Women's History Month (Women of the Month) - 3/27

Belton great-grandmother joined Women’s Army Corps in 1954

BELTON — When she was growing up in rural South Dakota, 88-year-old Phyllis Irene Wetzel learned at an early age how to take care of livestock and “all kinds” of other chores on the family’s small farm and ranch.

“We had cattle and horses, pigs, chickens and ducks, and all that stuff,” said Wetzel, a longtime Harker Heights resident now living with a daughter and her family in Belton. “You get up in the morning and take care of the chickens; go to the barn and milk cows. I learned how to milk cows probably when I was about 5.

“It wasn’t the biggest place, but it was enough to take care of us.”

Born in the tiny town of Hosmer, Wetzel grew up the eldest of six children (two sisters and three brothers). By the time she was 12, she was not only doing chores and going to school, but also working long hours at one of two local restaurants

“When the cook left after supper, you wound up being a cook, waitress, clean up … you almost ran the place yourself I actually sold beer at 12 years old. I couldn’t stand the smell of it — I still can’t stand the smell of it,” she said, laughing.

“The boss had his room down in the basement where he had his office, and if you needed him, you’d pound on the wall and he’d come see what you needed. I’d work until 11 o’clock, and if they had dances or something, you could wind up being there until three in the morning.”

Working all those long hours, what did she do with the money she earned?

“What money?” Wetzel said. “Do you know what I worked for? I worked for

33 cents an hour, and there were really no tips. If somebody gave you a nickel, you’d be lucky. Sometimes you’d be lucky enough to find some (change) when you swept the floor.

“Sometimes in the summer, I’d go work for my aunt and uncle. If they hired a man to help them, they’d pay him five dollars a day, but they got me for a dollar a day. That was getting up early in the morning, doing chores, fixing breakfast. How I did it, I don’t know. You just did it.”

By the time she graduated high school in 1953, Wetzel had no specific plan for the future. One thing she did know was that she was ready to expand her horizons a little bit — maybe a lot.

“My area where I lived for 18 years or whatever included about 40 miles in every direction — that was as far as I ever got. I wanted to get out, but I didn’t have any money to go anywhere, and jobs didn’t pay anything, so I decided to join the military,” she said. “It was the only way to get away from home

“I come from a class of 28, and five of us girls joined the service. I don’t remember how many guys did. I got picked up by the recruiter and taken to Sioux Falls to be signed up for the Army. He picked me up at the house and on the way, he picked up another girl in Madison, South Dakota, and took us both to get sworn in. That was the first time I really got away from home.”

After she enlisted in September 1954, Wetzel headed south to Fort McClellan, Alabama, for basic training as a member of the historic Women’s Army Corps (WAC), which was first created as an auxiliary unit of the U.S. Army in 1942. Nearly 150,000 American women served

PLEASE SEE BELTON, C3

BELTON

in the WAC during World War II. Many served throughout the world with the Army Ground Forces, Army Service Forces, and Army Air Forces in a variety of supporting, non-combat roles such as switchboard operators, mechanics, and bakers.

Women in the WAC also served a variety of positions during the Korean War and Vietnam War. In 1978, the Army did away with the WAC and women were fully integrated into the regular Army.

After all those years of hard work back home in The Mount Rushmore State, boot camp for Wetzel was a cool breeze on a hot summer day

“To me, it was fun,” she said. “I really enjoyed it. I really did. It was something different.

“I was one of them who opened up Company D. The first ones in there. We had a little corner with four of us in it. I was lucky enough to get one of the windows. You only had room for a cot and your closet, and your footlocker was in front of you to divide up from the other one across from you.

“We had one girl who did not like to clean up her area. She was one of those who would rather sit there and read a magazine. We had a heckuva time with her. Let’s just say we tried to straighten her out.

“After basic, I got orders for Fort Sam Houston, Texas, at the hospital there. We shipped out

on Veterans Day. They put me in the medical field, of course. I couldn’t even read a ther mometer. When they picked us up to go to the barracks, little did I know that one of the guys that was there to pick us up would wind up being my husband for 62 years.”

That guy was named Ben, and although he did not make a particularly lasting impression at first, things developed quickly after a fellow WAC recruit persuaded Phyllis to go with her on a double date.

“One of the girls one night had a date with another guy to go to a movie and out to eat, and he had a buddy. I really didn’t want to go but she insisted and so I went,” she said. “For some reason, he called me the next night and that’s how it started.

“We went out and ate, and we wound up getting married three weeks later.”

Not long after she and Ben tied the knot, Phyllis found out she was having a baby and that put an unexpected end to her military career.

“Three or four months after, I wound up getting pregnant,” she said. “You know, there was no birth control then. Of course, when you go to work and you have morning sickness and all that, well, it didn’t take long for them to figure it out and … bye-bye.

“I signed up for two years, but I didn’t make it that far. I was a little upset about having to get out, but I really don’t know how I would have handled it with a baby. I don’t know how these girls do it now days.”

She and Ben, who passed away March 23, 2017, went on to have six children, 11 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. There have been no great-greatgrandkids in her lap yet, but Phyllis says that is a distinct possibility.

“It’s probably going to get pretty close,” she said, smiling. “Some of those greats have gotten married already.”

Phyllis first came to central Texas in 1967 and still owns a home and property in Harker Heights. She lives now with daughter, Wanita, and her family in Belton near Salado, and says she enjoys reading and watching TV game shows like The Price is Right, Let’s Make a Deal, and Wheel of Fortune

She also enjoys yard work — not actually doing yard work, but supervising.

