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“March is Women's History Month”
 The public celebration of women's history in this country began in 1978 as "Women's History Week" in Sonoma County, CA. In 1981, Sen. Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Mikulski (D-Md.) co-sponsored a joint Congressional resolution proclaiming national Women's History Week, falling during the week of March 8. In 1987, Congress expanded the celebration to a month, and March was declared Women's History Month.
Before 1970, women's history was rarely the subject of serious study. As historian Mary Beth Norton recalls, "Only one or two scholars would have identified themselves as women's historians, and no formal doctoral training in the subject was available anywhere in the country." Since then, however, the field has undergone a metamorphosis. Today almost every college offers women's history courses and most major graduate programs offer doctoral degrees.
The Women's Movement
Two significant factors contributed to the emergence of women's history. The women's movement of the sixties caused women to question their invisibility in traditional American history texts. The movement also raised the aspirations as well as the opportunities of women, and produced a growing number of female historians. Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, one of the early women's historians, has remarked that, "Without question, our first inspiration was political. Aroused by feminist charges of economic and political discrimination . . . we turned to our history to trace the origins of women's second-class status."
New Social History
Women's history was also part of a larger movement that transformed the study of history in the United States. "History" had traditionally meant political history—a chronicle of the key political events and of the leaders, primarily men, who influenced them. But by the 1970s "the new social history" began replacing the older style. Emphasis shifted to a broader spectrum of American life, including such topics as the history of urban life, public health, ethnicity and poverty.
The Personal Is Political
Since women rarely held leadership positions and until recently had only a marginal influence on politics, the new history, with its emphasis on the sociological and the ordinary, was an ideal vehicle for presenting women's history. It has covered such subjects as the history of women's education, birth control, housework, marriage, sexuality, and child rearing. As the field has grown, women's historians realized that their definition of history needed to expand as well—it focused primarily on white middle-class experience and neglected the full racial and socio-economic spectrum of women.
In commemoration of Women’s History Month it is fitting to recognize the women who fill important leadership roles with Auburn agencies. (Please note, this is a sampling, and not meant to be an all-inclusive listing.)
Sheila Anderson, Seymour Library
Marcia Baker, Westminster Nursery School
Terry Bridenbecker, Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce
Gilda Brower, Montessori School of the Finger Lakes
Sandra Craner, Downtown Auburn Business Improvement District
Christina Cummings, The Faatz-Crofut Home
Penny DeLeo, Restmour Home for Adults
Laurie Didio, Evergreen Heights
Susan Dwyer, Cayuga County Clerk
Gloria Griffin, Cayuga/Seneca Action Agency
Gail Homick, United Way
Elisa Hunt, Literacy Volunteers of Cayuga County, Inc.
Lydia Husack, Auburn Housing Authority
Sue Jones, Neighborhood House
Lynn Jordan, Stryker Homes
Terry Kline, Hospice of the Finger Lakes
Donna Lamb, Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center
Patricia Levin, Center for Dispute Resolution
Tina Mabbett, Bluefield Manner
Susan Marteney, American Red Cross
Eileen McHugh, Cayuga Museum
Katie Moran, Safe Schools & Healthy Partnerships
Carol Oatman, ElderChoice
Mary Ellen Perry, Freedom Recreational Services
Marilyn Riley, Harriet Tubman Residential Center
Josephine Rose, East Hill Family Medical
Carol Russell, Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York
Kathy Shutter, Transportation Project for Cayuga County, Inc. (SCAT Van)
Cynthia Smith, Child Care Council of the Finger Lakes
Anita Stoudymire, Recovery Counseling
Laurie Trojnor, Catholic Charities
Meg Vanek, Cayuga County Office of Tourism
Maggie Wells, Boyle Center
Monica Wright-Williams, Booker T. Washington
Kathy Walker, Willard Memorial Chapel
Joyce Williams, Unity House of Cayuga County, Inc.
Wendy Young, Matthew House
13th Annual Room Full of Sisters
March 22, 2007, Auburn Holiday Inn
11:30AM – 2PM (Doors open at 9AM)
Women's History Month celebration luncheon with vendors offering unique products by and for women. Special guests include: Mona Lake Jones, Seattle Poet Laureate; Joanne Shenandoah, Grammy Award Winning Singer/Songwriter; and Adi Shakti Belly Dance Troupe. For registration and more information visit www.roomfullofsisters.com or call 315.252.5424.
Contact: Melina Carnicelli - E-mail: rfos@adelphia.net
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