Scope and Contents: The Luman H. Tenney Collection includes his wartime diary, booklets, American Hospital of Paris member card, and other papers related to his service and involvement with the American Field Service during World War I. The bulk of the collection consists of items from World War I, including his diary, which documents his service from February through June 1917 (although it does not include January or July through October.) The diary contains a log of his activities while serving with SSU 12 near Souilly and Bar-le-Duc, France, including injuries he observed, meals he ate, camp activities, book he read, and includes few personal opinions or emotions. The diary also contains a list of letters received, addresses, extracts from official reports, and clippings. Inserted in the pages of the diary were a small ticket and a newspaper clipping with a poem. The ticket is found between pages 26 and 27, the poem is found between pages 35 and 36.
In addition to the papers collected during his time in service, the collection also includes two booklets from the AFS Association (formed after World War I and before World War II) and a letter written in 1954 by Stephen Galatti, Director General of the American Field Service in World War II and of the student exchange programs created in 1946, which affirms Tenney’s service with the American Field Service during World War I.