It’s Women’s History Month. Since 1987, Women’s History Month has been observed during March in the United States. This year’s theme is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture, and society.
History of Women’s History Month
The actual celebration of Women’s History Month grew out of a week-long celebration of women’s contributions to culture, history, and society organized by the school district of Sonoma, California, in 1978. Presentations were given at dozens of schools, hundreds of students participated in a “Real Woman” essay contest, and a parade was held in downtown Santa Rosa.
A few years later, the idea had caught on within communities, school districts, and organizations across the country. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week. The U.S. Congress followed suit the next year, passing a resolution establishing a national celebration. Six years later, the National Women’s History Project successfully petitioned Congress to expand the event to the entire month of March.
Women’s History Month is a dedicated month to reflect on the often-overlooked contributions of women to United States history. From Abigail Adams to Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth to Rosa Parks, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Hillary Clinton, the timeline of women’s history milestones stretches back to the founding of the United States. (History)
Wisconsin’s Women of Conservation
Wisconsin women have significantly contributed to the continuing knowledge and practice of the conservation ethic by engaging in education, scientific, literary, historical, and charitable pursuits that recognize the principles of the conservation movement, as featured by the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame.
According to Data USA, 78.5 percent of conservation scientists and foresters in the U.S. are male. As recently as the 1940s, there were almost no women working professionally in Wisconsin conservation. (Schlitz Audubon Nature Center)
Some of Wisconsin’s outstanding women:
Nina Leopold Bradley Inducted 2013
Ruth Clusen inducted 2002
Emily Earley inducted 2010
Frances Hamerstrom inducted 1996
Wilhelmine La Budde inducted 1990
Ingebord “Ingie” Lother inducted 2018
Charlotte Lukes inducted 2018
Lorrie Otto inducted 1999
Pearl Pohl inducted 1991
Aroline Schmitt inducted 2019
Christine Thomas inducted 2017
Dorothy Vallier inducted 1996
Milly Zantow inducted 2017
As Kamala Harris said, at the victory speech at Wilmington, Delaware: “Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourselves in a way that others may not, simply because they’ve never seen it before, but know that we will applaud you every step of the way.” I wish for you to be everything that you have dreamed about.
__________
The e-mail photo is by Donna VanBuecken.
