Glen Goddard Collection

Posted December 9, 2010 - 12:26pm by revetts

Glen Goddard Collection
.5 linear feet ; one 5 inch gray box
The Glen Goddard Collection is comprised of letters written by and to Glen Goddard and his wife, Florence Ellen Cowgill Goddard, during 1941 through 1956.

Basic details

Control number:

MSS-030

Collection dates:

1941 - 1956

Size on shelf:

0.50 linear ft

Introduction

The Glen Goddard Collection is comprised of letters written by and to Glen Goddard and his wife, Florence Ellen Cowgill Goddard, during 1941 through 1956.

Provenance

The Glen Goddard Collection was donated to the Auraria Library Special Collections Department on September 24, 1985 by Dr. Robley Rhine of the Department of Communications at the University of Colorado at Denver. An avid stamp collector Dr. Rhine purchased them from a local stamp/coin dealer.

Biographical note

Glen Goddard was a young Army Air Corps cadet from Boulder, Colorado. He began his training in 1941 in Visalia, California. From that base he wrote frequently to his family in Boulder, relating aspects of his training, army life, and the various planes which he flew.
After completing primary training, Glen was transferred to Bakersfield, California in January of 1942 for secondary training. Upon graduation to "upper-classman" in March of 1942, he was stationed in Stockton, California for “multi-motored training". On May 20, 1942, Goddard graduated and became a lieutenant. He was thereafter transferred to Roswell, New Mexico where he was a "full fledged instructor". On July 17, 1942, he married Florence Ellen Cowgill – Flossie - also from Boulder.
By 1945, Glenn and Flossie Goddard had become the parents of twin girls, Eileen and Kathleen. By this time Glen was a captain at the airfield in Chandler, Arizona. The family was transferred to several bases in that year, and there was talk of the possibility of Glen being sent overseas, though by this time the war was coming to an end.
Glen continued his military service and became a major. By this time the Goddard’s had two additional children, both boys.

Historical sketch

1941 Glen Goddard begins his Army Air Corps training at the Visalia (CA) School of Aeronautics as part of the Air Corps Training Detachment
1942 January Stationed at Bakersfield CA
1942 Part of the Air Corps Basic Flying School, Stockton Field, Stockton CA
1942 May 20 Graduates and made a Lieutenant ; transferred to Roswell NM as a flight instructor
1942 July 17 Marries Florence Ellen Cowgill of Boulder CO in Roswell NM
1944 March 29 Twins Eileen and Kathleen are born in La Junta CO
1945 Promoted to Captain ; transferred to the Army Air Station at Chandler AZ
1956 By now is a Major and two more children, both boys, are born

Scope and content

The letters document his early training as well as personal and social aspects of his Army life in Visalia, California and his upperclassman years in Bakersfield and Stockton, California. By 1942 he was stationed in Roswell, New Mexico – by his description “a country town out in the middle of the New Mexico plains” and his letters speak of his position as a flight instructor. Later letters relate stories of their children and family life and Glen’s duties as a Captain.
The letters from 1956 and 1957 reveal that the couple had two more children, both boys, and that Glen had been promoted to a Major as he continued his service in the Air Force.
There are envelopes included in the folders, but it is not clear which envelopes go with which letters – and not all letters have envelopes.

Container list

1/1          Glen to Folks ; November 5, 1941
1/1          Glen to Folks ; November 8, 1941
1/1          Glen to Folks ; no date
1/1          Envelope Nov. 8 1941, Visalia CA
1/1          Glen to Rusty ; Sunday afternoon
1/1          Glen to Folks ; no date
1/1          Glen to Folks ; no date
1/1          Envelope Nov. 10, 1941, Visalia CA
1/1          Glen to Rusty (Hotel Johnson) ; no date
1/1          Envelope Hotel Johnson, Nov. 23, 1941, Visalia CA
1/1          Glen to Folks ; no date
1/1          Envelope Nov. 26, 1941, Visalia CA
1/1          Glen to Rusty ; Wednesday night
1/1          Envelope Dec. 4, 1941, Visalia CA
1/1          Glen to Folks ; Sunday night
1/1          Envelope Dec. 10, 1941, Visalia CA
1/1          Glen to Folks ; Friday night
1/1          Glen to Rusty ; Sunday afternoon
1/1          Envelope Dec. 13, 1941, Visalia CA
1/1          Glen to Rusty ; Saturday morning
1/1          Envelope Dec. 29, 1941, Visalia CA

