I originally developed her for The Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe. She even got her name from two of the people I knew at the museum. One of the museum's galleries, Views From the Home Front, chronicles Arizona's contribution to the WWII home front, and the contributions of those who stayed behind and fought "The War Back Home." This composite character was created to augment that gallery. She represents the typical wife and mother of that time. "Anna" also incorporates some of my personal family history with her anecdotal stories. She was inspired in a lot of ways by mother, and the stories she used to tell around the family dinner table while I was growing up. "Anna" was also the inspiration for my first book, Anna's Kitchen, a WWII ration cookbook. She was a special friend indeed.
The WWII Housewife & Defense worker was officially launched in January, 2001, and for a number of years "Anna" visited schools, seniors, and other groups. Then the reality of current economic times caught up with her, and she became a casualty of years of school budget cuts. Sadly, I rarely get the opportunity to perform her anymore.
Anna still has a story to tell -- that of patriotism, sacrifice, and the ability of a generation of Americans to unite and do the job that had to be done to lead our nation to victory during a dark and uncertain time in our not-too-distant past. Hopefully I'll get to tell her story again--someday.
GM
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