Mary Babnik Brown: Difference between revisions
reference sources for "Frank Wolf Babnik" and "Mary Babnik" |
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[[File:Reagan letter 11 05 1987.jpg|thumb|Reagan letter November 6, 1987]] |
[[File:Reagan letter 11 05 1987.jpg|thumb|Reagan letter November 6, 1987]] |
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[[File:ThomasFerebee.jpg|thumb|[[Thomas Ferebee]], Enola Gay bombardier, with Norden bombsight.]] |
[[File:ThomasFerebee.jpg|thumb|[[Thomas Ferebee]], Enola Gay bombardier, with Norden bombsight.]] |
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Brown’s notoriety came after she read an advertisement in a Pueblo newspaper in 1943 that the government was looking for hair from women to donate to the war effort.<ref name=DenverPost_07_05_1987/> They specified they wanted blonde hair that was at least 22 inches long and had not been treated with chemicals or hot irons.<ref name=DenverPost_07_05_1987/> They didn’t say why the human hair was needed and only indicated it was for the war effort.<ref name=DesertNews>{{cite web |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/133118/AF-LAUDS-WOMAN-WHO-GAVE-HAIR.html?pg=all |title= A.F. LAUDS WOMAN WHO GAVE HAIR |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |year= 2013 |website= www.deseretnews.com |publisher= Desert News newspaper |accessdate=1 January 2014}}</ref> After sending some samples of her hair to the [[Institute of Technology]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], they concluded that her hair would fill the needs for Air Force bombsight crosshairs.<ref name=Chieftain11111990>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Two Puebloans earn Aviation Hall of Fame - p8A |url= |newspaper=The Chieftain |location=Pueblo |publisher=The Chieftain newspaper |date=November 11, 1990 |accessdate= }}</ref> |
Brown’s notoriety came after she read an advertisement in a Pueblo newspaper in 1943 that the government was looking for hair from women to donate to the war effort in a top secret mission.<ref name=DenverPost_07_05_1987/><ref name=top_secret> Denver Post July 5, 1987: ''The popular, prize winning dancer, known around Pueblo as "Arcadia Mary," didn't know at the time her blond hair was destined for use as crosshairs in the famed Norden bombsight, one of the most carefully protected secrets World War II.''</ref> They specified they wanted blonde hair that was at least 22 inches long and had not been treated with chemicals or hot irons.<ref name=DenverPost_07_05_1987/> They didn’t say why the human hair was needed and only indicated it was for the war effort.<ref name=DesertNews>{{cite web |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/133118/AF-LAUDS-WOMAN-WHO-GAVE-HAIR.html?pg=all |title= A.F. LAUDS WOMAN WHO GAVE HAIR |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |year= 2013 |website= www.deseretnews.com |publisher= Desert News newspaper |accessdate=1 January 2014}}</ref> After sending some samples of her hair to the [[Institute of Technology]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], they concluded that her hair would fill the needs for Air Force bombsight crosshairs.<ref name=Chieftain11111990>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Two Puebloans earn Aviation Hall of Fame - p8A |url= |newspaper=The Chieftain |location=Pueblo |publisher=The Chieftain newspaper |date=November 11, 1990 |accessdate= }}</ref> |
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They contacted Brown, labeled by a Denver Post journalist "a blond bomber", requesting her hair.<ref name=DenverPost_07_05_1987/> Brown's hair was 34 inches long. She had her hair cut and donated it to the war effort. Brown donated her hair in 1944, before she was married. Her last name at that time was her maiden name, "Babnik". They offered to pay her for her hair in [[War savings stamps of the United States|War Savings Stamps]], but she refused feeling it was her patriotic duty to help in the war effort. <ref name=DenverPost_07_05_1987/> |
They contacted Brown, labeled by a Denver Post journalist "a blond bomber", requesting her hair.<ref name=DenverPost_07_05_1987/> Brown's hair was 34 inches long. She had her hair cut and donated it to the war effort. Brown donated her hair in 1944, before she was married. Her last name at that time was her maiden name, "Babnik". They offered to pay her for her hair in [[War savings stamps of the United States|War Savings Stamps]], but she refused feeling it was her patriotic duty to help in the war effort. <ref name=DenverPost_07_05_1987/> |
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|last1= Mitchel |first1=Karen |last2= |first2= |date= 2002 - 2012 |website= |publisher= |accessdate=2 January 2014}} '' She had begun braiding her hair as a toddler and called it her crowning glory. "I had never had it cut,' she said. "I cried for two months . . I sent them all of it." </ref> |
|last1= Mitchel |first1=Karen |last2= |first2= |date= 2002 - 2012 |website= |publisher= |accessdate=2 January 2014}} '' She had begun braiding her hair as a toddler and called it her crowning glory. "I had never had it cut,' she said. "I cried for two months . . I sent them all of it." </ref> |
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Brown's hair was used on an experimental basis as [[crosshair]]s in the [[Norden bombsight]], a [[cutting edge]] precision instrument that accurately guided bombs to their target.<ref name= |
