Fearless Females: March 12th

Thanks to the Accidental Genealogist for the Fearless Females prompts for March!

March 12 — Working girl: Did your mother or grandmother work outside the home? What did she do? Describe her occupation.




My mother went to work when I was 5 years old, in 1964.

She went to work for the Fleet Post Office at the Naval Base where we lived. My Dad was in the Navy and gone most of the time, so she felt she could work to help support the family, and would not be neglecting her time with him.

She started off in the packing department for the Navy there. She packed parts that were sent to Vietnam. Parts for guns, planes, tanks, jeeps, etc.

Later she was able to pass entrance exams and went to work as a clerk typist in the post office itself.

She worked there until 1973, when we moved to West Virginia. Then in 1979 she went to work for the Monroe County Council on Aging. She started off as the bookkeeper there.

By 1995, when she fell ill due to a brain aneurysm, she had worked her way up to Director of the facility, and had over 150 employees in her charge. And she had helped more than 1500 individual seniors in the county during her time in service there. I have no doubt that if illness had prevented her from working, she would be there today at age 71!