The following entry into the Dear Alice series was made by Dorothy G. Fahnestock. The handwriting in this entry appears to be adult handwriting and it was not labeled with the "forget-me-nots" that Alice often put in the corners of the entries. My search for Dorothy G. Fahnestock led in a surprising direction, Although it did not shed any light on the identity of Alice, the search for Fahnestock revealed an intriguing look at the citizen's of  Nanuet and their support efforts in World War II. 

      In The Hand that Rocks the Cradle Can Rock Hitler to his Foundations, I provided a portion of an article fromthe January 22, 1943 edition of the Orangetown Telegram and Pearl River Searchlight.  That part of the article gave insight into the types of questions women were asked as they organized to provide the necessary manpower on the homefront. Another portion of the same article (shown below), mentions many of the local women, including Fahnestock, and their contributions. 

"Drive for Pupils

(Continued from Page 1)

...Here are some typical examples
of the women who respond in the
local patriotic experiment by registering
for immediate training in
the Vocational School. Three young
women who are employed but feel
that their occupations are not essential
to the war effort. Several
school teachers who will study after
school hours so that they can
relieve the labor shortage during
the coming summer. Some women
whose grown sons are in the armed
forces and who feel that they,
too, must have a share in victory.
One special case was tha t of a
young woman who could neither
read nor write but such was her
eagerness to do her part to the
production battle that the instructors
representing the school declared
they would try to train her in
the machine shop just the same .
Observed by the Federal Office
of Education and the State Educa -
tion Department a t Albany, the stations
throughout the county will remain
open through January 30. The
committee contributing its services
in Spring Valley consists, in addition
to Mrs. Freedman, chairman,
of the following women: Mrs.
Jame s Barclay, Mrs. Joseph Becker,
Mrs Mary Levine, Mrs, J. Parr,
Mrs. Sablna Hillman, Miss Edith
Haerle, Mrs. Ruth Weisberg, Mrs.
Dorothy Fahnestock, Miss Liscum,
Mrs. Martin Nochimson, Misa Jennie
Cornwall, Mrs, Gladys Kobre,
Mrs. Dorothy Burke, Mrs, Louise
Ball, Mrs. Sophie Pomeranz, Mrs.
Edith Fisher, Mrs. Fanny Berg,
Mrs. G. Ferguson, Mrs. Palmenberg,
Mrs. Rose Goldstein, Mrs.
John Dodd and Mrs. Meda Sleight.
Mrs. Leonard B. Morgan of
Grand View, chairman of women In
industry of the Rockland War
Council, Is in charge of the enterprise."

    Fahnestock remained active in the Nanuet Community for her name appears yet again. In the January 20, 19[49] edition of the Orangetown Telegram, Pearl River, N.Y. is the following entry, 

"NANUET F. Avila has rented the house of Alphonse Schroeder on Pacific avenue. Miss Rose Leo is improving after a severe fall she received while skating over a week ago. The joint birthdays of Mrs. Samuel T. Hughes of Nanuet, and her two granddaughters, Cathryn and Ann, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Adelbert Hughes, was celebrated on Sunday with a dinger at*he home of the latter in Naurauahaun. A minstrel show, sponsored by the Nanuet Parent Teacher Associatlon will be held in the school auditorium February 15 and 18. Cortland Mosler will be the coach and Mrs. Dorothy Fahnestock chairman. She will be assisted by Mrs- Kathryn Colligan, Mrs. Edward Stecher. Mrs. Fred Schmersahl and Mrs. Robert Hyslip. Anyone wishing to take part will please get in touch with Mrs. Fahnestock or Mrs. Colligan. "

      And then, of course, four years before American involvement in World War II and over a decade before the minstrel show, Fahnestock gave her best wishes to Alice. HK, 4 August 2012, Dover, Delaware.

Author HistoryKeeper, currently lives in Dover, Delaware, with family, both two- and four-footed. I am a history enthusiast, who has great regard for the past and is especially proud of the Pennsylvania German culture. In addition to my work here at Passed Time, I am currently working on a project for the German Historical Institute's Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies (http://www.ghi-dc.org). I also contribute to various newsletters and am working on another book...or two. Feel free to email me at pcsuter@hotmail.com for questions, comments, information, a shared love of history, an idea, etc. Be aware, Files with Attachments will not be opened, but immediately deleted. 

 Author HistoryKeeper, currently lives in Dover, Delaware, with family, both two- and four-footed. I am a history enthusiast, who has great regard for the past and is especially proud of the Pennsylvania German culture. In addition to my work here at Passed Time, I am currently working on a project for the German Historical Institute's Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies (http://www.ghi-dc.org). I also contribute to various newsletters and I am working on another book...or two. Feel free to email me at pcsuter@hotmail.com for questions, comments, information, a shared love of history, an idea, etc. Be aware, Files with Attachments will not be opened, but immediately deleted.