Western Maryland Regional Library enhances its member libraries’ ability to serve their communities. The vision of the digital history website, Western Maryland Historical Library (Whilbr), is to preserve and make available digitally the rich cultural and historical heritage of Western Maryland.
In May 2004, the Washington County Free Library hosted an event to celebrate the contribution of local women to the home front during World War II. Most of the women who attended had worked during the war at Fairchild Aircraft in Hagerstown and several of them shared their experiences through audio interviews.
Allegany County had their reception October 2004 at the LaVale Library. The women who attended worked on the home front at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola and in defense-related factories in Ohio and New Jersey. Two local historians added context to the discussions.
Partnering with the National Home Front Project to share these stories allows us to remember all who experienced World War II, not just those in Europe or the Pacific, but also those bucking rivets in a Fairchild C-82 and performing in the Fairchild Follies or repairing altimeters at the Pensacola Naval Air Station.
For more information about this interview collection, please contact Digitization Librarian Jill Craig at jcraig@wmrl.info or visit Western Maryland Regional Library’s website at https://digital.whilbr.org.