100 Years Strong League Of Women Voters 1920-2020

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EVA EPSTEIN SHAW (1891-1951) On a hot day, a barrister interviewing Eva Shaw said, "It would be painful to me to have a woman in my office, because I should not like to send her even to the courthouse on a day like this." Eva had attended the University of Toledo and received her law degree from St. John University Law School. She became a member of the State Board of Bar Examiners, a Director of the Toledo Hebrew School and wrote on the legal status of women. She began the practice of law in 1918. Four years later, she went into practice with her brother, Jacob Epstein. A local attorney who knew Eva said that even those who did not welcome Shaw's presence in the practice of law respected her abilities and her hard working manner and regarded her as a fighter. In 1922, she attracted national acclaim after drafting the bill creating the Domestic Relations Court for Lucas County. She never sought public office, though often mentioned for judgeships.

OLIVE COLTON (1873-1972) In 1948, at the age of 75, Olive Colton was named "Woman of the Year" by the Toledo Times newspaper. The daughter of Abram Colton, president of Lake Erie Transfer Company, she traced her family on her mother's side to the Knickerbockers of New York. Olive had been one of the first women who dared to vote in 1896, when Ohio only allowed women to vote for school board candidates. She was active in the suffragist movement, campaigned for minimum wage legislation and was a founding member of the League of Women Voters. Even after women gained the right to vote in 1920, she continued writing about political issues and was a vocal proponent of the city manager form of government. Her papers and articles document the women's movement in northwest Ohio and are archived at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library and the University of Toledo Canaday Center.

PAULINE PERLMUTTER STEINEM (1863-1940) The first woman elected to any public office in Toledo was Pauline Steinem, Gloria Steinem's grandmother. She arrived in Toledo in 1887 at age twenty-four and immediately involved herself in a number of groups and organizations, including the Hebrew Ladies' Benevolent Society and the Council of Jewish Women. She was a supporter of Samuel "Golden Rule" Jones and his efforts to introduce honest government. It was Jones who convinced Pauline to run for the Toledo Board of Education in 1904. Women had been granted the right to vote in school board elections in Ohio, so a major focus of her campaign effort was convincing women to register to vote. Three thousand two hundred and three women registered and the local press endorsed Pauline. She won easily and worked for better teacher education and better text books. In 1911, she turned her attention to and focused her efforts on women's suffrage, which was finally achieved in 1920.

We have so many partners and events planned for 2020! It is going to be terrific year to celebrate, educate and advocate.

FIRST, we are marking the 100th anniversaries of the LWV and ratification of the 19th amendment. SECOND, we have created events to educate and inform regarding the hard-fought battle to attain and secure and protect those rights. THIRD, we are promoting and raising awareness of the LWV and its nonpartisan efforts to inform voters on issues and candidates, make people aware of their voting rights, and encourage them to exercise those rights.

For all these events to be successful and achieve these objectives, all league members need to be involved. You can help by volunteering to set-up and staff voter registration tables, assisting with children's activities, and serving as a docent with the display (engaging the public, answering questions and sharing suffrage history).

The volunteer coordinators for each of the three leagues are: Bowling Green + Lee Hakel; Perrysburg Area + Deborah Gorman and Nancy Kelley; Toledo-Lucas County: Eleanor Kostecki, Cynthia Fisher and Barb Colvin.

Let them know where and how you would like to be involved. A number of our partners for this year have scheduled events that you only need to attend to support. Look for them on the soon-to-be-shared/posted 2020 events calendar.

Plan to attend the LWV 100th anniversary celebration Saturday night, February 15 at 8 p.m. at the Valentine Theatre and be dazzled by the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Members are urged to purchase tickets early and invite friends. Tickets are available at all price points. To purchase tickets, call the Valentine Theatre Box Office at 419-242-2787. A LWV insert in the program will highlight the League's history, the long struggle for women's suffrage and the continuing effort for voter rights. League members will wear white sashes (provided). February 15 is also Susan B. Anthony's 200th birthday! Let's have a great member turnout and kick-off for 2020. Invitations are being sent to regional women's organizations and dignitaries, inviting them to attend and celebrate with the LWV.

Other January events:

JANUARY 16 kicks off the monthly Localeyes program featuring women of northwest Ohio at Toledo Museum of Art (TMA). Chrys Peterson, consultant and former WTOL anchor, will talk about works of art important to her. Meet at 6 p.m. in Libbey Court

JANUARY 26 YWCA I Rise Coalition Unity March. Meet at 3:30 p.m. at the Love Mural and march to Trinity Church for speakers and hot chocolate.

