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PREFACE
It has been
thoroughly enjoyable for those of us who have worked on this project.
The stories, photographs, and memorabilia we received from the women
who worked in the Weather Bureau during World War II stirred many emotions.
They were heartwarming, enlightening, entertaining, and educational.
We sense a closeness to those who responded and admire each one. Our
original objective was to try and find ten women to interview. We did
have some telephone conversations, but mostly gathered information through
the mail. The response we received was overwhelming. Through a chain
reaction, we were able to send correspondence to nearly 70 people; approximately
one-half (34) responded.
The primary focus
of this project was to document the experiences of women in the Weather
Bureau during World War II. A few responses were received from women
who worked immediately after the war, and those have been included
since they are representative of the times. Most photographs in this
document were provided by the women themselves; however, a few were
obtained from the National Archives.
From the personal
perspective of the principal author, when reading the narratives of
the women in this document, I kept reflecting on things my mother
told me about when I was growing up. She also had the same "hard working
ethic" as the women in these stories and was of the same era. She
worked, but no, not for the Weather Bureau. In many cases, I even
related some of my own experiences with those of these women. I thank
each of you for sharing part of your life. As you read each narrative,
we hope you will also feel a kinship to these people, as did those
of us working on the project. Although the narratives follow the same
general format, we have done only minor editing to improve clarity.
Editorial comments within the text are indicated by brackets. The
restriction on alterations was done because we wanted each individual
personality to be reflected in this final preserved document of Weather
Bureau history.
Kaye
O'Brien
Gary K. Grice
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