Elsie Wheeler: On The Day of Infamy

Meet Elsie Wheeler of Jacksonville, AL. We were lucky enough to be able to talk with Mrs. Wheeler during our last event and within minutes it was clear that she not only had an unmistakable energy about her, but she was a wealth of memories and stories from the World War II era. If ever the need and importance of preserving our oral histories were in question, this all too brief conversation laid those doubts to rest. As this amazing lady, at the age of 94, explored the fair on the Jacksonville Square, she took the time to share with us in vivid detail her memories of where she was and what she was doing on December 7, 1941.

These are the stories that beg to be captured and shared. It can be as simple as writing a blog or sharing a story of Facebook or even uploading a cellphone video to YouTube, but memories like this deserve to be documented, preserved, and shared with the world before they are gone forever.

Please help Share Mrs. Wheeler's wonderful memories, Like us on Facebook to support our preservation efforts, and subscribe to the "War Stories" blog for updates on stories and upcoming events.

Charles White: Witnessing History

In an earlier post we learned about the burning of the Alabama Hotel in 1944 and the tragic death of a young war bride. We had the honor this past weekend at the "Fair on the Square Living Museum" in Jacksonville, AL. to meet Charles White. Mr. White was actually in Anniston the day of the fire and remembers the event vividly. Check out this video for his first hand account. 

For more info on the fire you can read our original post at: http://www.thewarsongseries.com/#!Tragic-Irony-in-Alabama-Hotel-Fire/c13o8/E1B28340-8027-4B21-BC7B-1CD578302FCD

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A Piece of History

I will be in Jacksonville, AL this weekend for the city’s Fair on the Square, Living Museum. At my table, I am excited to have my grandfather’s rationing book from World War II! It is amazing to hold a piece of history like this in your hands. The federal government began rationing in May 1942 on goods that were high in demand and needed for the war effort. A ration book was issued to each family indicating how much sugar, coffee, meat, processed foods, gas, tires, and other products one could purchase.  To deal with the shortened amount of items, women altered recipes and got together to swap coupons. If you are in Jacksonville this weekend, come see an actual World War II ration book!

“To begin her meeting she had called for a rations swap, which all of the women eagerly engaged in. Myrtle smiled down at her extra meat rations as Victoria silenced the chattering group.”

Songbird, Chapter 14

Play Ball!

Did you know that Anniston, AL once had its own minor league baseball team? Between 1904 and 1950, Anniston’s baseball team was called the Nobles, the Models, the Moulders, and finally the Rams. The famous Ty Cobb played one season in Anniston in 1904. The team took three years off during World War II, but returned in 1946 for play. Unfortunately, in 1950 the team played its last season, losing 73 games and winning 21. Attendance was low, and the people of Anniston were unable to financially support the struggling team.

I thought you might enjoy this tidbit of history for the beginning of baseball season. Go Atlanta Braves!

Tragic Irony in Alabama Hotel Fire

  “I don’t believe it,” Ava said, watching the demise of the once grand building… The dazzling chandeliers, burgundy carpet, and suited bellboys absorbed her thoughts and sickened her heart. The waste was overpowering, and she could now understand how the wreckage of war stimulated Ernie Pyle’s writing.

– Songbird, Chapter 49

   It is heartbreaking to me when an old building rich with history is destroyed. This story from 1944 touched my heart, and I just had to include it in Songbird. On September 15, 1944, the Alabama Hotel in Anniston, AL burned to the ground. What makes the story truly tragic is that two persons lost their lives to the fire. Ironically, one was a 17 year-old war bride visiting her husband at Ft. McClellan. While she and her family focused on the safety of her husband, it was her life that was lost too soon. Read below:

   A policeman was shouting, “Step back,” and the crowd moved and pushed backward. The news that someone might or had lost their life lessened the importance of the structure and turned Ava’s thoughts horrifically to the people affected. She looked back up at the top floor, her eyes scanning the windows of the rooms that still existed. Is someone still in there? Who could it be?

   The newspapers the next day answered all the city’s questions. Two people died, a man who attempted to lower himself to the ground with a chain of sheets and a Mrs. Violet Hemmert. Ava read and wept over the untimely obituary that interested many who never knew the young woman. She was a soldier’s wife visiting her husband at Fort McClellan. The fire not only destroyed a prized landmark, but it also emblazed the name of an unknown woman into the memories of a whole town.

- Songbird, Chapter 49

When Affordable Health Care Truly Was

 A new hospital just opened next to our subdivision this week. Fittingly, during my research time this week, I read about the first hospitals in Anniston, AL where I was born. This account from Annie’s Town Revisited: A Picture History of Anniston, AL by Tee Morgan was amazing! Oh, how times have changed! She writes this account of a patient’s stay at the old Garner Hospital:

   “In an entry in the diary of Maximillian B. Wellborn on February 22, 1940, he writes of his surgery: ‘I stayed in the hospital for nine days & he (Dr. Hugh Gray) dressed it every day & when I went home 3 or 4 more times. Expenses at the hospital $77.95 which includes room (private with bath) $7.50 a day, operating room $10.00, medicines & etc. $2.95. The room was good & the food too. So I have only kind words for Garner Hospital. Dr. Gray’s fee $150.00. Mutually agreeable.” 

D-Day

In the Spring of 1944, Americans anxiously awaited news of a European invasion. Radio reports announced D-Day on June 6, 1944. 

     The figures of her father and grandpa, sitting close by the radio, broke through her wistful thinking. She was surprised to see them. Normally, they would already be out feeding the animals. Her father’s neck was bent forward over the black box, his elbows were upright on his knees, and his whole body was stiff. Grandpa Chester was more relaxed, but his arms were limp by his slouching sides, and his eyes were fixed on the ceiling above. Ava didn’t dare move another step or say a word. Instead, she held her breath and listened to the clear, authoritative male voice coming through the box.
     “Under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval forces, supported by strong air forces, began landing Allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France.”
     There was a long pause, and a more somber male voice spoke.
     “You have just heard Colonel Ernest Dupuy, Eisenhower’s press aide, confirm the invasion of Europe on June 6, 1944.”
     There was a loud sigh from her parents’ bedroom, and Ava realized that her mother was also listening. They each knew that they had just been told where James was.

Excerpt from Songbird, Chapter 47

Its Been a Long Long Time

Songbird is a musical in words, celebrating big band and gospel music from the 1940s. My favorite song in the book is “It’s Been a Long, Long Time.” I love this song! Listen to Harry James and his band perform this song in 1945. 

Greetings From Fort McClellan

The small town of Jacksonville, AL and neighboring Fort McClellan form the backdrop for Songbird and The War Song Series. During World War II, Fort McClellan brought the world to this small corner of east Alabama in the form of soldiers from all over the nation and German POWs from half way around the globe. Both of which would touch and change forever the lives of Ava Stilwell and her family.

Spoils of War

   "Ava sighed at how the war gave confidence to and made heroes out of normal men and joined the most unlikely of individuals." Songbird 

   Like many who lived through the harsh reallity of World War II, Suzie Fowler found the love of her life on the battlefields of Europe while serving in the American Red Cross. But while occasionally fate turns war on its end to bring together two souls that might otherwise have never met, Suzie traveled half way around the world only to fall in love with a boy from home.