father; Independence Day in London, 1918 (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1918); The Old Humanities and the New Science... (London: J. Murray, 1919); and Dere Mable: Love Letters of a Rookie (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1918).