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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018 Issue 4 - We Have The People At Home With Us, WWISwitchboards to Selfies: new temporary exhibit Board Report by Colleen Lenahan, Vice President. Collections Report by Sarah Samson, Curator. Museum Report by Elizabeth P. Stewart, Director. When the U.S. entered the Great War in 1917, Renton was a sixteen-year-old city with a population of about 3000. The city was just paving streets, building sewers, and adding sidewalks; its grandest accomplishments were the formation of Commercial Water District No. 2 and construction of the Springbrook Reservoir. Mayor William Tonkin took office in January 1917, and by April 1917 Congress had declared war against Germany at Pres. Woodrow Wilson’s request. It would be a national war effort, and for the first time Renton had to pull together to meet the challenge of world events. A city of immigrants, Renton had adopted an attitude of watchful waiting since the war’s outbreak in 1914. The city had always been home to immigrants from England, Wales, and Ireland, but in the fifteen years since 1900, new residents from Italy, Germany, and other southern European countries had made Renton their home. As war intensified these new residents were keenly interested in events in their countries of origin, and some even began to trickle back to defend family and friends. Louis Barei, for example, returned to Morsano sometime around 1916 to drive a truck in the Italian Army.1 Also In This Issue... RENTON HISTORICALSOCIETY & MUSEUM Winter December 2018 Volume 49 Number 4 Continued on page 5 2 4 83 WE HAVE THE PEOPLE AT HOME WITH US QUARTERLY by Elizabeth P. Stewart witchboards A Look Back At How We Connect SS elfiesto 2 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM BOOK TALK & SIGNING Join us at the Museum on Thursday, December 13, 7:00 – 8:30 pm for a book talk and signing by Seattle public historian Paul Dorpat. Paul has released a coffee-table compilation titled Seattle Now and Then: The Historic Hundred that showcases the most compelling and essential of his more than 1,800 “Seattle Now and Then” Seattle Times photo- history columns since January 1982. The new book features more than 250 historic photos WELCOME KATE! New Public Engagement Coordinator Kate Dugdale joined us in mid- September; her second day of work was the fundraiser(!). Since then she’s been organizing winter programs, meeting volunteers, and generally learning the ropes at the Renton History Museum. Kate is a recent graduate of the UW Museology Program, with a wealth of experience from the New-York Historical Society, the National World War II Museum, and the Woodland Park Zoo. We’re sharing Kate’s time and talents with the Education Division of the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, and we’re delighted to have her on board! T he need to communicate is central to our identity as human beings, but how has communication changed as technology continues to evolve over time? From fountain pens to typewriters, from switchboards to smartphones, from handwritten letters to Facebook, as our communication technology changes, so do our messages. Exchanging ideas has never been faster or easier, but can we even hear each other through all the noise? Switchboards to Selfies uses Renton artifacts to explore this local, national, and global story. From NOVEMBER 20 to APRIL 27 of Seattle sites, new images by photographer Jean Sherrard, and brief histories of the sites. Books will be available for purchase. witchboards A Look Back At How We Connect SS elfiesto WINTER QUARTERLY, 2018 | 3 MUSEUM REPORT QUARTERLY Winter 2018 Elizabeth P. Stewart Director Sometimes when an exhibit comes down, we are very sad to see it go. On the Battlefront & the Homefront closed on Sunday, November 11, the centennial of the WWI Armistice. I spent about a year identifying 250 Rentonites who went off to war, but I also researched the Rentonites at home who were called upon for the first time to support the U.S. in “the war to end all wars.” One exhibit, a few gallery talks, and one newsletter article felt like hardly enough room to share all I had learned about this monumental community effort. Renton lost at least ten of its young men in WWI, and others who experienced WWI’s vicious battles never fully recovered. Families and friends of military service members breathed a sigh of relief when the German government collapsed, but there were many more