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ARKANSAS TRAVELERS
Unit # 1 (AR) – Member W. Evelyn
Rhodes passed away and a memorial
service was held at the last meeting.
Member Hazel Lasley was featured in
her local paper. She has had a colorful
career in many areas since her service
in the WAVES. She is an active member
of the unit, volunteers at the local
hospital and in the Business and Professional
Women (BPW), an organization
that she has been a member of, for
over 60 years.
ANCHORETTES
Unit # 2 (CA) - Members brought, and
then signed Valentines, that were distributed
to two Alzheimer hospitals and one
care facility. Dorothy Sherrard created
beautiful floral pieces for distribution.
BAY AREA WAVES
Unit # 3 (CA) - The Unit made a donation
for materials to be used by the PTSD
women veterans at the Menlo Park Division
of the Palo Alto VA Hospital. The
volunteers filled Valentine Day sacks
with Valentines donated by school children,
socks, telephone cards and canteen
books and helped distribute them
throughout the wards, along with Miss
California. Some of the members assisted
the Monterey Bay Disabled Veterans
during their semi-annual fishing event for
wheelchair-bound vets, an event in
which they regularly participate.
ROADRUNNERS
Unit # 4 (NM) – The unit began 2004 on
a sad note. Faithful member, Verna
Fender passed away in January. The
unit has lost 4 members in the past eight
months. In their memory, the unit will buy
4 bricks to be placed at the NM Veterans
Memorial. Had a large turnout for the
December Holiday Event. Every year,
the unit sponsors a “Holiday” at the VA
Hospital. Halloween is the unit’s “day”
and the donation pays for the placemats
and napkins and also includes a card
with the unit’s name. For the next few |
months, the Roadrunners will
meet at a local restaurant during
construction at the regular meeting place.
GATEWAY WAVES
Unit # 5 (MO) -The unit welcomes
Nancy Cote who has moved to the area.
The unit supports the USO, takes
canned goods to homeless veterans and
participates in other veteran activities on
a regular basis.
KEYSTONE WAVES
Unit # 6 (PA) – Sheila Martin was a
guest speaker at the new National Constitution
Center of Philadelphia. She is a
member of WWII Veterans Lecture Institute
headquartered at the Abington Public
Library. The 30 minute presentation
was of her experience in WWII as an
Aerographer’s Mate 3rd Class and in
these past years, her job as docent at
WIMSA. She is chairman of a newly
organized OUTREACH to the Schools
Committee and supplies WWII Vets to
speak at local high schools.
HEART OF AMERICA
Unit # 9 (KS & MO) – Unit members
attended the annual Women’s Veterans
Recognition Health Fair held at KS Veterans
Affairs Medical Center. Ken Hill,
Hospital Director, welcomed approximately
200 women veterans from every
branch of the military. Sherrill Sego,
manager of the Women Veterans Program
at the VAMC, advised the audience
to register for medical care and
prescription medication. Many are
presently taking advantage of these
services, but some were unaware of
their eligibility to participate.
OLD IRONSIDES
Unit # 17 (MA) - On June 12, 2004, Old
Ironsides Unit #17 will be celebrating its
20th birthday. All eight past presidents
are expected to attend. The membership
will have the opportunity to hear our
founding members share their experiences
as they call to mind the difficulties
encountered in obtaining new “recruits”.
They can indeed be very proud when
they look out at their audience and witness
a membership of over 200 from |
such a small beginning! Congratulations
to Old Ironsides Unit #17—may she stay
afloat for many more years!!
GOLDEN WEST
Unit # 31 (CA) - Golden West 31 has
recently welcomed 4 new members into
the Unit bringing the membership to 58
at present. Grocery certificates, to be
given to enlisted personnel at the Seal
Beach Weapons Center, who are in
need of a little extra help to get through
the month, are obtained. It is a small, but
needed, and worthwhile project for the
unit. In February, the members met for
lunch at a Marie Callendars in Garden
Grove with 35 members attending. Following
lunch, members provided a quilt
show, showing quilts from the early l900s
to the present day. Some had tiny inch
square pieces, some with embroidery
and some made from silk ties pieces.
Even a pillow made from a husband’s
ties was shown. It was a fascinating trip
down memory lane. A quilt top with all
pieces embroidered with friends and
family names, (a “friendship quilt”), was
made for brides, for a new baby, for family
and friends, on special occasions. In
April, the unit will meet at Seal Beach for
a potluck lunch and a special event that
features a former WWII POW in the
Philippines as speaker.
MICHIGAN WAVES
Unit # 32 (MI) – The winter meeting was
held 7 February at the Lindenhof Restaurant
in Bay City. The attendance was
smaller than usual as the age factor is
creeping up on us. The guest speaker
was a former WREN, Margaret Ward,
and her Irish accent was delightful and
her days in the British Navy most interesting.
Several WAVES in the mid-
Michigan area paid a visit to the Vietnam
Memorial in Lansing. What an awe inspiring
experience and something
everyone should do! Another visit is
planned. Bettie Archer Johnson, unit
President, gave a documentary interview
to the Oral History Project in Oakland
County. The interviews are archived by
the U.S. Library of Congress. All veterans
are encouraged to be interviewed,
as each veteran will have a different
experience to relate. |
