A Long Way from Home: U.S.O. Piano Signatures

Signing the piano
Those Who Served

~~This is the third in a series of posts about the Harvey County U.S.O. during World War II~~

"A long way from home,

A long way to go,

I hope my next stop

Is Spokane,

but it is Tokyo."

-A verse written on the USO Piano

Signatures cover nearly every surface of the U.S.O. Piano.  A total of  2,643 signatures can be identified.   Some include a poem, like above, or a small drawing. One person signed as "Donald Duck".  Most are simply a name, city and state; a tangible record of one moment the history of the United States.

Each person that came through Newton and signed the piano had their own story and circumstances.They came from all over the United States including California and New York.  The majority of signatures are men, although some women, like Private Betty Carrington from San Gabriel, CA, signed the piano. Race was also no barrier - all were encouraged to sign the U.S.O. piano.

Newton was in a unique position during World War II.  As a rail hub, trains stopped longer to refuel  and load supplies. During the peak of the war, as many as 44 passenger trains filled with troops stopped at Newton in a twenty-four hour period.  The tired and hungry service men and women needed a place to stay while they waited for the next leg of their journey.  The U.S.O. provided a space, and musicians played the piano to provide entertainment.

In 1998, museum volunteer, Stephanie Hill, took on the task of cataloging all of the names on the piano.  She created a data base with the list of names which is cross referenced alphabetically and by state.

A few years ago, it was noted that one of the signatures on the piano was "Roy Acuff, Knoxville Tenn".  Photo tech, Linda Koppes decided to research to see if it could be confirmed that the piano was signed by 'THE' Roy Acuff,  famous country singer.

Signature detail - Roy Acuff

She wrote to Brenda Colladay, Museum & Photograph Curator of the Grand Ole Opry and sent some photos of the signature. Ms. Colladay agreed that the signature matched other signatures by Acuff.  She also noted that he frequently entertained troops for the U.S.O., both at home and abroad.  She added, "He was named most popular singer in a poll of G.I.s stationed in Europe during World War II - even beating Frank Sinatra." 

Letter Confirming Acuff's signature

Roy Acuff was born in Maynardsville, TN Sept 15, 1903.  A country music singer and fiddler, he sold more records in the 1930s and 40s than any country music star. In 1938, Acuff recorded the Wabash Cannonball, one of his most enduring songs.
Listen to it here  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yhvv234oaA. 

Roy Acuff

In addition to performing, Acuff co-founded a recording company,the Acuff-Rose Publishing Co.  During the 1940s, he appeared in eight movies. He earned the nickname "King of Country Music" and in 1962 he was the first living inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Throughout the 1970s, he performed almost exclusively with the Grand Ole Opry.  He remained active in the music business until his death November 23, 1992 at the age of 89.

Roy Acuff, 1992

The U.S.O. Piano is on exhibit at the Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives.  A data base of the names on the piano is also available for researchers. 

Sources:  Those Who Served by William Jewell, Kansan Printing Co., Newton, Ks; World War II Piano Signatures, compiled by Stephanie Hill, Harvey County Historical Society, 1998; U.S.O. Piano File, Curatorial, HCHM

For more information on the Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives, visit: http://hchm.org/

An Irreplaceable Piece of History: The U.S.O. Piano

USO Group No. 11
Note Piano in background
Those Who Served

~~This is the second post in a series of three about the Harvey County U.S.O.~~

Our October 18, 2012  post focused on the history of the Harvey County U.S.O. organization during World War II. The Post can be read here: http://harveycountyvoices.blogspot.com/2012/10/welcome-friends-have-coke-harvey-county.html.  This second post will feature the U.S.O. Piano, perhaps the museum's most unique artifact.  Also, in the course of additional research, more photographs of the interior of the U.S.O. were discovered and are included with this post. 

U.S.O. Group No 7 Dinner Party
V.F.W. Post 971
Mrs. Estellee van Rossum at the piano

Identification for above photo from the book, "Those Who Served.

USO Scenes
Note Piano in backkground.
Those Who Served

The Harvey County U.S.O. provided showers and food to the traveling soldiers.

Providing clothing
Those Who Served

The volunteers also provided a space for socializing and entertainment.

Relaxing in the Lounge
Those Who Served

 Local lawyer, Fred Ice and his wife loaned a pool table for soldiers to play.

Pool Table
Those Who Served

A Kreiter upright piano was given to the Lounge by a local family, businessman, George A. & Effaye A. Sharp.

George A. Sharp

The piano was manufactured by the Kreiter Piano Company in Milwaukee, MI.  The company was opened  by German immigrant Conrad Kreiter in 1880 (or some sources say 1897).  At one time the company produced 10,000 pianos a year including grand pianos, uprights and player pianos.  There was also a plant in Marinette, WI, but it closed around 1930.  The Kreiter Piano Co. was out of business by 1945.

It is not clear if the Sharp family bought the piano specifically for the U.S.O. , or donated one that they had in their home.

Music Trade Review Clipping

After the Sharp family donated the piano to the Harvey County U.S.O., it was painted white and someone had the idea to encourage soldiers to sign their names and give their home address.

Which they did.

