TUESDAY, March 16, 2027
University Memorial Center (UMC) – 1669 Euclid Avenue (at the corner of Broadway & Euclid on the CU campus in Boulder) Glenn Miller Ballroom
Gail M. Beaton, Historian, Author, Retired Teacher
Gail M. Beaton is a historian, author, retired teacher, and Chautauqua presenter who brings Colorado women’s history to life. She holds a B.A. in Education from the University of Colorado Boulder and master’s degrees in U.S. History and Public History from the University of Colorado Denver.
She is the author of Colorado Women: A History, Colorado Women in World War II and Colorado Women Homesteaders and coauthor of The Women’s Bank: A Denver Success Story. A past president of the Denver Woman’s Press Club, Gail is active in several Western history and writing organizations. Her work has received numerous honors, including two WILLA Award finalist recognitions and a Colorado Book Award finalist designation.
Lecture: “We Just Did It: Colorado Women in World war II”
Four months before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Mildred McClellan Melville, a member of the Denver Woman’s Press Club, predicted that war would come for the United States and that its long arm would reach into the lives of all Americans. And reach it did. Colorado women from every corner of the state enlisted in the military, joined the workforce, and volunteered on the home front.
As military women, they served as nurses and in hundreds of other noncombat positions. In defense plants, they riveted steel, manufactured bullets, inspected bombs, operated massive cranes, and handled and stored dangerous projectiles – taking on dangerous jobs traditionally reserved for men. They staffed USO canteens, nursed patients in civilian hospitals, donated blood, drove Red Cross vehicles, and organized scrap drives. They processed hundreds of thousands of forms and reports. CO women wholeheartedly participated in a kaleidoscope of activities to support the war effort.
Luncheon Logistics
The Lecture-Luncheon doors open at 10:30 a.m. The lecture begins at 11:00 until 12:00. Lunch will be served after the lecture to encourage discussion of the lecture topic over lunch.
The price for the Lecture Luncheon is $28. If you are bringing guests you may also enter their names and pay for their lunches here. If you are bringing more than three guests please complete a second form.
If you are so inclined, you can also make an additional donation to the UWC Scholarship Program.
Looking foward to seeing you!
Deadline for Reservations is March 2, at 6 p.m.