REDWOOD CITY — A century has come and gone since the United States entered World War I, and while the voices of those who fought fell silent years ago, a set of sketches by a veteran with ties to the Peninsula is offering new and personal insight into what it was like to serve.
Alvin Page Colby, a resident of Burlingame, made dozens of drawings while training at Fort Lewis in Washington and later serving in France as a cook in the 91st “Wild West” Division.
The sketches range from the whimsical (a pair of soldiers praying Prohibition doesn’t come to California) to the solemn (an infantryman wondering why no one has written to him) to a blend of both (a fellow cook diving out of the path of a shell fired by “Fritz”).
For the first time, the drawings are being displayed publicly at the San Mateo County History Museum in Redwood City. The exhibit in the rotunda is slated to run through January.
“It’s a light-hearted look at World War I,” curator Dana Neitzel said in an interview prior to the opening last week. “But it also shows the seriousness of it — it wasn’t a fun experience.”
On the heels of a display commemorating the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor and the Peninsula’s involvement in World War II, the museum wanted to do something similar for the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I, Neitzel said.
Elizabeth Crowley, who leads field trips at the museum, offered to bring in the sketches drawn by Colby, her great-grandfather. For years, the family had wanted to share them but wasn’t certain how.
“My whole family has grown up with these sketches,” she said, “but this is the first time really anyone outside the family and our friends who have come to our house have seen them.”
Born July 12, 1893, Colby grew up in San Francisco and moved to Burlingame with his family after the 1906 earthquake. He was a gifted artist and, if family lore is to be believed, even beat Rube Goldberg in a competition, but he ended up working at Wisnom’s Hardware in San Mateo.
“His parents felt art was not a career that would make him any money,” Crowley said.
Colby left Wisnom’s in 1917 to join the Army. He documented the experience with pencil and paper, more often than not striking a comic tone. One of the drawings on display, for example, features a soldier singing goodbye to his lice as he heads to a delousing station.
“He definitely had a sense of humor,” Neitzel said about Colby. “He wrote home and would often include these sketches.”
Colby returned to Wisnom’s after the war, but he continued to put his talents to use until his death in 1975. As a joke one year, he crafted bonnets out of hardware for an Easter display. Crowley said customers were so impressed they wanted to purchase them.
He also provided artwork for his daughters’ yearbooks as well as designed and built furniture that is still used by his descendants.
“It’s always felt like he’s still very much here,” said Crowley, who at 34 years old never knew her great-grandfather.
Crowley said the family is thrilled to share Colby’s drawings with the public. And the feeling is mutual for the museum, said Neitzel, adding that the autobiographical aspect makes the exhibit special.
“It really makes it personal so that people can understand and empathize with the experiences he was going through,” she said.
“I think it’s just important to realize that over a hundred years ago they were just like us,” Neitzel continued. “They had these quirky events and they had to deal with them.”
IF YOU GO
What: Sketches from World War I
When: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., through Jan. 14, 2018
Where: San Mateo County History Museum, 2200 Broadway, Redwood City
Cost: $6 adults, $4 seniors and students, free for children 5 years old or younger
