A Guardian of Archives: Meet VISN 7’s First Historian

Dr. Maureen Thompson, a soft-spoken yet passionate scholar with an infectious love for storytelling, joined CAVHCS’ Tuskegee campus in December 2023 to document, analyze, and share the organization's rich history and impact on the community.

Her arrival marks the beginning of a new chapter, one where the stories of the past can guide the future. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Cradle of Liberty, and the nation’s first capital, her interest in documentation was influenced by her childhood, and the city’s prolific history.

Initially planning to study English in college, at age eighteen Thompson discovered that she had been adopted as a young child. Throughout her childhood, this was never revealed to her by her parents.

“If my entire identity was concocted, what other ‘truths’ are incorrect,” she thought. “I knew that many women were unaccounted for in history, so I crafted my own women’s history program. I took courses in History and Women’s Studies at Montgomery County Community College and Temple University.”

While pursuing her bachelor’s degree, she raised four children and worked as a second-shift proofreader examining medical textbooks and government patent work. She also volunteered at several organizations.

After years of instructing students at her community college alma mater, Thompson decided it was time for a change. She studied public history at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami and earned her Ph.D. in History in 2023.

“My life mission is to bring unaccounted populations to the forefront,” Thompson said. “I view history from a ground-up perspective by examining socioeconomic and sociocultural constructs.”

While attending FIU, Thompson interned at the Black Archives, founded by Dr. Dorothy Jenkins Fields. This further fueled her quest to document history.

“Without Dr. Field’s foresight, the history of Miami’s Black community would have been lost,” Thompson said. “Dr. Fields envisioned and created an institution for storing files, photos, and ephemera. In my experience, minority populations are often tasked with preserving their own culture and history before mainstream communities recognize its value.”

Before joining CAVHCS in December 2023, Thompson worked as a teaching assistant at FIU. During her final year in the doctoral program, she completed a two-semester internship with the VA via the Virtual Student Federal Service program. NEW: Virtual Student Federal Service - United States Department of State. She is affiliated with the National VA History Center, having written several articles for its website.

Her first task since coming aboard? Sorting through confidential medical photographs and historical documents at Central Alabama VA’s Tuskegee campus. Her second task was introducing herself to the community. She visited the Alabama Department of Archives and History, the Tuskegee History Center, met with park rangers at The Oaks: The Home of Booker T. Washington, and Moton Field, the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. She also joined the Alabama Historical Association and attended their conferences.

“Unfortunately, many buildings at Tuskegee that housed documents and photos fell into disrepair, and anything stored in them was destroyed,” Thompson said. “That makes me thankful for what we have, which is a hodgepodge of photos, several newsletters representative of their eras, and some administrative files.” 

As for ephemera, the CAVHCS Public Affairs Office has been tasked to secure the Tuskegee campus’ original surgical logbook dating back to 1923 and retains temporary ownership of an amputation surgery limb support device patented in the 1950s by VA nurse Meloneze Robinson.

“I am impressed by the pioneering female physicians who worked at the Tuskegee campus,” Thompson noted. “In many instances, the government’s civil service policy provided opportunities for women and minorities to begin and advance their careers at rates higher than non-governmental organizations.”

Thompson has initiated an investigation of VA medical centers’ agricultural and horticultural history. While examining Tuskegee campus site plans, Thompson discovered a guinea pig house located on the property.

“In the 1930s, it was not unusual for VA medical centers to produce food for their facilities. Many had large gardens tended by patients and staff, and raised animals such as chickens, pigs, rabbits, and guinea pigs for consumption,” she said.

One of her most exciting projects was collaborating with Alabama Public Television on a recent documentary portraying the CAVHCS Tuskegee campus’ origins. It was part of PBS’s In the Margins series titled, “How a VA hospital became a civil rights battleground.”

Thompson isn’t just focused on the past; she’s also helping the organization create a roadmap for preserving its present and future. She is collaborating with staff to implement better record-keeping practices and training programs so that today’s efforts are well-documented for future generations. She has requested that staff members send materials they might consider unimportant to her before discarding them. 

She hosts photo identification events, digitizes photos and documents, preserves them in archival-safe containers, and intends to make them available to Veterans, employees, and stakeholders.

“Like I, Dr. Thompson has a deep interest in Tuskegee’s history,” said Denise Dixon, daughter of Dr. Mildred Dixon, former CAVHCS Tuskegee campus podiatrist. “After meeting through a mutual acquaintance at the U.S. National Park Service, I assisted her in identifying Veterans and healthcare staff in old photographs she located at the Tuskegee campus.” 

As both sorted through the worn edges of the old photographs, their fingers lingered on each image. [Denise] smiled, remembering her mother’s unwavering commitment to serving others and the quiet pride she carried in every moment of her public service. During her nearly 30-year career, when VA launched a podiatric department in 1976, Dr. Dixon established the first medical residency program in podiatry at the Tuskegee campus. Dr. Dixon died in 2018 at age 102. 

Thompson’s work is already having an impact. Long-time employees have begun to see their roles in a new light, understanding how their contributions fit into the broader narrative of the organization. For newer staff, Thompson’s findings have fostered a deeper connection to the VA’s mission.

“Each team member in our organization plays a part that makes it function,” she said. “I want people to see themselves and their relatives identified, whenever possible.”

As the organization’s first historian, Thompson is not just documenting its history; she’s also shaping how it will be remembered. Her efforts ensure that the organization’s journey—its trials, successes, and the people who made it all possible—will endure as a source of inspiration for years to come.

“History doesn’t stand still,” she says with a smile. “It’s constantly moving. It’s in every decision we make today. My job is to make sure we honor the past while looking forward to the future.”

In Dr. Thompson, the Central Alabama VA Health Care System has found more than a historian. It has found a storyteller, a guardian of its collective memory, and a passionate advocate for the power of history to illuminate the path ahead.