challenges ahead to face. Renton was not immune from the Spanish influenza epidemic that came at the end of the war; twenty-six more Rentonites died of flu between October 1918 and February 1919, and another 56 suffered. Workers at Pacific Car & Foundry struck for higher wages, as workers did in many industries, believing that sacrifice during war ought to be rewarded by a share in profits. And, of course, the Great War did not end all wars. A devastated Europe needed to be rebuilt; Rentonite William Seguin stayed to work with the American Relief Administration, delivering food to Allied countries, but the war’s aftermath left resentments that would simmer into WWII. For some families, WWI began a tradition of military service that continued with the Second World War. The sons of Charles Tamborini, Jesse Brisky, and others served in WWII. WWI vets Verne Jenkins and George Milhuff fought in both wars. It was a time of active support for the troops, certainly, but also for the kind of soul-searching that crisis stimulates. The conflict encouraged Rentonites to think deeply about what was special about American values. Renton history teacher Louise Ingersoll organized free evening classes reviewing the problems of modern history, a way to do “her bit toward winning the war.” And numerous newspaper editorials explored the problems leading to war: “race hatred,” tyranny, and poverty. Here’s hoping that we remember—without the stimulus of war—what is unique and precious about American justice, equality, diversity, and democracy. by Elizabeth P. Stewart, Museum Director William Seguin took an early discharge from the 461st Co. Engineers to work with the American Relief Administration after the war. (U.S. Passport Applications, 1918) RENTON HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Sarah Samson Graphic Design & Layout Karl Hurst City of Renton Print & Mail Services RENTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Laura Clawson, President Colleen Lenahan, Vice President Jessica Kelly, Treasurer Antoin Johnson, Secretary Lynne King, 2019 Pete Kalasountas, 2020 Betsy Prather, 2021 Elizabeth Stewart, Board Liaison MUSEUM STAFF Elizabeth P. Stewart Museum Director Sarah Samson Curator of Collections & Exhibitions Kate Dugdale Public Engagement Coordinator Nezy Tewolde Office Aide RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM 235 MILL AVENUE S RENTON, WA 98057 P (425) 255-2330 HOURS: Tuesday - Saturday 10:00am - 4:00pm ADMISSION: $5 (Adult) $2 (Child) Renton Bulletin exemplified the national introspection after WWI ended. (Bulletin, 6 Dec 1918) 4 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM UPCOMING EVENTS HIDDEN FIGURES MOVIE SCREENING March 2 11:00 am-1:30 pm Join us for a special screening of the 2016 film Hidden Figures, which tells the story of three African American female mathematicians working for NASA during the Space Race. This film is rated PG. TAKE A STAND AGAINST CYBERBULLYING March 14 6:00-7:00 pm Join Dr. Michelle Bennett for a workshop for parents and educators on the topic of cyberbullying. Participants in the workshop will learn tools to recognize and evaluate instances of cyberbullying. GLOBAL HEAT February 9 1:00-2:00 pm Global Heat’s family-friendly performance will celebrate and explore the Black roots of hip hop through fusion music, break dancing, and educational interludes between pieces. VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Thank you to everyone who helped make our History- Making Party a success: donors, volunteers, and guests. Thanks to all your hard work and generosity, we were able to meet our fundraising goals for the night and set a record for the second highest amount raised at our fall auction event! Special appreciation goes to our event sponsors—Service Linen Supply, Rain City Catering, Four Generals Brewing, and Old Soul Candle Co.