Bennington in WWII: Women and Men who Served

Bennington in WWII: Women and Men who Served

The Bennington Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and Bennington Performing Arts Center (BPAC) will co-sponsor “Bennington in WWII: Women and Men who Served” on Sunday, November 14, at 2:00 pm. The event will be staged at BPAC and will feature four readers including Tony Marro, who will read from his book Bennington in World War II, recently published by The History Press. Pictures of the people being described will be displayed on the theater’s screen, accompanied by music from the war years.

The event is free, but donations are welcome and will be split between BPAC and AAUW’s Local Scholarship Fund, in honor of the thousands of people who benefited from the scholarships provided by the G. I. Bill.

In addition to Marro’s own interviews and research, the book was built largely around the “Letter From Home” columns that were published in the Bennington Banner during the war years and a series of interviews with veterans that were conducted by the Bennington Historical Society in 2000.

The “Letter From Home” columns were written by Leonard Morrison, a local lawyer who was a former reporter for the Banner and a part owner of the Bennington Bookshop. The columns were about Bennington women and men in the armed forces and the wartime events in Bennington during the week the column was printed. Columns were intended to be clipped from the Banner and mailed to servicewomen and servicemen by relatives and friends.

According to Marro, the columns—which are contained in a scrapbook in the museum library—give a vivid picture of how the war impacted the Bennington area and of the many extraordinary things done by Bennington men and women at home and abroad.

The program will also discuss some of the long-term changes brought about by the war including many women taking jobs previously held primarily by men in factories and on farms and the large number of veterans who were able to attend college because of tuition and other benefits provided by the G.I. Bill of Rights.

Sunday, November 14 at 2 pm
Bennington Performing Arts Center
331 Main Street, Bennington, Vermont
802.447.0564
No ticket or reservation necessary
This is a free event open to the public. Donations accepted.

All proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to BPAC.

Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours of show required. Mask is required in theater.