Alice Rogers Hager (1894–1969) was an American writer, journalist, and traveler. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she served as a Special agent to the

Bureau of Labor Statistics The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the government of the United States, U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics, labor economics and ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she served as Chief of Public Information of the

Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1940 from a split of the Civil Aeronautics Authority and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services (including scheduled passe ...

. Hager was also President of the

Women's National Press Club The National Press Club is a professional organization and social community in Washington, D.C. for journalists and communications professionals. It hosts public and private gatherings with invited speakers from public life. The club also offers ...

Early life and education

Alice M. Rogers was born in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

, on August 3, 1894. Her parents were Harry James and Caroline (Sammis) Rogers. She received her education at Polytechnic High School (

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

); Leland Stanford Jr. University (A.B. degree, 1915); and

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

(1917).

Career

Hager wrote newspaper feature articles and general magazine articles and poems, which were published in the U.S., Japan, and France. She served as an aviation reporter for '' The New York Times ''. he reported on aviation news for the North American Newspaper Syndicate. During World War I, she served as a Special agent to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (1918–19, war service);

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

Canteen Service,

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) on Long Island, in New York, United States. The town's combined population was 793,409 at the 2020 census. It occupies the s ...

, 1918; New York

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

; Nurses Committee (National

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

headquarters), 1919. Hager lived in Tokyo, Japan, 1919–20. While she lived there, she was a member of the Board Amateur Dramatic Club, Board Women's Club, and the

Asiatic Society of Japan The Asiatic Society of Japan, Inc. (一般社団法人日本アジア協会” or “Ippan Shadan Hojin Nihon Ajia Kyokai”) or "ASJ" is a non-profit organization of Japanology. ASJ serves members of a general audience that have shared interests ...

. She also served as the chair of one of the pageants for International Sunday School convention. Leaving Japan, she continued her trip around the world via the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

, spending nearly a year in northern Europe and

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. She was the author and director of the Cherry Blossom festival pageant which occurred in the White House gardens, on Easter Sunday, in 1927. Having attended two Imperial garden parties when she and her husband were previously in Japan, she was thus able to make the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. a replica of the Japanese event. During World War II, Hager reported on the

air war "Air War" is a single by Crystal Castles. It was released on 17 December 2007 by Trouble Records as a 7" vinyl. An earlier version of the song was released in July 2006 as the B-Side to "Alice Practice" on Merok Records. The lyrics are from the 192 ...

in China, Burma, and India (CBI). Hager was the Chief of Public Information on the Civil Aeronautics Board (1942). She also served on the Board of Patrons of "Ligue du Nord Contre la Tuberculose," with headquarters at the Pasteur Institute of Lille, France. She was a member of the Capt. Wendell Wolfe Chapter,

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

(DAR); National League of American Pen Women (1925–26, chair, publicity, Washington, D.C.);

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

(1926–27, corresponding secretary, Washington, D.C.); and

Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta (), also known as Tri Delta, is an international collegiate Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity. It was founded on November 27, 1888 at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. History File:S ...

(national college sorority).

Personal life

On August 3, 1916, she married John Manfred Hager, both of them having graduated from Stanford the year before. They had two daughters, Carolyn Anne (b. 1921), and Helen Dinwiddie (b. 1923). Hager was a resident of

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately east from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11, 190 ...

before removing to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in April 1925. In religion, she was a member of the

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

Death and legacy

She died in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of ...

, December 5, 1969. The Alice Rogers Hager Papers are held at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Awards and honors

China Burma India theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was ...

ribbon,

U.S. War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

Selected works

Articles

* "Women Who Work for "Uncle Sam". Brief Reviews of Long Reports No. 1.", '' The Woman's Citizen'', January 1927, vol. 11, p. 38
text
* "I Flew for a Week", ''

Flying Magazine ''Flying'', sometimes styled ''FLYING'', is an aviation magazine published since 1927 and called ''Popular Aviation'' prior to 1942, as well as ''Aeronautics'' for a brief period. It is read by pilots, aircraft owners, aviation enthusiasts and ...

'', January 1939, p. 27
text

Poems

* "Beside the Peach Blossom Fountain", ''Asia'', October 1918, vol. 18, p. 819
text
* "Roma Eversa", ''Art and Archaeology'', December 1919, vol. 8, no. 6, p. 347
text
* "Shadows", ''The Lyric West'', 1921 vol. 1, p. 17
text

References

External links

"Writer, Globetrotter, Trailblazer: Alice Rogers Hager's Career in Aviation Journalism"
May 16, 2022, via tridelta.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Hager, Alice Rogers 1894 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers 20th-century people from Washington, D.C. Daughters of the American Revolution people People from Peoria, Illinois Aviation writers American women civilians in World War II American war correspondents of World War II Stanford University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni John H. Francis Polytechnic High School alumni Non-profit executives Delta Delta Delta American women civilians in World War I