Don S. Newcomer papers

Don Newcomer was born on June 3, 1922 in Slatington, Pennsylvania. He later moved to Auburn, Indiana and from there to Greencastle, Indiana where he enrolled in DePauw University in September 1940. In the School of Liberal Arts, he was a Rector Scholar and a member of Phi Eta Sigma, an academic honorary.

While at DePauw Mr. Newcomer corresponded with two women, Glory and Bobbie. He would eventually marry Bobbie. Interest in this collection was sparked by a letter by Mr. Newcomer to Bobbie. He thought that it would be nostalgic to have the letter mailed from Greencastle to his wife, so he sent a copy of the letter to the Archives to be mailed from Greencastle.

In October of 1942, things changed. Mr. Newcomer withdrew from DePauw and enlisted in the Army to fight in WW II. He had hopes of returning to DePauw after the war but things did not work as he had hoped.

After the war, he returned to the United States and enrolled in Columbia University, NY. He received his degree and was certified as a teacher. Mr. Newcomer moved to Michigan and began a long and successful teaching career in the Battle Creek School district.

Mr. Newcomer was offered a position at World Book Encyclopedia which he had initially turned down because of his love for teaching. However, he had a growing family that he had to support, so he retired from teaching.

At World Book, Mr. Newcomer was an educational consultant. He prospered at his new postion and led a successful career until he was given early retirement. Eventually, he went back to teaching. He moved to Tennessee with his wife Bobbie and then to Eugene, Oregon where they now live.