JANUARY 31 BackStory, a monthly, 30-minute current affairs television series, coproduced by LWV, launches on WGTE. The new interview program, hosted by retired Ohio Supreme Court Justice, Judith Lanzinger, airs at 8:30 p.m. following Washington Week. The January topic is voting rights. This info is brought to you by Judy Kehrle, Chair of 100th Anniversary Committee

The ayes have it: Celebrating 100 years of women's right to vote

"RALLY" is a dramatization of a typical 1910-era women's suffrage rally with actors representing various suffragists, using their own words. It was written by LWV TLC member Holly Monsos, Senior Associate Dean at The University of Toledo and a professor of the Theatre and Film Department, and is performed by Glacity Theatre Collective actors.

All actors, including audience hecklers, will be in period costume. LWV has sought a variety of northwest Ohio venues and audiences and the ability to piggyback on existing events to ensure an audience. Audiences will be supplemented by LWV members in period costume, wearing white "Votes for Women" sashes and carrying placards.

The first "RALLY" will be at Sauder Village, Archbold, on July 25. An entire day of events and activities has been planned around the performance of "RALLY," with the Village's new 1920s Main Street as the backdrop.

The day kicks off with a volunteer appreciation breakfast. Sauder volunteers attending will be urged to come in costume and remain for the march and reenactment. As gates open for guests, there will be a variety of activities to engage children, such as making white, Votes for Women sashes, badges and placards. As the time for the march nears, shopkeepers will close their doors and post "Gone to the Rally" signs. Moving toward the top of Main Street, the costumed Sauder volunteers and staff will urge guests to join them saying, "Come on, I want to hear what these women have to say." Guests, actors and league members will march down Main Street to the bandstand, where a band performing period music will be playing. "RALLY" will be performed on the elevated porch of the Depot. An admission underwriter is being sought to make this day free and open to all.

WGTE is partnering with the League of Women Voters on two programs.

The first: A new current affairs television series, "The BackStory," will be launched in January 2020. The monthly, 30-minute interview-format programs will air the last Friday of the month at 8:30 p.m. following Washington Week in Review. The programs will focus on topical issues important to an informed public.

A three-member committee consisting of:

Debra Gorman Perrysburg Area league

Ann Fabiszak-Payne Toledo-Lucas County league

Jennifer Karches Bowling Green league

will identify and research the topics, plus schedule the topic experts to be interviewed in each episode. Retired Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judith Lanzinger will be the moderator/interviewer.

Topics for the first quarter are:

January: 19th Amendment, suffrage still denied with
Chelsea Griffis and Robert Samsel

February: The Census

March: Immigration

The second: WGTE will produce 90-second television and radio spots highlighting women of northwest Ohio, who have made major contributions in a wide variety of fields, from women and children's rights to business to science to the arts. These spots, voiced by Chrys Peterson, former WTOL anchor, will run from February through September and be archived on the WGTE website so schools, the leagues and others can link to them. WGTE will also archive league produced educational materials for educators.

January 16 LOCALEYES with Chrys Peterson

Christie Weininger, left, executive director of the Hayes Presidential Library and Museums in Fremont, will be the tour guide for the Toledo Museum of Art Localeyes on February 20. She was present on Thursday evening January 16 for the Localeyes program with Chrys Peterson, right, former WTOL anchor and leadership coach.

Purchase tickets and plan to attend!

The 100th anniversary of the LWV on Valentine's Day will be celebrated on Valentine's weekend at the Valentine Theatre with a performance by the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

The performance is Saturday night, February 15 at 8 p.m.

Members are urged to purchase tickets early and invite friends.

There will be a LWV table along with the Ohio History Connection (OHC) display at the Valentine Theatre. An insert in the program will highlight the League's history, the long struggle for women's suffrage and the continuing effort for voter rights. League members will wear white sashes (provided). It should be noted, that February 15 is also Susan B. Anthony's birthday! Let's have a great member turnout and kick-off for 2020.

Printed invitations are being sent to regional women's organizations and dignitaries, inviting them to attend and celebrate with the LWV. The three northwest Ohio leagues, Bowling Green, Perrysburg Area and Toledo-Lucas County, each committed to purchase 50 tickets. As you purchase tickets, let your league's anniversary committee members know, so the committee can maintain a tally.

