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 Having recently turned 101 years of age,
Bernie, as she is called, worked on three separate government
contracts doing her part to help the war effort.
She stressed that it was not just the men in the
military who fought the war; it was also the brave women left behind
who took on many kinds of war jobs at home that were previously only
held by men.
Bernie, at age 20, worked a in a dress factory in New York making
elegant dresses. With the war, Bernie’s job changed quickly into
sewing ammunition belts. They had to be precisely made to hold
ammunition securely in place, and not allow it to fall to the
ground.
Being newly married, she later joined her husband in Michigan where
she worked at a plant sealing K-ration meal boxes in wax, to prevent
spoilage after being shipped around the world.
Another government work contract saw her become a
cluster bomb inspector!
During the war, her husband Howard served in the South Pacific
theater. He was a machinist, and received his soldier’s training at
Camp Ellis, near Ipava.
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Lincoln Woman’s Club was grateful to learn about
Bernie’s work in a different time and place, as well as snippets of
life during the war. We thank them both for their service to our
country.
In a very special coincidence, LWC had already
planned a journey in July for members to visit the Easley Pioneer
Museum in Ipava which houses the Camp Ellis memorabilia, tour an
adjacent one-room school, and explore Camp Ellis remnants on the
back roads of Fulton County. Our trip will enhance our understanding
of Camp Ellis, which had a census of up to 200,000 active-duty
military and civilian workers and housed 5,000 German Prisoners of
War during its heyday.
Lincoln Woman’s Club welcomes new members! Please contact membership
chairman, Ellen Dobihal,
edobihal@gmail.com for information.
[Terri McDowell] |
