Title: Reuben B. Lewis Papers and Photographs
Inclusive Dates: 1917-1987

Creator:

• Lewis, Reuben B.

Call Number: WVM Mss 26

Quantity: 1.0 linear ft. (2 archives boxes, 1 card file box, 1 flat box and 2 oversize folders) of papers, 0.4 linear ft. (1 archives box) of photographs and 1 video cassette.

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact the Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Papers and photographs of Reuben B. Lewis, a bugler and military policeman with the 32nd Division during World War I, a County Veterans Service Officer for Portage County, and an active participant in many veterans organizations, especially Company “C” from the 4th Wisconsin Infantry. A large portion of the papers relate to Lewis's involvement in the Company “C” organization, which held annual reunions through the 1980's. Membership files and rosters, reunion announcements and reports, and newspaper clippings document the activities of the group and the camaraderie that the men shared. Scattered personal papers give some details about his World War I service, and ephemeral items show his involvement in numerous other veterans organizations. Home appraisals document his work in helping veterans buy their own homes. Photographs include group shots from Company “C” reunions and a photograph album from Lewis's World War I service. The video shows the 1986 Company “C” reunion where the last five surviving members share a seventy-year old bottle of cognac.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00026

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Reuben Benjamin Lewis was born on November 5, 1899 in Waupaca, Wisconsin. In June 1917, five months before his eighteenth birthday, he enlisted into the Company C of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry, a National Guard unit composed of Waupaca men. The youngest man in the company, Lewis became the bugler for the unit as they began training for service in World War I. The Wisconsin National Guard, including the 4th Infantry, became part of the 32nd Infantry Division.

Going overseas in February 1918, Lewis saw action at Alsace (May-July), as well as the Aisne-Marne (July-August), Oisne-Aisne (August-September), and Meuse-Argonne (September-November) offensives. During the last of those actions, Lewis was transferred to the 32nd Division Military Police Company. He remained in Europe during the occupation of Germany, returning home in May 1919. He was given an honorable discharge from the Army that same month.

Lewis married his wartime sweetheart, Mary Johnson, after the war and became a real estate broker, settling in Stevens Point. He also served as a County Veterans Service Officer (CVSO) for Portage County, and did many home appraisals for veterans. He was very involved with veterans organizations, holding memberships in the American Legion, VFW, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of World War I of the US, and the Red Arrow Club of Central Wisconsin, among others.

In addition to those national and state groups, the men from Company C, 4th Wisconsin Infantry began holding reunions after the war. Calling their group Company “C,” the men met annually to commemorate their leaving for war in August 1917. Reunions were held in Waupaca, either at the local country club or at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King. A bottle of cognac, acquired by one of the men while still in France, was present at every meeting and was saved until 1986, when only seven members, including Lewis, remained.

Lewis passed away at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King, Wisconsin on April 21, 1988.

The papers of Reuben B. Lewis are divided into four series: Company “C,” Personal Papers, Photographs, and Video.

Company “C”(1917-1987) consists of materials Lewis collected relating to the veterans organization made up of former members of Company C of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry at the time of World War I. Lewis served as secretary of the group in its later years. The group began having reunions in 1934 and continued through the 1980's. Included are membership files and rosters, which seem very nearly complete, and reunion announcements and reports, which document the members who attended and the place of the reunion. Newspaper clippings, mostly from local papers, show that, especially as the years went by, these reunions garnered some press. Correspondence, reunion responses, and condolences cards convey the camaraderie maintained between members and the importance of the annual reunions. While not voluminous, these papers provide an interesting look at a small, local veteran organization.

Personal Papers (1917-1987) contain scattered documents from Lewis's time in the Army during World War I, his later work as a real estate appraiser and County Veterans Service Officer (CVSO), and his affiliation with many veterans organizations. Included are two letters Lewis wrote home from occupied Germany to his future wife, Mary Johnson, as well as souvenir postcards he picked up in Europe and several maps on which he traced his routes of travel during the war. Draft registration cards from the World War II era show that the 40-year old Lewis received low classifications that kept him from serving. Also in this series are home appraisals that Lewis performed for veterans in his capacity as a CVSO in the 1970's. Finally, numerous membership cards document his involvement with many different organizations, such as the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, and La Societe des 40 Hommes et 8 Chevaux.

