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Reconstructing History & Genealogy: Mom's WWII Letters
Program Category
Educational Programs
Audience Age
Corinne's discovery of more than 100 letters brought unexpected insights and connections. In May 2017, she found her mother's stash of letters from 16 servicemen that she had corresponded with in 1944-1945. Most of the men were from her mother's hometown of Allentown, Pennsylvania, or from her college roommate's hometown of Trenton, New Jersey. Nearly all of the writers were now gone and could no longer offer information or explanations for what they had written. Corinne began to trace the soldiers' family trees with one goal in mind: to return the letters in person to their children. Learn about her on-going project, and hear some of the stories of the men, their experiences, and what their relatives have to say today. This presentation links history and genealogy to present-day research and diligence. It revisits a time that we may not want to forget. And it may prompt audience members to wonder for themselves what treasures may be lurking in their own old family boxes -- and how they can share the information with others.
$300.
Plus travel expenses (.54 / mile) from Gardner, Mass.
Group Size
any
Program Length
90 minutes
Computer projector and screen or blank wall.
Last Modified
02/26/2018
Performer’s Contact Information
Write Outside Your Door
Corinne SmithGardner, MA 01440-4045
Program first hosted by the Sharon Public Library in February 2018. Corinne H. Smith is a writer and a librarian who is originally from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She served for several years on the board of The Blair County Genealogical Society in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The first book she compiled was a self-published family history titled From Saxony to the Lehigh Valley: The Descendents of Ludwig Hossfeld (1992). Since then, she has written several books about American author Henry David Thoreau. She lives in Gardner, Massachusetts.