Earlene "Beans" Risinger was born in Hess, Oklahoma, in 1927. She grew up on a farm in Dust Bowl country, and played baseball from a young age with family and friends, and practiced with boys' teams in her community. She saw a newspaper article…

Raymonde Richardson was born in Paris, France and grew up during the depression. Food was very scarce and she would have to stand in a food line for five hours a day. She describes the German conquest of France and her experiences as a teenager…

Lillian Hansen grew up on a farm in Michigan during the Depression and graduated from high school in 1936. She then worked in her parent's restaurant for a few years before enlisting in the Women's Army Corps (WACs) on February 23, 1943. She…

Jeanette Rearick is World War II wife whose husband served in the U.S. Army. She re-accounts his pre-enlistment, training and enlistment, and service experience. She retells briefly what John Rearick, her husband's service experience, was like in the…

Julie Price was born on September 6, 1952 in Michigan. She had to get her parents' permission to join the Air Force after graduating from high school and then went through basic training in San Antonio Texas. After training Julie had to go through…

Mary Pratt was born in 1918 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Throughout her early childhood and on through college she played baseball. Before joining the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, Pratt played hockey for two seasons with the Boston…

Grace Harper was born in Iowa in 1923. She married Robert Powers in 1941. She and her husband had two children when he was drafted in 1944. Her husband was sent to Europe and was wounded in action and spent several months in the hospital before…

Black and white photograph of a woman in a white dress and white hat sitting on the sand at what appears to be the summit of Mt. Baldhead in Saugatuck, Michigan. She is stylishly posed with a view overlooking the trees, the water, and the towns of…

Grace Piskula was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 26, 1926. Growing up she played softball with the neighborhood boys and in school. She played all positions but mainly stuck to playing shortstop, first and third base and left field.…

Ann Petrovic was born in Aurora, Indiana, in 1928. She grew up playing ball with her brothers and played on different girls' teams in school. When she was fifteen, she heard about tryouts for the All American Girls Professional Baseball League…

Mabel Perkins was born on July 26, 1880. She received her B.A. degree from Vassar about 1900. Her mother is considered the founder of the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Miss Perkins was President of the Art Museum which remained her chief interest all her…

Elaine Panzone served as an army nurse from 1942 to 1945. She had already trained as nurse in civilian life before enlisting. After training in Illinois, she went to the Pacific and served in hospitals on New Guinea and the Philippines.