Photographs (1919-1986) consist of various group shots from reunions of the Company “C” group and a World War I photo album that Lewis kept from his service. The reunion photographs consist of formal group shots and candids taken during the fraternization that occurred at the gatherings. Many photographs feature the bottle of cognac, taken from France during the war, which was saved until only five members of the group remained alive. Most of the reunion photos are unidentified. The World War I photo album is also unidentified, and features pictures of soldiers in trenches, at camp, and at leisure. Other photos show weapons, tanks, and blimps used during the war.

Video (1986) is comprised of a single VHS video recording made during the 1986 reunion of Company “C,” during which the final five member, including Lewis, open and sample the more than seventy-year old bottle of cognac. Members of the press are present, taking pictures and interviewing group members. Video quality is shaky and the volume fluctuates, but this adds an interesting dimension to the other components of the collection.

Acquisition Information

Presented by James Lewis, Monona, WI, 1991. Accession Number: V1991.67. This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).

Processing Information

Preliminary inventory by Mark Van Ells, circa 1991. Processed by Russell Horton in 2004.

	Series: Company “C”
Box   1 Folder   1	Condolence cards, undated
Box   1 Folder   2-3	Correspondence, 1947-1987
Box   1 Folder   4	Ephemera, undated
Box   1 Folder   5	History, undated
Box   1 Folder   6	Ledger book, 1962-1965
Box   3 Folder   1	Membership files, 1947-1982
Box   1 Folder   7	Newspaper clippings, [1917-1985]
	Reunions
Box   1 Folder   8	Announcements, 1953-1984
Box   1 Folder   9	Guestbook, 1967
Box   1 Folder   10	Memorial services, 1949-1971
Box   1 Folder   11	Reports, 1982-1985, undated
Box   3 Folder   2	Responses, 1976-1986
Box   1 Folder   12	Rosters, [1917-1963]
	Series: Personal Papers	⇧
	Military Service
Box   1 Folder   13	Correspondence, 1917-1919
Box   1 Folder   14	Draft registration cards, 1942-1945
	Ephemera
Box   1 Folder   15	Postcards, undated
Box   4 Folder   1	Postcard album, circa 1919
Box   1 Folder   16	World War I, 1917-1919
	Maps
Ov   3 Folder   18	Europe, circa 1919
OvDw   1 Folder   12	France, circa 1919
Box   1 Folder   17	Personal service records, 1917-1926
	Veteran Life
Box   1 Folder   18	Appraisal forms, 1974
Box   1 Folder   19-21	Appraisal reports, 1973-1976
Box   2 Folder   1	Correspondence, [1961-1986]
	Membership cards
Box   2 Folder   2	American Legion, 1927-1983
Box   2 Folder   3	County Veterans Service Officers, 1944-1982
Box   2 Folder   4	Disabled American Veterans, 1936-1979
Box   2 Folder   5	La Societe des 40 Hommes et 8 Chevaux, 1951-1983
Box   2 Folder   6	Other veterans organizations, 1930-1987
Box   2 Folder   7	Real estate broker, 1960-1977
Box   2 Folder   8	Veterans ephemera, 1917-1924
	Series: Photographs	⇧
	Company “C” Reunions
Box   5 Folder   1	[1] , 1934
Box   5 Folder   2	[4] , 1960-1967
Box   5 Folder   3	[4] , 1970, 1974
Box   5 Folder   4-7	[15] , 1983
Box   5 Folder   8-10	[11] , 1984
Box   5 Folder   11	[1] , 1986
Box   5 Folder   12	[3] , Undated
Box   5 Folder   13	World War I photo album, circa 1919
	Series: Video	⇧
Video   1 Folder   1	Company “C” Reunion, 1986