J. Elmer Spyglass

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Elmer Spyglass (1877-1957) was a United States consul in Germany. He was born in Springfield, Ohio on November 1, 1877.

In 1897, He became a founding member of St. John's Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield. After that, he dedicated his life to music and became a cabaret singer. He went to Pittsburgh's Carnegie Hall and accompanied a 25 piece orchestra and a 200 member choir in singing Strauss' "Schone blaue Donau".

In 1906, he went to Europe as established himeself as an interpreter of "Negro Spirituals". For 20 years, he sang in the Netherlands to cheering audiences. In 1930, J. Elmer Spyglass retired lived in the Frankfurt suburb of Sachenhausen, Germany. Elmer's time in Sachenhausen came to abrupt end in 1944 when his house was bombed.

After World War II, James Spyglass became a United States Consulate in Frankfurt. He spent many hours telling the Germans about America and teaching them the English language.

In 1947, he had an interview with Will Lang Jr. of Life to discuss his life and his role as a U.S. consul. (Will Lang's article appeared in LIFE Magazine on November 3, 1947.)

On November 9, 1954, James Spyglass became an honorary citizen of Schwalbach, Germany.

James Elmer Spyglass died on February 16, 1957, aged 79.