Sumner T. Bernstein Correspondence

Sumner Thurman Bernstein (1924 - 2002) grew up in Portland, Maine, the son of lawyer parents. He served in the South Pacific in the U.S. Army during World War II (achieving the rank of Captain) and attended Harvard University for his undergraduate education and for law school. He returned to Portland after marrying Rosalyne Spindel in 1949, to join his father and uncle’s law practice, which he helped to grow into Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer and Nelson in 1964. He was very engaged with the community, participating in the following organizations, among others, often serving as president or chair of these groups for a portion of his tenure: Portland City Council (1955-1961); Portland School Committee (1955-58); Portland Housing Authority; Downtown Portland Corporation; Maine State Bar Association; Maine Bar Foundation; Jewish Federation of Southern Maine; Temple Beth El; Maine Jewish Council; Jewish Community Center; National Council of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee; Pine Tree Council of the Boy Scouts of America; Portland YMCA; Maine Medical Center; Portland Public Library; and World Affairs Council of Maine. He also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Maine School of Law from 1993-98 and was a member of their Board of Visitors, and he was an instructor at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of the University of Southern Maine. The Papers document his civic work and personal life. They include correspondence, newspaper clippings, and text of his speeches and talks. Of particular value are 25 folders of family correspondence dating from 1940 to 1945, which include letters covering Bernstein’s military training and World War II service. Other records and reminiscences of his army service and Harvard education are present, as well. The Papers also include materials related to his final illness and death, including letters of sympathy and condolence, information about contributions made in his honor, obituaries, eulogies, and other tributes, and videos/cassettes of memorial services and other celebrations of his life. The Papers also include two albums – one documenting the 85-year history of Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer, and Nelson and the other a collection of notes and photos compiled for The Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine’s Evening to Honor Sumner and Rosalyne Bernstein (May 15, 2000).

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09/13/1945 B

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding life on base; correspondence; international news.
09/12/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

V-mail to grandparents (Mr. + Mrs. Jacob Thurman) from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding their Rosh Hashanah wishes to him.
09/10/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding life on base; description of Santo [Espiritu Santo Island, Vanuatu]; hand-drawn map of base.
09/10/1945 B

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding weather on Santo; life on base; American handling of postwar Japan.
09/12/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding "Son of Lassie" screening; morale on base; correspondence.
09/09/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding Rosh Hashanah; U.S. labor issues; life on base.
09/08/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding Jewish community on base; Rosh Hashanah celebrations; his personal Jewish practice; Zionism; correspondence; Russo-Chinese pact; news from home.
09/07/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding Rosh Hashanah; displaced persons in Europe; Palestine; Hong Kong.
09/06/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding life on base; postwar Army; correspondence; international politics; Palestine.
09/05/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding life on base; correspondence; postwar Japan.
09/05/1945 B

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding life on base; China; correspondence.
09/03/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding Rosh Hashanah; Truman order on remobilization; Zionism; correspondence; atomic bomb.
09/03/1945 B

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding V-J Day; life on base; GI Bill; UNRRA; news from home; Japanese attitude toward surrender.
09/02/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding life on base; Germany; U.S. labor issues; Churchill speech on foreign affairs; Truman statement on Palestine; V-J Day.
09/01/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding Democratic Party in Maine; correspondence with sister Helen; war criminals; British elections.
08/30/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding Balkan politics; 1946 US elections; Palestine and Zionism; Portland, Maine politics; Truman's State Department.
08/30/1945 B

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding correspondence; Pearson columns on uranium mining and Truman's cabinet; empty California senate seat; morality of the atomic bomb.
08/28/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding life on base; Sino-Russia pact; correspondence.
08/20/1945 B

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding plans for returning home; poker playing; working with African American troops; Army politics.
08/27/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding trusteeship over the Ryukyu Islands; Iwo Jima surrender; Hildreth Veterans' Group; international politics; American politics.
08/25/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding Army life; California Senate appointment; Hall-Burton-Hatch labor bill.
08/24/1945 B

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding books he is reading; employment options after the war.
08/22/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding life in the army; a dream he had about being home.
08/20/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding US refusal to recognize the government of Bulgaria; German politics and perpetration of atrocities.
08/19/1945

Sumner T. Bernstein

Letter to family from Sumner T. Bernstein regarding War Crimes Commission; Soviet declaration of war; Potsdam Conference; Tehran Conference; family discussions and concerns; readjusting to civilian life.