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Bertha Barwikowski Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WV 0188

Content Description

The collection includes an oral history transcript, 17 November 2000; a portrait photograph of Barwikowski in uniform, circa 1944.

Dates

  • 1944-2000

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of 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

Bertha Barwikowski (1923-2004) of Stamford, Connecticut, served as a teletype operator in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) from 1944 to 1945.

Bertha Bielen Barwikowski was born in Stamford, Connecticut, on 3 September 1923 to first- and second-generation Polish immigrants. After graduating from high school in 1941, she worked for the Pitney Bowes Postage Meter Company.

Barwikowski enlisted in the Women's Army Corps in July 1944 and attended basic training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, before serving as a teletype operator with the North Atlantic Division Air Transport Command at Grenier Field near Manchester, New Hampshire. Barwikowski married her first husband in January 1945 and was discharged from the army in May 1945 when she became pregnant.

She and her husband moved to Orlando, Florida, but were divorced five years later. When her second marriage ended, Bertha Bielen Barwikowski found work as a waitress and then with the United States Postal Service. She remained with the postal service for twenty-four years. Barwikowski passed away on 31 January 2004.

Extent

0.21 Linear Feet (2 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 good.

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 Matthew McCarthy.

Title
Bertha Barwikowski Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Matthew McCarthy
Date
2023 January
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