Women’s History Month: Who was Mary Trosper?
In celebration and recognition of Women's History Month, the Rockford Register Star has partnered with Midway Village Museum to bring readers a local women's history fact of the day.
Visit rrstar.com or the Rockford Register Star newspaper each day throughout the month of March to read about the women who played significant roles in Rockford history.
Born in Kentucky in 1910, Mary Trosper moved with her family to Rockford where she graduated from Rockford Central High School in 1931. She taught kindergarten before working for the Illinois Bell Telephone Company.
During World War II, Trosper was a charter member of the Red Cross Nurses Aid Corps and an active member of the Rockford Women’s Ambulance Safety Patrol (WASP). In addition to being the secretary and first lieutenant, she organized a book/magazine drive that collected five tons of reading material for a day room at Camp Grant.
Trosper also taught first aid courses to fellow WASP members and sold defense bonds. She kept a scrapbook of her WASP experiences that is now at Midway Village Museum.
Trosper also enjoyed drawing and painting, and in 1968 she sold all of her possessions and moved to France to study art and learn French. She later returned to Rockford and owned and operated her own photography shop named Trosper Studio. She died Feb. 23, 1999.
Want to learn more about Mary Trosper? Visit Midway Village Museum online at midwayvillage.com or in person at 6799 Guilford Road, Rockford.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Women’s History Month: Who was Mary Trosper?
