I need some personal information on Newark News war correspondent Warren H. Kennet for a forthcoming WWII exhibit at the NJ National Guard Militia Museum. We have a scrapbook of Kennet's articles on NJ soldiers in the war, and some photos of him not seen before. By poking around in the census, I have found that he was living in Union in 1930, with his wife and two daughters, was born in 1902 in England and emigrated to this country in 1903. He died in 1982 in Newark, and I was once told by someone posting on this board that he lived on North 6th Street in Roseville in the 1950s. I do know he used to hang around the Roseville Avenue Armory in the late 1930s, and made the Normandy landings with the 102nd Cavalry, a NJ National Guard outfit based in that armory. Anyone with further information on "New Jersey's Ernie Pyle" can contact me on or off list. Thanks.
To answer your questions, we hope to have the exhibit up in September, to coincide with the debut of new Ken Burns 14 hour PBS World War II documentary series "The War." Burns, of course, is well known for his previous mega-documentaries, "The Civil War," "Baseball" and "Jazz." New Jersey Network is planning a supplementary show on NJ during the war and we have been working with them, as we have a large oral history collection (300 tapes) at the museum. In addition to Kennet we will feature NJ photographers and artists and the NJ National Guard units who fought in the war, including the 102nd Cavalry and the 44th Division.
So far I've managed to find Kennet on the 1930 census, when he was living in Union. He apparently moved to Newark after WWII and may have been living on 12th Street over near Bloomfield Avenue at the time of his death in 1982 at the age of 81. (I may be off a year hear, as I do not have the obit from the LEDGER to hand. I wonder if he ate Dickie Dee's?) Interestingly, Kennet went to work for the NEWS in 1928 and worked there until 1972, when the paper folded. He covered the Newark riots as well as WWII.
So far, I have obtained remembrances from Nat Bodian, a LEDGER reporter in the 1930s who used to cover polo matches at the Roseville Avenue Armory with Kennet, John T. Cunningham, famed Newark journalist and historian, who also knew him, and an old Roseville and Essex Troop vet. We have his scrapbook at the museum with all his WWII articles in it and I have written a one page bio of him.
Plans are to reproduce photos, articles and the bio for the exhibit. Unfortunately, we have no artifacts directly associated with Kennet, although we do have a late 1930s era portable Remington typewriter unidentified as to owner or donor -- so who knows? Maybe Warren's ghost has been guiding me. :-)
I seem to recall old manual Royals and Smith CoronaTypewriters at the News. None Electric. Reporters would type on Copy Paper. (Newsprint cut to approx 10' x 8") on which they would type a sentence, a Header or a paragraph . They would continue the story on additional Copypaper as required.
In the case of a fast breaking event. Several reporters would each type an assigned section or event of the story.
Many writers would only type by using two fingers instead of the Touch system.
I learned the Touch System in Barringer but foolishly emulated the Big Guys.
They were fast typists.
P.S: The Office Columns were plastered with Writer jokes and comments.
Glued to the pillars they offered irreverant social attitudes and incredibly funny story captions.
Thanks for the insight! I remember the old Newark News myself a bit because a college friend of mine was a reporter for the paper in its last years. We graduated from Seton Hall in 1965 and when I got out of the army in 1968 he was working for the Elizabeth bureau and later the Belmar bureau and I hung around with him a bit when he did stories.
The typewriter we have at the msueum is a manual portable and dates from 1935-1940 or so, according to the research I did on it. It still works!
I've just discovered that Warren Kennet was the husband of a family member - Florence Loretta Vohden, born 2 Dec 1900 in Newark to John Jacob Vohden & Annie Demmer. I don't see any further e-mails on this topic after 2007. Did anything further come of this?
Best regards, Robbie Barnes
Yes. We put up an exhibit on him at the National Guard Museum, and then his granddaughter and daughter got in touch with me and came down to visit it and gave us some more interesting information and artifacts.
Yes. We put up an exhibit on him at the National Guard Museum, and then his granddaughter and daughter got in touch with me and came down to visit it and gave us some more interesting information and artifacts.
In 1950 when I was aboard the USS New Jersey in Korea he came aboard and interviewed many of those who were from New Jersey
and specifically from Newark. I spoke with him and told him that I had occasionly worked in the mail room for the Newark Evening News. He had my picture taken but never used either one. Fame is fleeting!!
We have a lot of pictures and a scrapbook of all of his WWII journalism. He was also a National Guard sergeant back in the 1920s and 1930s and quite a horseman. One picture from 1930 has him riding two horses, a foot on each one, standing up. He was apparently quite a character.
I have told this story before and I am repeating it because Warren Kennet observed this tradition along with all of the Newark Evening News People.
I was a Copy Boy for the Newark Evening News my first official job after graduating from Barringer High School. Lied about my age to get the job. You had to be 18 but thats another story.
I worked on November 11 1957 in the Editorial Room when suddenly all of the lights went out and desk chairs pushed back by the now silent standing Reporters, Editors, and Copy Boys. In that respectful silence. I didn't move as I became aware that something really special was occuring. The World War I Armistice was signed on the Eleventh Hour of The Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month.
In honor of all those who sacrificed so much in the war to end all wars.
The Men and Women, Owners,.Employees, All. The people of the Newark Evening News stood in a respective silence.
The Newark News became a cathedral at that moment. I have never forgotten that moment in time.
It made me aware of the sacrifice and the dignified way the Armistice was observed
These days people have to be TOLD to remove their hats during the playing of the National Anthem...they to be unable to be quiet. It's all a joke to them.
Like when Tony Soprano got the guy to take off his baseball cap in the nice restaurant. "They don't serve hot dogs here. Take it off." This is a fickle and faithless generation.
