![]() ![]() In retirement she moved with her husband to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The restoration of the meeting house-while unfinished at the time-was revealed to the public on October 13, 1987, the day Powell retired.Īsked about the role of women in the NPS in a 1986 interview, Powell stated, “I think they need women in the Park Service to give it an extra little something…Women have a way of knowing that certain little things have to be done to make the big picture…It’s been a good ol’ boy type of thing and I think-especially in urban parks-I really think they need women.” She explained, “That link made me push as much as I did for things.” After meeting with a Congressional aide, one million dollars was allocated for restoration of buildings at the park. Her grandfather enlisted in the Civil War at the African Meeting House, the oldest surviving Black church structure in the United States. Powell also had a family connection to the site. Powell later recalled, “I knew it would be a real challenge, but I also thought it would be fun and something I could relate to-it being a Black historical site and me being born and raised in Boston.” She stated, “We got out on the Black Heritage Trail and were seen in uniform before that people didn’t know there were Black park rangers in Boston.” She also worked with Fowler to coordinate a Black history events calendar and several exhibits, including one in 1985 that focused on women. As site manager she connected with the community, joined local organizations, and performed administrative duties. Powell found it difficult at first, as she had never worked as a park ranger or in interpretation. Initially the staff consisted of Powell and interpretive ranger Ted Fowler. She got the job and became the park’s first site manager in August 1981. Her supervisors and colleagues in the regional office encouraged her to apply to become the manager of the new Boston African American National Historic Site, which was established to commemorate the community of free Afro-Americans which mounted resistance to the forces of slavery and segregation in the years leading up to and including the Civil War. (NPS History Collection photo)īy the early 1980s Powell was looking for new challenges. She worked her way into clerk-typist and personnel clerk positions, becoming a personnel staffing specialist.ĭorothea Powell at her retirement in 1987. She was the first Black woman to work in the NPS North Atlantic Regional Office. She worked as a social worker for two and a half years before being hired by the US Air Force in 1973 at Hansom Air Base.Ĭontact with a former coworker who was working for the National Park Service (NPS) led Powell to a temporary clerk position in 1974. She graduated cum laude with a BA in sociology in 1974. That same year, when she was in her 40s, Powell began college at Northeastern University in Boston. ![]() It’s not clear what became of that marriage, but she married Leroy Powell in 1968. ![]() When the children were older, she worked in a laundry company, followed by 17 years with BFGoodrich Company making fuel cells for jet bombers, among other things. Right after high school she married a man with the surname Washington. For more info about the Georgia WWII Heritage Trail visit Louise Potter was born on October 13, 1925, in Boston, Massachusetts, the eldest of 10 children. Great for group tours, educational tours, aviation and history buffs, and more! Rides in a historic aircraft are available for purchase! Flights cost anywhere from $150 - $2,400.The Commemorative Air Force Airbase Georgia is a founding partner of the Georgia World War II Heritage Trail. Public programs include guest speaker series, tours for schools and youth groups, flyovers for civic events, hangar dance fundraisers, and WWII Heritage Days, Georgia's oldest and largest WWII-theme history festival, in October. The Commemorative Air Force Airbase Georgia Warbird Museum includes a restoration shop, World War II artifacts, and a room for meetings and special events. Founded in 1987 and based at Atlanta Regional Airport-Falcon Field, Peachtree City, The Commemorative Air Force Airbase Georgia has restored and currently flies seven World War II and Korean War-era aircraft, including a P-51 Mustang, FG-1D Corsair, and rare Douglas SBD Dauntless, one of only three flying today. The Commemorative Air Force Airbase Georgia is the Georgia chapter of the Commemorative Air Force a 501cs education non-profit that operates the largest World War II flying museum in the world today.
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