Category: 1940s

Bio: Gustaf and Lena Medine

This is an excerpt of a compiled genealogy of Gustaf Medine and his descendants. The full compiled genealogy includes a longer biography of Gustaf Medine, and biographies of three generations of his descendants. See the full document on this page. 

Gustaf and Lena Medine were my great-great grandparents. Gustaf emigrated from Sweden, met Lena in Germany, and then they immigrated together to the United States. They settled in DeKalb County, Illinois, where many of their descendants still live. This is a brief biography of their lives in the United States.

Gustaf Andreasson (known after 1882 as Gustaf Medine), was born 7 November 1853 at Mexarp, Mistelås parish, Kronoberg County, Sweden; died 30 June 1927 at Sycamore, DeKalb County, Illinois. He married about 1880 in Germany, Katharina (Lena) M. Schrader, daughter of Ralph Schrader. She was born 1 December 1862 in Schönberg, Holstein, Germany, and died 17 September 1940 in Sycamore. Continue reading “Bio: Gustaf and Lena Medine” →

100 Years Ago Today: Nana’s Birthday

Kaiser siblings in about 1934
Nana and her siblings Mary, Glendora, and Ronnie in front of their house in DeKalb in 1934.

My grandma, who we affectionately call Nana, would have been 100 years old today. Her name was Mildred Agnes Kaiser, named after her mother Mildred Irene, and she was born October 25, 1923. “Millie” was the second oldest child, but she never had a chance to meet her older brother, Vernon. He passed away before she was born when he was just four months old. She grew up on Garden Street in DeKalb, IL, with her three younger siblings, Glendora, Mary, and Ronnie. She had a large extended family, and spent a lot of time with her cousins on both sides of the family.

Continue reading “100 Years Ago Today: Nana’s Birthday” →

Hidden Heroes of WWII (Part V): DeKalb County Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps

DeKalb County Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps

Red Cross volunteer nurses aide poster
Recruiting poster for Volunteer Nurse’s Aides. (Image source: University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries)

Shortly after the start of the war, hospitals nationwide were facing a severe shortage of nurses and nurse’s aides. Many of the highly skilled young nurses were recruited into the military nurses corps, leaving a dire shortage of staff at civilian hospitals. To help fill this need, the American Red Cross worked with the Office of Civilian Defense to train 100,000 volunteers to be nurse’s aides. In DeKalb County, Mrs. Ulla May Schreck and a committee began training Volunteer Nurse’s Aides in June 1942 under the instruction of Elaine Fisher, R.N. Other instructors and coordinators included Nancy L. Hennis, Katherine Kane, Ruth E. Lankton and Bernice E. Schwirtz.  Continue reading “Hidden Heroes of WWII (Part V): DeKalb County Volunteer Nurse’s Aide Corps” →

Hidden Heroes of WWII (Part IV): DeKalb County WASP

DeKalb County WASP unit
Clipping from Daily Chronicle, DeKalb, 12 Sep 1940, p. 2.

The Women’s Ambulance Safety Patrol, or W.A.S.P., should not be confused with the Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII. These home front WASPs were prepared to serve their community and country if an emergency ever arose. They were prepared to drive and service ambulances, provide first aid and canteen units, and more. The Women’s Ambulance Safety Patrol was first established by a group of Rockford women in the spring of 1940. This was the first women’s ambulance program in the country. In a letter to Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt in February 1941, Rockford Lt. Mary E. Trosper wrote, “We are preparing fervently for the time when we shall be called upon to defend America. […] These women are put through rigid courses of training in first-aid, military drilling, auto mechanics, convoy transportation and in some units, the use of firearms. Our ultimate aim is to interest every able-bodied woman to prepare systematically for the defense of America in the homes, in the schools and in industries. Who can foresee what tasks will fall the lot of American women in the coming year? Whatever they be, the Women’s Ambulance Safety Patrol will be adequately prepared to fit snugly in the great wheel of National Defense and will cooperate to the utmost in the organization and training of American women for American defense.”  Continue reading “Hidden Heroes of WWII (Part IV): DeKalb County WASP” →

Hidden Heroes of WWII (Part III): DeKalb County Cadet Nurses

The United States and the world is currently facing a pandemic like we’ve never seen before. Some have said that society has not been unified under a single cause like this since WWII. So today, thank and support healthcare workers who are on the front lines of this epidemic. Then, remember the nurses, doctors, and nurses’ aides who also served in crucial roles during WWII.

To read the previous post about DeKalb County women during WWII, please click here.

Continue reading “Hidden Heroes of WWII (Part III): DeKalb County Cadet Nurses” →