—and volunteers from the Renton Youth Council and Hazen High School’s Future Business Leaders of America. I want to extend an extra thanks to my fellow board members, especially event co-chairs Lynne King and Jessica Kelly. With such a small Board of Trustees, each of us has to contribute significantly in order for the event to succeed, and you all knocked it out of the park. The event would also not be possible without the incredible staff of the Renton History Museum. Each of them pours their heart into the work they do every day to preserve the history of our great city. Fundraising efforts like the History-Making Party are absolutely essential to the continued existence and future expansion of the Museum. As many of you know, the Renton History Museum is not just an archive of historical items. While the staff do catalog and care for a broad range of artifacts and ephemera as part of their daily work, what makes the Museum special is what they do with that body of knowledge. With every exhibit, newsletter feature, social media post, and program, and the staff create new and exciting ways to connect Rentonites to our past and to each other. Your support at the auction and through other fundraising efforts ensures that the Museum will continue to be an anchor in our community, shaping conversations about who we are, where we’ve been, and where we want to go in the future. Exhibits cannot happen without banners, panels, paint, mounts and cases that properly and safely display our collection, and staff time dedicated to researching and writing the content. Quality programming cannot happen without talented speakers and performers, historical costumes and reproductions, and refreshments for guests. All of these things cost money. For me, donating to the Museum is a small price to pay to reap the enormous benefits of having this incredibly unique institution right here in the heart of Renton. Thank you to all of you who stand beside me in this belief and who contribute to making the Renton History Museum thrive through your donations of talent, time, and treasure. by Colleen Lenahan, Vice President Our excellent emcee Aunt Dottie entertaining the crowd. Colleen Lenahan Vice President Guests David & Amy Gorton tested their luck in the raffle. WINTER QUARTERLY, 2018 | 5 This period intensified concerns about immigration, and Renton was affected by the national attitude of anti- German fear and even hatred that swept across the country. Cigarmaker August Lepa had operated his business in downtown Renton since at least 1909 when war struck. When he died at his Wells Street home in 1915, aged 64, his obituary pointed to the picture of the Kaiser found in his pocket as hidden evidence that he was “a strong sympathizer with the German cause.”2 On May 18, 1917 Congress passed the Selective Service Act, requiring men between 21 and 30 to register. The draft focused Rentonites’ minds in a real way; city leaders began a push to get Renton residents to support their sons, brothers, fathers, and husbands. By December 1917, with Americans about to be dispatched to Europe, Rentonites had to find a way to put their differences aside and unite behind the war effort. Renton had never been asked to involve itself in world events before, but now the city had to be part of something bigger than itself. Some Renton men did not wait for the draft to catch up with them. Reese Williams, a Bellingham shipyard worker, was reportedly the first Renton man to enlist in the Continued from page 1 Cover photo: Private 1st Class Ed Koskinen (L) and fellow private in training at Camp Lewis, 1918. Koskinen left the service as a Sergeant in the 361st Infantry after serving at the French front. (Courtesy of Sarah Jane Allison Hisey) A group of Renton boys in happier times, 1916. Tom Pritchard (2nd from left), Fred Hancock (3rd from left), Frank“Frenchie”Vaise (3rd from right), Rufus Morrison (2nd from right), and Art Evans (far right) all served in WWI. Fred Hancock was killed when the Mount Vernon was hit by a torpedo. (RHM# 1981.121.3097) WE HAVE THE PEOPLE AT HOME WITH US 6 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM Navy after war was declared.3 Popular Renton boxer Frank “Frenchie” Vaise enlisted in the U.S. Marines in September 1917, perhaps motivated by Germany’s attack on his father’s home country. Frenchie had worked as a machinist at the Seattle Car & Foundry and he was a popular amateur boxer at Renton’s “smokers,” all-male fundraisers put on by the Renton Volunteer Fire Department. He was well- known in Renton and his enlistment undoubtedly set an example for others.4 Michael Albanese, who arrived in Renton from Italy in 1912, was reportedly the first man to enlist in Seattle.5 The Military Naturalization Act of May 9, 1918 expedited citizenship for aliens who joined the military, and thus service became a draw. While working in Alaska on railroad construction, Umberto Barei enlisted in Co C, 14th Infantry. They went to Des Moines, IA for training, where he became a naturalized citizen on Armistice Day. Giovanni Zanoni worked as a laborer at Seattle Car & Foundry and lived with his