STOCKTON — Stockton Heritage Museum will host a presentation by Illinois Road Scholar Cyndee Schaffer who shares stories of her mother’s time serving in the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) in WWII.
The presentation, “The Journey of Mollie’s War: WACs and WWI,” will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 4, 2025 at the Stockton Heritage Museum, 107 West Front Street, Stockton, Ill.
Schaffer uses excerpts from her mother’s letters written home during WWII to provide a romantic yet frightful glimpse into the life of a woman in uniform during this crucial time in history. Mollie Weinstein (now Schaffer) (1916 — 2012) was a shy, retiring young Jewish woman from Detroit who enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) just months after it was established in 1943. Mollie Weinstein’s letters to her sister Beck, brother Jack, and best friend Sarah provide a chronology of her service as a WAC from its beginnings with her train trip to Daytona Beach, Florida for basic training in October 1943 to her first assignments in California and Georgia, her service overseas in England, France and Germany through her return to the United States on the Queen Mary in November 1945.
Invited include all current and past women who have served in the armed forces to attend this heartfelt event. Come enjoy the presentation and be honored for your contributions to our nation’s freedom and security.
This event is co-presented by the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau. Road Scholar speakers travel throughout Illinois sharing free, dynamic presentations about literature, philosophy, theater, local history, film, music, politics, and more, at no cost to host organizations. The program enables local nonprofit organizations to present free-admission cultural programs to their communities.
Cyndee Schaffer is co-author of the award-winning Mollie’s War, a collaboration with her 91-year-old mother based on the letters that her mother sent home to family while serving in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), stationed in Europe during WWII. The book Mollie’s War will be for sale at the museum, $20 cash or check, $21 credit card.
Schaffer received a BS in math education from Northwestern University and an MS in curriculum development from DePaul University. Her work experience has taken her into three divergent careers: high school math teacher in the inner city of Chicago, IT consultant on the “human side” of computers — testing computer systems, writing training materials, training users and being the go-between for users and programmers, and, finally, author.
The event is free (donations are always welcome) and open to all audiences. For more information, visit www.stocktonheritagemuseum.org, visit on Facebook: Stockton-Heritage-Museum-309324911534, email info@stocktonheritagemuseum.org, or leave a message at 815-947-2220.
