Southport Magazine

What: NC Maritime Museum Adult Program: “Hello Girls! Women and World War I”
When: Tues., March 18th • 7 p.m.
Where: Southport Community Building, 223 E. Bay St., Southport
Cost: FREE, but must register in advance
Info: (910) 457-0003

There are facets of U.S. history that often fall by the wayside. With more than 20 decades passing just since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, teachers must breeze through the larger points with new students each year. North Carolina historian LeRae Sikes Umfleet takes a different approach.

“We know the broad scope: the war stories, battles, regiments, units,” Umfleet described during an interview with Southport Magazine. “It’s the smaller stories—the people who took care of the wounded or who took care of things at home—that give a more complete picture to the broad scope.”

One group of people Umfleet takes interest in are the “Hello Girls” of World War I. Answering General John J. Pershing’s emergency appeal for bilingual telephone-switchboard operators, women—many previously employed by telephone companies—were sworn into the United States Army. Of the women enlisted, over 300 served overseas as French-speaking operators. Their duties included connecting soldiers on the front lines to the General command for the first time in the history of war.

As part of the NC Maritime Museum at Southport’s Third Tuesday Evening Adult Program series, Umfleet will present a lecture on the American Hello Girls on March 18th at 7 p.m. in the Southport Community Building.

Umfleet is the Supervisor of Education and Outreach for the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Her love of history was influenced early as she grew up in one of North Carolina’s most historical towns: Bath. Oral history maintains that the infamous Blackbeard married one of her ancestor’s sisters, but it is yet to be proved. I asked Umfleet if she would look into the rumor, she shook her head “no” and laughed. “Pirates didn’t keep good records,” she mused.

In eighth grade she vigorously studied Greece and Rome to discover the mystery of Atlantis. To Umfleet, the first Indiana Jones movie was awe-inspiring, opening the doors to the world of Egyptology.

Umfleet received her undergraduate degree in History from UNC Chapel Hill and earned her master’s degree at ECU. In 2009 the historian published a book, “1898: A Day of Blood in Wilmington,” about the race riots in New Hanover County’s port city.

Her enthusiasm is evident; to conduct this interview, she took time out from participating in the Civil War Reenactment of the 149th Anniversary of the events of Fort Anderson at Brunswick Town.

Her vast wealth of names, dates and facts that span generations is impressive. At times during our chat discussing World War 1, she would pause, gather her thoughts, laugh and apologize. She’d amend that the 1860s were on her mind and indeed, understandably, as she was in character. Umfleet was dressed in Civil War-period garb, a plaid wool day dress she had sewn herself, while sounds of canon fire from the live reenactment boomed in the background.

In “Hello Girls! Women and World War I,” Umfleet will discuss the women behind the scenes of World War 1, including the Hello Girls—not to be confused with Rosie the Riveter—that was WWII. At the time, WWI was the biggest and essentially the first international war, The Great War, and ultimately the precursor to World War II.

The presentation will also be a conversation, Umfleet assures. She invites the public to share family experiences or stories, a letter, a patch—any kind of record. Discovering and maintaining history is fact-finding; “the more information, the more developed the history,” she urges.

To keep up with Umfleet’s work, visit her website at civilianwartime.wordpress.com. To learn more about the NC Department of Cultural Resources, visit www.ncdcr.gov.

To register for the Maritime Museum event, which is free, call the museum at (910) 457-0003.