| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Dare2BUniquelyMe |
Posted - May 17 2016 : 10:42:47 AM
I just finished reading "The Crusade of Dorothea Lynde Dix" by Penny Colman. Dorothea L. Dix was born Apr 4, 1802 and died July 17, 1887, a time in which women did not have the right to vote. In fact, women had very few rights at all, yet she changed the world.
A few facts about her include:
1. She strongly disliked publicity for herself.
2. She wrote at least 5 books.
3. She opened (but later closed) and ran a dame school, and a day and boarding school.
4. She worked tirelessly to alleviate the horrid conditions of the indigent mentally ill and handicapped in this country and several other countries.
5. She exposed a well organized plot to prevent President Abraham Lincoln from being inaugurated, but she refused to allow anyone to let it be known that she was the one who discovered the plot.
These barely scratch the surface of this remarkable woman. She never married. She was honored with having her image put on a postage stamp, posthumously of course or she would never have allowed it. She worked tirelessly to make the world a better place for all people, but especially those who were least able to do it for themselves. She is an inspiration.
Sherri
Sister #1350
Farmgirl Sister of the Year 2016
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| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Dare2BUniquelyMe |
Posted - Jul 28 2016 : 11:57:23 AM
I now have another book for your library, "Grandma Gatewood's Walk" by Ben Montgomery. Emma Gatewood, October 1887-June 1973, an extrovert, mother of 11 & grandmother of 23 and unlike the two ladies I read about before, does not come from money:
1. On May 3, 1955, at 67 yrs old, began her hike of the Appalachian Trail at the trailhead on Oglethorpe Mtn. near Jasper, GA.
2. June 20th reporters caught up with her and her story was put in the local paper. At that time she felt it was wise to finally tell her children what she was up to, so she sent each one a post card.
3. She accidentally crossed into Bedford AFB on Apple Orchard Mtn and surprised a bunch men. Apparently they had moved the trail, but hadn't re-marked it. She waited until she had hiked out of earshot to laugh at their shocked and surprised expressions.
4. She survived the onslaught of hurricane Connie and only just missed the onslaught of hurricane Diane.
5. A beaver dam caused flooding and left a valley the trail passed through impassible and caused her to miss hiking 2 miles of the trail. She completed the trail on September 25, 1955.
This well written story intersperses details of history at the time with details of herstory from childhood on. She loved to walk and loved the woods. She hiked many other trails and left her mark many places, whether she intended to or not. Her walk saved the Appalachian Trail, but you have to read the story to find out how. It just goes to show that being yourself and doing what you love sometimes makes a difference on a national scale, even if you don't intend to.
Sherri
Sister #1350
Farmgirl Sister of the Year 2016
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| Dare2BUniquelyMe |
Posted - Jul 26 2016 : 05:49:34 AM
She was an incredible woman. Definitely a farmgirl at heart.
Sherri
Sister #1350
Farmgirl Sister of the Year 2016
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| Red Tractor Girl |
Posted - Jul 26 2016 : 05:45:58 AM
You won't be able to put it down, MaryJane! Such a life well lived.
Winnie #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Sister of the Year 2014-2015 |
| MaryJane |
Posted - Jul 25 2016 : 10:32:14 AM
Thank you Sherrilyn for today's nudge. I went to my stack of books and put the Eleanor book Winnie sent me on top.
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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| Dare2BUniquelyMe |
Posted - Jul 25 2016 : 08:46:50 AM
I just finished Eleanor Roosevelt's Autobiography during a trip to Atlanta, GA (that's another story). What an amazing and fascinating woman!!!! Did you know that she was a Puritan? Spoke several foreign languages, including French, which served her well in her many roles? Enjoyed teaching and writing? Donated all the monies she made from her work in radio to various charities? And was one of our delegates to the United Nations?