cousin Pete Gatti in Renton. Zanoni served with the Machine Gun Co., 361st Infantry Regiment from June 1918 until he was killed on the French front in October; he never had the chance to become naturalized.6 For many young men from Renton, their WWI service was the first time away from home and certainly the first time out of the country. As horrific as battle was, in letters home these soldiers focused on their positive experiences: new sights, camaraderie with their fellow soldiers or sailors, and their appreciation for the support from home. Local War suspicions made neighbors look askance at one another after 1914. Some, like Ben Lindgren, felt compelled to defend their patriotism. ("Notice to the Public," Renton Bulletin, 7 Apr 1917) The Military Naturalization Act of 1918 made military service a quicker path to citizenship. Many new immigrants, like Umberto Barei, took advantage of the chance to naturalize. (RHM# 2018.033.001) Corp. Jack Allison, Co D Engineers, 91st Division. (Courtesy of Sarah Jane Allison Hisey) WINTER QUARTERLY, 2018 | 7 newspapers regularly published their letters, so that other families could be reassured. Ernest Kendtner, Ray Richards, Michael Klepach, and Ralph Lawrence were regular letter- writers.7 From “Somewhere in France,” Private Lawrence wrote, “We are having our first experience with gas masks and helmets. The drill is interesting, because it is all new to us.” “Some of the old chateaus and grounds are certainly works of art,” he reported, “And the truck farms and vineyards are nice.” 8 After the war and away from the wartime censors, however, accounts by doughboys could be more candid. Corporal Jack Allison, Co D Engineers, 91st Division, left his family an extraordinary collection relating to his WWI service. A Scotsman who immigrated first to Canada, Allison came to Renton in 1913 where friends had settled; he quickly found work as a draftsman at Denny-Renton Clay & Coal. In spring 1918 he was drafted into the Army and headed to Camp Lewis, where he applied for citizenship. By July 6 he was on a troop ship headed for the front. Corp. Allison’s accounts could be harrowing. WWI was a new kind of mechanized warfare, with poison gas, aerial bombing, machine guns, and tanks, against which soldiers had trenches, rifles, and bayonets. Allison described one terrifying attack: “About twenty hostile planes swooped down on us without any warning dropping bombs. They then dropped lower to within 300 feet from the ground and opened up on us with their machine guns. It came on us so suddenly and unexpectedly that no one had a chance. Two bombs dropped about thirty feet from our kitchen, bumping off many of our men and the machine guns claimed their share. Corporal Edwards, standing beside myself and Corp. DeVroy[,] got his right arm almost severed. He turned to us and said, ‘the dirty sons of B-----s got me Jack.’”9 In spite of the cold, hunger, fatigue, and fear, Corp. Allison was a keen observer, and his scrapbooks and diaries were illustrated with detailed—and often humorous—sketches of France and Belgium. He was moved by the appreciation of the French and Flemish. One day the soldiers scrounged together some money to buy some groceries, including steak, “paying an enormous price for it.” They went to a private home in a nearby village and asked whether the family would cook and share their meal. “While the food was being prepared,” Allison wrote, “some of the boys went out and rustled up 18 bottles of champagne and 12 bottles of Vin Rouge and we had a party worth remembering…. When we were leaving, the Father would insist on embracing each of us and conducting us arm in arm down the road a little.”10 Meanwhile, back home in Renton, everyone found a way to contribute to the war effort. The Renton Red Cross chapter organized fundraisers, and they learned to knit garments for freezing soldiers. By mid-1918 Renton’s knitters had supplied almost 1500 garments for servicemen, including 505 pairs of socks and 363 sweaters.11 Private Howard McElhoe acknowledged receiving a sweater, writing that “such a gift proves we have the people at home with us.”12 The YMCA also raised funds for rest centers for soldiers at the front. Postmaster Continued on page 10 Serving in the Renton Auxiliary of the Red Cross was one way women contributed to the war effort. They raised money for soldiers' comforts, rolled bandages, and knit much-needed clothing for men at sea and in the trenches. (RHM# 1986.052.2167) 8 