Information Sheet
R Doolittle (Mo.).
799 Home movie, 1946.
One videocassette.
This is a brief home movie, transferred to VHS videocassette, featuring the dedication of Doolittle in Phelps County, Missouri, on 12 October 1946. The highlight of the dedication was the visit by Lieut. Gen. James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, the town’s namesake.
The town of Doolittle was formed early in 1944 at the junction of U. S. Highway 66 and State Highway T, approximately six miles west of Rolla. The area had been known previously as Centerville. Alfred R. Cook, Doolittle’s first mayor, and Louis Hargis, a justice of the peace and the town’s second mayor, are credited as the founders. Mrs. Julia Johnson is said to have suggested naming the town for one of the American generals of World War Two, and the name Doolittle is attributed to Clyde Haas. The founders wrote Gen. Doolittle through the War Department, asking that he dedicate the town. Doolittle, busy at the time with the Eighth Air Force in England, replied that he would do so when he could. The dedication took place on 12 October 1946. Four thousand people are said to have attended the dedicatory ceremonies.
The home movie is approximately three minutes and fifty-five seconds in duration. It shows Gen. Doolittle signing autographs, speech making, and other facets of the celebration including a marching band from Salem, Missouri, and singing by the Rolla High School Glee Club. The movie does not include sound.
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