Betty and Tom Kemp Christmas Card montage

Rob recently posted this montage on facebook and I thought that some of you non-facebook folks would enjoy seeing it again too.  Merry Christmas!

Jack Kemp exhibit - Occidental Library

[click image to enlarge.  click x to return to this post.]

Our friend and partner, Dan Rosen, took his son, Oren, to a tour of Occidental, a possible college choice. When they went in the library, they saw that there was an exhibit on Jack.  Dan writes:

I took Oren over to Occidental on Wednesday for an interview with one of the assoc. deans of admissions (he seemed happy with how it went, by the way) and afterwards we walked around campus for about an hour and a half or so. One of the places we went was the library and Oren saw a sign in the entrance saying that there was a Jack Kemp exhibit on the first floor; so we wandered over to it.

I am not sure if any of you or your family has had a chance to see it, but it is really quite nicely done. A significant portion of it, naturally, is devoted to his time as the QB for Occidental (newspaper clippings, his helmet, etc.), but it has items related to his time in the NFL as well as all his work in politics. In addition, there are some photos from the dedication of his statue and the Jack Kemp Stadium. There is a great one of you, Jimmy, with your mom and brother and there is one of what looks to be the entire Kemp "clan" that was in attendance.

Anyway, Oren and I thought it was a really nicely done exhibit and I wanted to make sure you all knew about it.

Dan

CLICK HERE for a link to the exhibit page on Oxy's website.

Continuing our WWI theme...

Some of you have seen these before, but since the diary and photos of 1918 were just posted, I thought you'd enjoy seeing other items in the files from that time.  These telegrams are from 1918 and 1919.  Three are written to PRK Sr. and one is from him.  [Click on images to enlarge.]

This one is from his mother, Elva M. Kemp, dated October 12, 1918.

The next is from PRK to his brother, Clare (C F Kemp), dated December 28, 1918.

And Clare's response, the same day...

Another from his mother, this one dated January 21, 1919.

The last telegram we have is from Clare.  The date is unclear.  It's my favorite.

We also have a menu from "Christmas Dinner - Naval Port Guard - San Francisco - California - December 25, 1918."  I imagine this must have been a great celebration as it was held only a month and a half after the end of the war.

Lastly, here are some images I found on the internet that give an idea of life at the Naval Station in San Francisco in 1918.

Naval Training Station - San Francisco - 1918

Naval Training Station - San Francisco - 1918 - partitions due to influenza epidemic

Naval Training Station - San Francisco - No Spitting Sign

Paul Kemp Senior's 1918 Diary

Here's a small leather-bound diary from 1918 kept by Paul Kemp Sr. while he was in the Navy in San Pedro and San Francisco.  He doesn't write in it every day.  But when he does write, even though it's only just a few lines, it really paints a picture of his life in the service - hair cuts, shots, mess, leave, mail, visits, baseball.  He starts the diary when he's 21 years old and turns 22 on August 23rd.  The last diary entry is Tuesday October 29th, two weeks before the end of the war.  I've interspersed the diary entries with photos of Paul Sr., friends, and family during his term of service.  It all takes place during the massive influenza epidemic, which is why you see the masks in some of the photos.  And I suspect the girl standing beside him in a couple of photos may be the "Millie" or "Mill" mentioned in the diary.   [Click on photos and diary pages to enlarge.]