The Estate Sale Chronicles

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Revisiting the World War I Diary, Found at an Estate Sale in 2012

In honor of Veterans Day, I'm sharing a blog post I originally published in 2012. It concerns a small notebook I found at an estate sale in Southern California.

***

I often see war-related items at estate sales. Recently I found a battered small notebook that served as the diary of a serviceman from World War One. (It was a dollar. I couldn't leave it there.)

The soldier, Brennan A. Mitchell, was a member of Battery B, 139^th Field Artillery, American Expeditionary Forces in France. With the diary was a photograph of soldiers in front of a building with a Red Cross sign.

A man of few words, this soldier from Sherman, Texas was part of history in 1918, even if he was often bored and had a little trouble with spelling as he recounted his adventures:

July 17 Arived in NY.

July 22 AWOL three days sent to hospital. AWOL ever night till Sept.17.

Sept. 19-20 Met Miss Zachary splendid time made the City ever other day till Sept. 29.

Sept. 30 Goldbricked till left on Oct. 6. [ I had to refresh my memory on this term. "Goldbricking" is slacking off at work while pretending to be busy.]

After reading through his diary and looking at a number of websites online, I came to the conclusion that Mitchell went to war on the HMS Cedric out of Long Island:

Set sail [to Liverpool] Oct. 6 enjoyed trip until night of 16 Wed. [at] 10:55 ship struck by torpedo or depth bomb. All was in an uproar until we found out we could make port.

Oct. 17, 1918 Thursday we landed in Liverpool Endland. Had a glorious reception by all. Red Cross served coffee. Hiked through city to camp arrived 1:45 after a two mile hike with full pack.

Up next morn Oct. 18 7 o’clock took bath walked around camp saw first German prisoners also New Zealand soldiers wer in a English camp.

Oct. 20 Sunday Up early washed went to church. After, went up to vilage with [indecipherable other soldiers' names] drank lots of beer. Real quaint village.

Shortly after that, Mitchell and his comrades took a train to Southampton and then sailed to Cherbourg, France.

Oct. 23 Left Cherbough in box cars 8 horses or 40 men 50 in our car…rode all night arrived in Aldmans [?] had supper. Arived in Plorenel [Ploermel?] France 12:30 a.m. bed.

Apparently they ended up in the ancient city of Vannes, where he bought two postcards.

Oct. 25 Up early after a very bad rest on floor in old Catholic convent built in 1400 and 1689 a very interesting building still occupied by French peasants. Went to town drank first French wine no good.

Nov. 8 Same things so I wrot nothing.

Nov. 9 Up early left for Camp De Meucon [American artillery training camp a few kilometers outside Vannes] road 16 miles in trucks hiked 15 miles with full pack.

Nov. 10 Up early ate washed went to church. After ran around camp. Saw captured German guns.

Nov. 11 Up early. Made gunner so practiced hard all day. Bed early.

Note the date: November 11, 1918. They finally gave him something useful to do, on the day the war ended.

Nov. 12 Same schedule gun practice. Awful happy heard armisti was signed war won drank too much wine that night had to tie my bed down.

Nov. 13 & 14 Went out to the guns in morning came back was made Battery tailor excused from all formations. Went to Y. can show came back turned in.

I hadn't realized that the YMCA was involved in serving soldiers during The Great War. But they were.

Nov. 15 PAY DAY Nothing special only word was that we would leave for US soon.

Nov. 20 Went to range fired four shots. Nothing else but tailor work.

Nov. 28 Nothing of importance since Nov. 20 only Y.M.C.A shows and some tailor work. Tonight we have orders to leave tomorrow ever one happy.

Only they didn’t leave France for several weeks. Something of importance finally happened to him a few days later...

I've spent a bit more time deciphering our soldier's handwriting, as he recounts his last days in France after the end of World War I. His spelling didn't improve with time.

Nov. 30 Up early packed left Camp De Meucon 1130 arived in Vannes 1230 -- eight mile in narrow guage train.

Dec. 1, 1918 No sleep all night left Vannes 430AM had lots of fun throwing bread at French kids. Arived in Brest [a port city in Brittany, France] about 6 oclock on baggage detail missed awful hike of five miles through mud came to camp ate late supper went to bed.

[Dec.] 2 In bed got up ate breakfast back in bed. Awful muddy camp worst I ever been in. Done nothing all day. Bed 8 o'clock. Rec'd. first letter from Preacher.

[Dec.] 3 B Battery on guard and camp detail for day. Thanks to my being Btry. tailor miss all detail. All I have done to-day is to lay in bed and listen to all the wild rumors about going home. Only a little after 5 ashamed to go to bed yet don't know what to do.

