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Rosemary Blakely Zule Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WV 0149

Scope and Contents

The collection includes an oral history transcript, 13 February 2000; VFW magazine articles written for and by Zule, 1995-2000; postcards of war ravaged business district; photographs of Zule's military service, circa 1940s; Women's Army Auxiliary Corps propaganda, undated.

Dates

  • circa 1940-2000

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of the items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement

Biographical / Historical

Rosemary Blakely Zule (1916-2010), of Neodesha, Kansas served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) from 1942 to 1946. Rosemary Blakely Zule was born 1 March 1916 in Neodesha, Kansas, to a lumber runner and schoolteacher. She graduated from high school in Neodesha and then earned a degree at Emporia State Teachers College in Emporia, Kansas. She also completed sixteen hours toward a master's degree at the University of Kansas at Lawrence.

Zule held several different jobs before her military service. She worked for the "Topeka State Journal", as a reporter and society editor for a newspaper in Scott City, Kansas, as a mathematics teacher at a business school in Wisconsin, managing a newspaper and working as a nanny in St. Paul, Minnesota, and reporting for the "Chehalis Advocate" in Washington State.

After the start of WWII, she moved to Seattle, Washington and worked at Boeing Aircraft as a troubleshooter in the building of B-17s. In 1942, Zule enlisted in the Women's Army Corps and went to For Des Moines, Iowa, for basic training. In December of 1942 she was sent to Fort Sam Houston, Texas. There she worked as a butcher for five weeks and then as the co-editor of the base newspaper.

She was then assigned overseas duty and traveled on the SS Lurline to New Guinea, where she was stationed in Oro Bay. There she worked as a typist and created a base library. After nine months, Zule was transferred to Manila, Philippines, where she created another library. Zule was discharged from the army in January of 1946, as a staff sergeant. Zule stayed in the Philippines after her service ended. On 16 August 1946 her son was born and she then returned to the States. Zule enlisted in the army reserves and was called back to duty at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.

Later she returned to school and took handset printing classes. Zule also worked as a librarian in Key West, Florida, and Emporia, Kansas, and had a second son. She died in Durham, North Carolina on 11 September, 2010.

Extent

0.21 Linear Feet (3 folders)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

  • License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.

Condition Description

The condition is fair.

Offensive Language Statement

The UNC Greensboro University Libraries collects, preserves, and makes accessible unique and historical materials for learning and research. The nature of historical materials is such that some material may represent positions, norms, and values that are offensive and objectionable. These materials represent the opinions and actions of their creators. By providing access to these records in our reading room and through our digital collections, we recognize that archives and rare books can play a vital role in holding those creators accountable and in helping us learn from the past.

Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.

Processing Information

Processed by Victoria Hinshaw.

Title
Rosemary Blakely Zule Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Victoria Hinshaw
Date
2022 November
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
P.O. Box 26170
320 College Ave.
Greensboro NC 27402-6170 US
336-334-5246