Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Thomas J. Jenkins letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Thomas J. Jenkins letters
- Date
- 1937-1939, 1953 (inclusive)
- Creator
- Jenkins, Thomas J.
- Extent
- 0.16 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Letters.
- Correspondence.
- Love-letters
- Family.
- Marriage
- Travel.
- Military life.
- Vietnam
- Health
- Pregnancy
- Pennsylvania
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by subject. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0836: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Thomas J. Jenkins letters, 1937-1939, 1953, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Thomas J. Jenkins (1915-2010) was born in Union, Kentucky to Lucy Stanley and an unknown father. In 1938, he married Teresa Powell (1916-1995) and together the couple had at least five children – Paul (1946-2000), Phil, Fred, Vivian, and Lois. He served in the army during World War II and was a member of the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Indochina that was sent to Vietnam in the 1950s. No other biographical information available.
- 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 Thomas J. Jenkins letters (dated 1937-1939, 1953; 0.16 cubic feet; 4 folders) comprises letters sent between Thomas Jenkins and his wife that documents their relationship when he is traveling for work in Kentucky and Vietnam in the mid-twentieth century. In the letters Jenkins writes to his wife while in Fort Knox, he discusses his duties at work, visiting friends in town, how much he misses her, listening to the radio, going to the movies, and how she is the only one for him. When he is in Vietnam, he writes about his multiple cancelled flights to Saigon, going out drinking with friends, the conversion rate between US dollars and Vietnamese currency, listening to various records, wishing he could be home with his wife and children, and how efforts are progressing with the Military Assistance Advisory Group. The letters sent to Jenkins from his wife, discuss her vacation in Pennsylvania, spending time with family, thoughts on a name for their unborn child, her desire for her pregnancy to be over, wishing he could be home for the birth, and the health of her and their family members.
- The Thomas J. Jenkins letters collection is 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
- 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
Thomas J. Jenkins to Teresa Powell Jenkins, 1937-1938
Thomas J. Jenkins to Teresa Powell Jenkins, 1953
Teresa Powell Jenkins to Thomas J. Jenkins, 1937-1939
Letters to Teresa Powell Jenkins, 1939
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.
