Bailey - The Soldier Who Lived in the Drum - Keeping the Public in Public Domain

According to Wikipedia, this weekend's Memorial Day holiday evolved in the years after the United States' Civil War.  Starting with the common practice of cemetery gravesite decorating, Confederate graves seem to be its origin, rapidly spreading to Union graves, then followed by the two World Wars.  Beyond flags and flowers, the day frequently includes parades, speeches, the Indianapolis race, and it was eventually moved from May 30 to the final Monday in May, creating a three day holiday considered the unofficial start of summer.

Original caption: "You bet I'm goin' to be a soldier, too, like my Uncle David, when I grow up."

"On Decoration Day" by John T. McCutcheon, Public domain between 1900 -1905, via Wikimedia Commons.  

I remember my mother calling Memorial Day by its older name of Decoration Day.  Such traditions exist in other countries.  I present a program about World War I from the viewpoint of a Michigan woman, Oleda Joure Christides, who was a bilingual phone operator at General Pershing's headquarters in World War I France.  

I think it's important to people all over the world to remember those who fought and died protecting their homeland and its values, whether an official day or not.  The stories of those battles deserve to be remembered.  It may be a time of community togetherness, but it should be more than just partying and sports.  The men and women who gave their lives or returned with the visible and invisible scars of war deserve this.  

My own family includes an uncle who survived the landing on D-Day in World War II.  As his older sister, my mother saw the difficulties he experienced readjusting to civilian life.  I'm not sure how much he shared with his wife and children.  Surely that was up to him.  For my own part I ought to see how much, if at all, "Unca Bill" told them.  The men and women of those years are fast disappearing.  History needs to save as much of their story as they are willing to tell.  It's called oral history and if you don't feel ready to ask about these experiences, go to your local library catalog and put in the subject of "oral history"  for a few suggestions.

While war is always something we hope will not return, it is worthwhile to know about the past and be prepared to defend ourselves and what we value.  I found an interesting tale aimed at children from that storyteller extraordinaire, Carolyn Sherwin Bailey.  It was originally printed in Stories for Sunday Telling and while she says the stores have all been used in a Sunday School setting, the headings show their general usefulness: Sunday Fairy Stories; Stories of Play (source of today's story); Holiday Stories (not including Memorial nor Decoration Day); and Stories of Everyday.  

(Orff Percussion Instrument Children's Toy Two-sided Snare Drum available at Walmart)

Obviously this story opening the "Stories of Play" is not limited to Memorial Day.  Similarly remembering our veterans should not be limited to any single day.

If you would like to see how schools in the early Twentieth Century celebrated Decoration Day, pages 346-350 of Common School Education and Teachers World, Volume 3 gives a look back.  Until time machines are perfected, Public Domain works are our best way to travel to the past.

Love, the "War to End All Wars", and a century later

Painting of Oleda in Chaumont by her daughter, Michelle Christides

A week from today I will once again present the story of Oleda Joure Christides, a World War I "Hello Girl."  It will be at 11 a.m. at the Carnegie Branch of the Jackson District Library.  The last time I was able to do this program was in November of 2019 before the pandemic.  In preparing, I was feeling far removed from the story of this woman, a story developed from various sources including her two daughters.  One of the daughters, Helen, has since died and I miss her so much.  I had hoped to contact some of the family last November when Oleda was inducted into the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor.  Unfortunately I was too sick that week to attend.  Oleda's other daughter, Michelle, was also unable to attend, but sent a prerecorded video.  Michelle has done much to share the story of her mother and these brave women who went "Over There" and then spent 60 years fighting for their promised veteran's status.  The Doughboy Foundation long ago published her article, "The History of a Hello Girl."

