Page 16 - Sonoma County Gazette MARCH 2020

By Elaine B. Holtz
2020 is the Centennial
of the ratification of the
19th Amendment giving
women the constitutional right to vote.
Suffrage to #MeToo As you walk through the exhibit to give you a sense
Before the Women’s Suffrage Movement women were looked down upon socially, economically, and politically. Socially women were viewed as less important than white males therefore they were denied of many rights. Women were raised to believe that their sole purpose in life was to cook, clean, and take care of the family.
It was amazing to find out that women were their primary workers. An interesting bit of information in the ‘50s is that women most commonly held positions as secretaries, bank tellers or clerical workers, sales clerks, private household workers and teachers. Bringing us up to date according
interesting displays including one Groundbreaking Women in Sonoma Countyof history there are many
The exhibit, “From Suffrage to #MeToo Groundbreaking Women in Sonoma County,” explores the changing expectations, challenges, and obstacles to inclusion that women have faced and the remarkable people who broke through the barriers.
of the 1950 Santa Rosa Telephone Exchange switchboards and a 1950 picture of the operators with their headsets on. While I was gathering information for the story and since I worked for the telephone company
Did you know that Abigail Adams wife of President John Adams advised her husband, ” don’t forget the ladies,” as he left for the Constitutional Convention of 1787, assembled for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution?
secretary holding out at No. 1, then cashier, elementary and middle school teacher, nurse and nursing aide.
Did you know Maria Yanacia Lopez de Carrillo was the original grantee of Rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa, the land on which Santa Rosa, California would later be founded?
To honor the population of Asian Women in Sonoma County there is a beautiful display of Asian artifacts along with honoring Song Wong Bourbeau (1909-1906 the, daughter of Tom Wing Wong, an enterprising Canton-born
man considered to be the “mayor” of Chinatown . She was a member of the Soroptimist, the American Legion Auxiliary and active in charitable causes. She was the last resident of Chinatown in Santa Rosa. The display of artifacts of her early home and clothing gives us a clear look back in time.
Sonoma County has a rich history of Native Americans and to honor their presence is a beautiful display of baskets created by Essie Parish (1902-1979) of the Kashaya Pomo of Sonoma County, She was a true trail blazer and worked tirelessly to preserve the languages and culture of her people,
One of my favorite displays, and a publication that I knew very little about was the display on the comic strip, Brenda Starr one of the first comic strips
Be sure to stop in at the voting booth
and fill out a special Election Ballot, “Her Story Remembered,” where
you can fill out a ballot highlighting an unsung
SUFFRAGE cont’d on page 17
Did you know that in 1848 Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the primary author
of the Declaration of Sentiments, also known as the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments? This document emerged from the Seneca Falls Convention in New York and launched the woman’s suffrage movement in the United States in July 1848. It was signed by 68 women and 32 men—100 out of some 300 attendees at the irst women’s rights convention to be organized by women.
in 1956, I was able to give visitors a demonstration on how it worked.
to the last US Census, the top five jobs for women include
https://theweek.com/articles/467944/most-common-job-women-same-1950
Did you know that the National Women’s History Project,
now known as the National Women’s History Alliance, was founded in Sonoma County giving us National Women’s History Month?
Did you know that in 1975 the Supreme Court denied states the right to exclude women from juries?
Writing about and preserving
history is so important and when you
see the old 1920 Oliver Typewriter
and a 1921 Olympia Travel Typewriter
used by Sonoma County Historian
Gaye Lebaron in 1960 and I could not
help but flash back to when there was no white out or correction tape yet.
Did you know that the official flower of the suffrage movement was the sunflower? These questions were answered for me when I visited this groundbreaking exhibit at the Museum of Sonoma County.
1920 Oliver Typewriter and a 1921 Olympia Travel Typewriter used by Sonoma County Historian Gaye Lebaron in 1960
The exhibit takes you on a journey from 1890-1920, Suffrage and the Road to Reform and continues to 1920-1049, Prosperity and Recession, Doors Opened and Doors Closed then on to 1940-1960, Wartime and Work followed by 1960- 1989, Breakthrough and Backlash to 1990-2020, Marching On.
As you come to the end of the experience there is an array of posters from the Women’s March 2020 and my two favorites by anonymous women are,
“I march because women
long ago Marched for me!”
written by and for women. Starr is an independent professional who exemplifies the modern woman making her a great role model for teens. In reading strips on display I could not help feel disappointed that I did not discover her when I was a young woman.
and, “Girls just want to have Fundamental human rights.”
In the same area is a film with scenes from the 2017 Women’s March that was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
You can find more info on this mach at www. Womensmarchfilm.com
Many of us grew up with Brenda Starr Reporter, fighting her way into a man’s world with beauty & intelligence - from 1947
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