The papers of Carolyn G. Lovell are divided into two series: Papers and Photographs.
Papers (1940-1946) consists almost entirely of the letters Lovell received from five different men during World War II and provide some insight into relationships during the time period and between two people serving in the military during World War II. The majority of the letters are from Harold Tubbs, who served in the Army Air Force in Germany following the war. Lovell and Tubbs apparently met while he was recovering at Percy Jones General Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan where she worked as a nurse. Their correspondence began while he was on furlough in Mississippi and continue through his post-war service in Germany. They are love letters in which Tubbs expressed his strong feelings for Lovell while also describing his daily activities in the service. In a January 11 letter he described having a nightmare about the fighting at Guadalcanal. In general, Tubbs' letters provide little information about the occupation forces in German, focusing more on his administrative duties. He described the weather, food, recreational activities, and his hopes to go home and be with Lovell. Three letters that Lovell wrote to Tubbs are also in the collection and are filled with her declarations of love for him. Russell Burkman, who received stateside training as a navigator in the Army Air Force, seems to have been a serious boyfriend of Lovell's before Tubbs. His letters describe his intense training at San Antonio, the stringent requirements for the navigator program, and his feelings for Lovell. Apparently the distance between the two affected their relationship, as an August 5 letter requests that their relationship become less serious. Likely having met at school, presumably Milton College, Lovell and Bill Burdick had a relationship during the summer of 1940. They spent the summer apart and Burdick's letters describe his summer activities such as baseball and his strong feelings for Lovell. He mentions in passing her decision to enter a nursing school before breaking off the relationship in late 1940. The letters from Robert Mueller (Navy) and Albert Wettstein (Merchant Marines) are rather generic and suggest that, while the men might have had a crush on Lovell, there was nothing more serious going on. Other materials in this series include some recruitment materials from the Navy Nurse Corps, a letter from the War Manpower Commission informing Lovell that her job as a nurse was classified as essential, and some military paperwork, mostly requisition forms, that Tubbs filled out as love letters to Lovell.
Photographs (circa 1946) contain two photographs and seven negatives. All of the materials in this series are unidentified. The photographs show the back of a bare-bottomed baby and a woman sitting on a garbage can in the sunlight. Three of the negatives show a woman in a nurse's uniform, possibly Lovell. A man in military uniform appears in two other negatives, possibly Tubbs. The final two negatives show a brick building and two civilians sitting on a bench.
