Georgia Finley

Georgia Finley attended Knox for a single year before transferring to the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, where she received her A.M. degree. She worked as a professor of Home Economics at Indiana University after her graduation. During World War I, Finley served as a dietitian with the Indiana University Base Hospital #32. She passed away long after the First World War's ending but in the middle of the Second World War, on February 27, 1943. 

Finley's journal, letters, and papers comprise one of the largest and most interesting manuscript collections pertaining to World War I held by Knox College's Seymour Library. 

The letters and diary entries that have been selected for digitization here are representative of Finley's writing and personality.

The following letters and diary entries detail Georgia's preparations prior to leaving home for France.

What did Georgia's job as a dietitian entail? The following objects provide a picture of what her work involved - preparing menus and overseeing kitchen work. 

"There have been a few companies that have written their history into this drive with an indelible ink. I wonder if we can ever appreciate their patriotism." - Georgia Finley

Georgia's letters home to her parents and to her friend Louie are rife with details about her work in France. She describes ongoing frustrations with cooks and maids (exacerbated by her inability to speak French), interactions with nurses and soldiers alike, and her sense of how the war was proceeding. 

"Well, it is all over! What joy!" - Georgia Finley

Georgia Finley writes home to her friend Louie after the armistice. 

Georgia carried this pendant and this watch with her throughout the war. Her watch was given to her by the "women of Indiana University."