Women in local history program

The Klamath Commandos, a women’s service organization, marches in a parade in downtown Klamath Falls in 1942.

The following is a press release from the Klamath County Museum.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - A program examining the role of women in the Klamath Basin during war years will be presented Sunday, March 19, at the Baldwin Hotel Museum, 31 Main Street in Klamath Falls.

The program will be given at noon, and again at 2 p.m. Admission is free, and open to anyone interested.

Activities of the Klamath Commandos, a women’s service organization formed in 1942, will be a highlight of the presentation. The Commandos was a group of local young women who provided entertainment and hospitality to servicemen stationed at military facilities in the area.

The presentation will also feature activities of the USO, or United Service Organizations, which later provided morale-boosting programs in the Klamath Basin.

Three local women who were active in military or volunteer service will be spotlighted.

Irene Davis was an Army nurse during World War II in Africa and France. She met Dr. Hugh Currin. The couple settled in his hometown of Klamath Falls after the war.

Maude Kittredge was an Oregon high desert pioneer who opened her Klamath Falls home to men from the marine barracks and hospital.

Betty Patzke Mitchell, a Bly resident, was a missionary in Vietnam and was taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese army.

The program is presented by the Klamath County Museum, in partnership with the Klamath County Historical Society.

For more information contact the museum at (541) 882-1000.