Mr. Lascher Heads to Washington

In Government Archives, One Journalist Seeks Another's Story

by Bill Lascher

Time Far East Bureau Chief Melville Jacoby as depicted in a 1942 memorial book. (Photo by Bill Lascher )

SOMEWHERE OVER THE UNITED STATES - Explorers of a remote expanse of a 33-year-old Portland journalist's memory discovered the latest in a string of uncanny circumstances surrounding his telling of the tale of a World War II-era correspondent's brushes with history, romance and adventure.

Following two days of travel disruptions, Bill Lascher* is en-route to Washington, D.C. in pursuit of long-sought documents and other primary sources connected to the subject of his in-process book about one-time Time Far East Bureau Chief Melville Jacoby. The visit to Washington comes seventy-two years after Jacoby and his wife, Annalee — also a journalist — fled the embattled fortress island of Corregidor. Tomorrow, when Lascher steps into a manuscript reading room at the Library of Congress, he'll do so on the second anniversary of the date he began an ambitious, but ultimately unsuccessful, Kickstarter campaign aimed at funding his upcoming book. 

The discovery of the anniversary underscores the financial gambles Lascher has made on this and other research efforts into how the Jacobys' careers and romance flourished amid one of the most pivotal moments of the 20th Century.

"If it takes shameless self-promotion, interviewing myself and one-sourcing a fundraising-pitch masquerading as a news story to afford to tell this story, then that's what it takes," Lascher said during an exclusive intra-cranial interview.

Just before Bill Lascher departed for Washington, sources within the writer's temporal lobe confirmed that he continues to seek outside funding for his research and other expenses related to his telling of Jacoby's story. Financial records acquired by Lascher at Large reveal that Lascher expects to spend at least $800 on combined airfare, ground transportation, food and duplication costs for the current trip. Lascher said he would welcome even a $5 contribution, though he's not ruling out the possibility that members of the public may contribute even more. Regardless of the amount he raises, the reporter says he'll expend whatever resources are necessary to research and recount Jacoby's tale. 

Probably too late for this, but you can still make a contribution to Lascher's research efforts. (Photo by Bill Lascher )

Tomorrow, that pledge takes Lascher to the Library of Congress, where he will scour the private papers of prominent publishers and government officials whose paths crossed Mel's and Annalee's in the Philippines, China and elsewhere. Lascher will also visit the U.S. National Archives and Records Administrations facilities in College Park, MD, where he will sift through military and government records related to the couple's wartime reporting and other events, such as bombings in Chongqing, midnight New Year's Eve escapes from conquered cities, reports from the Philippine front lines and weeks at sea sneaking past enemy blockades.

"Mel's life lends itself to a dramatic narrative, that's certain," Lascher said. "But that narrative only comes to life with the realization it's a true story. I need to be able to situate the almost unbelievable events Mel encountered within their historical context."

The revelations that came to light this week regarding the Kickstarter anniversary underscore a string of coincidences throughout Lascher's work on the book.

"From learning I was related to this amazing reporter only after I pursued a journalism career myself, to my discovery of some of Mel's surviving friends and their families, to learning about the man in my own hometown he worked with, I continue to uncover new surprises," Lascher said. Though the initial Kickstarter failed, further fundraising by Lascher paid for previous — though abbreviated — research trips to Stanford, Harvard and Yale, and to fund, at least partially, his early independent efforts to write and produce this book.

Not Lascher, but Jacoby. After his death, the journalism school of his alma mater, Stanford University, produced memorial booklets in his honor. (Source: "Melville Jacoby, 1916-1942." Division of Journalism, Stanford University, 1942 )

Trip May Involve the Newseum, Dogs

In addition to disrupting Lascher's travel, Monday's storm slowed researchers pulling a recording of Melville Jacoby's broadcast for The March of Time . Even with the rescheduling, It's uncertain whether Lascher's five days in Washington will suffice.

Meanwhile, Lascher is likely to avoid sightseeing except when reading rooms are closed. Previous reports indicate Lascher may spend Sunday visiting the Newseum, an institution known to highlight the so-called "4th Estate," a colloquial term often used in the United States to refer to the journalism industry. It's expected Lascher will look for Jacoby's listing on the Newseum's memorial to fallen journalists. Sources close to Lascher who spoke on condition of anonymity (due to their being himself) say he may also spend some of his limited free time playing with the many dogs living at the homes of friends who have agreed to host him.

