Background on Eshbach family
Charles Eshbach on pony, ca.1915
Charles Edgar Eshbach, Jr., a 1937 graduate of Massachusetts State College, was working for the New England Radio News Service, part of the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, when he met Maude Sybil Hartley, a student at Simmons College, in late 1939. Their letters, which form the heart of this collection, began soon after their relationship blossomed.
Born on October 29, 1914, in Winchester, Mass., to Charles and Margaret Feeney Eshbach, Charles graduated from Winchester High School. At MSC, he majored in English and was active in campus life as sports editor and later editor-in-chief of the Collegian, president of the press club, president of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, and president of the 4-H Club. Sybil, too, was active in 4-H, and it was through 4-H All Stars activities that the two met.
Sybil was born on September 8, 1920, in Rochester, Mass., to James and Marion Frazer Hartley. After graduating from Wareham High School, she went to Simmons in Boston, majoring in Home Economics. She and Charles began dating in February 1940 and were engaged a year later. After graduation in 1942, Sybil taught school in Carver and lived at home in Rochester.
Charles was drafted and enlisted in the army on December 30, 1942. Assigned to the Army Air Force Technical Training Command's 326th Signal Co. Wing, based at Camp Pinedale in Fresno, he went into training to be a radio operator. Training took him to different locations, including Kansas City and New Jersey. He and Sybil married on September 27, 1943, and he left for overseas—not knowing where he was headed—in November. HMT Andes landed at Liverpool, England, on November 19. Charles was now part of the 67th Fighter Wing stationed at Walcot Hall in Lincolnshire. Although not in combat, Charles rose to the rank of Technical Sergeant. During his absence, Sybil lived at home with her parents, teaching school and working as a 4-H county club agent for the Barnstable County Cooperative Extension Service.
While separated, Charles and Sybil wrote to each other almost daily, and the letters in this collection are notable for their comprehensiveness and their detail of daily life during wartime, both in Europe and on the home front in Massachusetts. Charles describes his life in England: trips to London, drives through the countryside and farms, tea with locals, cultural and educational differences, movies, news from other fronts, and the ache to return home. Sybil shares her own news and routines: managing rations, shopping for a new dress, pondering whether to pursue a career other than teaching. They send clippings containing news or cartoons, often reflecting the playfulness and affection that imbue their correspondence. It was December 1945 before Charles returned home.
The Eshbachs moved to Weymouth in 1946 and had three daughters and a son. Charles resumed his work with the New England Radio News Service, then became director of the New England State Universities' Marketing Education Program. He pursued two master’s degrees: an MPA from Harvard (1959) and an MS in olericulture from UMass (1963). Appointed associate professor of Agricultural and Food Economics at UMass in 1959, Charles moved his family to Amherst in 1964, and by the mid-1960s, the Food Management program he was a part of was transforming into the Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration Department. Charles played a significant role in shaping the new department. Also serving as a leader in Communications Services and Staff Development for the Cooperative Extension Service, he developed the off-campus associate degree food service program, organizing seminars on topics from sanitation to personnel issues, designed for people working in the industry. In 1972, he was promoted to full professor. Charles was honored by the Massachusetts Food Service Educational Council for educational accomplishments in the food service field and in 1975 was appointed to the Massachusetts Nutrition Board by Governor Dukakis. He also served as president of the Western Massachusetts Branch of the Food Service Executives Association. After his retirement from UMass in 1986, Charles remained active as a consultant.
A few years after the Eshbachs' arrival in Amherst, Sybil took a temporary job at the University store. The job turned into a regular part-time job, then a full-time one. Over 30 years of working at the University Store, Sybil became known on campus for her warmth and friendliness and her devotion to UMass athletics. She was also very active as a Simmons alumna with the South Shore Simmons Club.
Sybil created the Hospitality and Tourism Management Department’s Charles E. Eshbach Memorial Scholarship to honor her husband, who died in December 1997, age 83, after being struck by a car; she died in January 2009 at 88.
