Interview of Margaret Goodrich on her twenty-four year civil service career in the U.S. Army Library Service


Marjorie Brown:	[0:01] What is your name?

Margaret Goodrich:	 My name is Margaret Goodrich. 

Marjorie Brown:	[0:05] Do you remember when you joined the Denver Unit of WOSL?

Margaret Goodrich:	 I believe it was 1976 or ’77, when I had come back from Vietnam, in Texas.

Marjorie Brown:	[0:18] Um, where you in the Service?

Margaret Goodrich:	 Yes. I was an army librarian under Special Services, uh, for several years.

Marjorie Brown:	[0:26] Why did you come in the service?

Margaret Goodrich:	Well I was [tapping] a librarian and the Army Library Service opened up in 1941, so it was a – I was ready for a change in position and, uh, it looked like a good opportunity, so I joined the Army Library Service. 

Marjorie Brown:	[0:46] Before you came into the – into the library service, what did you do?

Margaret Goodrich:	 Well I was a librarian in Rawlins, Wyoming.

Marjorie Brown:	[0:55] What were your, what were your principal duties when you were in the service?

Margaret Goodrich:	The Army Library Service, uh, maintained libraries for the use of the American military personnel in the United States, and then after World War II, we were sent, those who applied, were sent over to Europe, and, uh, later of course into, uh, the Asiatic Theater as well as the European Theater. 

Marjorie Brown:	[1:26] How long are you – were you in the library service?

Margaret Goodrich:	 Uh, I retired after 24 years in the army.

Marjorie Brown:	[1:33] Was your status as a librarian military or were you a civilian, uh, on duty with the military?

Margaret Goodrich:	It was, uh, civilian service, um, [throat clearing] uh, I can't even think of the name. [chuckle] The civil service.

Marjorie Brown:	Oh co-, Civil Service. Okay. [1:54] Where did your travels take you when you were in your civil service job?

Margaret Goodrich:	Well I was in the United States at Fort Warren, Wyoming, and then went to Germany. Uh, I was the first or second army librarian in Germany after World War II, landing in Munich on Friday, July 13, 1945. I was over there for 2 years and a half. Then came back and, uh, terminated my service after that 6 years then. Went into a civilian job. And then when the Korean situation developed, I was asked to come back into the service and went to Fort Dix. I was there for 4 years and terminated and was in the civilian libraries. Then, um, was asked if I would like to come back as librarian at Fitzsimons. I had moved to Denver in the meantime. So I was librarian at Fitzsimons Army Hospital here in Denver from 1962 ‘til ’66. Then was asked to go to San Antonio to Fort Sam Houston, and then from there I went to Vietnam in 1968, and, uh, was there for 2 years and a half until May ’71, then returned to the United States after 2 tours of duty and was at Fort Polk, Louisiana; uh, Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Hood, Texas. Then, uh, came back to Denver as a post librarian at Fitzsimons where I returned in 1975. 

Marjorie Brown:	[3:38] When you were in Vietnam, where were you stationed?

Margaret Goodrich:	We – our headquarters were in Saigon, uh, at the, uh, sp-, uh, the, um, [tsk] [sigh] term-, terminal there where we, uh, distributed the r-, reading material [at 3:58] army headquarters, uh, to the – all the men, and my particular job was to take care of the distribution of the paperback books and [throat clearing] magazines, and for the – all the time I was there, we distributed about a million paperback books per month throughout the area. This – we didn’t actually, uh, distribute the books. We maintained the mailing list, which, uh, distributed the books and materials to the units in the field.

Marjorie Brown:	[4:37] Did you – were you – was m-, was army medical care available to you or were you on your own as far as seeking medical care when you were a, a librarian with the military?

Margaret Goodrich:	Overseas we were, uh, taken care of by the military, but of course, in the States, we were actually on our own.

Marjorie Brown:	[4:55] Did you have to wear a uniform?