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM I have been asked several times when we will be doing an exhibit on the Vietnam War and the question has been coming with increasing regularity as of late. The war ended 43 years ago and was a seminal moment in many adults’ lives, so the question doesn’t surprise me. My answer, however, seems to surprise our visitors: “We only have one artifact from the Vietnam War.” Up until very recently, this statement was true. Most things are donated to history museums long after they were created or used, once they become “old enough.” I find that many items are also donated only after the original owners no longer have living relatives who personally remember them. Once that immediate connection is lost, families have an easier time letting go of their heirlooms. It doesn’t surprise me, then, that we haven’t yet received Vietnam-era donations. People who served in Vietnam are still very much alive and the war isn’t exactly ancient history to them. The tragedy and controversy of the war also makes it difficult for people to part with the physical remnants of that time period. It does, however, appear that we’ve passed an arbitrary date, because in the last 18 months we have received two Vietnam War-related donations. The first donation is the dress uniform, medals, and photographs of Harley “Sam” Smith. He was born in Renton and was only twenty when he headed to Vietnam. COLLECTION REPORT by Sarah Samson, Curator of Collections & Exhibitions He served in the Army for two years before being wounded in Da Nang, Vietnam in 1967. He received the Purple Heart for his service. The second donation is letters, photos, and other small artifacts from Army Pfc. Bob Clements. He was born in Seattle but his family moved between there and Renton as he grew up. Clements was the second of four sons. He was also only twenty when he shipped overseas, leaving behind his young wife and one-year-old son. The letters in this collection are wrenching; they describe the hellish conditions the soldiers faced. He described his introduction to the war in Vietnam: “I was out in the field for one day when it happened. …It was about 7AM when 3 mortar rounds hitting [sic] inside our perimeter. Then a couple of V.C. opened up with automatic weapons. It was like the end of the world. The result was out of 27 men in our [battalion] 2 dead, 13 wounded. We were left with 12 good men. A mortar round landed right next to our Lt., it blew half of his head off. The scrapnel [sic] tore my hootch up, my pack and my ammo. God spared me this time, but what about next time. Who knows.” Sadly, Clements did not make it home alive. He was killed accidentally by his own unit when faulty ammunition exploded far short of its intended target. The Vietnam War brings up strong feelings in almost everyone who lived through it. The physical artifacts from that time period deserve care and respect. If you have items you feel might be appropriate for our collection, please do contact me via email at ssamson@ rentonwa.gov. Sarah Samson Curator Harley "Sam" Smith (center) during training in California, 1965. Bob Clements at mail call in Vietnam, 1969. WINTER QUARTERLY, 2018 | 9 MEMORIAL DONATIONS August 11, 2018 - November 10, 2018 Ruth Bill Carrie & Greg Bergquist Daniel Cartwright Carrie & Greg Bergquist Glenn & Janet Bressan Dannette Davidson Hazelle Dubois Virginia (Ginny) Greenlee Al & Shirley Armstrong Richard“Babe”Lucotch Donovan Lynch Florence & Vern Morris Tom & Linda Morris Florence Murray Hazelle Dubois Peter G. Newing Deborah Newing Anthony (Tony) Porcello Kathryn Argano McKnight Bettijane Tomkinson Anonymous MEMORIAL DONATIONS OF $100 OR MORE Jane & Jesse Storey Neil & Margaret Storey GENERAL DONATIONS OF $1000 OR MORE Harper Engineering Children's Fund - Renton Regional Community Foundation GENERAL DONATIONS OF $500 OR MORE Lynne & Mike King Jason & Terri Parker GENERAL DONATIONS OF $100 OR MORE All Clear, Inc. Charmaine Baker Brent & Laurie Beden Kelly Beymer Janet Christiansen Theresa & Stephen Clymer Jennifer Davis Hayes Jeff Dineen Nancy Fairman Roxanne Hanson & Toni Nelson Don & Cailin Hunsaker Kristine King Shane Klingenstein Denis Law Carol Magistad Mary & Gerry Marsh Marcie Maxwell Bob McCorkle Bryce Miller & Kevin Poole Barbara Nilson Armondo Pavone Andy Sparks Michael & Pamela Teal Kim Unti GENERAL DONATIONS Angie Benedetti Cathy & Harley Brumbaugh Mary Lou Burdulis Carolyn Calhoun Dan Clawson Phyllis Davey Jill Devenport Carren Donati Amy & David