Bear, Mary Jane

Date:
2006-08-28
Length:
60 minutes
Interviewer:
Marino, Michella
Transcription available:
no
Series:
Women and World War II
Series ID:
0000-010
Interview Number(s):
2008_30_1
Summary:
Born in 1931, Mary Jane grew up in Madison, Indiana, moving between there and Corydon due to her father's job as a manager of various grocery stores. She recalls her childhood as innocent and normal, despite the war. Her family listened to the radio for news about the war and her father predicted the U.S. would join the war. When the U.S. did enter the war, Mary Jane's five male cousins and her brother-in-law enlisted. Her father also took a job at the Charleston powder plant, which manufactured ammunition powder. Mary Jane recalls the community of Madison becoming closer during the war and the town being considered a typical American town. She also mentions her uncle's involvement in the Manhattan Project, which he believed was for peaceful purposes until the atomic bomb was dropped.
Topic(s):
World War, 1939-1945--Women, Madison (Ind.), Women--Employment--United States