Margaret Goodrich:	Oh, yes. We had the blue, uh, 3-piece uniform, the skirt and blouse and – a skirt and jacket and white blouse. Then, uh, in the ‘60s, uh, slacks were included, and also, of course, in Germany, uh, slacks were available. But it was the light-blue uniform with cap.

Marjorie Brown:	[5:21] Do you have any special, exciting or fa-, funny or sad experiences that, uh, you could relate to me?

Margaret Goodrich:	Well, no particular sad experiences. I've had some interesting ones. The one that comes to mind right now was on my return trip to Vietnam in 1969. 

	I had been with the military, of course, many years and was not too accustomed to seeing men in shocking-pink shirts. When I got on the plane in, uh, Los Angeles – San Francisco, I guess it was, I noticed this man with a shocking-pink shirt, and he came onto the troop plane, sat behind me so I didn’t see anything of him. Then when we got to Saigon, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, uh, I had cabled that I was coming on that particular flight, and, uh, the sergeant, whom I, of course, had known in my previous tour passed me and said oh, hello Miss Goodrich; I'll pick you up later. So he passed me and pretty soon [inaudible 6:28] backseat of the van, and the man in the shirt took the seat next to the driver. Well as we were leaving the Tan Son Nhut Air Base, at midnight this was, the driver said, “Hit the deck!” Well by the time he got the word hit out, I was underneath the front seat, and [chuckle] he said to the man in the front seat, “God dammit, man, I said hit the deck!” and he gave him a shove and he went down under, and sure enough, there came some shots across the hood of the car. I discovered later, shortly thereafter, that the man in the shocking-pink shirt was James Franciscus who was on his way for a USO tour. That I think is one of the most interesting experiences I've ever had.

	[background noise]

Marjorie Brown:	[7:20] Uh, when you decided to, uh, join the military as a librarian, were there any particular adjustments that you had to make that, uh, that you'd care to relate?

Margaret Goodrich:	Uh, adjustments. Well, of course, the, uh, military regime, um, working from 7 in the morning until 10 at night, this, of course, was in 1941 in April before things started. Uh, then, of course, the tremendous amount of paperwork that we had to, uh, produce, [tsk] it was most interesting to have, um, 5,000 books for about 15,000 men, and the men really used the libraries. They were hardback libraries, uh, a little bit of everything that  w-, they wanted. We discovered that the mysteries and westerns and science fiction, which the civilian people who purchased the books had not realized that, uh, the men were interested in other things, such as psychology and science and mathematics and history and biography, so that the libraries then as well as now are general small public libraries, which was interesting. Then, of course, another thing that the army libraries instituted was the, uh, possibility and permission of smoking in libraries. The civilian libraries in those days did not allow smoking. Of course, now m-, most of them do, but they discovered that when the men came back from their tours of duty, they had been accustomed to smoking in libraries and wanted to do so, so that’s one of the reasons smoking rooms were instituted into the l-, libraries.

Marjorie Brown:	[9:23] After you left the service, what did you do?

Margaret Goodrich:	Uh, I, um, became a volunteer at the Denver Art Museum, Native Arts Department Library called the Frederic H. Douglas Memorial Library because, uh, he donated it to the Denver Art Museum. Uh, when I got down there, they had just moved or recently moved into their new building, and the books, which had been packed up for 5 or 6 years had [throat clearing] just been practically thrown on the shelves. So that – I said that I would like very much to – or to reorganize – organize and, uh, process that collection. Then also, uh, I was introduced to Marie Wormington, the very famous archeologist here in Denver, who, uh, needed some secretarial work and reference work on the book that she was doing, so I, uh, worked with her for many years. So that my retirement became a continuation. But I, uh, had those 2 possibilities, which gave me a impetus to retire. 

Marjorie Brown:	[10:39] What has being a member of WOSL meant to you?

Margaret Goodrich:	Mainly being with delightful people, uh, learning of their experiences and, uh, habits and being [as 10:53] socially a-, acquainted with such delightful, charming, experienced people of my own age generally.

Marjorie Brown:	Okay. Thank you very much. 


/lo