Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Leroy Boettcher letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Leroy Boettcher letters
- Date
- 1943-1954, undated (inclusive)
- Creator
- Boettcher, Leroy H., 1922-2008
- Extent
- 0.03 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Courtship
- 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
- 2009ms132.0154: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: LeRoy Boettcher letters, 1943-1954, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- LeRoy Boettcher (1922-2008) was born in Grover, Wisconsin to Fred Boettcher (1889-1979) and Esther Aland (1891-1945). Boettcher enlisted in the US Army in 1942 where he served as a Military Police Officer in the Asiatic and Pacific theatres; he was released from service in 1946. Upon his release, he worked as a shift supervisor for Scott Paper Co. for twenty-four years. In 1970, he began working for the maintenance department at the University of Wisconsin – Marinette until his retirement in 1985. In 1948, he married Marion Kushman (1925-2002), and together the couple had two children: Dale and Deborah.
- Winonah Walker (1925-1998) was born in Oregon to Leslie M. Walker (1899-1961) and Edith M. Walker (1902-1992). Winonah worked initially as a sales person at the Woolworth's dime store in Medford, Oregon, and later became manager of the stationery department there. She was seeing Boettcher between 1943 and 1944; however, they parted ways and Winonah married Carl Clifton Green (1917-2009) in 1946.
- 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 LeRoy Boettcher letters (dated 1943-1954, undated; 0.03 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprise seventeen letters that document the relationship between LeRoy Boettcher and Winonah Walker during World War II. The letters are primarily from Winonah, sent to Boettcher, while he was on leave in the spring of 1944, in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. In the letters Winonah discusses her duties at work, the various items that she sells, seeing friends, news from friends and family in other branches of the military, and how much she misses LeRoy. There are a few letters from other friends and family to LeRoy that discuss farming, the weather, and familial health, along with a leave request from LeRoy's brother, Myron.
- The LeRoy Boettcher 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
Leroy Boettcher letters, 1943-1954, undated
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.