Mitchell spent several more days in a similar fashion, then found a variety of other ways to pass the time.

Dec. 6 Up early ate fooled around all day reading. About five thirty started to drinking rum using port wine for chaser. Killed all off with [apparently some sort of liqueur]. Got wild cursed the whole battery out went wild, no fights.

Dec. 7 Oh my head is as big as a barrel. sick. going to bed 5 oclock dark.

Dec. 8 On detail for work. Went to town. Quite a time with the ladies.

Mon. Dec. 9 Apointed Btry. cartoonist but refused to do any work. Received letter from home.

Tues. Dec. 10 Up eight rained all night. Went to Reg. Hdq. drew several sketches for History of Btry. B. 7 bells going to bed.

Wed. Dec. 11 Up too late for Breakfast cut Cpt. Cheneworth's slicker off. Fooled around all day doing absolutely nothing all day but draw two cartoons for history. Arkie and I are in bed eating candy. Rumors are that we leave tomorrow 7 bells.

Then something significant finally happened.

Dec. 12, 1918 Up for breakfast ate fooled around went down drew several cartoons. Got permission to go to town tomorrow to see Pres. Wilson land.

The website History.com notes:

After nine days at sea aboard the SS George Washington, Woodrow Wilson arrives at Brest, France, on December 13, 1918, and travels by land to Versailles. There, he headed the American delegation to the peace conference seeking a definitive end to World War I. The visit marked the first official visit by a U.S. president to Europe.

Brennan Mitchell gave us his perspective:

Dec. 13, 1918 Up early ate. Went to town 1030 stationed on street to meet Pres. Wilson. [He] came by about two o'clock in open top machine. Salute was given, 21 shots. Marched back to camp ate. Orders to leave for US tomorrow.

On December 15 (a day later than he expected), Mitchell and his comrades caught a ride on the SS George Washington back to the States:

On boat 1130 Geo. Washington same as Pres. came over on. "Oh boy." Eats fine, good show.

The on-board entertainment apparently included movies; in other diary entries during the crossing of the Atlantic, he mentions seeing films he enjoyed starring "Doug F." (Douglas Fairbanks) and (Mary) "Pickford."

Finally, on December 23, 1918, Mitchell's sojourn was over:

Up 630 rolled pack ate two meals came in harbor was met by Mayor's Committee of NJ. Got off boat 430 in J.C. (Jersey City?). Set out on hike to camp ate took bath now getting ready for bed.

Mitchell's narrative ends there. The diary contains a few more blank pages. Then tucked in the back of the diary is a page of semaphore drawings:

In doing some background research for this post, I discovered that there's footage of the parade with President Wilson in Brest on December 13, 1918, on YouTube. Somewhere in that crowd is Brennan A. Mitchell, whose diary ended up in an estate sale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRrYIjMCK2Q

For all that I occasionally felt I'd like to knock him in the head for his foolish behavior and atrocious spelling, I'm still glad Brennan Mitchell took notes. He never knew we'd be looking over his shoulder at history, almost 100 years later. Thank you, soldier.
________

I donated the War Diary and the large group photo to the Center for American War Letters at Chapman University, where they will be preserved and eventually digitized so students, historians, genealogists -- and you! -- can see and use them. http://www.chapman.edu/research-and-institutions/cawl/index.aspx

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

An Artist of Exceptional Ability

The old Christmas card I found at a Southern California estate sale was dated December 25, 1931. The inside sentiment reads:

Christmas wishes here I send you

For a glad and prosperous year

May God's peace and joy attend you

And all those whom you hold dear --

May you hear a happy story

Christmas carols high and low

May they bring you sweet contentment

Around a yule log all aglow.

The image on the card was surprisingly well-executed by the artist.

I peered at the artist's signature: "Wm. Mark Young," it read.

He's well-known enough to have an entry on Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Mark_Young

William Mark Young (1881–1946) was an American painter and commercial artist, known for his murals and book illustrations. He signed his work Wm. Mark Young.

Young was born in Alton, Illinois. He was educated at Upper Alton High School and the Washington University in St. Louis School of Fine Arts (now Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts). He established a commercial arts business in St. Louis, before relocating to Chicago. He also lived for a time in Cleveland, Ohio.

He was well known as a muralist. Among the books he illustrated was a 1939 edition of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. He also produced pictorial maps.

Illustration for Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol,
by William Mark Young. (Source: Internet Archive)

He died on January 1, 1946, at Wilmette, Illinois.

Scripture Pet Collectible Cards

People in the Victorian and early Edwardian eras seemed to love beautifully decorated printed cards. Valentines, Christmas cards, postcards, and advertisements for businesses and products were collected and traded by adults and children.

And it's not uncommon to see decorated cards displaying Bible verses.

