☎️ “Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call" | A Conversation with Author Claudia Friddell
Be Part of Communications History by honoring the first Women Army Veterans from WWI
This is the second in a three-part series that began on Veterans Day by Honoring The Hello Girls —Switchboard Soldiers of World War I, an interview with Professor and Historian Elizabeth Cobbs about her book “The Hello Girls.”
During World War I, 223 women Switchboard Operators bravely served the US Army in France, changing the course of history as they connected telephone calls for General Pershing and other army leaders. The swift communication of information by these bi-lingual (French and English speaking) “Switchboard Soldiers” made the difference between winning and losing battles. But, they were never recognized for their service as Veterans until nearly 60 years later.
This article tells the Switchboard Soldiers story through the perspective of creative non-fiction children’s book author, Claudia Friddell and her book: “Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call,” illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley.
As an adult, I love children’s books just as much as I did when I was growing up. I find there are meaningful lessons we can take from classic tales and new books exploring important topics like the ones Claudia writes about in her stories. She brings passion, kindness and inspiration to her storytelling.
About Claudia
For children’s author, Claudia Friddell, the next best thing to time travel is sharing exciting real-life stories from long ago. A former elementary school teacher, Claudia loves talking to students and teachers about her books and her experiences as an author/educator. When she’s not digging for treasure in the library or writing her narrative nonfiction books, she’s kayaking, taking walks, and reading on the Eastern Shore. Claudia's books include Road Trip!: Camping with the Four Vagabonds: Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs, illustrated by Jeremy Holmes, Saving Lady Liberty, Joseph Pulitzer's Fight for the Statue of Liberty, illustrated by Stacy Innerst and more. To learn more about Claudia and her books, visit www.claudiafriddell.com.
What inspires your mission to "bring history to life for young readers" with your writing?
I was a teacher for a long time. I started out teaching older elementary school children and then I taught first-grade boys for 18 years! Through teaching a variety of subjects, I realized that narrative non-fiction picture books are a great way to get young readers interested in long-ago eras, places, and important historical figures.
There are two types of stories that inspire me to write a book. I treasure true stories from long ago about unsung heroes—important Americans that readers are learning about for the first time whose impact they might not have known—someone like Grace Banker and her unit of telephone operators in Grace Banker and The Hello Girls Answer the Call. I also love to share little-known stories about well-known Americans, especially stories that inspire students to learn more about them—kid-friendly things that are new, interesting, and not found in their textbooks.
Through research, and sometimes serendipity, I found some of these little known stories that I thought young readers would enjoy about Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Clara Barton, and even the Statue of Liberty! The back matter, or the extra nuggets of information that I call “the fingertip library,” is a special part of a narrative nonfiction book. The back-matter’s additional material—the afterword, related stories, photographs, quotations, and timelines—expands the readers’ understanding of the topic and hopefully sparks interest in reading and learning more.
What sparked your interest specifically in writing this book on “Grace Banker and her Hello Girls"?
I was researching another story about Thomas Edison, and along the way, I came across Elizabeth Cobb’s book, “The Hello Girls,” which was not yet available. I pre-ordered it, and read the book the day it arrived. Elizabeth is not only a renowned historian, she's a great storyteller. I was immediately fascinated by this little-known story of these heroic women and was determined to find a way to share this important part of American history with young readers.
When I connected with Elizabeth, she invited me to the debut documentary screening of The Hello Girls which was fortuitously premiering the next day in Washington, D.C.—a car ride away from Baltimore. At the premiere of Jim Theres’ excellent, award-winning documentary, I met Carolyn Timbie, Grace Banker’s granddaughter. She invited me to visit her family’s lake cabin to look through her grandmother’s WW I trunk. I cherish the memories of my weekend with Carolyn and her husband. What a special honor to sit in the same cabin, at the same table, where Grace enjoyed many summers later in her life. Carolyn shared a treasure trove of Grace’s war mementos including her diary. Reading Grace’s personal account of her pioneering experiences in World War I convinced me to weave some of her diary entries throughout the book.
There’s a line from Grace’s diary when the ship was leaving New York City that really resonated with me:
“With faces glued to port holes and doors, watched the Statue of Liberty fade from sight. For the first time suddenly realized what a responsibility I have on my young shoulders.”
🎨 Illustration by Elizabeth Baddeley in “Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call” by Claudia FriddellWhy did you choose Grace Banker to feature in your story?
Grace Banker was not only the leader of the first group of switchboard operators to go overseas, she was the chief operator of the first unit of American women soldiers! She was also the first and only woman operator in the Signal Corps to receive the Army Distinguished Service Medal.
I was so inspired by Grace’s personal story. She was determined to go to college, which was not typical at the time. She worked hard to help pay for part of her education at Barnard where she majored in French — which came in handy because the initial Switchboard Operators were required to be fluent in French and English.
When Grace graduated, she did not follow the path that most women took who left home to work as teachers or nurses. She decided to become a switchboard operator, and at age 25, she was already a supervisor, training other operators. This led to her becoming the supervisor of the first unit of Signal Corps operators in WW I, and ultimately, the leader of a small group of operators who served at General Pershing’s frontline headquarters until the end of the war.
At the time, there were no women in the U S Army, but General Pershing requested women operators before American soldiers headed to France. Women operators were six times faster than men at connecting telephone calls and Pershing knew their skills were essential to relay battlefield messages. From Grace’s diary entries, I was impressed with her composure and maturity — she was humble, patriotic, a problem solver, and she had a fun personality. She just made the perfect protagonist in a story about these remarkable heroes.
