Biography - Part 1

Early Life
Alice “Ginger” Morrison was born on December 29, 1931, in Detroit, Michigan, to William and Mary Morrison. As children, she and her siblings, Bill and Florence,  attended Munger Elementary and Middle School, a neighborhood school, before moving on to Chadsey High School. At Chadsey, Morrison, who loved the water, was a member of the school’s swim team and was particularly good at the backstroke. She graduated in 1950.

A self-described wanderer, Morrison had no set plans after graduation. Due to the post-war recession, she was unable to find a job. Seeking direction, she enlisted in the Women’s Army Corp (WAC). By the summer of 1950, she was at Camp Lee, where most WACs went for training, and completed an eight-week basic training program.

Homefront
Detroit, Michigan, Morrison’s hometown, was a growing, blue-collar city with a population of nearly two million. While many residents moved to Detroit in the 1930s for jobs in the city’s automotive factories, even more arrived in the 1940s, as Detroit transformed itself into the “Arsenal of Democracy.” During World War II, the Detroit Arsenal ramped up tank production while companies, like GMC, Buick, and Oldsmobile, produced other essential resources, such as guns and aircraft engines.

Although production slowed after the war, Detroit experienced a post-war boom. Between 1940 and 1950, the city’s workforce expanded across various industries, and its population grew by 33%.

During the Korean War, Detroit automakers, like Ford and Buick, quickly negotiated contracts with the Department of Defense to produce engines for B-36 Convair bombers, Boeing B-50 bombers, and other aircraft. Other automakers contributed by manufacturing 2 ½ ton trucks (GM), ambulances (Dodge), trailers (Fruehauf), and small engines (Packard). The Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant, run by Chrysler in nearby Warren, Michigan, produced the M46 Patton and the M47 Patton II tanks. Between 1952 and 1954, over 3,400 tanks were made there.  However, this output did not match World War II production levels, as the war effort was more distributed around the country at that point, rather than centered in Detroit. Additionally, after 1950, the industry faced restrictions on the use of steel and copper.

As Detroiters spread out into the surrounding suburbs, there was a growing desire for quick routes connecting the city and suburbs. To accommodate this need, the City of Detroit began a controversial plan to construct multiple freeways. The John C. Lodge Freeway (M-10) and the Edsel Ford Freeway (I-94) were the first to open. The construction of both freeways significantly disrupted predominantly Black neighborhoods, which hinted at growing racial tension in the city.

As the Korean War progressed, the need for labor lessened. Strikes, layoffs, and unemployment were common. By 1952, signs of an economic slowdown were present, especially in Detroit, as 10% of U.S. unemployment was due to job losses in Detroit. By 1953, the U.S. fell into a recession. White workers blamed Black workers for limited job opportunities. This tension propelled more white Detroiters into the suburbs, while black Detroiters found their neighborhoods razed for freeways.

Biography - Part 2

Military Experience
After Alice Morrison completed basic training at Fort Lee in Virginia, she was assigned to work at the Pentagon. While her exact job is unknown, given the opportunities for women in the military at the time, it is likely she did administrative work.

After the outbreak of the Korean War, the purpose of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was changing. Each member increased its defense efforts and started working to create an integrated military command structure. On December 19, 1950, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed as the first Supreme Allied Commander. In this role, Eisenhower assembled a team to take to Rocquencourt, France, to assist him in setting up the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). Private Morrison was one of those hand-selected by General Eisenhower.

The SHAPE planning group met at the Hotel Astoria, which served as a temporary headquarters. Later in life, Morrison looked back fondly on her time in France, recalling memories of short trips around Europe with friends.

Private Morrison's military service ended on March 25, 1953, when she was honorably discharged.

Veteran Experience
Shortly after leaving the U.S. Army, Alice Morrison returned to civilian life, and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she found a job working for Blue Cross. After a few years, she moved back to Michigan, and worked at General Motors in the suburbs of Detroit. It was during this time, that she met her future husband, Wendell Bloetscher, at a party. After their marriage, the couple moved to Dearborn Heights and, in the mid-1960s, welcomed two children. After her children grew up and settled into their own lives, Bloetscher moved to Canton, Michigan, where she held jobs at the Washtenaw County Courts and Gorman’s Furniture doing administrative work.

