Events

Sabine Fisher, museum collections manager, presents a scrapbook and medals from Isabel Anderson’s overseas service with the American Red Cross during World War I. Isabel—already an active Red Cross member when the Great War broke out—was one of nearly thirty thousand American women who volunteered to serve with the organization on the Western Front. Her work in canteens and military hospitals in France and Belgium earned her honors from both nations, including the Croix de Guerre and Médaille de la Reine Elisabeth, which recognized wartime service by civilians of any nationality who aided their countries. These and other medals, as well as a scrapbook of Isabel’s Red Cross activities, provide insights into the nature of her wartime experiences and what it meant to be an American volunteer on the front lines of the Great War.

The presentation will last approximately 30 minutes with time afterwards for up-close viewing of the objects.