VOTE! Election Day is November 4, 2014

& now it's time for my annual election plea- VOTE!

2014 Voting poster from ERA Education Project

The above poster is a great example of election poster art. Designed for the ERA Education Project, it represents strong women, & the need for us to vote. & for true equality, all of us, women & men, need to exercise our right as citizens & vote!

2014 has three statewide propositions on the ballot

For the statewide propositions: click HERE.

2014 Ballot for the Town of Greenwich, NY (Washington County)

For the Town of Greenwich ballot: click HERE.

Washington County sample ballots.

Warren County sample ballots.

Saratoga County sample ballots.

Women's Equality Day 2014

In my last post I discussed the lack of planning for the NY Women's Suffrage Centennial. This is not to say that there are not efforts being made throughout the state, but they are typically individual women's history sites going about there regular business, which is FABULOUS! but more effort is needed if we are to get a fire started.

That said, Women's Equality Day is fast approaching. What is Women's Equality Day you ask? It is the anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment's official inclusion in the US Constitution guaranteeing that the right to vote will not be denied due to gender. The Amendment was ratified one week prior on August 18, 1920 when the Tennessee legislature voted in favor of ratification. The House passed it by ONE VOTE!

19th Amendment stamp 1998- 150th anniversary of Seneca Falls Convention

Women's Equality Day, August 26th, is approved by resolution every year as it is not a national Holiday. This year marks the 94th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Here are some places in NY commemorating Women's Equality Day & the 94th Anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment (all times are EDT). If you know of any others, please let me know...

The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum in Peterboro, NY (near Syracuse) will present a program "Legacies of Equality" on Sunday, August 24 at 2:00 p.m.

*Foundation for the National Archives in conjunction with the Sewell-Blemont House are presenting a live stream via YouTube- Women's history on the horizon: The Centennial of Women's Suffrage in 2020- Tuesday, August 26 at 7:00 pm.

The Elizabeth Cady Stanton Hometown Association in Johnstown, NY is hosting a garden party on Monday, August 25.

Women's e-News is hosting a live stream of the 1972 documentary "The Hand hat Rocks the Ballot Box" on Tuesday, August 26 at 6:00 p.m.

 Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, NY does not have a specific commemoration, but the M'Clintock House is open, and Ranger Programs are offered all weekend.

The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House in Rochester, NY held their event last weekend, but it is always a great place to visit.

If nothing else, invite some friends over & have a suffrage tea. Tea parties were a frequent fundraising event for the later half of the suffrage movement. I even have a Votes for Women tea pot & tea towel. There is a great collection of china displayed on the Suffrage Memorabilia page. For event kits & balloons, check out the National Women's History Project.

Here are some women's suffrage blogs you might be interested in as well:

Suffrage Wagon News Channel
Suffrage Centennials
Long Island and the Woman Suffrage Movement
Woman and Her Sphere
Suffrage Memorobilia


*added 8/20/14 at 3:57 pm

Where is the NY State Suffrage Centennial?

WARNING: This may well be a bit of a rant, but something I believe NEEDS to be addressed. What are we doing about the upcoming Suffrage Centennial? Anyone? (I hear crickets chirping...) Bueller?

Meme I created. Isn't Inez Milholland fabulous?

So, what is NY doing to commemorate one of the single most important social history movements in our history? Chances are, nothing. If anything, it will be one of those mandates coming down from the governor's office (& I know Mr. Cuomo loves our history & wants to promote it as much as possible- Path Through History anyone?) with no real plan & no budget, leaving municipalities to foot the bill. So, it is up to private citizens, & businesses to step up & say, we want this! Social history is just as important as military history! Women's history belongs to EVERYONE!

My mother & I went to a great event in March 2013 at the Rosendale Theatre near SUNY New Paltz, where I earned my BA in History. It was a kind of play/ living history event called Brimstone, Booze, & the Ballot: Susan B. Anthony vs. Matilda Joslyn Gage & was presented by the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House, The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, & Votes for Women 2020. In the 16 months since that event, I have been expecting a bunch of similar events: events that could be seen as dress rehearsals for the NY State Suffrage Centennial. Unfortunately, I have yet to see that.

Don't get me wrong, there are sites, & organizations catering to the Suffrage Movement, but they are places that do that on a daily basis, like the previously mentioned SBA House, MJG Foundation, as well as Seneca Falls. The Women's Rights National Historical Park just wrapped up their convention commemorating the 166th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention. & I am sure there are others. (Please let me know. I would LOVE to hear about them.) But we need more. We need living social history demonstrations to be as prevalent as Revolutionary & Civil War re-enactments. We need more women & girls involved in re-enacting.