When she was young, Bloetscher described herself as “a wanderer,” and in her senior years, that remained true. Not one to sit still, after her retirement, Bloetscher was always on the move. She cleaned houses, occasionally volunteered for local animal shelters, delivered Meals on Wheels for seniors in her community, and throughout the 1990s, volunteered as a Family Support member for a local Army Reserve Unit. As someone who cared deeply about military families, she brought a sense of fulfillment as she enjoyed being around the troops and their families. 

As an avid lover of the arts, Bloetscher enjoyed going to live productions of her favorite shows (especially Phantom of the Opera), attending as many Barry Manilow concerts as she could, and working as an usher at the local theatre where she met fellow theatre lovers. During this period of her life, Bloetscher also spent a great deal of time with her loved ones, caring for her beloved dogs, traveling whenever she could with family, and helping raise her grandchildren, who she loved with all her heart.

In her golden years, Mrs. Bloetscher moved to Dearborn, Michigan, where her son provided care for her during her final years. To keep her mind sharp, Mrs. Bloetscher read mystery novels and frequently completed crossword puzzles on paper with pencil (sometimes, she even completed them in pen). She also enjoyed spending time watching her favorite classic movies and attending live local theater productions.

Commemoration
On January 9, 2024, Alice Bloetscher passed away. Her life was spent in service to her country, community, and loved ones, and her legacy can be seen in her family’s request that in lieu of flowers at her funeral, donations be made to the local organizations in which she volunteered. Those who knew her best remember her fun-loving personality and quirky sense of humor. Instead of saying goodbye, Mrs. Bloetscher would likely use one of her favorite phrases and say, “See ya later, alligator!”

Alice Bloetscher is buried in Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan.

Bibliography
Primary Sources

“Alice ‘Ginger’ Bloetscher.” Voran Funeral Home. 

“Alice J. Bloetscher.” Find a Grave. Updated February 9, 2024. Accessed April 12, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/263801325/alice-j-bloetscher.

“Alice J. Bloetscher.” Veterans Legacy Memorial, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Accessed April 12, 2025. https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/ALICEJBLOETSCHER/a5b43c. 

“Bloetscher.” Detroit Free Press [Detroit, MI], May 29, 1992. Newspapers.com (99830252). 

Bloetscher Family Photographs. Courtesy of the Bloetscher Family. 

Compass 1950. Chadsey High School, 1950.

“Charge Wall Built to Separate Races.” The Michigan Chronicle [Detroit, MI], July 5, 1941. Newspapers.com (891036671). 

“Concrete Wall Which Brought a Protest to Housing Commission.” Detroit Free Press [Detroit, MI], June 27, 1941. Newspapers.com (97447502). 

“Country Aide Supports Alternate Pikes New Road Plan Advanced in Senate.” Detroit Free Press [Detroit, MI], April 14, 1955. Newspapers.com (98233320).

Eisenhower, Dwight D. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Nominee for President, Speaks at the Masonic Temple in Detroit as Part of His Michigan Campaign. Audio recording. October 24, 1952. https://d.lib.msu.edu/vvl/3968. 

Michigan. Wayne County. 1940 U.S. Census. Digital images. https://ancestry.com.

Michigan. Wayne County. 1950 U.S. Census. Digital images. https://ancestry.com.

Siegel, Arthur S. Looking South from the Maccabees Building with the Detroit Skyline in the Distance, Detroit, Mich. Photograph. July 1942. Library of Congress (2017878610). https://www.loc.gov/item/2017878610/. 

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. SHAPE history. NATO, 1957. https://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_archives/20121126_SHAPE_HISTORY_-_1957.pdf.  

U.S. Department of Commerce. 1950 Census of Population Preliminary Reports. Bureau of the Census, 1951. https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/pc-05/pc-5-17.pdf.

Secondary Sources

“1949-1952: Creating a Command Structure for NATO.” SHAPE/NATO. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://shape.nato.int/page14612223.  

“1950-1953: The Korean War’s Impact on the Automotive Industry.” MotorCities National Heritage Area. Accessed November 15, 2024.  https://motorcities.org/making-tracks/1950/1950-1953-the-korean-war-s-impact-on-the-automotive-industry.

“Before the Unrest: 1940 - 1967.” Walter P. Reuther Library. Accessed November 15, 2024. https://projects.lib.wayne.edu/12thstreetdetroit/exhibits/show/beforeunrest/panel1. 

