Snap Roll

Collection

Identifier: SPC-2023-030

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Snap Roll (1943-1945) consists of digital reproductions of a magazine, “Snap Roll,” which was distributed to soldiers at Minter Field during training from 1943 up until 1945. It usually contained weekly updates on the field and reports on several platoons. The content was updated on a weekly basis and included information on events held by the United Service Organizations (USO) and other organizations, and movies, parades, and holidays for the soldiers. The USO also brought several actors and musicians to Minter Field, such as "Diamond Jim Brady" Arnold, and Warner Baxter, and Louis Armstrong. The magazine features the several commanders, such as, Carly Pyle, James Grisham, Newton Crumley who took over after Grisham quickly left for a promotion, and R.C. Wriston. Also it includes soldiers’ opinions for events and issues during the war. The collection does not cover the entire issues published; some issues are missing.

Dates

1943 June 30-1945 November 11

Creator

Army Air Forces Basic Flying School (Minter Field, Calif.) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Biographical / Historical

Minter Air Field was constructed in 1941 as a flight training center under the Defense Landing Area Program. In 1943, several soldiers wanted to make a magazine publication to record the ongoing events at Minter, and this led to the creation of "Snap Roll". Minter Field was run by the United States Army from 1941-1949, when it was turned over and run by Kern County. In 1985, the Minter Field Airport District was formed and took over the ownership of the airfield.

For more information please see: https://www.minterfield.com/our-history

Extent

337 Megabytes (73 pdf files)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of digital reproductions of "Snap Roll," a magazine published between June 30, 1943 and November 11, 1945. The magazine was distributed to soldiers at Minter Field during training from 1943 up until 1945. "Snap Roll" usually contained updates on the field weeks prior and situations of several platoons. The content was updated on a weekly basis and included information on events held by the United Service Organizations (USO) and other organizations, and movies, parades, and holidays for the soldiers. Digital reproductions of the magazine are available online at the CSUDH Digital Collections site.

Arrangement

Digital files are chronologically numbered.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Digital reproductions of the Snap Roll magazines were acquired from the Minter Field Air Museum, which were digitized by Allen Anderson (the mueum's personel) and transferred via USB. The physical copies are still held at Minter Field.

Existence and Location of Originals

Physical copies are located in Minter Field Air Mueseum.

Availability of Digital Reproductions

Digital reproduction access files (access derivatives) are available at CSUDH Digital Collections: Snap Roll Digital Collection

Minter Field Air Museum: Snap Roll, 1943, 2007-2018

Vol. 1, issue 1 (June 1943) and issue 2 (July 1943) are available online at the Minter Field Air Museum's site.

Processing Information

Original copies of "Snap Roll" were found at the Minter Air Field located in Shafter California and discovered through Andrea Johnson, a professor in the history department at CSU Dominguez Hills. Dr. Johnson talked with employees at the Minter Field Air Museum to help preserve "Snap Roll", and Allen Anderson, museum's staff, digitized the collection and transferred it to CSUDH. The digital files were originally saved in JPEG, and then they were normalized to TIFF format and PDF/A format for preservation. PDF files were optimized for access files. The digital files were processed and cataloged by Levi Escalante during 2023 fall semester.