Brown's hair was used on an experimental basis as [[crosshair]]s in the [[Norden bombsight]], a top secret [[cutting edge]] precision instrument that accurately guided bombs to their target.<ref name=top_secret/> The Norden bombsight was used on the [[B-24 Liberator]], [[B-29 Super Fortress]] and [[B-17 Flying Fortress]] military aircraft.{{sfn|Read|Witlieb|1992|p=71}} Her hair, was used as bombsight cross-hairs, at altitudes as high as 20,000 feet, and was subjected to temperatures below freezing with quick changes in humidity.<ref name=PacificStarsStripes>{{cite web |url=http://newspaperarchive.com/pacific-stars-and-stripes/1990-11-21/page-16 |title=Colorado woman honored for donating hair to war effort |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= November 21, 1990 |website=NewspaperArchive.com |publisher= Pacific Stars and Stripes |accessdate=1 January 2014}}</ref> Brown's hair was the first human hair used as crosshairs in bombsights.{{sfn|Read|Witlieb|1992|ps=, p. 71. "Mary Babnick. First woman to have her hair used in a bombsight (1942). Brown's hair, donated to the war effort in response to an advertisement, was thirty-four inches long when she submitted it for experimental use as the crosshairs in a new aiming device, the Norden bombsight."}} |
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Brown's blonde hair was unique and shared many of the qualities valued in the black widow spider's web strands that were originally used. The spider’s strands however were to hard to obtain. Her below-knee-length blonde hair was washed only with pure soap and had never been bleached, subjected to a hot iron, or cut in 36 years - making it a unique example of women's hair. Brown's hair was not only used in bombsights, but also used in scientific equipment to make precise measurements of humidity, an important need for the manufacture of war equipment.<ref name=DesertNews/> |
Brown's blonde hair was unique and shared many of the qualities valued in the black widow spider's web strands that were originally used. The spider’s strands however were to hard to obtain. Her below-knee-length blonde hair was washed only with pure soap and had never been bleached, subjected to a hot iron, or cut in 36 years - making it a unique example of women's hair. Brown's hair was not only used in bombsights, but also used in scientific equipment to make precise measurements of humidity, an important need for the manufacture of war equipment.<ref name=DesertNews/> |
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Revision as of 15:24, 3 January 2014
Mary Babnik Brown | |
|---|---|
| File:Mary Babnick Brown poses with Norden bombsight.jpg Mary Brown poses with Norden bombsight | |
| Born | November 22, 1907 |
| Died | August 29, 1991 (aged 83) |
| Occupation(s) | Laborer, labor leader |
| Parent(s) | Frank Wolf Babnik[1] Mary Babnik[2] |
Mary Babnik Brown (1907-1991) was an American citizen, who became notable for donating her hair to the World War II effort in helping to make accurate bombsights for the United States military aircraft.
Early life
Brown (maiden name of "Babnik," often misspelled as "Babnick") was born on November 22, 1907 in Pueblo, Colorado.[1] Her parents were Frank and Mary Babnik, immigrants from Slovenia.[1] Her father worked at the railroad and her mother did domestic work for others.[1] Brown’s Slovenian name given to her at birth by her parents was "Mitzi". She Americanized it to Mary, becoming her lifetime name. She was the oldest of the family children and had three younger siblings - a sister (Josephine, born 1908) and two brothers (Frank, born 1910 and Joseph, born 1912). She spent her early childhood in the Bessemer and Grove neighborhoods of Pueblo. Brown’s father abandoned the family around 1920, leaving her mother to raise her and her siblings.[3]
Brown lied about her age when she was 13 and obtained a job at the National Broom Factory to bring in money for family support.[3] She was paid 75 cents a day in the beginning.[3] Brown made this her lifetime career, and worked at the company for 42 years.[3] Her siblings picked up chunks of coal on railroad tracks that accidentally fell from steam engine trains, to help support the family.[3]
Brown was a renowned dancer in the local Pueblo area in her day. She began dancing as a hobby in her early teenage years. She won her first dance contest at the age of nineteen. Brown danced at the Arcadia Ball Room (now razed) on Fifth Street in downtown Pueblo. She received the nickname "Arcadia Mary" because she danced there so often. During World War II she taught GIs how to dance. She had a saying: My first love is my family, but dancing is my second.[3]
Mid life
Brown’s notoriety came after she read an advertisement in a Pueblo newspaper in 1943 that the government was looking for hair from women to donate to the war effort in a top secret mission.[2][4] They specified they wanted blonde hair that was at least 22 inches long and had not been treated with chemicals or hot irons.[2] They didn’t say why the human hair was needed and only indicated it was for the war effort.[5] After sending some samples of her hair to the Institute of Technology in Washington, D.C., they concluded that her hair would fill the needs for Air Force bombsight crosshairs.[6]
They contacted Brown, labeled by a Denver Post journalist "a blond bomber", requesting her hair.[2] Brown's hair was 34 inches long. She had her hair cut and donated it to the war effort. Brown donated her hair in 1944, before she was married. Her last name at that time was her maiden name, "Babnik". They offered to pay her for her hair in War Savings Stamps, but she refused feeling it was her patriotic duty to help in the war effort. [2]
