UW-EC exhibit commemorates post-WWII female trailblazers

Jan. 27—EAU CLAIRE — A team of UW-Eau Claire students is bringing history to the modern age and telling a story of broken barriers in a digital exhibit titled "Marching Beyond the Kitchen: SPAM and Women Behind the Can."

Graduate students Jonathan Vega and Kaitlin Augustine, as well as 24 undergraduates, worked together to share the story of a group of trailblazing women — including Eleanor Jones, Chippewa Valley native and longtime Eau Claire resident — under the guidance of Professor Cheryl Ana Jiménez Frei.

As a class, they researched archival materials before writing and installing the digital exhibit, the university explained in a news release.

The exhibit tells the story of the Hormel Girls, a band of female World War II veterans who toured the United States selling Hormel Company products, most well-known of which was SPAM, the university stated.

"The exhibit tells a fascinating story, far beyond what might first come to mind when most people think of SPAM," Jiménez Frei told the university. "The women at the center of the exhibit — most prominently, Eleanor Jones — bring forth a story of early feminism and breaking barriers, at a time when societal expectations of women were quite strict, and opportunities limited."

The popular troupe traveled the country in the 1940s and '50s, marketing Hormel products to American consumers, according to the university. They traveled from coast to coast in a caravan of white Chevys, selling products in grocery stores, ringing doorbells and performing in popular national radio and TV specials.

This new approach to sales — using young and talented women who epitomized the beauty standards of the era to sell products — forever changed the world of advertising, the university stated.

"They had to conform to prescribed standards of beauty for the time and ignore comments and treatment that today we would recognize as demeaning or sexist," Jiménez Frei stated.

"But at the same time, these women seized an opportunity to shatter other societal expectations of women. They traveled, had consistent, well-paid employment that provided more freedom, and many — like Eleanor Jones — rejected the expectation that women should marry, have children and become homemakers. Eleanor led a very different life and defied many barriers put in front of women at the time."

The Hormel women represented a larger cultural shift in societal norms and gender expectations in the U.S., offering an early glimpse of a burgeoning feminist movement, the university stated. By working and earning their own salaries, the women achieved financial independence, allowing them to buy cars, clothing, dinners and gifts for their families, all things not possible for most women during that era.

Last year, UW-Eau Claire's Special Collections and Archives at McIntyre Library acquired a significant collection of letters, photos and recordings from Jones, a trombonist who enlisted in the Marine Corps, joining a group of women who formed the inaugural Marine Corps Women's Reserve Band, the university stated. After the war, she was part of Hormel's first caravan troupe.

The acquisition is "one of the most important collections in the United States" documenting the Hormel Girls Caravan, stated Greg Kocken, UW-Eau Claire archivist. The materials include correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, artifacts and materials associated with other band members. The collection also includes an oral history interview with Jones.

"The project encapsulates the exciting work that we do in the field of public history, and the work we train students to do in our public history program," Jiménez Frei stated.

"In public history courses, it is important for students to have experiences where they can apply the methods they have learned in a collaborative field project. What you see is the product of that, of our impressive history students utilizing their skills — in research, analysis, writing and exhibit planning — to bring a story to life and share it with a wider audience."

According to the university, the students had only four weeks to complete the project in all its phases: research, analysis, exhibit design, group editing, interactive features and implementation.

{span}The exhibit reflects the extraordinary work Blugolds are doing in the digital humanities, Kocken told the university. For example, the students included many integrated components, such as a timeline and story map, that enhance the exhibit, he stated.{/span}

"The students were presented with a great learning experience and challenge," Kocken stated. "They were asked to develop and curate a significant exhibit within a short time. They definitely rose to the challenge and produced something fantastic."

Jones, who worked for Eau Claire radio and television stations and later for the UW-Extension, has been involved with UW-Eau Claire in various ways, including visiting university classrooms to share her stories, the university stated. She and her friend Grace Shipley, a member of the Hormel caravan who later taught English at UW-Eau Claire, established the Grace Shipley and Eleanor Jones Scholarship with the UW-Eau Claire Foundation.

To view the "Marching Beyond the Kitchen: SPAM and the Women Behind the Can," visit lib02.uwec.edu/Omeka/s/eleanorjones/page/hormelhome.