Doris Sidney Blake - Diary, 1942

In between stories about biking around the neighborhood with friends and shopping downtown with her mother, fourteen-year-old Doris Sidney Blake also jotted down updates about the war in her diary. For instance, in February 1942, Blake abruptly transitioned from a discussion about her teacher’s accent to few lines of news about the ill-fated USS Jacob Jones off the coast of New Jersey. In November that year, Blake jumped from writing about crafting a necklace with her best friend to praising the Allied efforts during the North African campaign. Dive in with a group of volunpeers to transcribe this project, which reveals what life was like for a teenager during World War II. For more information about the papers of Smithsonian entomologist Doris Holmes Blake, explore the finding aid.