World War II in the Geneva Daily Times
John Marks, Curator of Collections and Exhibits
When we did our World War II project in the early 1990s, Kathryn Grover was hired to research, write, and lay out the exhibit and book, Close to the Heart of the War. As part of her contract, we received all her research notes for our archives. I recently pulled out one of the large boxes to look at her source material. Any project, i.e. an exhibit, book, or documentary, reflects the creator’s selection of what to include or leave out; it’s good to look at the research with fresh eyes.
In addition to newspapers and records from our collection, Kathryn used scrapbooks that were kept during World War II. She photocopied them so she could more easily flip through pages and make notes on the copies. Scrapbooks show the creator’s interests and are assembled in a unique way, which gives them historical value. In the case of these albums, the creator(s) kept a chronological collection of Geneva Daily Times articles that only pertained to Geneva and surrounding towns. These could be recreated from microfilm, but one would have to wade through all the national news, advertising, and sports to do it – work already done by the scrapbooker.
Regular columns included “Boys in the Service” and “News of Our Men and Women in Uniform.” (I can’t tell the difference in content, so I’m not sure why there were separate columns.) They were a collection of snippets about servicemen and women, often reported by relatives who had received a letter; news ranged from receiving a Bronze Star to confirmation that someone was still safe.
As I mentioned last time, Hobart and William Smith students researched Geneva and the war for a class project. One of them looked at these photocopies and said something to the effect, “They used up a lot of space talking about nothing, didn’t they?” Seeing things out of context is not limited to the young; it bears pointing out conditions in the early 1940s. Information was censored by the government for security reasons. Mail from the war theaters was very slow and sporadic; one local POW beat a letter home by nine months. Most Times readers knew someone in the war, so one sentence in the paper, for example, that PFC Rollo was safe in England was very welcome news.
When more information was known, there were longer articles on servicemen and women. It seems that the paper focused on success stories, i.e. survival and promotion, with the occasional humorous-with-a-happy-ending tale:
Sadder but equally important were the Killed in Action notices and photos. I hesitate to post examples; seventy years later, people are still alive who remember where they were when they received the news of a loved one’s death in the war.
These photocopied scrapbook pages are available to read during archive hours (Tuesday through Friday, 1:30 – 4:30 pm). Whether you’re looking for mention of a relative or just interested in how the war was reported, they’re a good read.
I am looking for your World War II article on my Uncle Frederick Seward hero who was interviewed in 1990s in your newspaper. He was awarded Medsl of Homor and Purple Heart for his bravery. I would like to share with my grandchildren. His son Paul Seward was a Green Beret and code breaker in Vietnam .
We don’t have access to 1990s newspapers, however the Geneva Public Library has them on microfilm. You can also try contacting the Finger Lakes Times directly to see if they can find it in their archive.
I’m looking for any information, and photos of my late father Nicholas j. Chelenza. My father was born in Geneva he was the first Chelenza born on American soil, being Italian American and was he proud of that. My father enlisted in a he US Army 10 July 1940. He was in the First infantry Division, he fought In every major campaign in North Africa, Sicily and Europe including the D-Day invasion. He was given a battle field commission to Lt. At the battle of the bulge Dec 25 1944. He retired 1 Sept 1974 as a full Colonel. He had an unbelievable military career He passed away April 4 1994. I’m writing a book on my father’s military career ,anything would be great full about him. Mike Cutillo had recently done an article on him last Veterans Day. He went to Geneva high school however didn’t make his senior year I found a 1939 Geneva high school year book he was in it. I’m looking for photos in the 1940 Geneva high school year book he ran track played football. I’ve seen team photos of him, but have no copies of them. Thank you very much
I will pass your request on to our archivist, who will get back to you about your father.