The Tamaqua Drama Club will perform a show that shares the story of the first women in the U.S. Army.

“The Hello Girls,” which hits the stage this month, tells of the female soldiers selected to serve as telephone operators in France during World War I.

While the women have passed on, the student performers recently met with several of their descendants. At the virtual meeting, the cast learned more about the select group sent to the front lines where they connected over 26 million calls that helped in the war effort.

“Having the descendants of these amazing women tell us their story definitely helped us get even more invested in it, as well as how to truly honor these women’s legacy,” said Carla Castro, a senior who is playing the role of Hello Girl Suzanne Prevot.

General John J. Pershing issued the call to form the group in 1917, due to the worsening state of communications on the Western front. Applicants had to be fluent in English and French. Of the 7,000 women who applied, only 450 were accepted. The women were sworn into the U.S. Army Signal Corps as part of its Female Telephone Operators Unit, a unit that would come to be known as the “Hello Girls.”

One of the first “Hello Girls” was Grace Banker, who led the initial group of women sent to France. Her granddaughter, Carolyn Timbie, told the students that Banker was highly educated and spirited.

“She just embraced life,” Timbie said. “She was a go-getter and she was in the right place at the right time. She went over, she did her job and she did it very well.”

Timbie shared photos of her grandmother and read excerpts from her diary and letters.

“We were rushed into the station, signed up, packed into a couple of cars and whisked off to our new home,” Banker wrote soon after arriving in France.

Senior student Cecilia Ulicny was cast in Banker’s role.

“In putting together this production, we immediately felt a sense of motivation, that we were really doing a service to these women,” Ulicny told Timbie.

She asked what common personality traits the “Hello Girls” might have shared that inspired them to serve their country.

“What we found that many of the women were independent, they certainly were adventurous and a lot were in the arts, and a lot were in the music,” Timbie said. “I think they really wanted a path that was not their traditional role.”

Donna Ayres said that her great aunt, Olive Shaw, was “before her time” in many ways.

The late Shaw studied French and music at the Boston Conservancy, preferred pants to the dresses and lived seasonally in a remote cabin heated by a pot bellied stove.

She believed that Shaw, seeing the young men joining the war effort, wanted to do her part as well.

And Catherine Bourgin said her late great aunt, Edmee LeRoux, was spirited and independent thinking.

“They could learn a new skill — a telephone operator — which was a very good job back then,” she said.

The women, however, were often very close to battle.

In an article written by Timbie, Ayres, Bourgin and Candy McCorkell, they write that the Hello Girls often risked their lives.

“During the battle of St. Mihiel, Banker wrote, ‘I was awakened at 1:30 a.m. by the roar of the guns. Soon, I was back in the office with the girls. We took over the boards. The old flimsy barracks shake as though in an earthquake.”

Despite operating under frequent fire, the Hello Girls were denied veterans status until 1977. By that point, the majority of them had passed away.

Shaw was among those who led the decades-long battle for veterans status. Ayres said Shaw was “so happy” when it was granted. She passed away in 1980 and was the first veteran buried in the Massachusetts National Cemetery.

The descendants and others told the students of other ongoing efforts to recognize the group, including the newly established Hello Girls Military Honors and Remembrance Project.

Ulicny said the meeting will influence her performance in “The Hello Girls.”

“If you’re not careful, it’s easy to become disconnected with a story that happened such a long time ago in such a different time,” Ulicny said. “But I believed speaking with the actual relatives of these women connects me with the actual history on a deeper level, allowing me to act with more intention and purpose. It also makes me realize what a privilege and honor it is to be a part of this show.”

Sophomore Corabel Najarro was cast in the role of Bertha Hunt, who was known as the “Den Mother” and was extremely knowledgeable on military matters because her husband was a Navy doctor.

“When I first read the script, I was amazed by the fight the women had to go through, and it was just so grounding to think these women played such a crucial part in the war and got little to no recognition,” Najarro said. “It amazed me how calm and efficient they were, and how few people know their story. Just the other day, I was talking about the ‘Hello Girls’, and someone asked me who they even were. I think the show is going to bring these women and their story into a new light, and it’s going to show people how it only takes a few strong women to change the world.”

Performances will be held at 6 p.m. on March 19, and at 7 p.m. on March 20 and 21 in the Tamaqua Area School District auditorium. Tickets are available online at https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/tamaquaareadramaclub/the-hello-girls.

The timeless tale of strength, resilience, and the pursuit of equality and is appropriate for all ages. With its vibrant score and inspiring characters, this musical celebrates the untold story of these trailblazing women who changed the course of history, according to information from the club.