Gail Beaton, Presenter
The Story
In 1996, I moved from teaching U.S. history at the middle school level to teaching U.S. history in a high school. When teaching World War II and women’s roles, I wanted to present the topic in a way that would be more meaningful and in greater depth than the textbook offered.
I had researched the Denver Ordnance Plant—now the Denver Federal Center—and knew it would be the perfect vehicle. I scoured Broadway antique shops for props and developed my story as Gail Murphy, a bullet-case worker at the plant.
From that humble beginning, I added more props and expanded the presentation. Soon I was presenting to women’s auxiliaries, clubs, organizations, churches, senior groups, and senior living facilities. Some venues were only a few miles from my home; others were as far away as Omaha, Nebraska, and Telluride, Colorado.
The Legacy
The best part of presenting the contributions of American women to the World War II effort was meeting many “Rosies,” female and male military veterans, and others who labored behind the scenes to support and care for our servicemen.
The stories they shared during question-and-answer sessions and afterward were so inspiring that I knew I had found the topic for my next book. Thus, Colorado Women in World War II was born.
About Gail Beaton
A native of western Massachusetts, Gail moved with her family to Colorado when she was eight years old. She likes to say they came via the Mayflower—of course, that was the Mayflower Moving Company!
Gail earned a B.S. in education from the University of Colorado Boulder, leading to a teaching career spanning more than 30 years in elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as two community colleges. As she says, “Yes, I have stories!”
She later earned two master’s degrees from the University of Colorado Denver: one in United States history and one in public history.
Books and Research
After retiring from teaching, Gail enjoyed several long trips with her mother and worked on her first book, Colorado Women: A History. Over the next eight years, she researched and wrote Colorado Women in World War II.
Two long hiking trips in Ireland—in April 2017 and April 2018—provided welcome breaks from reading microfilmed newspapers and poring over books and archival materials. Hiking 15 to 20 miles through the Irish countryside, from bed-and-breakfast to bed-and-breakfast, proved restorative.
From December 2019 through January 2021, Gail researched and worked with Dr. Thomas J. Noel on The Women’s Bank: A Denver Success Story, chronicling an extraordinary group of founding women and men.
In recent years, she has been focused on her research for Colorado Women Homesteaders. Her book, Colorado Women Homesteaders, was officially published in June 2026.