North Carolina and South Carolina archivists learn about the WVHP in Morehead City

WVHP hits the road!

Curator Beth Ann Koelsch, USAF veteran/WVHP oral history interviewer/UNC Greensboro PhD candidate Therese Strohmer, and Navy veteran Pat Childers gave a presentation and conducted a panel discussion at the 2011 joint conference of the Society of North Carolina Archivists (SNCA) and the South Carolina Archival Association (SCAA) in Morehead City, NC on April 1, 2011.



The session Preserving the History of Women Veterans in the Carolinas began with Beth Ann discussing how the WVHP came about and how veteran community involvement helps it grown. Next Beth Ann presented a history of women in the WVHP who served at Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point , the Charleston (SC) Naval Base, and Parris Island.

In her presentation Beth Ann showed photos and used excerpts from oral histories.

Finally, panelists Beth Ann, Therese and Pat discussed their roles and participation in the WVHP, and issues concerning oral history interviews with women veterans. The session was well received and Beth Ann made great contacts with other archivists and friends and supporters of women veterans.

Thank you to Irene Parsons

Irene Parsons of Wilkes County, North Carolina, passed away on March 10, 2011. Irene spent three years with the Women’s Reserve of the Coast Guard (SPARs) from 1943 until 1946. Afterward, she had a long career with the Veteran’s Administration, retiring after almost thirty years of service.

She was a long time supporter of the Women Veterans Historical Project and she shared her oral history interview with us in 2005.


You can read the transcript here:
http://library.uncg.edu/dp/wv/collection.aspx?col=269

Irene bequeathed an endowment to the WVHP in her will. Her generosity, as well as that of many other veterans who have donated to the Project, is vital. As curator, I am focusing our resources on our oral history efforts. In the last year, we have added the stories of over 30 more women veterans to the collection. We post the full transcripts on line and researchers worldwide are able to learn from these women’s stories. Each oral history costs about $750 to conduct, transcribe, and edit, and support such as Irene’s makes these oral histories possible.



Linda Burr and Irene Parsons at the Women Veterans Luncheon, November 2009

2009 Annual Women Veterans Luncheon

The 11^th annual 2009 Annual Women Veterans Luncheon was a great success! On Saturday, November 14 over 125 people gathered in the EUC ballroom at UNC-G to celebrate women veterans and the Women Veterans Historical Project.

The keynote speaker was Brigadier General Clara Adams-Ender, U.S. Army, Retired. Adams-Ender is a graduate of North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro and served in the Army Nurse Corps from 1961-1993. In 1991 she was appointed commander of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, which made her the first nurse in army history to become the commanding general of a major military base. General Adams-Ender was both very inspiring and funny as she spoke about "The 3 C's: Telling the Stories of Women Veterans."

The program also included a number of other events:

• A tour of the collection stacks by Betty Carter

• Presentation of Colors: Army ROTC, NC A&T State University

• Greetings sent from U.S. Senators Richard Burr and Kay Hagan

• Remarks from U. S. Representative Howard Coble

• Musical Entertainment by the UNCG male a cappella group, the Spartones

• Exhibits of uniforms, hats and recruiting materials

The only note of sadness was that Betty Carter announced that she was retiring in May 2010. Carter founded the Project in 1998 and transformed it into the world renowned repository it has grown into. The WVHP has been a labor of love for Carter and she will be greatly missed by both the veterans and her colleagues.

You can see all of the photos of the luncheon here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uncgspecial/sets/72157622829925411/

** All photographs taken by Dean Rhoades**