The Barefoot Bulletin
(1943-1946)

The Barefoot BulletinThe Barefoot Bulletin, an internationally-circulated newsletter, drew its content from the letters of twenty-nine World War II American servicemen who grew up in the town of Red Bank, New Jersey, during the Great Depression, known collectively as the "Barefooters." The men first became friends in 1933, when, as teenagers, they founded an amateur sailing club, "The Barefoot Yacht Club," on the banks of the Navesink River. While learning to sail their Barnegat sneak boats over the following years, the Barefooters and their families developed enduring friendships. (The Barefooters boasted one young female sailor, Barbara Sayre Bull, who is remembered as a strong competitor in the races.) Nearly all of the club members graduated from Red Bank High School between 1938 and 1939. Shortly after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, each Barefooter found himself either in the uniform of one of the US Armed Services or otherwise involved in the war effort.

Throughout the war, the Barefooters sent letters to Margaret Rullman, the mother of Barefooter Edwards F. Rullman, who carefully preserved their correspondence. With the assistance of Louise Sayre, mother of Barbara, and Katherine Lippincott, Mrs. Rullman edited these letters into the form of a newsletter and hired a local typist to produce The Barefoot Bulletin. From September 1943 through February 1946, the thirty monthly editions of The Barefoot Bulletin (which the editors renamed The Barefoot Barnacle for its final two issues) chronicled the wartime experiences of the club members in locations as diverse as Guam, France and Okinawa. The newsletter also reported on local events in the town of Red Bank and happenings within the lives of the Barefooters' families. The Barefoot Bulletin is therefore an important source of documentary information on the participation of Americans in World War II in foreign theaters of operations and on the home front.

The Barefoot Bulletin/Barnacle collection presented by the Rutgers Oral History Archives is the file copy preserved by Katherine Lippincott, the mother of the late Raymond B. Lippincott, Jr., a Barefooter and graduate of Rutgers College (Class of 1948). The copies were donated to the Special Collections & University Archives division of Alexander Library by Gladys Lippincott, NJC '47, wife of Raymond and daughter-in-law of Katherine, and are currently available in the SP/UA's Sinclair New Jersey Collection. The PDF files were created with images of each page scanned at 400 DPI.

The Rutgers Oral History Archives would like to thank Gladys Lippincott for all of her assistance in bringing this website to fruition.

The Barefoot Bulletin Digital Archive was created by Jonathan Wolitz, Michael Perchiacca and Shaun Illingworth.

Issues

1943

September, Vol. 1
October, Vol. 2
November, Vol. 3
December, Vol. 4
Christmas Edition

1944

January, Vol. 5
February, Vol. 6
March, Vol. 7
April, Vol. 8
May, Vol. 9
June, Vol. 10
July, Vol. 11
August, Vol. 12
September, Vol. 13
October, Vol. 14
November, Vol. 15
December, Vol. 16
Christmas Edition

1945

January, Vol. 17
February, Vol. 18
March, Vol. 19
April, Vol. 20
May, Vol. 21
June, Vol. 22
July, Vol. 23
August, Vol. 24
September, Vol. 25
October, Vol. 26
November, Vol. 27
December, Vol. 28
Christmas Edition

1946

January, Vol. 29

February, Vol. 30

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