Gorton Roberta Graver Don & Judy Gunderson Kris Hansen Ila Hemm Karl Hurst Don & Pearl Jacobson Antoin Johnson Pete & Rena Kalasountas Alex Kalinin & Kim Owens Colleen Lenahan Barb Mandic Naomi Mathisen Stephanie McIrvin Margaret Nicosia Manio & Ann Phillips Betsy & Robert Prather Al Ralston & Ruth Perez Yvonne Redding-White Bob Reeder Jennifer Rosenberger Sarah Samson Mark & Barbara Santos- Johnson David Schmitt Jr. Janene Sestak Carmen Uti James Wilhoit Marlene Winter Carol Ann Witschi MUSEUM SPONSORS DONATION IN HONOR OF MARK S. YOUNG Anonymous NEW MEMBERS Margaret Nicosia 10 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM Thomas Harries—too old for the Army—would ultimately take a leave of absence to serve as a YMCA Secretary in Italy, for which he would later be awarded an Italian knighthood.13 American involvement in WWI only lasted nineteen months, but news of war casualties made the war real. The first three local men killed were teamster Fiorenzo Tira, construction laborer Fred Hancock, and apprentice mariner Merle Meehan. Private Tira was killed in action in France on August 1, 1918. Fireman 1st Class Hancock was killed with 34 other sailors on September 5 when a German torpedo hit the Mount Vernon. Meehan, a brand new sailor in the U.S. Navy, drowned when he fell off a gang plank in the Tacoma shipyard on September 11.14 The city organized a joint memorial service for the three in the Grand Theatre. Resolutions of sympathy were read and three gold stars were pinned to an American flag. Finally, “T. D. Rockwell, of Seattle, delivered an eloquent address, calling upon us for increased devotion to the cause for which our youths are giving their lives.”15 Seven other Renton men also died in WWI, including 29-year-old miner Battista Pasini, the only Renton-area WWI soldier buried in Arlington Cemetery. Pasini, John Zanoni, Paul Folmsbee, William Hilliker, and John A. Nelson were all killed in battle in France. Reese Williams and Ike Melville died in hospitals of pneumonia that might have been Spanish influenza.16 But the men who did come home were not unscathed. Jack Allison vividly remembered the effects of “shell shock”—what we now know as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—long after he returned.17 The horrors of Continued from page 7 Renton welcomed servicemen home from war with a parade on August 9, 1919. About 250 Renton men served, from a population of about 3000; ten never returned. (RHM# 1981.121.3102) war derailed the course of some young men’s lives. Frenchie Vaise, wounded in the hip and missing in action for some time, returned home in 1920, but was never able to pick up his championship boxing career. He died in 1925 at the age of 34.18 But others had their lives changed for the better by the sense of purpose war brought to Renton. Before the war Olive Guitteau had worked as a baby nurse for wealthy families, but after training at Seattle General Hospital and University of Washington, she joined the Army Nurse Corps as a Lieutenant. She worked for more than a year caring for returning soldiers at Fort Snelling in Minnesota, and then worked for the rest of her life as a public health nurse for King County and the Renton School District.19 Thomas H. Williams Jr. was the only Renton soldier to bring home a war bride. He spent much of the war stationed in England with the Motor Transport Service, and there he met Anetta Kalepp; they were married a month after Armistice Day.20 Mobilizing for war brought Rentonites together for the first time in support of a national effort in a global battle. They sent their men to battle, organized initiatives to help servicemen, joined groups like the YMCA and Red Cross, and planted Victory gardens. The war helped clarify what being an American and being a Rentonite meant to them. As one Renton Herald editorial explained it: “We Americans, reared, as we have been, in a land where every neighborhood is composed of French, Germans, English, Irish, and other nationalities…cannot appreciate the deep-seated hatred that exists between many of the European races…. Race hatred must go…. And with it will go the chief reason for war.”21 WINTER QUARTERLY, 2018 | 11 MEMBERSHIP FORM Please select a membership level: Individual $30 Student/Senior $20 Family $40 Benefactor $75 Patron $150 Business/Corporate $175 Life membership $750 Basic memberships Sustaining memberships Name: Address: Phone: Payment information Visa or MC #: Exp. date: Signature: Please make checks payable to Renton Historical Society. