By Norma Dittman
Murray County News staff writer
Author Anita Gaul spoke to a full-house audience on Wednesday evening at Fulda City Hall, disclosing the history behind The Women of Southwest Minnesota and the Great War.
Dressed in World War I fashion, Gaul greeted her audience and said, “70 percent of this World War I style is under the dress I am wearing.” She then explained that she had on stockings (which, in history, were usually wool), pantaloons, a corset, one petticoat (the number of which increased during winter months), and then her dress. “It is very difficult to move wearing a corset. The purpose of the corset was to give that hourglass figure that women were supposed to have. There is a reason so many women fainted during this fashion period. They couldn’t breathe!” she exclaimed.
The Women of Southwest Minnesota and the Great War is the result of six years of research work and print planning for Gaul. She shared that the book had its beginnings in 2012 when she was watching Downton Abby with her husband. “At Murray County Museum, we did an exhibit commemorating the outbreak of World War I. We opened in 2014 about the same time of year that the war began.”
The exhibit was available at Murray County Museum for one year.
Then came the evening that the Gaul’s were watching Downton Abby together. “My husband said, ‘Anita, you should do something with all of the research that you put into the history of the World War I exhibit.’ I got to thinking, ‘What if I sort of expanded the scope, but narrowed the scope, working to turn it into a publication?”
Gaul decided to research what the women of southwest Minnesota did during World War I in the counties of Rock, Murray, Pipestone, Nobles, and Lyon for her book. She found many interesting stories, some of which she shared during Wednesday night’s presentation.
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