1/2          Glen to Rusty ; Tuesday evening
1/2          Envelope Jan. 14, 1942, Visalia CA
1/2          Glen to Rusty ; no date, Bakersfield CA
1/2          Glen to Florence Ellen [Cowgill] ; no date, Bakersfield CA
1/2          Envelope Jan. 22, 1942, Bakersfield CA
1/2          Glen to Rusty ; no date
1/2          Envelope Jan. 22, 1942, Bakersfield CA
1/2          Glen to Folks ; no date
1/2          Envelope Jan. 26, 1942, Bakersfield CA
1/2          Glen to Folks ; February 13, 1942
1/2          Envelope Feb. 14, 1942, Bakersfield CA
1/2          Glen to Folks ; Sunday night
1/2          Envelope Feb. 14, 1945, Bakersfield CA
1/2          Glen to Folks ; Saturday night
1/2          Envelope March 16, 1942, Bakersfield CA
1/2          Glen to Folks ; Saturday morning
1/2          Envelope March 28, 1942, Stockton CA
1/2          Glen to Rusty ; no date
1/2          Envelope April 6, 1942, Stockton CA
1/2          Glen to Florence Ellen ; May 7
1/2          Flossie to Glen [written on the back of a letter to Florence Ellen from Edith [illegible] April 30, 1942 from San Benito TX]
1/2          Envelope May 3, 1942, Stockton CA

1/3          Glen to Rusty ; May 12, 1942
1/3          Envelope May 14, 1942, Stockton CA
1/3          Glen to Rusty (Hotel Senator) ; May 22, 1942
1/3          Envelope Hotel Senator, May 28, 1942, Sacramento CA
1/3          Glen to Folks ; Sunday afternoon
1/3          Envelope June 28, 1942, Roswell NM
1/3          Flossie to Goddards ; July 6, 1942
1/3          Irene Cowgill to Mrs. Goddard ; Friday
1/3          Glen to Folks ; July 13, 1942
1/3          Envelope July 15, 1942, Roswell NM
1/3          Flossie to Folks ; July 27, 1942
1/3          Envelope July 27, 1942, Roswell NM
1/3          Glen to Rusty and Folks ; September 18, 1942
1/3          Envelope Sept. 19, 1942, Roswell NM
1/3          John [no last name] to Glen ; no date, San Benito TX
1/3          Glen to Folks ; November 24, 1942
1/3          Envelope Nov. 28, 1942, Roswell NM
1/3          Flossie to Folks ; January 2, 1944
1/3          Flossie to Folks ; March 3, 1944
1/3          Glen to Folks ; March 29, 1944
1/3          Envelope March 29, 1944, La Junta CO
1/3          Glen to Folks ; July 1, 1944
1/3          Flossie to Folks ; July 3, 1944
1/3          Flossie to Folks ; November 18, 1944
1/3          Glen to Folks ; December 19, 1944
1/4          Envelope Jan. 3, 1945, La Junta CA
1/4          Glen to Folks ; January 15, 1945
1/4          Glen to Folks ; February 19, 1945
1/4          Envelope Feb. 26, 1945, Chandler AZ
1/4          Envelope March 5, 1945, Phoenix AZ
1/4          Flossie to Folks ; March 15, 1945
1/4          Envelope March 17, 1945, Phoenix AZ
1/4          Flossie to Mom ; March 20, 1945
1/4          Envelope March 22, 1945, Chandler AZ
1/4          Glen to Folks ; March 26, 1945
1/4          Envelope March 29, 1945, Chandler AZ
1/4          Flossie and Glen to Mother and Dad – Easter card
1/4          Envelope April 2, 1945, Chandler AZ
1/4          Glen to Folks ; April 2, 1945
1/4          Envelope April 3, 1945, Chandler AZ
1/4          Flossie to Mom ; April 2, 1945
1/4          Envelope April 3, 1945, Chandler AZ
1/4          Flossie to Mom ; April 8, 1945
1/4          Envelope April 9, 1945, Mesa AZ

1/5          Glen to Folks ; April 12, 1945
1/5          Envelope April 12, 1945, Chandler AZ
1/5          Flossie to Folks ; April 13, 1945
1/5          Envelope April 15, 1945, Phoenix AZ
1/5          Glen to Folks ; April 22, 1945
1/5          Envelope April 23, 1945, Phoenix AZ
1/5          Flossie to Folks ; May 14, 1945
1/5          Envelope May 15, 1945, San Benito TX
1/5          Glen to Folks ; Tuesday evening
1/5          Envelope May 16, 1945, Roswell NM
1/5          Flossie to Folks ; June 7, 1945
1/5          Glen (Santa Rita Hotel) to Folks ; Tuesday
1/5          Envelope Santa Rita Hotel July 8, 1945, Tucson AZ
1/5          Flossie to Folks ; July 15, 1945
1/5          Envelope July 17, 1945, Tucson AZ
1/5          Flossie to Folks ; September 12, 1945
1/5          Envelope Sept. 15, 1945, San Benito TX
1/5          Bob to Granny ; March 30, 1956
1/5          Envelope March 30, 1945, Wichita Falls TX
1/5          Flossie to Granny and Grandpa ; December 26, 1957
1/5    Envelope December 28, 1957, Dayton OH