What can you do to
celebrate the Suffrage Centennial?
Identify
active women in your community, past and present and find a way to honor them at
a city council or other public meeting. The right to vote happened because women
worked together for change.
Register
to vote and encourage others to vote. Protect the hard-fought victory. Find out
if local high schools have information about voter registration for 18 year olds
or help them celebrate their new voting status. For information about voter registration
and elections in Washington see the Secretary of State's
Election and Voting page.
Host the
traveling suffrage exhibit or see where it is on display. Visit the
Washington State Historical Society's Traveling Exhibit Services
for more information.
Mark historic
sites in your community related to suffrage or women’s history. Visit the
Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation website.
This marker was placed at the Old Capitol in 2009 in Olympia by the National Society
Daughters of the American Colonists, Washington State Society, and was the project
of Carole Rambo Holt, State Regent (seated with flowers).
If you are
really ambitious, climb a mountain and put a Votes for Women flag at the summit
(with permission). See
the story of mountaineering suffragists.
Plant a
rhododendron in your community in honor of suffrage. Although women couldn’t vote
except in school elections in the 1890s, they did vote for the state flower and
chose the rhododendron. Briggs Nursery in Olympia has developed a special rhododendron
in honor of women’s suffrage centennial “Emma and May” Rhododendron—contact your
local nursery for more information.
Learn how
to preserve women’s history materials. For advice see
Preserving Memories: Caring for Your Heritage.
Consider
donating women’s history collection to one of WHC Partners or your local museum
and library. If you belong to a women’s organization, find out where the records
are and make sure they are not lost. Here is
a list of WHC Partner Institutions.
Enter the
2010 Voter Pamphlet Kid's Art Contest
or download the
contest pamphlet.
Visit the
Women’s Votes, Women’s Votes traveling exhibit at one of the four venues in Washington—bring
your daughter, mother, friends, co-workers or club members to make it a special
occasion. See schedule below.
Museum of History & Industry, Seattle Saturday, July 17, 2010-Sunday, October, 3,
2010
Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Saturday, October 30, 2010-Sunday, June 26, 2011
Find out
what role women played in your community, school, church, business, club or agency
and prepare a display or record their history through an interview—for professional
standards for oral history programs see:
Oral History Standards
Consider
creating or preserving local cookbooks since suffragists published their own cookbook
as part of the suffrage campaign. See if your greatgrandmother provided a recipe
or prepared a dish from the
Washington Women’s Cook Book,
published as part of the suffrage campaign.
Use the
Centennial Logo on materials related to suffrage celebrations
Attend a
high school or college sporting event for girls to celebrate women’s sports equity
through Title IX.
Hold a vintage
fashion show or tea featuring 1910 clothes and foods. Donate proceeds to voter education
or registration efforts. Download some ideas for a
Pink Tea.
Download a
Timeline of Women's Suffrage in Washington.
Host a program
or speaker. The following are some ideas for programs:
Inquiring Mind Presentations from Humanities Washington
Susan Butruille offers
women’s history presentations
Browse performers listed with the
National Women’s History Project
Living Voices
"That Woman & Big Noise" about May Arkwright Hutton and Emma Smith DeVoe:
Contact Sandra Hosking at
sandrahosking@hotmail.com
or call (509) 953-9928.
That Woman & Big Noise is an interactive stage play designed especially for
schools that centers on the stormy relationship between two women who were instrumental
in the Washington suffrage movement—Emma Smith DeVoe, of Tacoma, and May Arkwright
Hutton, of Spokane. With tension and humor and a little help from the audience,
these larger-than-life characters will share their struggles for independence and
show that we must work together to accomplish change.
The history behind the production That Woman and Big Noise was featured in
the Sunday, August 23rd
Spokesman-Review.
You can see a few clips on
YouTube
or visit our FaceBook page.
Bios: Writer Sandra Hosking is Co-Playwright-in-Residence at Spokane Civic Theatre
and former editor of Inland NW Homes & Lifestyles magazine. Performer Claire Rudolf
Murphy is author of more than 15 books for children, and Penny Lucas is regularly
seen on Spokane-area stages.
That Woman & Big Noise is currently seeking bookings at schools, libraries,
and other venues for the duration of the suffrage centennial, 2009-2011.
"Heres to the Women: Songs, Stories and Images of Washington's Women" presented
by
Linda Allen
Women of Washington are celebrating 100 years of suffrage! Meet some of the women
whose stories made the difference-stories of the silencing and the raising up of
women's voices.
Dr. Linda Allen is a songwriter, performer and educator. She has worked with numerous
organizations to promote Washington's history including the Washington Centennial
Commission, the Washington Women's Heritage Project, the Grange Music Heritage Project
and the
Whatcom Museum.
History of Women’s Suffrage Program: Contact Shanna Stevenson at
sstevenson@wshs.wa.gov
or (360) 586-0171
Celebrate
women artists in your community or create a readers’ theater or musicale based on
period music or suffrage speeches
Go on a
bicycle ride—Susan B. Anthony said that Anthony said it “did more to emancipate women
than anything in the world.”
Make a placard:
Become part of a “Poster Brigade” and put up posters in your school or club. Take
a look at some historic placards below.
Color a
Poster
Interview
your mother, grandmother, aunts, or neighbors about why it is important to vote.
Ask your
county auditor about programs for kids to learn about voting like
Just 4 You
from the Secretary of State's office.
Create a
five-star flag or banner to celebrate Washington as the Five Star suffrage state.
Using the
WHC website create a collage of suffrage materials digitally and download to make
a poster or scrapbook.
Make a Votes
for Women ribbon or sash or pennant