My understanding is that these cards were used in Sunday School, to teach Christian doctrine to children.

Over the years, I've found several examples of Victorian religious cards at estate sales. They are usually no larger than about 4x6"; some are as small as business cards. Some are pretty self-explanatory; others are rather puzzling.

This lovely card showing birds and fruit quotes a verse from the Anglican Church's Canticle "Benedicite, omnia opera."

This one, ornamented with flowers, quotes a verse from the New Testament book of Titus. The spelling of "Saviour" tells me that it, too, was probably distributed in England.

Some of the Victorian Scripture cards' images conjure up more questions than answers, though. I'm not sure what connection the verse from St. Paul's letter to the Romans, "We are more than conquerors, through Him that loved us," has to do with an envelope decorated with a single pink rose and three puppies of assorted breeds.

The pug puppy, in particular, doesn't seem to be enjoying this Sunday School lesson.

And how a quartet of kittens swimming in a stream relates to Jesus being the Good Shepherd who knows His sheep is also lost on me. It is possible that the card showing the swimming cats was produced first, and the verse from the Gospel of John was added later.

The back of the swimming kittens card displays what is arguably the best-known verse in the New Testament: John 3:16.

The verse is surrounded by a pine cone motif border. The word "Germany" is printed in small type in the center of the bottom; a German publisher was issuing these cards for the English-speaking market.

Friday, August 15, 2025

The Mascot of Majuro

The 80th anniversary of the end of World War II is being remembered this week. Coincidentally, I just came across a small stack of black and white photographs I found awhile back at an estate sale. They show scenes of daily life for members of the military stationed in the Marshall Islands, probably around 1944.

Since people looking for the history of their relatives' time in the Service during the war sometimes find this page, I will post all the pictures that I found at the sale. I'm sending the original prints to a historian friend who writes about Military Dogs.

The sign reads "Los Angeles City Limits."

This sign shows the distance between Majuro and a number of other locations. Yes, it is reminiscent of the signage in the TV series "M*A*S*H."

A serviceman climbs a tree.

We know the photos were taken at Majuro in the Marshall Islands around 1944, because one of the pictures shows a handmade sign erected in the camp:

"The Beautiful Post-War MAJURO BILTMORE," the sign read. "500 Suites [&] Baths. Get lost in the 6 sensational revolving bars. Skymaster service every hour on the hour. Marshall Islands, home of the famous homoginized grade 'A' Kickopoo Joy Juice. Welcome Jack Benny."

Okay, someone didn't have a proofreader. That's okay; this way, we know the sign was painted by a human.

Sidebar #1: "Skymaster" probably refers to the Douglas C-54 "Skymaster" large transport aircraft used by the US Army Air Force during World War II.

Sidebar #2: "Kickapoo Joy Juice" was originally a volatile fictional moonshine featured in Al Capp's "Li'l Abner" comic strip before and during the War, to which two recurring characters, Hairless Joe and Lonesome Polecat, were addicted. Capp's version contained an assortment of explosive and poisonous ingredients -- turpentine, dynamite, "mule-disinfectant," arsenic -- and it could also eat through metal and solid rock. By the time the War started, "Kickapoo Joy Juice" had become a beverage byword.

We can also deduce the time frame for the photographs because of the notation at the end: "Welcome Jack Benny." The legendary comedian was one of many whose United Service Organization (USO) shows toured the Pacific during the War. Wikimedia Commons even provides us with a US Navy photograph taken during Benny's visit in September 1944.

The caption reads: "Jack Benny on Majuro atoll with Commander W. J. Wicks, USNR, in front of a Japanese-constructed building relabeled as 'The Beautiful Post-War Majuro Biltmore.'"

Newspaper accounts say that the Benny tour of the Pacific was organized by the Hollywood Victory Committee (link in footnotes). The book Stars in Blue notes that Benny's first overseas USO tour started in July 1943: "He and a group of performers such as harmonica [virtuoso] Larry Adler, singer Wini Shaw, actress Anna Lee, and pianist Jack Snyder blazed in ten weeks through the European and African theaters on a 32,000-mile trip, often putting on four shows a day. The next summer [1944] Benny and another troupe, which included actress Carole Landis [as well as Adler, musician June Bruner, and singer Martha Tilton], went island-hopping in a 70,000-mile jaunt across the Pacific, giving performances at outposts, bases, airfields, and hospitals. Benny continued to contribute his professional services until the war ended..."

Left to right: Jack Benny, Larry Adler, June Bruner, Carole Landis, and Martha Tilton. In a newspaper article, Adler referred to them as the "SNAFU Five," using a military term that you can look up.

Jack Benny, Larry Adler, and June Bruner.