Brown was traumatized by giving up her prize possession, her hair, and cried for two months after her hair was cut. Her hair was very significant to her, since she had worn it long for 37 years, and it had never been cut before. However, a side benefit she received by donating her hair was that it was now easier to care for (e.g., twice daily combings, weekly washings, braiding).[2][7][8]
Brown's hair was used on an experimental basis as crosshairs in the Norden bombsight, a top secret cutting edge precision instrument that accurately guided bombs to their target.[4] The Norden bombsight was used on the B-24 Liberator, B-29 Super Fortress and B-17 Flying Fortress military aircraft.[9] Her hair, was used as bombsight cross-hairs, at altitudes as high as 20,000 feet, and was subjected to temperatures below freezing with quick changes in humidity.[10] Brown's hair was the first human hair used as crosshairs in bombsights.[11]
Brown's blonde hair was unique and shared many of the qualities valued in the black widow spider's web strands that were originally used. The spider’s strands however were to hard to obtain. Her below-knee-length blonde hair was washed only with pure soap and had never been bleached, subjected to a hot iron, or cut in 36 years - making it a unique example of women's hair. Brown's hair was not only used in bombsights, but also used in scientific equipment to make precise measurements of humidity, an important need for the manufacture of war equipment.[5]
Later life and death
Brown married Carl Brown sometime after 1944, and became Mrs Mary "Mitzi" Babnik Brown.[3] She spent her last years of her life in the 300 block of Spring Street in Pueblo.[3]
Awards and honors
- Brown received on November 17, 1990, special recognition in an achievement award from the Colorado Aviation Historical Society in a ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy. She was inducted into their Hall of Fame.[5]
- Brown became vice president of the State Federation of Labor in 1947 - first woman to have this position.[3]
- Brown received a congratulatory letter about her patriotism from President Ronald Reagan on November 6, 1987.
- Paul Harvey on his national broadcast program The Rest of the Story on November 19, 1990, told of Brown and her hair story.[3]
- The city of Pueblo, Colorado, declared November 22, 1991, as "Mary Babnik Brown Day". The formal ceremony of medical personnel at a banquet at the Pueblo Country Club was recorded by NBC-TV. It aired the following month on NBC's The Story Behind the Story.[1]
Politics
Brown was an active member of the Pueblo Democratic party. She was the vice president and president of the Slovenian Lodge SNPJ (Slovenian National Benefit Society).[1]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f Pitts, Gail (April 16, 1991). "Pueblo's Mary Babnik Brown dies at 83 in her family home". The Pueblo Chieftain. Pueblo, Colorado: The Pueblo Chieftain.
- ^ a b c d e f Gibney, Jim (July 5, 1987). "Pueblo woman's hair went to war - a blond bomber". The Denver Post. Denver, Colorado: The Denver Post newspaper publishing company.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Smith, John Elvans (2001), Mary Babnik and her hair, Pueblo, Colorado: Pueblo Lore magazine, pp. 3–8
- ^ a b Denver Post July 5, 1987: The popular, prize winning dancer, known around Pueblo as "Arcadia Mary," didn't know at the time her blond hair was destined for use as crosshairs in the famed Norden bombsight, one of the most carefully protected secrets World War II.
- ^ a b c "A.F. LAUDS WOMAN WHO GAVE HAIR". www.deseretnews.com. Desert News newspaper. 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- ^ "Two Puebloans earn Aviation Hall of Fame - p8A". The Chieftain. Pueblo: The Chieftain newspaper. November 11, 1990.
- ^ DenverPost July, 5, 1987 Second paragraph of newspaper article: At 36, Mary was proud of her hair, combing it twice a day and washing it with pure soap twice a week.
- ^ Mitchel, Karen (2002 - 2012). "Pueblo County, Colorado / Mary Babnick Brown". Retrieved 2 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) She had begun braiding her hair as a toddler and called it her crowning glory. "I had never had it cut,' she said. "I cried for two months . . I sent them all of it." - ^ a b Read & Witlieb 1992, p. 71.
- ^ "Colorado woman honored for donating hair to war effort". NewspaperArchive.com. Pacific Stars and Stripes. November 21, 1990. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- ^ Read & Witlieb 1992, p. 71. "Mary Babnick. First woman to have her hair used in a bombsight (1942). Brown's hair, donated to the war effort in response to an advertisement, was thirty-four inches long when she submitted it for experimental use as the crosshairs in a new aiming device, the Norden bombsight."
- ^ McHugh 2008, p. 18.
Bibliography
- McHugh, Erin (2008). Who? What? When? Where? Why?: A Substantial Gathering of Intriguing & Delightful Knowledge. Reader's Digest Association, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7621-0557-1.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Read, Phyllis J.; Witlieb, Bernard L. (1992). The Book of Women's Firsts: Breakthrough Achievements of Almost 1,000 American Women. Random House Information Group. ISBN 978-0-679-40975-5.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)