The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. At that precise moment in 1918, the armistice to end the fighting of World War I went into effect, with the official peace treaty signed months later in Versailles. The war had raged in Europe for over 4 years, with most of the combat occurring in eastern France and western Russia. Regarded by many Americans as a European dispute, the United States maintained neutrality until the spring of 1917 when it entered the fray and declared war on Germany. Continue reading
Jobes
Jessie Jobes and the Army Nurses Corps of WWI
One hundred years ago this month Jessie Fowler Miner Jobes, my grand aunt, was among the patriotic women who entered the Army Nurses Corps (ANC) during World War I. Jessie, born February 12, 1883 to Charles and Lydia Fowler, grew up in Fayette County, PA and married Clifford Minor in 1903. As reported in the 1910 census, Jessie had no occupation, and at some point in those 7 years of marriage she had a daughter. My grandmother, Marjorie Ludwick who was a sister to Jessie, related the following story: Marjorie, their sister Addie, and their mother “went to visit Jessie and to see the new baby who was about a week old. They stayed about 2 hours and before they left they looked in on the baby again, but in that short span she had died. Clifford didn’t live long after that; he had some health issues that caused him to be bedfast.” Perhaps taking care of her ill husband prepared –even inspired—Jessie to become a nurse. Continue reading
Relatively Speaking Blog 