Nora Parker Letters And Paper

Today, the keyboard and mouse have a much higher value than pen and paper as a medium of communication, but this was not the case during the first half of the 20th century. Especially for soldiers and families during the World War I and II conflicts, the convenience and reliability of letters during this time period was unmatched by any other form of communication. Millions of letters were sent back and forth between soldiers and their loved ones throughout the course of both wars. These letters played a vital role as a platform for loved ones to interact and communicate with each other when separated by large distances. The University of Kentucky’s Special Collections Research Center has access to several of these types of documents from the …show more content…
Since there was such heavy emotional attachment put into these letters, the presented information or lack there of had the potential to bring people happiness or stress and anxiety. This leads to the question of whether the emotional rollercoaster that comes from the frequent exchange of letters and postcards during both of the World Wars worthwhile for both soldiers and their loved ones. Based the research done using the Jack and Nora Parker letters and the Canary letters, communication through letters was essential for keeping the morale of soldiers and families on the home front high for the most part despite the harsh effects which sometimes came along with …show more content…
In the case of George and LaVerne Canary, letters often served as an opportunity to reaffirm love and devotion. One letter that George wrote to LaVerne dictated, “Tonight, gosh, I love you awful much more than the law allows and than can ever understand. Why gal, I love you enough for ten people much less just one husband.” As a recipient, this letter must have been comforting to LaVerne to know that her husband was so dedicated to her. She was bound to have heard stories of the prostitution and infidelity that soldiers often engaged in during the war, but to know that George was still thinking about her constantly and professing so much love in just one letter probably helped put her mind at ease. For Mr. Canary, writing something like that in letter probably took a great deal of stress off of him since he was able to communicate to her the feelings that he had built up inside. Even though it was not face-to-face, it was a way to release some positive emotions. In another letter, George Canary’s mother wrote to him and said, “After all it is not the army you are training for it is to protect our family and your home.” and “Your troubles are ours”. These words from his mother probably relieved George from stress, and gave him motivation to keep working till he was able to go home. It also affirmed that the support system that he had did not just stop with