Moina Michael letter to Rosemary Lyons Jones


Descriptive Summary
Title: Moina Michael letter to Rosemary Lyons Jones
Creator: Jones, Rosemary Lyons
Inclusive Dates: 1941, 1944
Language(s): English
Extent: 1 folder(s) 1 letter
Collection Number: ms3990
Repository: Hargrett Library

Collection Description

Historical Note

After World War I, Moina Michael pursued the idea of selling silk poppies as a means for raising funds to assist disabled veterans. In 1921, her efforts results in the poppy being adopted as a symbol of remembrance for war veterans by the American Legion Auxiliary. She retired from the University of Georgia in 1934 and published an autobiography in 1941, The miracle flower: the story of the Flanders Fields Memorial Poppy. In 1944, a Liberty ship constructed in Georgia was named the SS Moina Michael in her honor. In 1948, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in her honor and in 1969 the Georgia General Assembly named a section of U.S. Highway 78 the Moina Michael Highway.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of a letter, a newsclipping and a photograph. Both the personal letter and news clipping are addressed to Rosemary Lyons Jones and date from 1941. The photograph features Moina Michael in a jeep driven by a female Air Forces person. The back is stamped "Army Air Forces" and is dated January 24th, 1944.