This series documents the final years spent in Puerto Rico by the Rev. William G. Arbaugh, primarily 1951 to mid-1956, with scattered letters from before 1951. It also documents the two and a half years, 1956-1958, which Arbaugh worked at the United Lutheran Church in America headquarters in New York City. Most of the series consists of Arbaugh's outgoing correspondence. Of that, most are addressed to his wife and children, with some to his mother and brother. The remainder is addressed to associates in the West Indies mission, Caribbean Synod, and at church headquarters in New York. There are also some letters received by Arbaugh from family and associates. The series also contains photographs, evidently taken by Arbaugh, of West Indies mission work in the U.S. Virgin islands in 1941. Records are from 1926-1958 with the bulk dating from 1951-1958. The series is arranged into two subseries: correspondence and photographs. The correspondence, arranged chronologically, is very revealing both as to Arbaugh's professional and personal lives as he wrote frankly and voluminously on a variety of topics. In relation to his work in Puerto Rico and Latin America his letters are full of observations and commentary on events and developments, including: the Puerto Rico nationalist insurrection, under date November 1, 1950; his role in providing impetus for the formation of the Caribbean Synod, November 1, 1951; and his criticism of the Lutheran Peace Fellowship for elevating the cause of peace above that of "the world's response to the Gospel of the Kingdom of God," December 26, 1952. Though a very earnest and hard-working individual, Arbaugh also had a sense of humor which had frequent play within his correspondence. On November 2, 1953, he wrote "One of the worst curses of modern civilization is about to descend on Puerto Rico-television. The first TV station in PR, 'Telemundo,' opens January first and many houses have been fitted with antlers already.︣" While many of Arbaugh's letters present his work and beliefs as a church leader, many were also devoted to his role as a father, son, and parent. For example, he frequently plied his son with advice about how to obtain a good wife. He also was a careful financial planner and provided typed copies of the family budget to his wife and children. Arbaugh's practice of addressing family members requires some explanation. In his correspondence he always referred to his own mother as "mother," even when discussing her with his own children, while referring to their own mother as "Clara." Clara, on the other hand, always signed herself "mother" when writing their children. The photographs (three black and white prints and 54 negatives) are of scenes of the Lutheran church and its agencies in the U.S. Virgin Islands (mostly of the Queen Louise Home in Frederiksted) and date from around 1941.
