Girls State is a conference for youths which exposes girls to the political process and has the intention of preparing students for an active civic life. It is sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliaries and is a female alternative to "Boys State." The first Illinois Girls State was held in Jacksonville on the MacMurray campus in 1940. The boys went to Springfield that year, and Bloomington was represented by 21 boys.
Three young women from Bloomington were chosen for the privilege. They were each the daughter of a veteran -- Esther Mae Hileman was the daughter of Harold Hileman, a veteran of the first world war and a school teacher in Bloomington. Bertie Harris and Mamie Harris were the daughters of Grover Harris, another veteran and a farm laborer. It was interesting to note that when the names were announced the parents of Esther Mae were noted, but the only reference to Bertie and Mamie was that they were residents of the Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Children's School. Sadly, their mother was a resident of the Peoria State Hospital in 1940 and the girls appear to have been residents at the school from about 1935.
The experiences of the girls are not detailed any where in the Pantagraph, but I wonder whether their experience played any part in their later lives.
Esther continued to university, where she studied art, receiving her bachelor's degree, continued into graduate school, and performed as the drum majorette with the ISNU marching band for years. She also attended university in Wisconsin, at the Art Institute in Chicago and graduate school in New York City. She married in New York City in 1953.
Bertie, or Bertha, Harris was not listed as a college student anywhere, but her wedding announcement and picture reflect that she chose to join the WACs during World War II and served at the Eagle Pass Army Airfield in Texas during that war.
Mamie Harris went to ISNU in 1942, but that may have been the only year she was enrolled. She married twice and lived in Anna, Illinois, where she worked as a secretary at the Clyde Choate Mental Health and Development Center for many years.