By Kaye Phillips
For Swiss Community Historical Society Facebook
E-mail is a commonly used form of communication, but have you heard of V-mail?
V-mail, short for 'Victory mail" was used during WWII to expedite mail service for the Armed Forces serving overseas. V-mail was put in place to reduce the space needed to transport mail and free up room to ship other valuable supplies.
I found this V-mail sent from a very special cousin, Edgar Schumacher, born in Riley Township, in our Swiss Settlement in 1909 to Menno Schumacher (1875-1966) and Lena Diller (1877-1964) and later married Kathryn Thutt on April 7, 1947. It was sent to and preciously saved by my grandparents Robert A. (1913-1985) and Kathryn Bame Gerber (1915-2009).
Edgar Schumacher is the person who painstakingly would visit the Musselman Library, Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio and peruse through microfiche and paper copies of the Bluffton News to later compile "Life in the Bluffton and Pandora, Ohio Community, 1877-1910: Excerpts from The Bluffton News." This is a much used work and very valuable to those who study the history of the Bluffton and Pandora areas.
I inherited my copy from Edgar's 1st cousin, Kathryn Gerber. The SCHS published this compilation and copies are still for sale at our annual Swiss Day meeting in June every year.
Finding this V-mail Christmas greeting brought back memories of Edgar and all he did for the Swiss Community Historical Society of Bluffton and Pandora. Edgar dedicated this booklet to his dear wife, Kay Thut Schumacher. Edgar and countless persons of the past and present have given their all to preserve our history for generations to come. We have a special story. Join us in our journey.
