Ira R. Herr “Dear Coach” Collection, 1941-2008 | Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections

By Erin Krause '16 and Rachel Grove Rohrbaugh

Printer-friendly |

Collection Overview

Title: Ira R. Herr “Dear Coach” Collection, 1941-2008

Predominant Dates:1941-1946

ID: MSS/MSS-0002

Primary Creator: Herr, Ira R.

Other Creators: Angstadt, Albert Warren, Delancy, Donald, Acker, Robert G., Althouse, George, Baugher Black, Louise, Boll, Edwin, Brandt, David L., Brightbill, Lena M., Brinser, Richard V., Buch, Guy R., Buch, John N., Caba, George, Coulson, Ross Harold, Day, William C., Disney, Helen Rebert, Disney, Stanley, Espenshade, John, Garber, Thomas M., Gerhart, Curtis, Gingrich, Walter C., Herr, Carl G., Herr, Ira L., Herr, Lois Kathryn (1941-), Herr, Roy L., Hess, Benjamin H., Hollinger, Paul Robert, Horning, Harry K., Hull, Perry, King, Ernest, Kingsbury, Robert D., Kiscaden, Russel, Lefever, Ernest, Leicht, Paul F., Leister, Herman M., Lowell, Philip R., Manbeck, Lester E., Meads, Leroy A., Meyer, Matthew M., Mumma, Annette, Posey, Carroll T., Raffensperger, W. Wilbur, Reeser, F. B., Reidenbaugh, Lowell Henry, Reinhold, LeRoy, Robinson, Sara Wilson, Rudisill, Roy H., Ruth, Austin S., Sauder, Luke, Schlosser, Woodrow D., Schreiber, Wayne O., Shaffer, Kenneth R., Shank, Ralph E., Shirk, Eugene Richard, Snyder, Anna, Speidel, John Howard, Spence, Carroll L., Stouffer, Emory E., Strite, M.J., Taylor, Leslie Dean, Walker, Charles C., Weaver, Wilbur E., Wilson, Charles Eugene

Extent: 1.25 Linear Feet

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 4 series:

Series 1. Letters to Ira Herr

Series 2. Permission Forms

Series 3. Photographs and Clippings

Date Acquired: 01/21/2015

Subjects: Herr, Ira R., Soldiers--Correspondence, World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Ira R. Herr “Dear Coach” Collection consists of letters from various students that Ira R. Herr coached and taught at Elizabethtown College. A majority of the letters were sent to Herr from students who were on the frontlines of World War II. Ira Herr’s daughter, Lois Herr, compiled the letters into a book called Dear Coach: Letters Home from World War II (2009). The collection is organized alphabetically by correspondent. Each folder contains the letters and postcards sent to Coach Herr from that student and includes the photographs and biographies that Lois Herr was able to obtain during her research. In addition to the letters, this collection contains the permission forms that Lois Herr received from the families of the soldiers, photographs from her talk at the Golden Grads Alumni Reunion in 2003, and relevant pictures and newspaper clippings from her research.

Collection Historical Note

“Coach” Ira R. Herr was born near Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania in 1894. After receiving his bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College in 1916, he went on to become an Army First Lieutenant in World War I, a shoe salesman, a store owner, and a teacher. In 1928, Elizabethtown hired Herr as the college’s first athletic director and coach. That same year, Coach Herr started Elizabethtown College’s intercollegiate basketball program. From 1928 until 1949, Herr remained the sole coach of every athletic team at Elizabethtown College. He led the teams to enormous victories, including producing players with national records.

On December 25, 1937, Coach Herr married Kathryn Harper Nisley, a teacher and librarian at the local high school. In 1942, they had a baby girl named Lois Kathryn Herr. Ira Herr retired from Elizabethtown College in 1961, though he still taught and coached at Patton Trade School for ten years after his retirement from Elizabethtown. On September 30, 1970, the college opened a soccer and lacrosse field called the Ira R. Herr Field to memorialize Coach Herr. Then in 1975, Elizabethtown College opened the Ira R. Herr Athletic Hall of Fame to commemorate outstanding athletes from Elizabethtown sports teams. That same year, Coach Herr was elected into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Ira R. Herr died in 1986 at age 92.

Subject/Index Terms

Herr, Ira R.
Soldiers--Correspondence
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives

Administrative Information

Repository: Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections

Acquisition Source: Lois Kathryn Herr '62, daughter of Ira R. Herr and Kathryn N. Herr

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Letters to Ira Herr],
[Series 2: Permissions Forms],
[Series 3: Photographs and Clippings],
[Series 4: Research, Notes, and Correspondence],
[All]

Series 1: Letters to Ira Herr

Box 1

Folder 1: Acker, Robert G.
Folder 2: Althouse, George
Folder 3: Angstadt, Albert Warren
Folder 4: Black, Louise Baugher
Folder 5: Boll, Edwin
Folder 6: Brandt, David L.
Folder 7: Brightbill, Lena M.
Folder 8: Brinser, Richard V.
Folder 9: Buch, Guy R.
Folder 10: Buch, John N.
Folder 11: Caba, George
Folder 12: Coulson, Ross Harold
Folder 13: Day, William C.
Folder 14: Delancy, Donald
Folder 15: Disney, Helen Rebert and Stanley
Folder 16: Espenshade, John
Folder 17: Fridinger, Wilmer
Folder 18: Garber, Thomas M.
Folder 19: Gerhart, Curtis
Folder 20: Gingrich, Walter C.
Folder 21: Herr, Carl G.
Folder 22: Herr, Ira L.
Folder 23: Herr, Roy L.
Folder 24: Hess, Benjamin H.
Folder 25: Hinkle, Roscoe
Folder 26: Hollinger, Paul Robert
Folder 27: Horning, Harry K.
Folder 28: Hull, Perry
Folder 29: Keath, Frank W.
Folder 30: King, Ernest
Folder 31: Kingsbury, Robert D.
Folder 32: Kiscaden, Russel
Folder 33: Lefever, Ernest
Folder 34: Leicht, Paul F.
Folder 35: Leister, Herman M.
Folder 36: Lowell, Philip R.
Folder 37: Manbeck, Lester E.
Folder 38: Meads, Leroy A.
Folder 39: Meyer, Matthew M.
Folder 40: Mumma, Annette
Folder 41: Posey, Carroll T.
Folder 42: Reeser, F. B.
Folder 43: Raffensperger, W. Wilbur
Folder 44: Reidenbaugh, Lowell Henry

Box 2

Folder 1: Reinhold, LeRoy
Folder 2: Robinson, Sara Wilson
Folder 3: Rudisill, Roy H.
Folder 4: Ruth, Austin S.
Folder 5: Sauder, Luke
Folder 6: Scholsser, Woodrow D.
Folder 7: Schreiber, Wayne O.
Folder 8: Shaffer, Kenneth R.
Folder 9: Shank, Ralph E.
Folder 10: Shirk, Eugene Richard
Folder 11: Synder, Anna
Folder 12: Speidel, John Howard
Folder 13: Spence, Carroll L.
Folder 14: Stouffer, Emory E.
Folder 15: Strite, M. J.
Folder 16: Taylor, Leslie Dean
Folder 17: Walker, Charles C.
Folder 18: Weaver, Wilbur E.
Folder 19: Wilson, Charles Eugene
Folder 20: Miscellaneous Letters

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Letters to Ira Herr],
[Series 2: Permissions Forms],
[Series 3: Photographs and Clippings],
[Series 4: Research, Notes, and Correspondence],
[All]