Welcome to your Spring 2021 newsletter from Carrie’s Girlhood Home Museum & Interpretive Center! We are looking forward to seeing the apple orchard in full bloom and the prairie greening up.

Inside this newsletter, you will have a chance to meet Lindsey Hines, Editor of our newsletters since 2018. While working as Summer Program Assistant at Carrie’s, Lindsey enhanced the experience for Prairie Day Camp with the addition of a voting registration experience. When Lindsey moved to Des Moines, we were thrilled when she volunteered to continue serving as Editor for our newsletter.

Looking forward to our XIX Victory Lap Year celebrations, we’ve had to make a change in date for the Yellow of Rose Suffrage play by Jane Cox. This event has been re-scheduled to a date later this fall (yet to be determined) due to restricted access for the venue. Stay tuned for more information on the date for this dynamic presentation.

The 100th Anniversary Planning Committee is reviewing the schedule for summer events. As happened last year, the Committee is keeping a watchful eye on information regarding the impact of the persistent virus that continues to impact our lives. Please know that our focus will always be the safety of our visitors, docents and volunteers.

One lesson learned from 2020 was that we are resilient in finding ways to host visitors to Carrie’s Girlhood Home Museum. Protocol was developed for sanitizing, visitors were allowed by appointment, required to wear a mask and requested to re-schedule if any symptoms of illness. This protocol allowed for small groups (10 or less) to safely tour our museum and interpretive center. We will follow this protocol for the beginning of the season and re-evaluate this as needed. To schedule your visit, call 641-228-3336 or send an email to clccatt@gmail.com.

With hopeful anticipation to seeing you at Carrie’s Girlhood Home Museum & Interpretive Center this summer,

Cheryl

Due to Life Events,

this issue was delayed!

Effort again begun to sign up 17-year-olds before next election
By James Grob

The thing about democracy is, if someone isn’t happy with the results of the last election, there’s always another one coming up.
This is one of the reasons Charles City’s National 19th Amendment Society had six volunteers at Charles City High School on Tuesday, helping students register to vote in future elections. Society member Susan Jacob said that the goal is to get 90% of CCHS seniors registered by April 16, which would designate CCHS as one of the schools receiving the Carrie Chapman Catt Award from Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate.

Jacob said that Floyd County Auditor Gloria Carr told her that 19 CCHS students registered on Tuesday. Students also pledged to vote, through Inspire2Vote online, which is tracking those registered.
Pate kicked off the new voter registration initiative in 2019, which was aimed at Iowa high school students. 

Every school in Iowa that signs up and registers at least 90 percent of their eligible students to vote receives the Carrie Chapman Catt Award, named after the Iowan who was a national leader in the women’s suffrage movement. Schools that register 50% and 70% of their eligible students also receive statewide recognition.  Nashua-Plainfield High School registered 91% of eligible students during the 2019-20 school year and received the Catt award.

The Iowa Legislature passed a law that went into effect in 2019, allowing 17-year-olds to register to vote as long as they would be 18 by the next general election.

Once registered, they were also allowed to participate in primaries and caucuses before the general election.

Ivadelle Stevenson

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to the many  donations received for Leo and Carrie  Chapman Anniversary Shower.  Donations  were received from: Schueth Ace Hardware,  Mary Ann Ahrens, Tim Lane, Cheryl Nootnagel, 

Susan and Carl Jacob, Sue McDonnell Brumm, 

Kristin Frank, Betty Rex, Diane Souder, 

Christine Wilson, Kurt Hoeft, Clarice Milligan,  

Joy Frank, Virginia Kneisel, Ivadelle Stevenson and Cheryl Erb.

The apartment is pretty well equipped and ready for someone to  live there.  The donated items include kitchen table, chairs, hutch,  occasional chairs, hide-a-bed, floor lamp, pictures, microwave,  coffee pot, eight place setting dishes, silverware, frying pans,  crock pot, hand mixer, stand mixer, muffin pan, pizza pan,  9x12 cake pan with cover, missing cups and spoons, butcher knife, drinking glasses, pots and pans, numerous other kitchen items, plus various money donations which will be used for larger items.  These donations are all well appreciated. 

American Rhetoric has compiled the top 100 speeches in a ranking of the most significant political speeches of the 20th century. The list was compiled by Professors Stephen E. Lucas and Martin J. Medhurst. One hundred and thirty-seven leading scholars of American public address were asked to recommend American speeches on the basis of social and political impact, and rhetorical artistry. 

Of the 100 speeches there are 21 by women, two women were selected twice… Eleanor Roosevelt and Carrie Chapman Catt. At 66 was her address entitled The Crisis. Coming in at 73rd was Carrie’s address to the U.S. Congress. Both are listed and available on the American Rhetoric website…

https://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html

It is worth noting that The Crisis was given in Atlanta less than a year after the premiere of Birth of a Nation. It is also worth noting that in addition to arguing for the vote Carrie stressed what needed to be done with it… for example “Equal pay for equal work." Below are two excerpts from two similar speeches...

"... the time is past when we should say: "Men and women of America, look upon that wonderful idea up there; see, one day it will come down." Instead, the time has come to shout aloud in every city, village, and hamlet, and in tones so clear and jubilant that they will reverberate from every mountain peak and echo from shore to shore: "The woman's Hour has struck." 

Interesting to note the common threads… Carrie’s speech was presented in Atlanta. The first-place speech, I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King was most likely drafted there and delivered 46 years later. 

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."  

Lindsey Hines began her work with the National 19th Amendment Society in 2018. That year Lindsey was completing her Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration at the University of Northern Iowa, leading her to complete a summer/fall internship working for Carrie’s Girlhood Home and Museum. As an intern her work included preparations for the museum’s annual Prairie Day Camp and a book reading from Elaine Weiss, author of The Woman’s Hour; providing tours of Carrie’s Girlhood Home; and learning administrative tasks for the museum, including assembling that summer’s  newsletter.   

Although moving out of area after her internship ended, Lindsey has been  able to continue her involvement with the National 19th Amendment Society  since then in a continued role as newsletter editor. Lindsey grew up in Marion, Iowa and currently lives in Des Moines. She currently works for IMPACT Community Action Agency, a non-profit focused on meeting low-income needs

We appreciate your patience with this delayed newsletter.  Life events seemed to have a different plan for sending this earlier.  Nevertheless, please enjoy these photos of what has happened so far with Carrie’s Girlhood Home.

Party in the Park

July 4^th

Trail Marker Dedication

Can You Help Us? 

Marilu Wohlers, Endowment Fund Chair

Maintenance needs and projects are visible at the Carrie Chapman Catt Girlhood Home/Museum. Some windows on the home need to be replaced, our prairie grass area is in dire need of restoration, the shed needs to be repaired or replaced and more... The interest and dividend income generated by the Endowment Fund are necessary to fund the above. Your donation to help grow our Endowment Fund will make a big difference and will aid us in fulfilling these needs.  Donations can be sent to The National 19th Amendment Society, P.O. Box 33, Charles City, IA 50616. Please designate your donation for the Endowment Fund. Thank you!

2021 Calendar Of Events

• August 4 – Prairie Day Camp – yet to be determine on format – virtual vs. in person vs. hybrid
• August 13 – Party in the Park – same activity as June 11 and July 13
• August 21 – Brick Dedication ceremony – this will be the only event on August 21
• September 4/5/6 – Final weekend for regular hours at Carrie’s Girlhood Home. Due to circumstances beyond our control, there are no apples for picking this year.  We invite you to stop out and enjoy the beauty of Carrie’s.