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Margarette S. Miller Scrapbook

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 0242

Scope and Contents

This scrapbook, titled "Phil and Mack on the Road with Shaffer's All-Girl Band," was compiled and created by Margarette S. Miller. It includes postcards and photographs from many of the towns and cities throughout the United States where the band played. Greeting cards and letters written by both Phil and Mack chronicle their lives on the road. There are also newspapers advertisements and other memorabilia promoting the band's performance dates. Widener created a list of dates and locations of their performances between November 23, 1942 and March 20, 1943.

Dates

  • 1942 - 1946

Creator

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 or Historical Information

Margarette S. Miller was the cousin of trumpeter Phyllis Widener, also known as "Phil." Phil and drummer Ruth Mary Mack, also known as "Mack", were members of Freddie Shaffer's Victory Sweetheart's All-Girl Band. Shaffer, a musician and music teacher based in Frankfort, Indiana, organized the fifteen-member band in 1938. The band played its first engagement on Thanksgiving Day, 1940, and was well received by the local audience. As part of United Service Organization's camp shows, the band played with other musical and Vaudeville styled acts to troops and officers on military bases and those recuperating in military hospitals. The girls helped to lift the spirits of the soldiers who were away from their homes, families and girlfriends. The experience was equally rewarding for the band members as the experience provided an opportunity to travel and express their patriotism.

Extent

0.50 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Margarette S. Miller was the cousin of trumpeter Phyllis Widener, who played in Freddie Shaffer's Victory Sweetheart's All-Girl Band, which played for military bases and hospitals as part of the United Service Organization's camp shows during World War II. This scrapbook includes postcards, photographs, correspondence, newspapers advertisements and other memorabilia.

Method of Acquisition

Purchased in July 2001.

Related Materials

Another former member of The Victory Sweethearts, Patricia Wolff, formerly Patsy Kaster, has written a book about her life in the band in I Ran Away with an All-Girl Band: My Life on the Road with The Victory Sweethearts. The book is a detailed account of her experience in the all-girl band starting in 1940, when she was 14 years old, up to 1953 when the band played its last engagement (although she was not a member at that time). The book is held in the University Archives' Womens Veterans Collection (w ML419.W650A3 1999).

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 Archives staff.

Title
Margarette S. Miller Scrapbook
Author
Archives staff
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