Local Library Shares WWII Scrapbooks with Kane County, Revealing Historical and Personal Wartime Stories
World War II scrapbooks created by a Hampshire woman more than 80 years ago are providing a historical look into a Kane County community's experience during the war.
The scrapbooks were recently brought out of the archives of the Ella Johnson Memorial Public Library District in Hampshire after an article in the Kane County Connects newsletter about another historic World War II scrapbook, Historic WWII Scrapbook Helps Preserve Stories of Kane County's Fallen, caught the attention of Michele Halt, Custodian of the historical collection.
The original Kane County Connects article described a scrapbook compiled by the auxiliary of American Legion Post 342 beginning in May 1941. That collection contains newspaper clippings documenting the lives and deaths of service members from St. Charles and surrounding communities.
Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission Superintendent Jake Zimmerman was allowed to borrow the scrapbook and used it to compare its contents with County records. Information from the scrapbook also was submitted to help update federal records for service members who remain missing in action.
One example is Staff Sgt. Joseph R. Lund of St. Charles. Using a photograph of Lund found in the scrapbook, the Veterans Assistance Commission was able to provide his image to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency for inclusion in his online profile.
“That's what makes these scrapbooks so valuable," Zimmerman said. “We're finding photographs and details not found on the internet that can be used to put faces and stories with service members who are still missing."
After reading about the St. Charles collection, Halt knew the Hampshire library had something similar in its own historical collection: handmade World War II scrapbooks created by Hampshire resident Mavis Widmayer. (see a gallery of a few of the items in the books below)
The Widmayer family has deep roots in Hampshire. The family's farm property once adjoined what is now Widmayer Road, making them one of Hampshire's “road families."
“The article piqued my interest from both a historical and emotional standpoint," Halt said. “Realizing that we too have handmade historical World War II scrapbooks in our collection, I reached out to Jake at the Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission to see if we could help."
Widmayer carefully assembled the scrapbooks during the war years, preserving newspaper clippings, photographs, holiday cards, letters from soldiers, lists of the wounded, honorably discharged service members and medals awarded, along with other records documenting Hampshire residents and the community's wartime experience.
Among the material preserved with the collection is a 1943 Hampshire Register article about the community's Honor Roll Board. The board was placed in downtown Hampshire as a visible reminder of the local men and women serving in the war effort.
Before donating her scrapbooks to the library, Widmayer wrote a poignant, hand-typed, two-page letter explaining why she believed the collection was important.
“For in a way today they are history," Widmayer wrote.
For Halt, the Hampshire scrapbooks are a reminder of the importance of preserving local history, but also a reminder of the people who took the time to preserve it in the first place.
“Mavis deserves all the credit for these scrapbooks," Halt said.
Research by Zimmerman and the Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission into the scrapbooks has started with research on Gerald W. Allen, Arthur G. Brahmstedt and Herbert Story Owens, whose names maybe added to the Kane County War Memorial. All three served in the U.S. Army during World War II; Allen and Brahmstedt were killed in action, while Owens remains missing in action.
Additionally, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, in its mission to identify service members who remain unaccounted for, recently announced plans to disinter 141 unknown remains associated with the USS Arizona from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. The agency is working to develop full DNA profiles and gather additional evidence in hopes of identifying them.
Zimmerman notes that Kane County residents are among those who died aboard the Arizona and remain unaccounted for.
Learn more about the Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission:
Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission.
See what else is happening at the Ella Johnson Memorial Public Library District: Ella Johnson Memorial Public Library District.
