Personal papers of a conscientious objector during World War I and Mennonite pastor in Ohio. The bulk of the material consists of sermons organized by topic.. Also included are photographs from Camp Sherman, where Frey was stationed during the First World War, and a journal recording the names of other conscientious objectors at Camp Sherman and their visitors. A small amount of correspondence from the World War I and World War II eras may also be found in these papers.
Papers pertaining to a Mennonite conscientious objector's experiences during World War I. Includes correspondence, empemera pertaining to conscientious objection, a transcript of Sommers's court martial proceedings, a parole pass, photographs, and other miscellaneous items. Also includes a brief two page biography of Sommers written by Myron Sommers in 1992.
This small set of papers focuses primarily on Weirich's Civilian Public Service (CPS) work building flood control structures in Iowa and serving as a smoke jumper. Materials include an album of photographs and documents, collected articles on smoke jumpers, and newsletters and ephemera from Camp 18 (Denison, Iowa) and Camp 103 (Missoula, Montana). Also included are 26 photographs of First Mennonite Church (Middlebury, Indiana) in the 1950s and 1960s. Subjects include members of the church's baseball team circa 1950.
A set of research materials assembled by Gordon Oyer to write an article on the history Civilian Public Service in Illinois, including CPS Camp #115, Subunit #30. CPS volunteers at this camp were "guinea pigs" for medical experiments studying the physiological effects of heat and tropical conditions. Camp #115 was a cooperative agency administered the Mennonites, Brethren, and Friends under the direction of the Office of Scientific Research and Development. Subunit #30 was administered by Mennonite Central Committee.
Materials in this collection include the diaries of two CPS volunteer participants in these experiments: Duane Hougham (Methodist) and George Nachtigall (Mennonite Brethren). Nachtigall's diary is a photocopy of the original. Also included are letters with CPS volunteers stationed in Illinois, clippings, and a copy of Oyer's article.
Papers of a Harold Wik, a Mennonite service worker who volunteered with Civilian Public Service, Mennonite Central Committee and missionary to China and Malaya (West Malaysia), and his son Philip Wik. Documents include correspondence, photographs, two Wik family histories, and a Wik family anthology. The family histories and anthologies integrate historical family documents or photocopies thereof into the text.
The richest materials among these photographs are the140 color slides depicing Thut's volunteer work in England with German prisoners of war after World War II and his subsequent travel in the Western United States to Civilian Public Service (CPS) camps. These labeled and well-composed slides include images of Thut's living and working conditions in England, art work made by German POWs, and scenes of CPS work in Montana, South Dakota, and California. Also of note is a slide of Peter and Elfrieda Dyck's wedding gifts.
Click on "Online Images / Records" to see an inventory of the slides.
Other materials among Thut's photographs include a number of poorly-labeled black and white photographic prints of Goshen College in the early 1920s. Notable scenes include a May Day celebration and the construction of the college gymnasium. Also included is his passport obtained in 1944.
98 case files on microfilm containing the transcripts of courts-martial of 131 conscientious objectors during World War I. The records originate from the National Archives' Record Group 153 (United States. Army, Office of the Judge Advocate General). The name index to the microfilm in this finding aid is arranged alphabetically, as are the case files on microfilm. Researchers should note that these case files contain two courts-martial in which multiple conscientious objectors were tried together.
United States. Army. Office of the Judge Advocate General
This small set of records consists primarily of completed questinonaires regarding Mennonite congregational contact with drafted Mennonite men (Mennonite Church in World War II, Project #3). Also includes examples of pastoral letters sent to drafted men (a number of them from Waldo Mennonite Church (Flanigan, Ill.) and minutes and other records created by the Virginia Mennonite Conference CPS Support Team.
Records pertaining to Project 24, a survey of World War I Mennonite conscientious objectors. Records include correspondence, lists of conscientious objectors, and questionnaires.
Two sets of meeting minutes documenting the work of the Mennonite Central Peace Committee, a forerunner to the Mennonite Central Committee Peace Section.