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation! Your donations help us provide new exhibits and exciting programs. 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I t d o e s n o t c o v e r t h e r i g h t s f e e w h i c h i s c h a r g e d s e p a r a t e l y . Renton History Museum 235 Mill Avenue South Renton, WA 98057 Phone: 425.255.2330 Fax: 425.255.1570 rentonhistory.org CVV code: Total: $ ENDNOTES 1 Photograph of Louis Barei as a truck driver in WWI in Italy (RHM# 1992.123.0224, donated by Louis Barei). 2 “Aged Cigar Maker Dies Alone,” Renton Herald, 8 Jan 1916, p.1. 3 “Far and Near News,” Seattle Star, 11 Oct 1918, p.7. 4 “Frenchie Vaise, Seattle Boxer, In U.S. Marines,” Seattle Times, 6 Sep 1917, p.16. Vaise’s friends Rufus Morrison and Art Evans also enlisted early. Evans enlisted in the Navy with Fred Illian and John Hogan, and Evans and Hogan served together on the Idaho, patrolling the coast of South America. 5 “World War Veteran Dies,” Renton Chronicle, 23 Apr 1936, p.5 6 Petition for Naturalization for Virginia Barei, 1940; U.S. Army Discharge Papers, Umberto Barei, 21 Feb 1919; U.S. Army Transport Passenger Lists, 1918. Wartime naturalization applications often originated at Camp Lewis, with commanding officers serving as witnesses. 7 “Letters from Boys in Service,” Renton Bulletin, 31 May 1918, p.1; “A Letter from Private Michael Klepach,” Renton Bulletin, 17 Jan 1919, p.1; “A Renton Boy’s Experience,” Renton Bulletin, 21 Feb 1919, p.1. The Bulletin published extensive selections from Ernest Kendtner’s diary between 31 May 1918 and 12 Jul 1918. 8 “Extracts of a Letter from Ralph Lawrence,” Renton Bulletin, 14 Jun 1918, p.1. 9 Jack Allison Diary, 2 Oct 1918 (Courtesy of Sarah Jane Allison Hisey). Allison himself censored the word. 10 Jack Allison Diary, 15 Oct 1918 (Courtesy of Sarah Jane Allison Hisey). 11 “Renton Red Cross Auxiliary,” Renton Bulletin, 28 Jun 1918, p.1. 12 “Renton Soldiers in France Write to the Patriotic Council,” Renton Bulletin, 5 Apr 1918, p.1. 13 “Renton Ex-Postmaster a Knight; Receives High Honor from Italy,” Seattle Times, 15 Feb 1920; “Thomas Harries Tells of Y. M. C. A. Work Overseas,” Renton Bulletin, 23 Jul 1920, p.1. 14 “Memorial Services Held,” Renton Bulletin, 20 Sep 1918, p.1; “Fred Hancock Killed,” Renton Bulletin, 13 Sep 1918, p.1; Renton Bulletin, 13 Sep 1918, p.1; “Last Sad Rites of Merle Meehan,” Renton Bulletin, 4 Oct 1918, p.1; “Casualties of War,” Seattle Times, 2 Nov 1919, p.25. Two other Renton casualties were listed in the Seattle Times Honor Roll—Benjamin Olmsted and James W. Harries—but their biographical and military service details have so far been lost to history. Seattle Times, 2 Nov 1919, p.35. 15 “Memorial Services Held,” Renton Bulletin, 20 Sep 1918, p.1. 16 “Far and Near News,” Seattle Star, 11 Oct 1918, p.7; “Former Renton Boy Killed in the Trenches,” Renton Bulletin, 25 Oct 1918, p.1; “Ike Melville Dies in France,” Renton Bulletin, 6 Dec 1918, p.1; “Died for His Country,” Renton Bulletin, 13 Dec 1918, p.1. 17 “Gas Alarms,” Jack Allison Scrapbook, n.d. (Courtesy of Sarah Jane Allison Hisey). Jack Allison returned to his job at Denny-Renton, married Leatha Ismay Maddison in 1933, and they raised two daughters. 18 “Frenchy Vaise Shot,” Seattle Times, 8 Dec 1918, p.70; “Local News,” Renton Bulletin, 20 Dec 1918, p.3; Dr. Bronson’s Hospital Book, 12 Dec 1934. George W. Seguin, son of Rose Lindgren and Peter Seguin, also seemed to have his life derailed by war. By January 1920 he was detained in the U.S. Naval Prison in Vallejo, CA, and again in the Oregon State and McNeil Island, WA Penitentiaries in 1930. He was killed by a girlfriend in a struggle over a gun in Kennydale in 1935. “George Seguin Dies from Revolver Shot at Kennydale Home,” Renton Chronicle, 5 Sep 1935, p.1. 19 “Miss Guitteau, School Nurse, Taken By Death,” Renton Chronicle, 13 Jan 1955, p. 5. 20 “Brings War Bride Home,” Renton Bulletin, 27 Jun 1919, p.3. 21 “We Americans,” Renton Herald, 25 Nov 1916, p.1. Corp. Allison wrote, "The Boche treated us incessantly to gas—mustard, sneezing, and chlorine… Next to an air raid the soldier in action has a dread of gas…. It silently pounces on one ghost-like and slowly strangles the life out of him." ("Gas Alarms," drawing by Jack Allison, courtesy of Sarah Jane Allison Hisey) RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM 235 Mill Ave. S Renton, WA 98057 New Year postcard, 1910 (RHM# 2000.127.2692) IN HINDSIGHT...