Oral History Interview with Helen Evans

Segment Synopsis: Helen Evans begins the interview by discussing her immediate family and their background, noting her father's family hailing from Kansas and and her mother's family hailing from Indiana. She mentions that her father was the Associate Dean of Agriculture at the University of Kentucky. She mentions her educational history and briefly discusses how she got a chance to know her grandparents and a few great grandparents.

Keywords: High School Teaching; Home Economics; Horlacher; Indiana; Purdue; University of Kentucky; Versailles

Subjects: Family history; Teaching; University of Kentucky

Segment Synopsis: Helen discusses how she learned of the formation of the Womens Auxiliary Army Corps, and how her and two other fellow Versailles teachers decided to apply without expecting to be accepted. She then details the application and interview process as well as how she decided to join the WACs instead of pursuing graduate school. Helen then describes her early domestic service in food services before going overseas.

Keywords: Columbus, Ohio; Food Services; Fort Thomas; Louisiana; Prisoners of War; WACs; Women Veterans; Womens Army Corps

Segment Synopsis: In this segment, Helen describes her overseas service while stationed in France and Germany during World War II. She describes how her job was to inspect the food services in Europe, but she spent a great deal of time interacting with German women and their children who were Prisoners of War. There is brief mention of Nurses who were captures in the Pacific Theater, and Helen describes the difference between the WACs and the service nurses. Helen also mentions interactions between her and George Skinner who was training WACs during the war and was also a member of 2nd Presbyterian Church in Lexington.

Keywords: Female Prisoners of War; France; Germany; Nurses; Paris; Prisoners of War; Rhine; WACs; World War II

Segment Synopsis: Helen discusses her exit from the military and early life thereafter. She begins by expressing great gratitude for her time in the service. She then tells the story of how she met Harry Farmer, the director of the Kentucky Veterans Administration after giving a speech about her time at the WACs at 2nd Presbyterian Church. Harry told Helen that the VA would likely be hiring soon and she accepted a job with them shortly afterward and moved to Louisville where the VA Headquarters had moved. While in Louisville, Helen met her husband Joe Evans on a blind date, and they moved back to Lexington in 1951 when he accepted a job transfer. Helen also mentions how the two were married in the garden of 2nd Presbyterian Church.

Keywords: 2nd Presbyterian Church; Louisville; Marriage; Veterans Administration

Segment Synopsis: Helen recalls her early life growing up in 2nd Presbyterian Church, of which her parents were members. There is discussion of the 'Cradle Roll' which was a method for recording children who were born to church members. Helen also discusses the age at which children become formal members of the Church. They they move to discussing Helen's favorite Sunday School teachers and the strong relationship between the Minister Dr. Herman and Helen's father. She mentions that her father would often step in for the minister to give sermons when he was unavailable, and notes that her father was chair of the first local Board of Education in 1936.

Keywords: Board of Education; Church Membership; Cradle Roll; Ministers; Sermons; Sunday School

Segment Synopsis: In this segment, Helen describes in detail her experiences with church activities. Of note was her mention that she turned down some Church Appointments because her husband was already a member of many of the administrative groups, and she wanted the leadership to be spread amongst a greater number of households. She also mentions her experience as Secretary of 2nd Presbyterian's 150th Anniversary Committee.

Subjects: Anniversary; Board of Trustees; Bridge; Church Activities; Church Appointments; Church Camps; Church Leadership

Segment Synopsis: In this section, Helen discusses 2nd Presbyterian's 175th Anniversary year of celebrations, of which this Oral History Collection is a component. Helen was chair of this committee, and they planned an entire year of calendar events celebrating the occasion. The festivities included the creation of physical objects such as needlepoints, tablecloths, and quilts. They also updated and reprinted a number of church materials, including an update of their directory. The church was able to display items of historic importance to the church first in a display case borrowed from the Kentucky Historical Society, and later one of their own purchase.

Keywords: Anniversary Celebrations; Charity; Church History; Crafts; Field Trips; Homecoming; Ministers; Needlepoint; Quilting

Segment Synopsis: In this segment, Helen discusses one of the most successful events of the 175th Anniversary, the Vacation Bible School. One of the things which set this School apart was that all the activities were designed for all age groups. She discusses a Treasure Hunt, where instead of finding treasure, the searchers locate Church Elders who tell them stories about the place where they are found. In this section, Helen also describes the very well-attended Homecoming Celebration which featured large sheet cakes and a slideshow of the Church's history.

Keywords: Church History; Homecoming; Treasure Hunt; Vacation Bible School

Segment Synopsis: The interview's last section focuses on the event series referred to as the Return of the Ministers. For these events, the Church welcomed back previous Ministers to the church for celebrations and re-connection. The only stipulation for these festivities was that returning Ministers offer an Oral History to the church for this collection, and that they return to 2nd Presbyterian's pulpit for a guest sermon. The interview ends with some brief discussions of Helen's involvement with the Kentucky Womens Association and her children.

Keywords: Guest Sermons; Kentucky Womens Association; Ministers; Oral History