Tickets are available at all price points. To purchase tickets, call the Valentine Theatre Box Office at 419-242-2787.

Woman Suffrage All-Ages Reading List

The Complicated Struggle for Woman Suffrage Discussion Guide

Confused by the terms suffrage, suffragist, suffragette?

Suffrage: in a representative government, the right to vote in electing public officials and adopting or rejecting proposed legislation. Suffragist: a person advocating for the extension of suffrage, especially to women Suffragette: women who believed in direct action, often militant and confrontational, to achieve suffrage

In the U. S., the Suffragists became a national organization. The Suffragettes represented a smaller group with 2000 members at its peak in 1914. The Suffragists allowed men to join; the Suffragettes did not. While women in America preferred the more serious and respected label of suffragist, many British advocates associated with the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) embraced the term suffragette, explaining: the suffragist wants the vote, while the suffragette means to get it.

More than 20 organizations have agreed to partner with the three northwest Ohio LWV leagues to observe the 100th anniversaries of the LWV and women's suffrage. The partner organizations are offering programs, voter information table and display space, shared promotion, sponsorship, and "Rally" performances. The organizations are:

AAUW/Toledo * Arts Commission of Toledo * Bowling Green Public Library * Bowling Green State University * City of Oregon * Fort Meigs * Girls Scouts of Western Ohio * Glacity Theatre Cooperative * Hayes Presidential Library and Museum * Imagination Station * Mazza Museum * Ohio History Connection * Owens-Corning * ProMedica * Sauder Village * Toledo Museum of Art * Toledo Opera * Toledo Opera Guild * Toledo Press Club * Toledo-Lucas County Public Library * University of Toledo * Valentine Theatre * Way Public Library * WGTE *Women of Toledo (WOT) * YWCA

Beginning in January, The BackStory, a monthly, 30-minute current affairs television series, coproduced by LWV, launches on WGTE.

January kicks off a monthly program at Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) called, Localeyes. Women leaders from the area will identify works of art that will be the focus of public tours.

February through September, 60-second spotlights on Women of Northwest Ohio begin on WGTE radio and television.

February 15, LWV will celebrate its 100th anniversary at the Valentine Theatre. Order your tickets now for the Dance Theatre of Harlem performance.

Feb - Mar & Aug - Sept LWV will host an Ohio History Connection display. The display will rotate to venues throughout northwest Ohio.

March, Toledo Lucas County Public Library (TLCPL) will host Sara Egge, author of "Woman Suffrage and Citizenship in the Midwest."

April, the Toledo Opera is staging "Scalia/Ginsburg" and offering LWV members a 10 percent discount on tickets.

May begins a four-month film series at TLCPL.

June, TMA is presenting a program on women artists since 1920.

July, August & September, reenactments of a women's suffrage march are scheduled. Among the venues are: Sauder Village, Hayes Presidential Library and Museum, and the University of Toledo (UT) campus.

Week of August 18, to mark the anniversary of ratification of the 19th amendment TLCPL opens its Steinem Sisters exhibit.

September - UT is hosting a two-day symposium with Christine Brennan as keynote.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW!

An ad hoc committee representing the three northwest Ohio LWV leagues (Perrysburg Area, Bowling Green, Toledo-Lucas County) has been meeting regularly since April to plan events/activities in 2020 to recognize and celebrate the 100th anniversaries of the LWV (February 14) and ratification of the 19th amendment (August 18).

The calendar is now set, with just a few dates yet to be confirmed, and the steering committee is now focused on making each event memorable, educational and replicable. Partnerships with more than 20 organizations are in place and moving forward.

Reports will follow in the coming weeks regarding the scheduled events and opportunities for member involvement ... and members are urged to become involved and participate. A volunteer sign-up sheet and calendar of events will be mailed to members of all three leagues.

Steering committee members are: Lee McLaird, Lee Hakel, Kay Sergent & Jennifer Karches of the Bowling Green League; Debra Gorman & Nancy Kelley of the Perrysburg League; Phyllis Berman, Jeanny Amidon, Ann Fabiszak- Payne, Cherie Spino, Jennifer Nagel, Holly Monsos, Janet Lyon, Kelby Sodeman & Judy Kehrle of the Toledo-Lucas County League.

Please contact them with questions and let them know your interest in participating. For the coming year to be successful, all league members must be involved and committed to making the year a success.