Bulanda, George. “The Way It Was - Detroit Houses in the 1950s.” Hour Detroit, June 23, 2014. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://www.hourdetroit.com/the-way-it-was-articles/the-way-it-was-detroit-houses-in-the-1950s/.

Carmody, Dan. “A Growing City: Detroit’s Rich Tradition of Urban Gardens Plays an Important Role in the City’s Resurgence.” Urban Land, March 19, 2018. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://urbanland.uli.org/planning-design/growing-city-detroits-rich-tradition-urban-gardens-plays-important-role-citys-resurgence#:~:text=Planting%20the%20Seeds,greener%2C%20more%20appealing%20urban%20landscape. 

Clark, Daniel J. “Separating Truth From Myth in the So-Called ‘Golden Age’ of the Detroit Auto Industry.” Smithsonian Magazine, May 9, 2019. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/separating-truth-myth-so-called-golden-age-detroit-auto-industry-180972139/.  

Clark, Daniel. “Detroit Autoworkers’ Elusive Postwar Boom.” The Metropole. Accessed November 15, 2024. https://themetropole.blog/2020/01/30/detroit-autoworkers-elusive-postwar-boom/.  

“Detroit Arsenal.” Global Security. Accessed November 15, 2024. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/detroit.htm.  

Einhorn, Erin. “Built to Keep Black from White: The Story behind Detroit’s ‘Wailing Wall.’” BridgeDetroit, July 19, 2021. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://www.bridgedetroit.com/built-to-keep-black-from-white-the-story-behind-detroits-wailing-wall/.  

“Eisenhower and the Korean War.” National Parks Service. Accessed November 15, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/eise/learn/historyculture/korea.htm. 

Eschner, Kat. “How Detroit Went from Motor City to the Arsenal of Democracy.” Smithsonian Magazine, March 28, 2017. Accessed March 1, 2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/when-detroit-was-arsenal-democracy-180962620/

Hendricks, Jake. “Detroit Arsenal: Birthplace of American Tank Warfare.” Military History of the Upper Great Lakes, October 11, 2015. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/mhugl/2015/10/11/detroit-arsenal-birthplace-of-american-tank-warfare/.

Hutchison, Craig. “As It Turns 60 – This Is the Story of Dearborn Heights.” Press and Guide. September 13, 2023. Accessed March 1, 2025. https://www.pressandguide.com/2023/09/06/as-it-turns-60-this-is-the-story-of-dearborn-heights/.  

Long, Joshua. “Downtown Density 1925-2020.” Downtown Detroit Partnership, August 23, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2024. https://downtowndetroit.org/news-insights/downtown-density-1925-2020/.

McCann, Hugh Wray. “Victory ‘garden:’ Manufacturing Firms Mutate, Mushroom as Makers of Munitions, Other War Material.” WardsAuto, May 1, 1996. Accessed March 3, 2025. https://www.wardsauto.com/financials/victory-garden-manufacturing-firms-mutate-mushroom-as-makers-of-munitions-other-war-material.

Taylor, Alan. “Detroit in the 1940s.” The Atlantic, January 14, 2015. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/01/detroit-in-the-1940s/384523/.

This profile was researched by Alexis Mulka and Aneko Nichol, mentored by Fraser High School teacher Ms. Tara Fugate, as part of a Veterans Legacy Grant Program led by National History Day in the 2024/2025 academic year.

This profile was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.


The Morrison family, living in Wayne County, Michigan, in 1950. National Archives and Records Administration.

The Morrison family in the 1940 manuscript census.

Alice Bloetscher wearing her military uniform. Courtesy of the Bloetscher family.

Alice Bloetscher wearing her military uniform.

Alice Morrison was a member of the Chadsey High School swim team, 1950. Detroit Public Library.

A group of girls posed for a swim team picture.

Alice “Ginger” Morrison, Chadsey High School’s Class of 1950. Detroit Public Library.

Alice Bloetscher's grave at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan, March 19, 2025.

Alice Bloetscher's grave at Great Lakes National Cemetery.

Alice Bloetscher in her golden years. Courtesy of the Bloetscher family.

An elderly Bloetscher, wearing a pink sweater and has a large smile on her face.

Alice Bloetscher in her military uniform. Courtesy of the Bloetscher family.

ALICE J BLOETSCHER

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