April 7, 2015 - The Woman's Reading Club met on March 19 in the home of Mrs. Billie Sue Payne. President Donna Holt presided. The club welcomed guest Caroline Chadwick and expressed happy birthday wishes to her in recognition of her turning 21 on that day. Miss Chadwick is the daughter of member Mrs. Deborah Chadwick and the granddaughter of the late Mrs. Marleta Chadwick who was a Woman's Reading Club member for many years. Following the business meeting, program leader Mrs. Janene Walker presented an interesting and enlightening review of Hedy's Folly: the Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World by Richard Rhodes.
Behind the legendary Hollywood movie actress Hedy Lamarr's legendary beauty was a brilliant and inquisitive mind that would (with her co-inventor George Antheil) discover the breakthrough concept of spread-spectrum radio technology that became important to the U.S. during WWII in controlling torpedoes. This technology languished for decades after the war, but eventually, American scientists repurposed it to develop a more general version that now undergirds today's WI-FI, Bluetooth networks, wireless cell phones, and GPS devices. Proving herself much more than a pretty face, Hedy Lamarr did, indeed, earn a place among the twentieth century's most important women inventors.
At the conclusion of Mrs. Walker's program, Mrs. Payne treated everyone to refreshments during a most enjoyable social hour.