Here's a link to some old film footage of the Benny troupe's journey to the Pacific.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aunEUqmCDA

And here are some more photos taken by our serviceman, showing the building:

Unfortunately, he didn't make notes on the backs of the photo prints, so we don't know the names of the servicemen in the photos. But we do know, from the photos that the serviceman saved, that a little dog was an informal part of the company.

I'll crop the photos to better show the canine companion.

Two servicemen with a dog, outside a Japanese-constructed building on Majuro Atoll.

Closeup:

A seated serviceman holds a little dog in his lap outside a Japanese-constructed building, Majuro Atoll, around 1944.

Closeup:

They were so young.

Much has already been written about the history of military dogs and mascot canines (and other animals) during World War II. They provided comradeship and a sense of normalcy during the temporary, unfamiliar, often nerve-wracking circumstances of global conflict.

I wonder what this little dog friend's name was? Did it travel with the servicemen as a mascot, or was it a local dog who found its way to them? Perhaps someone who sees this post can help fill in the gaps in the story.

And I wonder if the little dog saw the plane with the entertainers land at Majuro? Did it witness the excitement among the humans? Did it stand at a distance, wagging its tail as the men laughed and cheered?

The performers flew to another performance; eventually, all the American military personnel went back home. The little dog's life had intersected with theirs for such a brief time. But it was an important time. The dog was there when the humans needed it most.

______

Postscript:

Left to right: Jack Benny, Larry Adler, June Bruner, Carole Landis, and Martha Tilton. In a newspaper article, Adler referred to them as the "SNAFU Five," using a military term that you can look up.

Jack Benny, Larry Adler, and June Bruner.

Here's a link to some old film footage of the Benny troupe's journey to the Pacific.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aunEUqmCDA

Benny and Company arrived back in Los Angeles on September 18, 1944, and held a press conference at the Biltmore Hotel downtown. The Los Angeles Evening Citizen-News covered the story.

References:

Wikimedia Commons:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Jack_Benny_-_USN_1.jpg

Wise, James E., Jr. and Anne Collier Rehill. Stars in Blue: Movie Actors in America's Sea Services. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1997.

The USO in World War II: https://www.uso.org/stories/2988-on-its-80th-anniversary-the-uso-looks-back-on-eight-decades-of-standing-by-the-us-military

Hollywood Victory Committee:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Victory_Committee

Larry Adler and his harmonica in "The Singing Marine," 1937:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1WoAVU8M3o

Martha Tilton and Jack Benny recounted their USO shows on his television show in 1963:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUZpBrrbQUQ

June Bruner:

https://www.classicactresses.org/2024/12/junebruner.html

Monday, March 25, 2024

"It sure was greatness" -- Jazz At The Philharmonic, San Francisco, 1951-1952

An ad for Jazz At The Philharmonic
in the Berkeley, California Daily Gazette,
14 November 1951

Last fall I had the chance to look through some paper ephemera collected by some extended family members. Two of the items were of particular interest to me: programs and ticket stubs from impresario Norman Granz' famous Jazz At The Philharmonic Concerts series. When they were young, two family members went to the JATP concerts in San Francisco in 1951 and 1952.

Someone else now owns these programs, but I took photographs of some of the pages in an old scrapbook to share here.

Eleventh tour program cover

"We went with Dan & Joyce. I wore my new gray suit. It sure was 'greatness.' Afterwards pizza!" the young concertgoer wrote in her scrapbook underneath the 1951 concert program.

San Francisco Civic Auditorium

What must it have been like to have been young and in love with one another and with music, on a chilly November 1951 evening at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium? The four teenagers must have known they were witnessing greatness, as far as the music was concerned: Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Gene Krupa, Lester Young, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips, Roy Eldridge, Bill Harris, Ray Brown, and Hank Jones performed.

What the young music lovers probably observed, but might not have really grasped at the time, was the nature of the concert series itself. With integrated bands and audiences, Jazz At The Philharmonic concerts (from 1944 to 1957) were part of the slow demise of legalized segregation in the United States.

Impresario Norman Granz (1918-2001)

Today Norman Granz is remembered as a hard-nosed visionary leader in the fight for equal pay for Black artists, and for his refusal to stage concerts for segregated audiences. It sure was greatness, indeed.

The young couple returned, with other friends, for the 1952 concert.

An ad for the 12th season of JATP in the Richmond,
California Independent, 14 November 1952.

The 1952 JATP lineup featured Ella Fitzgerald, Flip Phillips, Lester Young, Buddy Rich, Charlie Shavers, Roy Eldridge, Ray Brown, Barney Kessel, Hank Jones, the Gene Krupa, Willie Smith, and Oscar Peterson. This time, someone went backstage to get autographs from some of the performers.