A Blog About Women Who Were Homefront Heroines: the WAVES of World War II
The Old Gold dedicated two, two page spreads to the work of the Navy at Iowa State Teacher’s College. The yearbook began with the first days the WAVES arrived in November of 1942.
The yearbooks come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
In all of our discussion of the WAVES at the Iowa State Teacher’s College, it’s important to remember that Army men trained there too. Here, the Old Gold, the yearbook from the Iowa State Teacher’s College, tells us about an “average” day for the Army cadets.
The yearbooks come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
The Old Gold, the yearbook from the Iowa State Teacher’s College, followed the WAVES through all aspects of their training regimen, including some of the more mundane daily tasks like filing.
The yearbooks come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
The Old Gold, the yearbook from the Iowa State Teacher’s College, found another difference as the WAVE boot camp transformed into a Yeoman training facility in Spring 1943: the better weather meant the women were using the quads outdoors for their marching drills.
The yearbooks come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
By Spring of 1943, the WAVES boot camp at Cedar Falls had been transformed into a yeoman training facility. And Old Gold, the yearbook for the Iowa State Teacher’s College, found them “smart, snappy, and plenty neat.”
The yearbooks come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
Navy officers who ran the training facilities on the campus of Iowa State Teacher’s College in Cedar Falls.
The 1943 edition of the Old Gold yearbook comes from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
Bartlett Hall, WAVES Quarters, Iowas State Teacher’s College, c 1943 as seen in the pages of the Old Gold yearbook.
The yearbooks come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
And by Winter term, this is what Bartlett Hall looked like. As the the 1943 edition of Old Gold reminds us, the dorm at the Iowa State Teacher’s College was transformed into a home for WAVES-in-training, first in boot camp and later in the Yeoman training school.
The yearbooks come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
This is what Bartlett Hall was “supposed” to look like on the Campus of Northern Iowa – in Fall term 1943 it was home for coeds.
The Old Gold yearbook come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
Bartlett Hall, which would become the WAVES quarters on the campus of Iowa State Teacher’s College in Cedar Falls.
The 1943 edition of the Old Gold yearbook come from the archives and special collections at the University of Northern Iowa.
Hinges of History 