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I spend a good chunk of my time digging into the past, finding the names of women who deserve to be remembered and telling their stories. I love it when those stories take interesting twists and turns like Arlene Robert's. Her skill lies behind one of the biggest events in the history of humankind. She played a very tiny part, as did many women whose names we'll never know. We know Arlene's, in part, because her boyfriend painted her name on his fighter plane and survived WWII to tell about it. Arlene Roberts was much more than a pretty face.  "Dutchess" Arlene Roberts, Moline, Illinoi, 1953 On summer break from the State University of Iowa in 1945, Arlene took a secretarial job at the University of Chicago. Assigned to the general pool of typists, Arlene distinguished herself for speed and accuracy and earned a promotion to an elite group of women working at the laboratory at the university's School of Metallurgy.
The typists worked for several weeks on what they were told was a top-secret project. Even some of the scientists in the lab didn't know what it was. |
I'm fascinated to discover little-known history, stories of people and events that provide a new perspective on why and how things happened, new voices that haven't been heard, insight into how the past brought us here today, and how it might guide us to a better future.
I also post here about my books and feature other authors and their books on compelling and important historical topics. Occasionally, I share what makes me happy, pictures of my garden, recipes I've made, events I've attended, people I've met. I'm always happy to hear from readers in the blog comments, by email or social media. Archives
September 2023
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