Women from the Coal Region volunteered to provide assistance to troops during the First World War.
Lykens Red Cross chapter knitted, baked, and volunteered to help local soldiers overseas in 1918
Spanish Flu wreaked havoc in Tower City in October 1918, killed more than 110 people in three weeks
In the communities of western Schuylkill County, influenza caused terror and grief as it claimed dozens of lives in 1918.
Parade to raise money for World War I brought deadly influenza to Williams Valley in 1918
"Good music always has an appeal to most people," wrote a reporter accompanying a Liberty Loan Drive parade through Central Pennsylvania in the early fall of 1918. And in the coal towns of Dauphin County's Williams Valley, the bands and singers were particularly successful in attracting a crowd. On the evening of October 2, 1918, … Continue reading Parade to raise money for World War I brought deadly influenza to Williams Valley in 1918
Pennsylvania airman training for World War I writes home from his training camp in Texas
Victor Neiman penned a letter home to Lykens, PA from his training camp near San Antonio on December 26, 1917.
Christmastime at War in Harrisburg: 1917
Central Pennsylvania celebrated war-time Christmas in 1917 by welcoming soldiers on leave, big turkey dinners, and plenty of snow.
“All the coal crackers are here together” – Lykens Soldiers Write Home in December 1917
In a series of letters published by the Lykens Standard, we see the lives and perspectives of World War 1 soldiers from Central Pennsylvania.
“The army is a builder of men” – A Pennsylvania Soldier Reflects on Training for World War I
A corporal from Elizabethville, Pennsylvania writes home in December 1917 about training to become a soldier.
“First Lykens Boy Enlisted in World War”
The Lykens Standard reports on Charles Buffington joining the Army in April 1917 while encouraging others to volunteer.
“A Soldier’s Gratitude” – A World War I Soldier Thanks His Hometown Red Cross Auxiliary
Corp. William Graeff sent a note to the women of Elizabethville, PA thanking them for a handmade sweater sent to him in the fall of 1917.
“I am going to stick and protect the stars and stripes” – A World War I Soldier’s Letter
Leroy Temple writes home to Elizabethville, Pennsylvania from his training camp at Fort Riley, Kansas in the summer of 1917.