& I need to put my money where my mouth is! I am currently working on a living social history project related to the Suffrage Movement. I am also making my own 1895 bicycling costume! Me who just recently learned how to sew...

1895 Bicycle Costume- Work in Progress

“Brimstone, Booze and the Ballot; Susan B. Anthony vs. Matilda Joslyn Gage” - See more at: http://newyorkhistoryblog.org/2013/03/21/brimstone-booze-and-the-ballot-a-susan-b-anthony-vs-matilda-joslyn-gage/#sthash.PfPlnwPr.dpuf

“Brimstone, Booze and the Ballot; Susan B. Anthony vs. Matilda Joslyn Gage” - See more at: http://newyorkhistoryblog.org/2013/03/21/brimstone-booze-and-the-ballot-a-susan-b-anthony-vs-matilda-joslyn-gage/#sthash.PfPlnwPr.dpuf

What do you say? Anyone interested?

Get out the VOTE!

& now it is time for my annual plea for everyone to VOTE!

I'd like to think that I don't need to remind everyone the importance of voting, but in today's political climate anger & apathy seem to be the main motivators, or deterrents regarding voter turnout. All I ask is that you exercise your right to vote. I know it is an "off" year, but in many ways, our local politicians are our most important. They are the ones that live here with us.

Click here for a sample of the 2013 ballot for the Town of Greenwich. Note there are 4 proposals to vote on in addition to the candidates.

For additional sample 2013 ballots- click here.

Woman Suffrage commemorative stamp from 1970

Election day is November 5, 2013. Please vote.

Cleaning out ye olde desk

It appears to be official that I am getting a new office here in the Town Office building. The roof/ceiling situation has been fixed, the hideous wallpaper removed... I have chosen a paint color- Liberty Park. That was fun.

Now on to the un-fun part. Duh, duh,duh, duh... cleaning out my office. More precisely, cleaning out my desk. (& yes, I know un-fun is not a word.)

Some random bits I discovered in the 13 drawers of my desk

Old office supplies and unused paper

I was able to consolidate the 13 drawers down the 4. I have boxed up all of the excess office supplies. But wait... I found something cool!

Books of voters in Greenwich

These "Enrolled Voters" books are very interesting. They list the name, address & political party affiliation (if any) of all registered voters in the town by district. I have books for the following years: 1935-38, 1941-45, 1947-61, 1963, 1965. Also in the drawer : Easton "Enrolled Voters" 1938, Washington County "Enrolled Voters" 1960, 1964.

Of course, I had to check. It was great seeing my grandparents & great-grandparents names in the books. No matter the party, I'm glad to see that they all were registered voters! My mother is not listed because the age limit for voting was not lowered from 21 to 18 until the states ratified the 26th Amendment & President Nixon signed it into law in July 1971.

Don't forget that my office hours are Fridays 10:00-Noon. Stop by & say "Hi."

Vote! (Please)

You guessed it! It's my annual "Get out the Vote" plead. & I have some rough statistics to share regarding the last presidential election.

First, let me mention the sign incident at the Susan B. Anthony Childhood House in Battenville. As I stated in a previous post on this blog, we should be very careful when trying to put words in the mouths of historical figures. It is one thing to debate about it, but their words and deeds should be viewed in the proper historical context, not superimposed upon today's political climate. I have my own ideas of what "Aunt Susan," her sister Mary, & the other suffragists would say based on my own understanding of history. My views are shared by others, & still more would disagree. Plus government employees and government agencies are not supposed to publicly favor any certain candidate. (The exception being that elected officials can endorse certain candidates as you know.)

BUT... The one thing that Susan B. Anthony would want us to do is VOTE!

In the 2008 Presidential Election between Barack Obama & John McCain 2,447 ballots were cast in the Town of Greenwich. McCain received 1,075 votes to Obama's 1,326 votes. Of the remaining 46 votes 26 were for Ralph Nader.

Using the statistics from the 2000 census, there were 4,896 residents in the Town of Greenwich. 25.9% were under the age of 18 in 2000. That means that 8 years prior there were roughly 3,628 potential voters here. That means about 1,180 people in our town did not vote. That's nearly 1/3 of the population in our town did not vote. (View results for yourself here.)

I would love to see greater voter turnout in this 2012 Presidential Election year. 100% is probably to "pie in the sky," but 75% would be amazing!

Sample Town of Greenwich ballot courtesy of the Washington County Board of Elections.

Other samples of local ballots can be found here.

Polling places can be found here.

If you are unfamiliar with all of the candidates please check out the local races in the Greenwich Journal & Salem Press or the Post-Star.