Next month, Lascher will spend two weeks at the University of California, San Diego and Stanford University, each of which holds personal papers and other primary sources further fleshing out Jacoby's story. Costs for that trip were mitigated by Lascher's use of frequent flyer and Amtrak frequent rider miles (Lascher is a frequent train rider who has previously indicated he is interested in a residency from Amtrak to aid his work on this book) and lodging offers from family, but Lascher expects to spend at least $700 on additional expenses such as food and ground transportation. Lascher says he certainly would welcome assistance for that trip as well, especially considering the cost of his time, which, when not working on his book, Lascher devotes to freelance journalism for clients such as The Guardian, Next City, and The Magazine.

Aside from these trips, at least 23 facilities in fourteen states have repositories containing collections Lascher has identified as directly relevant to Jacoby's story that Lascher would visit if he had the resources necessary to do so. A map acquired by Lascher at Large illustrates the geographic range of these facilities. They do not include sites in China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam or Australia also relevant to Lascher's research.

New Article, Dispelling Rumors

News of Lascher's research anniversary comes as he prepares for the release of his upcoming article in the Spring, 2014 edition of Boom: A Journal of California. Expected to publish Mid-March, that piece will tell the story of a character from Lascher's hometown of Ventura, California with an unexpected connection to Jacoby and who made key contributions to China's struggle for survival during World War II. 

In related news, Lascher insists that his recent viewing of Season Two of the hit Netflix show "House of Cards" will not influence his perceptions of the nation's capital.

"Spoiler alert: the new season builds to a dramatic moment in a Library of Congress reading room wherein Frank Underwood brazenly refuses to wear gloves while handling a manuscript," Lascher says. "Or does it..."

Though armchair casting directors regularly inform Lascher of their picks to play Mel and Annalee in a seemingly-inevitable cable series or film spun off from their tale, Lascher remains squarely focused on his writing.

"Hey, let me write the book first" he says when asked who he thinks should play the lead, noting that interested publishers can reach out to his agent at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. "But if Tom Hanks is looking for a project, I know he likes World War II stories and typewriters with history, like the one of Mel's I was given when I first learned his story."

And that' snot even the half of it. (Photo by Bill Lascher)

*Full Disclosure: Lascher is the Writer, Editor, Designer, Social Media Manager, Intern and Janitor of this publication, and Jacoby's cousin twice-removed, to boot

Portfolio Pick: Books on The Brain and The Seattle Public Library

Because I spent most of my weekend reading (or, rather, re-reading) Paul French's mesmerizing "Midnight in Peking"), because publishing houses are currently evaluating my own book proposal, because my twitter stream is full of tweets from Book Expo America, and because books are amazing any time, today's portfolio pick comes from the astounding Seattle Public Library.

Like this image? Though I'm first and foremost a writer, I do shoot pictures when I can. You can see some of my favorite shots and even order prints if you like by visiting my Photoshelter portfolio.

My Own Worst Enemy

Oops. In an ideal world, this blog post would be an update about all the amazing things I discovered while perusing the radio broadcast transcripts housed at the University of Oregon. Unfortunately, that wasn't to be.

I woke up early Saturday, excited to make my first foray into the field researching Melville Jacoby's story (not counting my visit to the shipwreck named after him, or the informal visits to my grandmother's house work on this project began in earnest). The drive was pleasant. Eugene was lively as students and visitors enjoyed the sun and warm temperatures. The special collections librarian on duty was helpful and welcoming, as was the undergraduate assistant who lugged up a huge box of transcripts to the collection's reading room.

It looked like she was in for many more trips. There were nine total boxes, and it wasn't clear what order they were in. There was no finding aid, so I'd have to guess.

So, I started with box number one. It kinda felt like christmas as I opened it. What might I learn? What might I discover inside?

Folders and folders and folders full of typed and mimeographed documents. Many were on Republic of China letterhead. Most addressed Charles Stuart, the dentist in my home town who'd received the broadcasts Mel set up. The earliest was dated 1943. Uh-oh...

You see, Mel died in 1942 (indeed, I was at the library just a day short of the 70th anniversary of his death). Somehow, every time I'd read the index citing the collection I'd read it as containing all the records connected to XGOY since 1939, when Mel had helped arrange the station's linkup with the U.S. It turns out the collection was only partial, and the correct dates were even in my notes. How had I processed it so incorrectly? Wishful thinking fueled by my eagerness to finally get some meaty research done, maybe?

Though this reinforced my need to travel to other archives and personal collections it does make me wonder where the first half of these materials are (though it's still not really clear why any of them are in Oregon -- the librarian at the U of O thought it might be because some missionaries have contributed other materials to its collection). But that's part of the fun of all this: tracing all the bread crumbs I might find and answering all the questions connected to the fascinating life of Melville Jacoby.

Anyhow, such errors are bound to cross my path occasionally. I've written previously about my mistakes. All I can do is move along and keep working.

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