THE STORY: In 1996 I moved from teaching US History at the middle school level to teaching US History in a high school. I knew that in teaching World War II and women's roles, I wanted to present the topic in a way that would be more meaningful and in more depth than what was in the textbook. I had done research on the Denver Ordnance Plant - now the Denver Federal Center - and knew that that would be a perfect vehicle. So I scoured Broadway antique shops for props and developed my story as Gail Murphy, a bullet case worker at the plant. From that humble beginning, I added more and more props and expanded the presentation. Soon I was presenting to women's auxiliaries, clubs, organizations, churches, senior citizen groups and facilities. Some were only a few miles from my home; others were as far away as Omaha, Nebraska, and Telluride, Colorado.
THE LEGACY: The best part of presenting the contributions of American women to the World War II effort was meeting many, many "Rosies," female military veterans, male veterans, and others who labored behind the scenes to support and care for our servicemen. The stories they told me in Q & A sessions and afterwards were so inspiring that I knew I had found the topic for my next book. And thus, Colorado Women in World War II was born.
BIO:
A native of western Massachusetts, I was fortunate to move with my family to Colorado when I was eight years old. I like to say that we came via The Mayflower. Of course that would be the Mayflower Moving Company! I have a BS in education from the University of Colorado Boulder which led to a teaching career of over thirty years in elementary, middle, and high schools, and at two community colleges. Yes, I have STORIES!
I earned two master's degrees -- one in United States History and one in Public History -- from University of Colorado Denver.
Upon retirement from teaching I indulged in several long trips with my mother and worked on my first book, Colorado Women: A History. During the next eight years I researched and wrote Colorado Women in World War II. Two long hiking trips in Ireland (April 2017 and April 2018) were welcome hiatuses from reading microfilmed newspapers and poring through books and archival material. I love researching but microfilm reading is blinding and sitting long stretches of time is exhausting. Fifteen to twenty mile hikes from bed and breakfast to bed and breakfast in the Irish countryside was restorative!
December 2019 through January 2021 were pleasantly spent researching and working with Dr. Thomas J. Noel on The Women's Bank: A Denver Success Story. What an amazing group of founding women (and men).
The past several years I have been working on Colorado Women Homesteaders (and of course a hiking trip to the Cotswolds in England thrown in).