Frances Barringer Bailey Collection

Oral history interview with Frances Barringer Bailey
Documents Frances Barringer Bailey's experiences at the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina; her service with the U.S. Navy WAVES in Massachusetts; Great Lakes, Illinois; and Corpus Christi, Texas; and her career in education. Bailey briefly discusses her time at the Woman's College and mentions the math department and her social life on campus. She also notes her awareness of current events in the 1930s and learning about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. " Topics related to the WAVES include Bailey's decision to join the WAVES instead of the Women's Army Corps; basic training at Smith College; supply school at Radcliffe College; her work in supply at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois, and her living arrangements while stationed outside Chicago. She also discusses her work in disbursing in Corpus Christi, Texas, including wearing a gun while distributing payroll and her social life in the service. and WAVES songs. " Other World War II era topics include a Montauk Point commander's refusal to let a woman be stationed there; attending the 1944 Democratic Convention in Chicago; seeing actors Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor in Great Lakes; WAVES songs; Bailey's opinions of General Douglas MacArthur and President Roosevelt; and her opinion of women in combat positions. " Personal topics include raising her children after the death of her husband and her career in education after the war.