Cook, Edith Wilson (née Harber), 1998 February 20

This is a Living History interview with Edith Cook conducted by Marilyn Somers on February 20, 1998 at her home in Atlanta, Georgia. The subject of the interview is the interviewee’s life and experiences.

Mrs. Cook was born on Spring Street in Atlanta, Georgia when it was still a residential area. Her family moved outside of Atlanta to Commerce, Georgia before later moving to Tampa, Florida where she began her schooling. She continued her education once her family moved back to Atlanta and lived on Cascade Road. She attended Fulton High School and when she graduated, Mrs. Cook decided to attend college in Milledgeville, Georgia at Georgia State College for Women. She believes that she received an excellent education in both high school and college, although her college was very strict on women. Mrs. Cook loved growing up in Atlanta and remembers taking trips downtown with her family to visit Rich’s Department store and the movie theatres. The Great Depression came while she was in college, and although her family was strained, she was fortunate enough not to experience any hardships. Mrs. Cook followed in her sister’s and mother’s footsteps and became a public school teacher after graduation with the Fulton County School System. Her goal was to teach high school, but the school system never allowed her to and she taught at Evan P. Howell Elementary School instead. Mrs. Cook remembers very well the attack on Pearl Harbor when it interrupted her favorite afternoon radio program. It was shocking news and she remembers that everyone was angry at the attack. Her family attended St. mark United Methodist Church on Peachtree Street where she later met her husband, Earl Cook. Mrs. Cook decided that she wanted to join the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp (WAAC) in order to participate in the war effort. She remembers the vast changes that swept across the country with the announcement of the war including the draft, and ration cards for supplies like food and gas. She went through several stages of application and interview, including several that ruined her family’s annual vacation to St. Simons Island. Eventually she was accepted and received her orders at Fort McPherson. She was sent along with fifty other women from across the southeast to Fort Des Moines in Iowa to begin basic training. She enjoyed her training very much and learned a lot during her time at Fort Des Moines. She graduated in her class in October of 1946 and went on to become an officer when she was then assigned to Camp Crowder, Missouri. The conditions of the camp were good for an army camp and the girls were generally very hard working and easy to train. Mrs. Cook remained at Camp Crowder for the remainder of the war and was promoted several times until she became a second lieutenant. The end of the war was highly celebrated across the company, although Mrs. Cook was not formally dismissed until several months later. After she left the army, she began to take flying lessons in order to pursue her dream of flying. She took flight school at Atlanta Municipal Airport and received her private pilot’s license. She then got a part time job at Rich’s Department store while she continued her flying lessons. She began to date Earl Cook and they later became married in a large wedding planned by her mother. They now have two daughters whom they love very much. Mrs. Cook participated in the fundraising efforts for the Women in Military Service for America (WIMSA) memorial. She is very proud of her accomplishments, especially pursuing her dream of learning to fly. She loves her daughters and has invested as much time as she could into developing them and helping them grow.