TEC3 US Army, Wilhelmina “Jane” Westenberger
Born: April 2, 1921
Died: June 12, 2011
Photo credit: The National Museum of Forest Service History.
Burial Site: SFNC, Section COL-3, Site D112
On March 19, 1943, Wilhelmina “Jane” Westenberger enlisted in the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) and trained at the WAAC Training Center in Des Moines, Iowa. 1, 2, 3 Her service included postings to North Africa and Italy toward the end of the war. 4
Wilhelmina “Jane” Westenberger was born to Addie E. Noskes and August Gotlib Westenberger in Buhl, Idaho, and grew up in Long Beach, California. 5, 6, 7 After high school, she worked as an office clerk. 5
A master’s degree led to various educational positions in the Forest Service. 4 She was the developer of the Forest Service Conservation Education program in 1964. 8 In 1968, she was awarded the Howard Bell Award for Outdoor Education. 9 In the 1970s she was head of the educational programs with the US Forest Service in Washington, D.C. When the New York Daily News asked about her work in 1973, she replied, “There are those who might say, ‘What good is saving a swamp?’ But the point was why destroy land, plant and tree life, and even animal species if there wasn’t a need to?” 10 In 1975 she was director of information with the US Forest Service in California. Westenberger became the first female Public Affairs Director for the Forest Service in 1979. In 1991, Westenberger was awarded the John Aston Warder Forestry Award by the American Forestry Association. She is quoted as saying, “We can no longer afford the search for scapegoats nor the constant and futile recitation of the ills of our planet.” 8
Images & Documents
Westenberger, Wilhelmina Jane D1
“Bond Sales at Victory Program Hit $30,000,” The Long Beach Sun, March 20, 1943, 7. Newspapers.com.
Westenberger, Wilhelmina Jane D2
“WAAC Feted,” Long Beach Press Telegram, March 20, 1943, 11. Newspapers.com.
Westenberger, Wilhelmina Jane D3
“W. Jane Westenberger,” The Santa Fe New Mexican, June 15, 2011, A008.
Notes:
1. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005.
2. “Bond Sales at Victory Program Hit $30,000,” The Long Beach Sun, March 20, 1943, 7. Newspapers.com.
3. “WAAC Feted,” Long Beach Press Telegram, March 20, 1943, 11. Newspapers.com.
4. “W. Jane Westenberger,” The Santa Fe New Mexican, June 15, 2011, A008. Newspapers.com.
5. Year: 1940; Census Place: Long Beach, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00370; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 59-126
6. Idaho State Department of Health; Boise, Idaho; Idaho Birth Index, 1861-1921
7. National Archives and Records Administration (Nara); Washington, D.C.; Naturalization Records of the U.S. District Court For the Southern District of California, Central Division (Los Angeles), 1887-1940; Microfilm Roll: 46; Microfilm Serial: M1524
8. “Women in the Forest Service.” U.S. Forest Service. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r3/leahttps://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r3/learning/history-culture/?cid=fseprd610387rning%2Fhistory-culture%2F%3Fcid
9. National Museum of Forest Service. “Online Collections: National Museum of Forest Service History.” Online Collections. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://forestservicemuseum.pastperfectonline.com/byperson?keyword=Westenberger%2C+Jane
10. Engels, Mary. “A Lady Ranger Trains the Island’s Ecologists,” New York Daily News, May 6, 1973, 1-2. Newspapers.com.
11. Hamilton, Mildred. “Jane Covers a Lot of Territory.” The San Francisco Examiner, May 7, 1975, 27. Newspapers.com.
Featured Image:
National Museum of Forest Service. “Online Collections: National Museum of Forest Service History.” Online Collections. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://forestservicemuseum.pastperfectonline.com/byperson?keyword=Westenberger%2C%2BJane.
Prepared by Sue Ruth, Ph.D., Central New Mexico Community College