Signing the Piano
Those Who Served

Detail of U.S.O. Piano, 2012

After the war, the piano was given to Bethel College, North Newton for a short time.  American Legion took possession of the piano in 1949 or 50. In 1993, the American Legion was in need of more room and they offered the piano to the Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives, Newton.

The piano was no longer white.  One theory is that nearly fifty years of tobacco smoke in the Legion turned the color of the piano to the golden color it is today.  Another theory is that at one point, in an effort to preserve the names, the piano was varnished.  This theory has merit, if you look closely, some of the signatures are slightly blurred.

   

U.S.O. Piano 2012

Harvey County's U.S.O. Piano was not done traveling yet.  In the fall of 2009, the museum was contacted by the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, LA about borrowing the piano for an exhibit they were planning, "Entertaining the Troops". 

So, in November 2009, the piano traveled to New Orleans to be part of a national exhibit open December 7, 2009 through March 2010.

Loading the piano with help from Micheal J's Movers, Wichita

Loading the piano.

The piano, "an irreplaceable piece of America's wartime history," was returned to the museum in the Spring of 2010. It remains on exhibit at the Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives as a reminder of soldiers who passed through Newton, Ks in the 1940s. 

The last post in this series will focus the soldiers that signed the piano and answer the question - did any famous people sign the piano?

Sources:  Photos and identification from HCHM Photo Archives and Those Who Served published by Kansan Printing, Newton, Kansas, N.D. available at the Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives.

Ever wonder what service organizations were developed during the Civil War to aid soldiers? Visit http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-sanitary-commission-in-field.html to learn more.

"Welcome Friends - Have a Coke": The Harvey County U.S.O. - Part I

"The U.S.O. and Red Cross in Kansas, especially in Newton, are doing a commendable job in meeting trains, seeking out the soldiers and giving them cookies, cigarettes, fruit, coffee, matches, stationary,candy and reading matter in a manner that none of the other states visited can boast."  -Undated clipping, Evening Kansan Republican, "A letter from a  Mother"  HCHM USO Piano File.

~~This is the first of a three part series on the Harvey County U.S.O. during World War II~~ 

Museums and Archives house many one of a kind objects, documents and photographs.  These irreplaceable objects are links to our community's past and the people that lived through historic events.  Sometimes the object itself is nothing special, common place, but the association with event and people make it unique.  The Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives has two objects related to Harvey County's U.S.O. during World War II, a Kreiter upright piano and the U.S.O. train cart.  This first post will give a brief history of Harvey County's U.S.O. and recipes for the cookies served to the traveling soldiers.

Canteen Sign

The Harvey County Chapter U.S.O. was organized in Newton on April 10, 1942 with representatives from each Harvey County town on the governing council.  At first, the U.S.O. operated in connection with the Red Cross Canteen on East 5th in Newton.  However, by October 1, 1942 the U.S.O. "Troops in Transit Lounge" was located just west of the depot at 421 Main, Newton.

Harvey County Chapter Canteen
ca. 1945

A group was formed to answer the need some saw to provide services to soldiers as they traveled through Newton on the trains. Because trains stopped longer in Newton to refuel and pick up supplies, soldiers had time to get off the train and look for food and entertainment. 

"Welcome Friend, Have a Coke"Sign above canteen door.

The 'Troops is Transit Lounge', staffed largely by community volunteers, was a place where soldiers could go while they were in Newton. The Lounge was furnished with comfortable chairs, writing desks, and game tables. The U.S.O. also provided food and drink. Volunteers would also meet the soldiers on the trains if time did not allow them to come to the Lounge. The U.S.O. Cart, seen in the photo below, was pushed down the train car isle and volunteers would pass out snacks and drinks to the passengers.  The U.S.O. volunteers worked to make sure that someone met each train with soldiers on it. 

U.S.O.cart & Volunteers
Canteen No. 9, Newton Ks
1942

Refreshments were free and usually made by volunteers.  Typically, coffee and doughnuts were available in the mornings.  Lunch was provided and the menu varied. Home baked cookies and cakes were always available to hungry soldiers.  Below are two cookie recipes used by Canteen volunteers.

~~~

Special meals were made on the holidays Thanksgiving and Christmas.  At Christmas time, volunteers were ready with gifts for soldiers coming through during the season.  A mother in Washington D.C. wrote a letter to the Evening Kansan Republican expressing her gratitude for the care given to her son.

"Thank you for being nice to my son on his first Christmas eve away from home.  He writes me that you even gave them all a Christmas present and he said the town and the reception they got would long be remembered." 

The Lounge was also equipped with showers for the weary traveler.  One service was unique to the Harvey County U.S.O. - the underwear and sock exchange. Soldiers could leave their dirty underwear and socks in exchange for a freshly laundered and mended set.  Volunteers would launder and mend the items for the next soldier.  Over one thousand suits of underwear and sock were exchanged during the nearly four and a half years the Lounge was open.  

The Harvey county U.S.O. closed September 1, 1946.  During the time that it was open, 2,217,385 Troops in Transit were served at the U.S.O. Lounge.

~~Next week's post will focus on entertaining the soldiers and the U.S.O. piano.~~