Easy to Say “No”
April 28, 2008 – 6:00 amShortly after Sally had completed two years of college, the war broke out and many lives were changed. Sally’s brother went into the Army and served under General Patton. Among her brother’s responsibilities was to lead a group of soldiers into a concentration camp, where they found no survivors.
Sally decided to leave her hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania to move to Washington, D.C. where she took up residence at the YWCA at 17th and K Street. It was a beautiful building that had been established by members of the Strong family of Rochester, New York. Sally and three other women lived together sharing a room. Men were not permitted above the first floor, making it easy to say, “no.”
The building next door housed the Y programs and activities, where the USO was located on the top floor, in the penthouse. Here, Sally and her friends would dance with the soldiers and sailors before they left on overseas assignments. Sadly, a number of them were killed in the months to follow.
Sally first had a job with the Rubber Reserve Company, created to find ways to boost our rubber supply, which was diminished with the onset of war. After awhile she was offered a job with the D.C. recreation program, responsible for bringing special shows to the service men and women. One of her tasks was to go in advance to the place where the show was to take place. There she would make note of various aspects of the performing space – if it had a raised or eye-level stage, if the floor could be used for tap dancing, etc.
She was one of a staff of four people, along with a number of volunteers, who provided this much-needed entertainment for our service personnel.
While performing these tasks, Sally met John, who commanded a Navy rescue plane. They married, she followed him around the country on his various assignments, and after the war, they took up residence in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
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