Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters
Abstract
The Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters (dated 1937-1943; 2.1 cubic feet; 6 boxes) comprise letters that document courtship, finding and keeping employment, concern over the increase in antisemitism, and service in the military during the Great Depression and World War II.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters
- Date
- 1937-1943 (inclusive)
- Creator
- Cronin, Ruth Louise (Sachs), 1910-1992
- Extent
- 2.1 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Antisemitism -- Europe
- Courtship
- Jews -- Identity
- Letters.
- World War, 1939-1945.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0061: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1937-1943, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin was born January 14, 1910 to Louis Sachs (1870-1970) and Irene Goldsoll (1886-1950) in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was a real estate agent and her mother was a homemaker. They were non-practicing Jews, and Ruth Louise had joined the Christian Science church. She attended Ohio State University and met Ralph Marvin Cohen (1907-1973), the son of Polish immigrants, with whom she had an on-again, off-again relationship for several years until they married in January of 1939. Ralph initially worked as a travelling advertising salesman for the Keller Crescent Advertising-Merchandising Company in Evansville, Indiana until experiencing a nervous breakdown in November of 1937 and returning home to Dayton, Ohio to live with his parents. With the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party the Cohen family believed the threat of antisemitism in the U.S. to be real enough that they changed their last name to the Irish-sounding surname Cronin sometime after 1938. After their marriage Ralph went to work for the Jam handy Organization in Detroit, Michigan, where they lived for four years until Ralph received his draft notice December 1942. He had been a member of the Naval Reserve and received a commission in 1943; he was assigned to the Memphis, Tennessee Naval Air Station as a lieutenant with an audio-visual specialty. After the war, Ralph and Ruth ended up living in Louisville, Kentucky, and Ralph was vice-president of National Industries until his death on August 18, 1973. Ruth passed away 19 years later on May 7, 1992.
- 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 Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters (dated 1937-1943; 2.1 cubic feet; 51 Folders, 6 boxes) comprises letters that document courtship, finding and keeping employment, concern over the increase in antisemitism, and service in the military during the Great Depression and World War II. The letters are separated into two groups, pre-marriage, 1937-1938, which details the evolution of Ruth and Ralph's relationship into real romance, Ralph's attempts to find and keep work, and the fear of antisemitism; and post-marriage, 1942-1943, which details his enlistment and service in the Navy, the pain of separation from loved ones, and daily life for family members not enlisted. Additionally, there is a silver certificate for one dollar in the collection.
- The Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin 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
Pre-marriage letters, 1937-1938
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1937 April-August
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1937 October-December
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 January 1-30
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 February 3-22
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 March 1-29
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 April 4-28
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 May 5-29
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 June 3-10
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 June 13-19
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 June 20-29
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 July 1-10
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 July 11-21
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 July 22-29
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 August 1-10
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 August 11-20
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 August 21-31
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 September 4-12
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 September 13-20
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 September 21-30
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 October 2-10
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 October 12-31
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 November 1-10
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 November 12-19
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 November 21-30
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 December 1-10
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1938 December 12-22
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, circa 1937-1938
Post-marriage letters, 1942-1943
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1942 September 10-17
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1942 October 21-23
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1942 November 2-8
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1942 November 8-29
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1942 December 1-6
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 January 11-28
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 February 3-19
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 April 4-30
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 May 1-6
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 May 7-12
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 May 13-20
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 May 21-25
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 May 26-31
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 June 1-8
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 June 9-14
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 June 15-18
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 June 20-22
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 July 7-12
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 July 13-15
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 July 16-20
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 July 22-25
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 July 26-31
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, 1943 August 1-6
Ruth Louise (Sachs) Cronin letters, circa 1942-1943
1 dollar silver certificate
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.
