The Herschfields were residents of Kalamazoo from 1905 until at least the 1940 Census. The letters and postcards were all written by family members and by a David Herschfield, who was born August 12th 1898 and died in April 29th 1968, had spent time with the American Expeditionary Force from 1918-1919 during WWI. The American Expeditionary Force (or The AEF) was a formation of the United States Army which helped allied forces in the final 2 years of WWI, the AEF saw combat on every front during the war.

The Herschfield family was composed of 5 family members: Aaron (Father), Sadie (Mother), David (Son), Harriet and Edith (Siblings). David would write letters and send postcards to his family mainly his mother and father telling them that he was safe and in good health and he would share what he could about what he did in between correspondences (Since sending information about where he was/is doing could have be intercepted by enemy forces). In return, David’s family, mainly his mother and father would write letters to him and they mainly consisted of how the family was doing, hoping he was safe, and what had happened in between correspondences.

The Herschfield family had also owned and operated a family store in Kalamazoo which was located on South Burdick Street. The shop (according to a newspaper article) was one of the most attractive in the city. It had three stories and a basement was strictly fire-proof. Each floor was devoted to men’s and children clothing departments.