🎨 Illustration by Elizabeth Baddeley in “Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call” by Claudia FriddellWhy did you feel it was important to tell this story as a children’s book?
In addition to all of those original sources that make the book unique, there aren't many kid-friendly stories about female heroes in World War I, and this was a true story that is inspiring for kids as well as adults. It was also exciting, through words and illustrations, to introduce early examples of telephone switchboards to young readers—how fascinating for kids to learn how a switchboard works since it’s not something that is part of their lives today.
The history of the WW I female telephone operators is also an important equal rights story. Not only did these women help win the war with their communications skills, it took a sixty-year fight after the war for them to be recognized as American military veterans. The realization that the service of these women was not acknowledged for all of those years inspired me to share their story.
Even though this book is technically a children’s book, what I love most about narrative nonfiction books is they can create meaningful connections for people of all ages. Folks have sent me photos of retired female telephone operators reading Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call in retirement homes and shared how the book sparked meaningful memories for them!
I love the illustrations in your book — can you tell us about them?
I love them too! Elizabeth Baddeley is the New York Times bestselling illustrator who brought this book to life. She lives in Kansas City where I grew up. Kansas City is also home to the World War I Museum and Memorial. It is so special for me that this book is rooted in Kansas City!
Writing a picture book is a visual process. Author and illustrator do not work together on illustrated books, but for nonfiction books, both do quite a bit of research in advance.
Elizabeth is a master researcher, which resulted in so many illustrations that added great depth and detail to Grace and the Hello Girls’ story. She was able to visit the Grace Banker exhibit at the World War I Museum to sketch, but when Covid hit, it impacted her illustration process. There’s an artist’s note (and some wonderful sketches) in the back of the book that shares more about how she continued her work from home, thanks to the museum's incredible online archives, including Grace Banker!
In the pages of the book, Elizabeth stretches talk bubbles and telephone lines from one page to the next to connect the scenes. She illustrated the mementos, Grace’s distinguished Medal of Honor, a powerful poem, a poppy and Switchboard equipment. She also included images of photos of the other Hello Girls to honor them. I love it that she incorporated so many important artifacts in her illustrations.
🎨 Illustration by Elizabeth Baddeley in “Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call” by Claudia FriddellIn her own words, here’s what Elizabeth Baddeley shared about her illustration process for this book:
The manuscript was written before I was brought on board for the project, so Claudia's words and the excerpts from Grace Banker's diary were the main jumping-off point for the illustrations. I also read "The Hello Girls" by Elizabeth Cobbs. It's a fantastic book, and I absolutely littered my copy with post-its and notes. Many of the details in the illustrations were from descriptions I made note of. But perhaps most conveniently, I was able to use the WWI Museum for much of my research.
At the time I lived about two miles from the museum. Before Covid hit, I would sit in their library and snap photos from many of the books and other incredible resources they have. I was even able to sit right in front of Grace Banker’s actual uniform and sketch! During the pandemic, my work was made easy by the extensive online collection the WWI museum has given people access to. While this has been one of my most heavily researched books, all of the subject matter was laid right out in front of me so it also happened to be one of the most pleasurable!
What lessons can we take from these women and apply to today?
With my teacher hat on, I think of so many character development lessons — patriotism, perseverance, work ethic, teamwork, problem-solving, and humility. The Hello Girls took an oath to faithfully serve their country, and they proudly followed the rules and wore a uniform every day.
When they returned from the War, they were told they were just volunteers and did not receive veteran benefits or recognition. After a 60 year fight led by operator Merle Egan Anderson and attorney Mark Hough, these females finally earned their place in history as the first women soldiers in 1977, long after many of the operators had died, including Grace Banker. That’s a powerful lesson in duty and perseverance for young readers today.
How can our community support the Hello Girls’ Legacy?
Actually, we all have the opportunity to ensure these heroic women receive the recognition they deserve. For the third time, they are being considered for the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor.
This non-partisan bill to recognize their service — S.3136 - "Hello Girls" Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2018 will expire at the end of this year. You can write your Senator or Representative to ask them to sign on as a sponsor — only a few more signatures are needed. Here’s more information, a list of Senators who’ve already signed on and a template email that you can download and personalize, drafted by my sister-in-law.
How can we support your meaningful books?
I love sharing my books about heroic Americans at schools, libraries, museums, book stores, community centers, and senior citizens’ homes. I am happy to join virtually or travel for these talks and partner with educators to create interactive lessons to accompany my books — it’s the teacher in me! Feel free to contact me via my website.
How You Can Support The Switchboard Soldiers
📕 To learn more about this topic, check out “Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call” — it’s a beautiful book. Claudia also brings her book to life by speaking at schools, libraries, book stores and organizations.
This series will continue with Carolyn Timbie, Granddaughter of Grace Banker. Thank you to Elizabeth Baddeley for sharing her incredible illustrations with us.
✏️ Be part of communications history with us by helping recognize the service of the Switchboard Soldiers with S. 692: Hello Girls Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021.
📝 Here’s more information, a list of Senators who’ve already signed on and a template email — feel free to download and personalize it. Write to Recognize The Hello Girls.
Thank you for reading The Switchboard. ☎️ Every edition is personally curated by me — Julia Levy. Learn more about why I write. Review the Index of past posts.
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