That same Doughboy Foundation publishes a newsletter, which this month includes a Valentine's Day story about another aspect of the experience of these Signal Corps bilingual telephone operators. . . finding love.  It's a reprint of the California American Legion's story, "A Love. A War. A Citizen" and that, too, was something Oleda observed among many of her fellow Hello Girls.  I recommend  "A Love. A War. A Citizen" highly and found it helpful in getting me back into the world of Oleda and her colleagues.  There were 6 Hello Girls from Michigan, including Norma Finch Carman, who was from Hillsdale County, but worked in Detroit for the Michigan State Telephone Company.  She returned to her job, but in less than a year married Ellis Joel Carman at the Episcopal rectory in Hillsdale.  Joel had been a captain in the American Expeditionary Force in France.  In my program I mention another, Melina Adam, who was repeatedly reassigned because she fell in love with Signal Corps soldier, Jack Converse.  They didn't wait to come home and were married in Paris shortly after the Armistice.  The California American Legion story does an excellent job of showing the world of the AEF and these brave women.

I don't portray famous people of the past, preferring to present "History as seen by the 'average' person."  As the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor shows, that can include important history too easily overlooked.  (The history of the Hello Girls was pushed aside for 60 years, but I'm pleased to play my part in keeping it alive.)

Oleda and the Michigan Military & Veterans Hall of Honor

This past Friday was Veterans Day, a day to honor the bravest of our citizens: the many people who have served in the military to defend our freedom. Veterans Day honors all military members, regardless of the war or conflict, or if they survived or perished.  The coming Friday a special Michigan event will occur.

The Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor creates a Hall of Honor for Michigan citizens who have distinguished themselves through military service and/or public service as a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States. 

The "Hall of Honor" is currently only online, with an annual Hall of Honor Day celebrating the newest additions and learning more about why they were chosen.  This year Oleda Joure Christides, a World War I "Hello Girl" from Marine City, will be honored. 

Online, beyond their website, the Hall of Honor also has a Facebook page, where they have been posting about this year's ten inductees.  This is what they posted about Oleda:

Oleda was born in 1897, in Marine City, and served as a telephone operator in the U.S. Signal Corps' famed "Telephone Girls" Brigade in World War I.

When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) Commander General John Pershing recognized that expert telephone communications and technology support between command units and the front lines would be crucial to victory.

Upon demobilization in 1919, Joure-Christides returned to Marine City and resumed her civilian career as a telephone operator, married, and raised a family. Despite assurances to the contrary, the Army issued Telephone Girls Brigade "Service Termination Letters" instead of a military discharge, denying them veteran status and any benefits. After decades of fighting; in 1978, Joure-Christides was awarded her full official discharge at home with her husband, Chris, by her side.

Oleda passed away in Marine City in 1984.

Hear her incredible story and many others at the #MMVHOH Military & Veterans 2022 Hall of Honor Inductee Ceremony on Friday, Nov. 18th at 12:30 PM!

Event information: https://bit.ly/3sQZ9pj

This will be another opportunity for me to meet with many of Oleda's family.  Whenever my historical programs are about a real individual, I try to work with their family.  Sadly Oleda's daughter, Helen, who was a great help, has passed away, but I hear her son will be there.  I also worked a bit with Oleda's other daughter, Michelle, who has done a great deal to spread the word about these Signal Corps Operators, both their work in World War I as the first female combatants and their 60 year battle that finally succeeded in recognition by the army.  Oleda was fortunate enough to be among the 50 operators still living who finally received their veterans status and honorable discharge in 1978.  

Oleda with Brigadier-General Arthur Wolfe

Oleda died in 1984.  The brief summary of their work and eventual recognition is at Wikipedia. 

As I understand it, Michelle will be unable to attend the Hall of Honor ceremony, but has prepared a brief video for the occasion.

The Hall of Honor's purpose is twofold, both to honor and to educate.  Those education goals are:

To educate Michigan citizens, and particularly young people, about the military and civic service of state veterans in order to inspire a sense of pride, patriotism, and civic virtue.

To promote through scholarships, grants, and other means, the research and teaching of Michigan’s military heritage and the importance of military service to citizenship throughout the state.

Sometimes storytelling offers an opportunity to touch history and the people who lived it.