French’s election as president of the Louisiana chapter of the AAUW came at a time of great world turmoil. Europe was being overrun by Nazi Germany, England had been attacked, and the United States was torn over whether to enter the war. In October 1941, French wrote to her AAUW colleagues: “Another year lies before us, filled with terrific problems to be solved. We must not merely be another club, but must recognize the challenge to think, face our obligation to society, and encourage our members steadfastly in the search after Truth, which will bring to us the courage and rebuild or uphold our morale. ‘We have within ourselves the power to conquer bestiality, not with our muscles and our swords, but with the power of the light which is always in our minds.’ (There Shall Be No Night).”45
In 1942, French invited Ambassador McGeachy to speak at the AAUW Louisiana state convention in Hammond, where she spoke on the subject “British University Women in War.” An article in the Shreveport Times attests that McGeachy stated that British women were happy to be involved in the war effort and were part of an overall feeling of national unity. It quotes her as proclaiming: “Plato stated three things that save us … justice, self-demand, and truth, and I would add a fourth, love.”46 A photograph in an unidentified newspaper article shows McGeachy with French and the vice president of the Alabama AAUW.47 French stands in the middle, as though bringing the two together. The visit was facilitated by Lord Halifax, to whom French wrote afterward: “[McGeachy] brought to us a message that is rarely heard…. You are making a great contribution to our civilian defense when you furnish such a marvelous speaker.”48 Other topics at the 1942 conference included the importance of the arts for preserving morale and culture and educating for times of peace.49
Dr. Ellen Agnes Harris, Dr. Katherine Jackson French, British ambassador Mary Craig McGeachy. Courtesy of Kay Tolbert Buckland.
Perhaps partially spurred on by the enlistment of her son-in-law, Carl, French yearned for the AAUW to take a more active role in issues related to the war. She had been warned of the difficulties of this by her predecessor, Lucy Lamb. Lamb’s view proved to be correct. After Pearl Harbor, the war was in full swing, and everything else was put on hold. The national AAUW meeting in Dallas in 1942 “fell through,” as did an attempt at a biennial in Kansas City. Still, French soldiered on. On behalf of the AAUW, she was appointed to the Louisiana Salvage for Victory Council in 1942. By 1943, she had visited every local AAUW chapter and in April 1942 reported to the state membership: “All [are] … flourishing, all busily engaged in civic defense work, social welfare, and educational projects in their communities. Many are furnishing teachers and leaders of all sorts, who are upbuilding and upholding the morale, conscious of having received especial gifts from life, and burdened with the responsibility of making honorable returns.”50
French again wrote to the Louisiana membership in March 1943, advocating for a meeting of the leadership, and urgently asking each chapter to pay for its leaders to attend. “We have an unfinished task in the world,” she proclaimed, “and as we now perform those assigned us, will we be able to share in the global policy of the post-war world, when questions of tremendous magnitude await us? A world society in security forever!” Writing in her last days as president, she took the bully pulpit in her closing: “Natchitoches, March 26–27: Please meet me.”51 Her letter with its tone of urgency succeeded. The AAUW did meet in Natchitoches. Topics addressed included “Our Part toward Tomorrow,” “In International Relations, Survival of the Fittest,” and “University Woman’s Objections.” While efforts toward concrete actions regarding the war effort do not seem to have coalesced as a result of this convention, the very act of meeting kept the organization active.52
French spoke at numerous local AAUW branches during her tenure. She served until 1943, when she was succeeded by C. C. Colvert.53 The transition was facilitated by a past president, Sarah Clapp, who wrote to her: “In the helter-skelter of Saturday, you disappeared without my saying to you how great is my satisfaction in your administration from the first day to the last, how high a mark you have set for future presidents to aim at, and what a pleasure it is to work with you in any capacity whatever.”54 This view was seconded by Dr. Agnes Ellen Harris, who wrote: “You have been such an ideal and wonderful President.”55
French was awarded an AAUW International Fellowship Grant for 1951–1952. She continued to attend state and national conventions. As was her custom, in her 1949–1950 conference program book she took notes on a lecture (likely that of Helen Dwight Reid) that particularly resonated with her: “1. Think for ourselves on every question. 2. Hold fast the spiritual, moral, and democratic ideals and values of our forefathers—the founders of America. 3. Must not hate men, but must hate wrong … hate war and end war for all time. 4. We must be stabilized and retain our ideals of peace and culture. 5. Get ready for tomorrow.”56
The work of the AAUW at that time paved the way for the acceptance of women in academe and indeed, shone a spotlight on women’s issues in general. French recognized the importance of this and lent her time and prodigious energy to that work. Her years with the AAUW as both member and as leader meant much to her. Her AAUW pin remained in her possession to the end of her days.
French was active in a number of other activities. She was a member in the Colonial Dames of America, she taught Sunday school at the First Methodist Church in Shreveport and at the London Methodist Church in the summer, and she was a member of the Shakespearean Society of America, Phi Theta Kappa and Chi Omega, the Modern Language Association, and the National Society of the Daughters of the Byrons of Runney.57 Put all this together, and we have a picture of a committed, active woman. This is even more extraordinary in light of the health issues that French faced. She took numerous absences from the Woman’s Department Club in the late 1920s, including one attributed to “continued illness.”58 We have an indication of what may have been wrong in an early letter from her sister Annie: “It is hard to get away with … that flu after having it. Hope your heart holds out better than before.”59 This is the first clue of the heart condition that later took French’s life. She took a year off from the Woman’s Department Club in 1929–1930 but apparently returned undaunted and resumed her lectures and busy schedule.60
Mother Katherine
French’s daughter Katherine attended Centenary College during her mother’s tenure there, graduating in 1935.61 This must have been a complicated situation as French proved to be a concerned and somewhat overprotective parent. Young Katherine spent part of her first year at Mount Holyoke, apparently on some kind of transfer program, as she is also listed in the 1931 Centenary College yearbook. Correspondence from that time has French issuing orders to her daughter on virtually every issue from wardrobe to travel plans to study efforts. When Katherine struggled at Holyoke with both health issues and study skills, her mother attempted to help by sending material for her projects, including information for a paper on ballads:
I have gathered up material for your Shakespeare and your ballad paper. Now Angel, this ballad material is absolutely new. Your teacher likely does not know half as much as I do. Not boasting, but I spent years at work on it. The only new book worth reading is Davidson’s [sic] Traditional Ballads of Virginia62 and I have gleaned the best of it. The article I send is one I prepared for the press and has never been published. You can use some of