Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Louis Discher WWI letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Louis Discher WWI letters
- Date
- 1918-1919 (inclusive)
- Creator
- Discher, Louis J. (Joseph), 1895-1973
- Extent
- 0.08 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919
- Letters.
- World War, 1914-1918 -- France.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically and by format.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0012: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Louis J. Discher WWI letters, 1918-1919, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Louis Joseph Discher (1895-1973), from Louisville, Kentucky, served in World War I as a corporal with the American Expeditionary Force. He trained at Fort Sevier, South Carolina before going overseas in September 1918. One month after arriving in France, he received minor injuries and spent the rest of his deployment in a hospital in France. Discher returned to the United States in April 1919, where he joined his family in running Gehr & Sons Stoves & Ranges on West Market Street.
- American Letters collector Wade Hall (1934-2015) was a native of Union Springs, Alabama. Starting in 1962, he lived in Louisville, where he taught English and chaired the English and Humanities/Arts programs at Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. He also taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida. He held degrees from Troy State University (B.S.), the University of Alabama (M.A.), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D.). He served for two years in the U.S. Army in the mid-fifties. Dr. Hall was the author of books, monographs, articles, plays, and reviews relating to Kentucky, Alabama, and Southern history and literature. His most recent books include A Visit with Harlan Hubbard; High Upon a Hill: A History of Bellarmine College; A Song in Native Pastures: Randy Atcher's Life in Country Music; and Waters of Life from Conecuh Ridge.
- Scope and Content
- The Louis J. Discher WWI letters (dated 1918-1919; 0.08 cubic feet; 5 folders) primarily comprise letters between Discher and his sister, Clara about life in Louisville, Kentucky, and newspaper clippings related to other Louisville natives serving in the war. The letters detail the struggles experienced by Louisville to handle the influenza outbreak in 1918 as well as the dances and other social events that were held at Camp Zachary Taylor by the Knights of Columbus.
- The Louis J. Discher WWI letters are part of the Wade Hall Collection of American letters, which includes correspondence and diaries from all over North America covering the time period of the Civil to Korean Wars. The materials were collected by Wade Hall and document everyday men and women.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- The collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
