Last week, I published a new digital collection of World War II-era newspapers from the Wofford campus. Today, I have posted a collection of Wofford newsletters sent to alumni who were serving in the armed forces during the war.
The World War II alumni newsletter started out as a simple 2-page typed legal-size leaflet, and it went to several hundred alumni. It solicited comments and news from alums, and they responded that they liked the newsletter. The February 1943 issue went to some 800 alumni. By October 1943, the college was publishing a printed newsletter that ranged from 4 to 8 pages.
The college had to follow all of the censorship rules as the newsletter was being sent to alumni all over the world, so they could not mention specific units the alums were serving with, or any other information that had not become public. Still, the alums appreciated hearing from the college and hearing about what their friends and classmates were doing, where they were, and what they were experiencing.
I found one note in the September 1945 issue from Herbert Hucks, who was my predecessor as college archivist, and who served in North Africa and France. He wrote,
“Yesterday when your July 5 card arrived I did not know that today I would be a student at the Sorbonne, but such is the case and naturally I’m glad of the opportunity. The spirit of the whole affair is very fine. About 800 men and officers are there. The course will last until September 8 and then nothing could please me more than to get home on my 87 points!”
Mr. Hucks had been a high school French teacher before the war, and on his return would become an associate librarian at Wofford.
Again, technology makes it possible for us to get more items like this out for researchers to use.
