EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A family has donated nearly two dozen scrapbooks filled with news clippings from World War II to the library at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports Dorris William Wilton of Alton carefully followed news of the war while his son was serving with the U.S. Army. He filled 23 scrapbooks with clippings from coverage throughout the war, including articles from the Alton and St. Louis newspapers.
Wilton’s descendants donated the scrapbooks to be permanently preserved and available to researchers at the SIUE library archives and special collections.
History professor Jeffery Manuel says the books are important because they tell the history of the war as well as how people back home followed what was happening. Manuel says it’s “a thrill” to encounter such lovingly compiled documents.