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“Saturate yourself with your subject and the camera will all but take you by the hand” Margaret made history throughout her career and achieved many firsts with her pioneering style which started when she was an industrial photographer based in Cleveland, Ohio. Her photos of the Ohio steel mill interiors caught the eye of Henry Luce with Fortune magazine and he asked her to come to work for him. She joined the magazine and was sent to Germany in 1930 to photograph their emerging industries and followed that up with visits to the Soviet Union. She then became the first […]

During a recent trip to my hometown of Maryville, Tennessee, I found another treasure trove of WWII memorabilia at the River Mill Antique Mall on the road to the Smoky Mountains. After our traditional stop at Becky’s Grocery & Grill for their mouthwatering burgers and homemade coconut cream pie, we decided to check out this local antique shop with its random merchandise overflowing onto the expansive front porches. Inside, there were individual booths also overflowing with a variety of once-loved items. At first it was overwhelming trying to screen through all the displays, but my cousin’s sharp focus quickly spied […]

In the fall of 1943 when my father was first stationed in New Guinea, he mentioned how much he enjoyed reading Yank. I had never heard of this publication so was curious about its contents and appeal. My early research revealed that Yank, The Army Weekly was first published in June 1942 and that it quickly became the most widely-read magazine in the history of the US military. With a worldwide circulation of 2.6 million copies, all content was created by enlisted active duty men for twenty-one weekly editions, distributed in seventeen countries. The reliable war accounts along with humorous […]

As National Military Appreciation Month comes to a close, I want to recognize and honor a special family member who served in WWII. Joseph Taylor Jett, my father’s youngest brother, was only sixteen when Pearl Harbor was attacked, but shortly thereafter he joined the State Guard while still in high school. The National Guard was called into active duty to support the depleted US Army immediately after the attack, and then a new organization called the State Guard or Home Guard was formed to recruit young men not yet eligible for the draft. Joe was one of the many young […]