Holding Down The Homefront
A Story of Wartime Wives Told Through Their Correspondence
A story concert set in 5 different time periods featuring American women and their amazing stories of love and courage during times of war.
Using letters and correspondence from real wartime wives who lived through various wars, Mary captures the spirit of the era and sheds light on the situations these women faced. Holding Down The Homefront showcases select American women who lived through these difficult times while their spouses were off at war.
The eras may be different, the times always evolving, but there are always strong women at home who overcome the obstacles and keep the home fires burning.
Lucy Knox: Revolutionary War
Goldie Marcellus: World War I
Isabel Kidder: World War II
Julia Underhill: Civil War
About Holding Down The Homefront
Originally developed as her M.A. Communications & Storytelling thesis project, Holding Down The Homefront was created as a way to showcase the woman’s place in wartime stories. When Mary Davis Gage’s former husband was deployed following 9/11, a new perspective on what it meant to keep the home fires burning was awakened. This time in her life also brought up memories and conversations about her grandmother’s time during WWII, working as a single mother at the Bell Bomber Plant in Marietta, Georgia. As Mary pondered the ways in which war transforms women’s lives – for better and for worse – the concept for this story concert was born.