Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: David Bolotin letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: David Bolotin letters
- Date
- 1917-1946, undated (inclusive)
- 1944-1945 (bulk)
- Extent
- 1.80 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Correspondence.
- Courtship
- Sketches.
- Jewish businesspeople
- Judaism.
- Long-distance relationships.
- Love-letters
- Man-woman relationships -- United States -- 20th century
- World War, 1939-1945.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- India.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically. There is a number written on the top right corner of each letter that corresponds to a number written on the bottom right of the letter's envelope.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0063: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: David Bolotin letters, 1917-1918, 1937-1946, undated, (bulk 1944-1945), University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- David Bolotin (1917-2012) was born in Pennsylvania to Jewish-Russian immigrants, Max L. Bolotin (1896-1977) and Hannah Shenson (1892-1977), and in the mid-1930s, Bolotin moved to Kentucky. Enlisting in the Army as a private in 1942, he was originally stationed at Camp Crowder, Missouri and then was later transferred to Calcutta, India, where he spent the year of 1945. He returned to Kentucky in March of 1946 after reaching the rank of Sergeant Major. During Bolotin's enlistment, he married fiancée Jayne Weil (1919-1996), a Lexington, Kentucky Native. Born to Jay Weil (1894-1959) and Bessie Sable (1893-1967), the Weil's were a prominent family, well known for their business as livestock dealers and farmers. The couple met when Bolotin was working in a shoe store in Lexington, and Weil was home from school at Goucher College near Baltimore, Maryland.
- 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 David Bolotin letters (dated 1917-1946, undated, bulk 1944-1945; 1.80 cubic feet; 4 boxes) comprise letters, sketches, and newspaper clippings that document the relationship between David Bolotin and Jayne Weil before and after their marriage as well as David's service overseas in Calcutta, India in the years leading up to World War II and during the war. In the letters prior to David's enlistment and the couple's marriage they discuss dealing with the distance between each other, work David is doing at the shoe store, Jayne's classes and adventures at school, visits from friends, plans to see each other, how they feel about each other, their views on events and people in Europe, and well-wishes on Jewish holidays. After their marriage, the letters are all sent to Jayne from David, and they discuss his day-to-day life in the Army, being transferred across units and locations, and his thoughts on serving in India at the end of the war. The sketches and newspaper clippings focus on cartoons about the war and inner-workings of the military. There are also a few letters between Jayne's parents, Jay Weil and Bessie Sable, just prior to their marriage in 1917.
- The David Bolotin 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
David Weil letter to David Bolotin, 1940 September 5
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.
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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.