“I like sitting outside and watching (Wanita) pull weeds,” she said, with a smile.

Life is good today, Phyllis said, although modern technology confounds her and makes her feel a little separated from the rest of the world sometimes Nevertheless, she is happy to be surrounded by family and looks back fondly at her time in military service.

“I hated when they got rid of the Women’s Army Corps We were proud of it,” she said. “Things haven’t turned out exactly the way I planned it. I didn’t plan on being here, for one thing. I planned on being in my own house.

“But I’m glad I’m here. She (Wanita) is such a good girl. I couldn’t ask for a better one.”

Sandra Hawkins, a local pioneer in the music industry, has fans nationwide

SPECIAL TO THE HERALD

Kempner resident Sandra Hawkins, for merly known as Black Diamond, is a renowned national recording artist, entertainer and celebrity impersonator. She writes, composes and is the owner and CEO of JC1 Records

For over 25 years, she has been lending her voice and community service to the world.

Recently, Hawkins was the first headliner to perfor m at the new Killeen downtown establishment, Alexander’s Music Box. She sang a medley of blues with songs paying homage to women blues singers

The Las Vegas native comes from a musical lineage that includes her aunt Betty Swann and Harold Melvin of The Blue Notes — just to mention a few of her accolades which she can be proud of receiving. She is a three-time recipient of the Gospel’s Trailblazer Award with 2023 being the most recent. Upon receiving her award she graced the stage alongside Gospel Legends Shirley Caesar and Dorothy Norwood. In 2013, Hawkins gained international status with the debut of her gospel song, “I’m Free,” charting No. 1 on the national gospel charts, which opened the

doors for her acclaim status, winning numerous awards and going on tour in the Grand Bahamas

You can find Hawkins giving an electrifying performance across the country as a celebrity impersonator. With a high demand for her Tina Turner shows, she truly has to encapsulate the indomitable spirit of Tina. Her impersonation of Tina is so remarkable that she has bragging rights as a nationally accredited Tina Turner impersonator.

Other impersonating perfor mances she has covered included impersonating Gladys Knight, Diana Ross Sade, Etta James, Billie Holliday, Stevie Nicks, Patsy Cline, Aretha Franklin, Loretta Lynne, Heart and Whitney Houston.

Closer to home, Killeenarea residents can find Hawkins bringing such a humble spirit as she volunteers her talent, bringing smiles to the faces of our aging population and those living in nursing homes, where many know her as Black Diamond. Nursing home residents experiencing Alzheimer’s dance and sing along during performances.

Hawkins is currently producing her latest music material and has plans to sign others to her label.

An AP photographer in Ghana shares why she focuses on documenting women

Editor’s Note: This feature is part of a series highlighting Associated Press journalists for Women’s History Month. An earlier installment featured one of our photographers working in Bucharest, Romania, on what motivates her as a woman in her profession.

ACCRA, Ghana — Misper Apawu is a photographer who works with The Associated Press in Ghana. She has covered politics, breaking news and sports

I am a photojournalist living and working in Ghana. I often focus on the lives of women. My first encounter with photography occurred in a market in Dambai, a town in the Oti region of Ghana. During my childhood, while selling iced water in the market, I observed the women’s expressions brighten whenever tourists pointed their cameras at them. When tourists showed the women their pictures, they would beam with delight.

That happiness I witnessed inspired me to pursue photography when I was introduced to it as a young adult. Up until then, my knowledge of photography was limited to hobbies and events. But when I discovered the jour nalistic aspect of photography, I knew that was the path I wanted to take: to document historical events for future generations

Like many other photographers, my family was initially skeptical about my career. They wondered whether it was sustainable. However, they started to accept my career decision when I was featured in national media for my work during Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Ghana. Seeing me in the news

made them happy. But I have also encountered discrimination. During a recent assignment, I was restricted from going beyond a specific boundary simply because I was a woman. Seeing male colleagues moving freely within that area while I was limited was frustrating. Despite this, I didn’t give up. I persevered and captured some of the best shots from where I stood.

One of my favorite assignments for The Associated Press was covering the historic visit of Vice President Harris to Ghana. It was an incredible experience, capturing and submitting photos as quickly as possible, following security instructions and much more. Another memorable aspect was the reactions

from people who saw the images

On the second day of Harris’ visit, a member of her team approached me and commended my work, saying that my photos were featured on the front pages in the United States. Additionally, I received an email from AP’s Headquarters in London, thanking me for my hard work. These were the highlights of that experience. It struck me that I had contributed to history. In the future, when people search for “VP Kamala Harris visits Ghana,” my photos will show up among the top results

On the third day of her visit, on our way back from Independence Square, where Harris delivered a speech, someone from her team said that it was a great decision to have a female photo-

journalist document the event. I realized it was a unique opportunity for me to have documented this historic moment, not about just any other person, but a successful American woman of color, the first female vice president of the U.S. These are photographs that I’m going to cherish for a very long time

On that same day, a member of Harris’ team asked for just one photographer to go inside the Dungeon at Cape Coast Castle with the vice president and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, and they chose me. It was a mix of emotions: I was happy to document the moment, but I also felt a huge responsibility. I knew the world awaited me to capture Harris in the Dungeon. I believed in myself and I didn’t disappoint. I delivered.