Salado Museum and College Park is hosting the historical exhibit Essential Workers: Women, Aviation and World War II” July 5 through August 26 which tells the story of the women who came forward to meet the demand on the home front.
As part of the multi-week exhibit, Salado Museum will host The Dillard Sisters for a special performance during a gathering 1 p.m. July 24 in the museum. Admission for the performance is $10.
The Dillard Sisters, heralding from San Antonio, sing in the 1940’s style of the Andrew Sisters trio and with their natural and nostalgic form can truly be described as “the girls next door.” With a long history of singing together, Katie, Jeanette and Elizabeth have enjoyed the opportunity to honor veterans and their families at local Honor’s Flights, nursing homes, and the living history program at the Nimitz Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg.The exhibit honors the dedication and sacrifice of the women essential to the American War Effort during World War II featuring Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), Rosie the Riveters, home front workers and famous aviatrixes Jackie Cochran and Salado’s own Grace Jones. While thousands of men were fighting for their country, the people back home were engaged in an extensive war effort of their own. Among them, the American women who worked in defense industries, joined the military, and completed countless other tasks to move the Allies closer to victory. In many cases, they made these contributions while meeting family obligations at home.
Jackie Cochran was a pioneer in women’s aviation. She was the first woman to break the sound barrier. Cochran was the head of the WASPs during WWII. Before the U.S. entered into the war, Cochran was part of “Wings for Britain”, an organization that ferried American-built aircraft to Britain, becoming the first woman to fly a bomber (a Lockheed Hudson V) across the Atlantic. In Britain, she volunteered her services to the Royal Air Force. (wikipedia.org)
The late Grace Jones, whose name still graces the entrance to the building that housed her famous couture dress shop in Salado, was one of those 2,000 Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). She flew warplanes from Dallas Love Field and Black Army Air Field in Waco during WWII. She even flew the B-17 Fortress bomber.
The WASPs were awarded the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal in 2010, about two years after Grace had passed away. Photos of Grace in uniform and airplanes will be part of this exhibit.
According to History.com, “widespread male enlistment left gaping holes in the industrial labor force and defense industry. Women were critical to the war effort: Between 1940 and 1945, the age of “Rosie the Riveter,” the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent, and by 1945, nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home. World War II opened the