P.O. Box 244 ·  4 Maple Street 
Center Sandwich, New Hampshire 03227 
(603) 284-6269

 

 

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Junior Historical Society
World War II Memories
 

      In June 2007 the Society’s Education Committee decided to rejuvenate the  Junior Historian Program.  The committee, composed of five teachers and a librarian, thought that enlisting students to do a series of oral history video interviews of World War II veterans and others with memories of the war would be a good project to interest students in town history.

      The project was undertaken in conjunction with NH Public Television’s NH War Stories: Student Documentary Project, and was funded by the Suzita Cecil Myers Schneider Trust administered by the Lakes Region Foundation, a division of the NH Charitable Foundation.

      The society enlisted 10 children from grades five to eight to work with the education committee to identify surviving veterans of the war and other Sandwich residents who lived during that time.  The Junior Historians had visited the Wright Museum in July 2007 to view exhibits and collections to get a better understanding of the war.  After confirming ten interview subjects to be filmed on digital video sharing their memories of the war, the Junior Historians were trained to conduct an interview using the Smithsonian’s Oral History Guidelines.  They had four practice interviewing and taping sessions before they recorded interviews. Interviewed were:         

Spencer Martin, a B24 Pilot from Kansas City, MO who retired to Sandwich.

Donald Burrows, a Marine Rifleman who enlisted from Sandwich and made three amphibious landings in the Pacific.

Dean Swan, a sergeant in the US Army Engineers who served in France and enlisted from Sandwich.

William Nungesser, Sr., a Captain in the Engineers in Europe who was a career Army officer, and later supervised the Dartmouth Cold Weather Research Facility.

Carolyn Alcock, a Navy WAVE, and long-time resident.

F. Gerry Hambrook, a member of the US Army occupation force in Japan.

Jocelyn Gutchess who did war work in Washington, D.C. and was a summer resident in Sandwich during the war.  Her brother was a B-17 pilot who buzzed the town on the flight to England.

Caroline Snyder, a German-American refugee who settled in Sandwich after the  war.

      The students taped about a half-hour for each subject. Some of the interviews were conducted at the Marston House Museum and some at a location at the convenience of the interviewee. Three subjects were grandparents of the Junior Historians who interviewed them.  Students were able to interview, make videos and edit their work using equipment provided by the Sandwich Historical Society. 

      A compiled version of the project was shown at the society’s annual meeting to 50 people.  The society also hosted a similar program at the Benz Community Center on March 19, 2008 for the general public. Videotapes of the interviews are available at the Samuel Wentworth Library.

      The project was submitted to NH Public Television’s New Hampshire War Stories for judging. Certificates of Achievement will be issued to all individuals submitting a film.  A first, second, and third place film will be chosen in each division. Students and teachers who worked on these films will be invited to a ceremony recognizing their achievement.  The films are posted on the NH Public Television website, www.NHPTV.org (our Junior Historian's entries are labeled World War II Memories Part I and World War II Memories Part 2).

 

 

Reproduction of any photographs on this site are prohibited without the consent of the Sandwich Historical Society.