Emogene Heston Moor, 1901-1989 [RG4053.AM]

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG4053.AM:  Emogene Heston Moor, 1901-1989

Papers:  1936-1952

Lincoln, Lancaster County, Neb.:  Military service woman, business woman, teacher

Size:  0.5 cu.ft.; 1 box

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Emogene Heston Moor, born and raised in Ohiowa, Nebraska, joined the United States’ Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in 1943. She underwent basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, and there received her classification as an “Air Wac” and was assigned to the army air forces. As a private of Squadron D (WAC) of the 3706th AAF, she was first stationed at Fort Buckley, Colorado. From there she was transferred to Sheppard Field, Texas, where she served with the Training Command of the Army Air Forces. In June of 1945 she returned to Fort Des Moines for overseas training and on July 4, 1945, set sail on the Queen Elizabeth for a one-year stint in Berlin, Germany, as part of the U.S. occupation force. She served in Berlin until her discharge in June of 1946, at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.

Emogene Moor graduated from Ohiowa High School and received both her A.B. and M.A. degrees from the University of Nebraska. After teaching history and English in McCook and Albion, she was married to Vernon J. Moor in 1927. Vernon, a veteran of World War I, suffered a nervous breakdown in 1934, remained hospitalized and died in 1945 while Emogene was overseas. Immediately prior to her enlistment, Emogene worked at the Glenn L. Martin bomber plant in Omaha, Nebraska, as a contract personnel woman and sheet metal inspector. Formerly, she did personnel work with the National Youth Administration where she was responsible for, among other things, the conversion of Pioneers Park from barren prairie to lush forest.

In the 1950s Mrs. Moor embarked on a career as a business woman, operating the Prairie Bookstore for seven years before selling out to Miller & Paine. She then returned to education, retiring from the Nebraska University extension division’s high school in 1966. Following her retirement, Mrs. Moor remained active in local organizations and in the Democratic Party. In 1980 she was elected by the Lincoln-Lancaster Commission on the Status of Women as a “ground breaker.”

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection of the papers of Emogene Heston Moor are arranged in three series: 1) Scrapbook, ca. 1941-1946; 2) Correspondence, 1944-1946; and 3) Miscellany, ca. 1936-1952. The materials in this collection relate to Emogene Heston Moor’s service in the Women’s Army Corps. The scrapbook in Series 1 contains numerous photographs relating to Mrs. Moor’s WAC service. In addition, it contains newspaper clippings, cards, letters, and WAC publications. Almost all items have been labeled by Mrs. Moor to her family and friends about her life in the WAC. The letters in Series 2 are colorfully written and sometimes stretch to fifteen pages so as to encompass every detail of Mrs. Moor’s experience. Finally, Series 3 contains as assortment of items. Included in this series are loose scrapbook pages featuring articles on the Martin Bomber Plant, various WAC ephemera including song sheets, and WAC publications. In addition, there are several programs collected by Mrs. Moor while in Berlin, a membership list for the Women of Legion, and miscellaneous newspaper clippings.

Note:  See the photo component [RG4053.PH] for additional images. The Nebraska History Museum holds Mrs. Moor’s WAC uniform and related items. See also the Overholser Family collection [RG2353.AM] for the letters of Frances Overholser, another Nebraska woman who served in the WAC.

DESCRIPTION

Series 1 – Scrapbook, ca. 1941-1946

Scrapbook, ca. 1941-1946 (see oversize)

Series 2 – Correspondence, 1944-1946

Box 1

Folder

1. 1. Letters to family and friends, 1944-1946

Series 3 – Miscellany, ca. 1936-1952

2. 2. Miscellaneous scrapbook pages, ca. 1943-1945

2. 2. Miscellaneous WAC ephemera, ca. 1944

2. 2. Publications collected in Berlin, ca. 1945-1946

2. 2. Women of Legion membership list, 1950-1951

2. 2. Miscellaneous newspaper clippings, ca. 1936-1952

ADDED ENTRIES:

Glenn L. Martin Company (Fort Crook, Neb.)

Moor, Emogene Heston, 1901-1989

United States. Army. Women’s Army Corps

Women — Nebraska

World War, 1939-1945 — Participation, Female

World War, 1939-1945 — Personal narratives

LAC/law   01-1989

Encoded TMM   11-15-2010