I not only learned about her life, but I also got an inside look at FDR's presidency from her perspective as well as a view of the world from that time period. I have been to the "Little White House" in Warm Springs, GA and seen the pool Franklin swam in and the place Eleanor worked. I have seen a number of artifacts from their lives, but reading herstory put these items in a very different perspective.
For a young woman who started life being told she was ugly and a lesser person for it, she turned out to be one amazing woman. I guess maybe not being a great beauty (as her mother and grandmother were) gave her the freedom to develope along the lines that she was more interested in. She is on my list of people I would love to have lunch with.
Sherri
Sherri
Sister #1350
Farmgirl Sister of the Year 2016
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| debbieklann |
Posted - Jul 03 2016 : 08:28:26 AM
Sherri, I love your "juicy women" phrase! I heard once that "well behaved women rarely make history"! I'd love to read that timetable of notable women through history! |
| Red Tractor Girl |
Posted - May 26 2016 : 06:27:00 AM
Thank-you Sherrilyn for sharing this interesting book you just finished. I also love to read about the women in history who worked against the odds for women's right's and the rights of others. They are an inspiration to me! Last year, I read the autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt after watching Ken Burn's series on The Roosevelts. Eleanor was a champion for so many important issues of her time and she never stopped working to change what she felt needed to be changed.I know you are going to love her story. Be sure to watch Ken Burn's story of the family too. It is currently on Netflix.
Let us know how the story of the woman who saved the Appalachian Trail turns out. She sounds like a character and her life will no doubt be full of stories and wisdom.
May I also recommend the book The Water and the Blood by Nancy E. Turner. It tells the story of a young woman from a small rural town in Texas during the late 1930s through WWII and her life and struggle to find herself. It was both an eye opener to the life of the deep south with it's prejudices and the hardships of the wartimes. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down.
Winnie #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Sister of the Year 2014-2015 |
| Dare2BUniquelyMe |
Posted - May 23 2016 : 1:45:29 PM
I borrowed that expression from Jean Shinoda Bolen (hope I spelled that right). To me, real women to not dry up, they just get juicier. So much wonderfulness inside waiting for the right moment to explode out. It seems to me that when you meet a juicy woman, some of her juicy goodness reaches out to you and makes your skin tingle. You just know she's a woman you would love to spend a little time getting to know more about.
Sherri
Sister #1350
Farmgirl Sister of the Year 2016
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| Rosemary |
Posted - May 23 2016 : 1:04:32 PM
Sherri, I love your expression, "juicy women," especially when describing older ones. :) |
| Dare2BUniquelyMe |
Posted - May 23 2016 : 12:17:07 PM
I am currently reading the autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt. I always knew she was an interesting woman, but I am beginning to learn just how much more so she really was. I had been to the "Little Whitehouse" in Warm Springs, GA many years ago, so it is very interesting to learn about the woman in the Whitehouse. I have made it through the adolescent years and she is already quite a character. She is a good storyteller too.
The next book on my list is about the woman who was instrumental in saving the Appalachian Trail. She promises to be a very juicy older woman.
If I remember, I will have to post a note about my "Herstory" book that has a timeline of notable women through history, and what made them notable (good and bad). I do enjoy learning about juicy women, and meeting them too.
Sherri
Sister #1350
Farmgirl Sister of the Year 2016
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| MaryJane |
Posted - May 23 2016 : 07:01:40 AM
I need to make sure Winnie sees this thread (she's heading home from Prague today). She loves herstory books.
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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| Rosemary |
Posted - May 22 2016 : 2:47:21 PM
I would like to read that book. Dix was an inspiring woman, to be sure. There are so many in "herstory" that we almost never hear about. Their exploits were healing and uplifting, yet the figures we study in school are almost all men who waged wars, committed unspeakable genocide in the name of "manifest destiny," and built financial empires on the backs of abused laborers, many of them actually enslaved. We also hear too little of healing men in our nation's past: the doctors, scientists, environmental scholars, spiritual leaders and social activists of all kinds. Thanks for your post. |
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