About

In 2016, Western Oregon University received an email from Marcy Moir, a book collector and seller from Washington state, regarding the fate of four World-War-One-era record books belonging to a Canadian-American nurse called Sister Lantz. The books were not Sister Lantz's diaries, but rather a series of autograph books in which Sister Lantz's patients made entries. The entries included hundreds of poems, drawings, stories, and names of soldiers and servicemen from all over the world. Marcy Moir had found the record books at an estate sale in Klamath Falls, Oregon in the 1990s, and had always meant to care for them and contact the families of the men in the books if possible. After going through old family photos in 2016, Marcy Moir remembered the record books and began searching for someone who could archive and care for them. The record books came into the hands of the Western Oregon University archives that year, and the research and publication of the books' contents has been undertaken by history student Mar Norr.

Since January 2017, Mar has compiled research and data about the record books, Sister Lantz, and the servicemen who wrote in the books, leading to the culmination of the project in this online exhibit. The exhibit features different entries containing experiences, poems, artwork, and other entries, tying the entries in with contemporary history and facts relating to the context of the entries, as well as the history of the authors. In doing this project, the curator hopes to provide new insight into the history of the First World War, the nursing sisters of the Red Cross, and the experiences of those who served.

With questions or comments, email Mar at therecordkeeper1916@gmail.com.