History Professor Details the Greatest Generation at Door County Historical Society Meeting

The Door County Historical Society will host its dinner meeting and program “When is Daddy Coming Home?” presented by author Richard Haney on Oct. 24 at the Sturgeon Bay Moravian Church at 6 pm. Haney makes an exceptional contribution to the literature on the Greatest Generation – one that is both devastatingly personal and representative of what families all over America endured during that testing time. Veterans present at the dinner will be honored and presented with a token of appreciation.

World War II was coming to a close in Europe and Richard Haney was only four years old when the telegram arrived at his family’s home in Janesville. That moment, when Haney learned of his father’s death in the final months of fighting, changed his and his mother’s lives forever.

Unlike many of America’s 183,000 World War II orphans, Haney has vivid memories of his father. Sixty years later Haney, now a professional historian, skillfully weaves together his parents’ lives during the war, drawing from their letters, his mother’s recollections, and his own memories to create a unique blend of history and memoir in When is Daddy Coming Home?

Haney is a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he teaches courses in 20th-century U.S. history, American military history, and Wisconsin history. The UW-Whitewater organization Students for an Accessible Society has twice presented him with its teaching excellence award.

Guests will enjoy a family-style Swiss steak dinner. Dinner and program fees are $21 for Society members and the guest fee is $25. The dinner will be held at the Sturgeon Bay Moravian Church, 323 S. 5th Ave. Books will be available for purchase.

Make reservations by sending payment to the Door County Historical Society, P.O. Box 71, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235; the reservation deadline is Oct. 17. The fee is $5 and the program time is 6:45 pm for the program only. For more information, call 920.421.2332 or email [email protected].