Conference turris::womannotes-v3

365.0. "Not just personal HER-stories" by XCUSME::QUAYLE (i.e. Ann) Sun Sep 09 1990 19:51

    From the [Nashua] Sunday Telegraph, September 9, 1990:
    
    Women's Deeds Highlighted
    By Karen Sweeny-Justice
    Telegraph Correspondent
    
    If you think you know your history petty well, take this quick quiz:
    
    	How many women are honored by statues in the historical city of
    	Boston?
    
    	Who was Jennie Loitman Barron?
    
    	What is the significance of an address at 34 Oak St. in the
    	Chinatown section of Boston?
    
    Don't know the answers?  No need for alarm.  A quick trip along the new
    Boston Women's Heritage Trail not only answers the above questions but
    will probably raise many more of its own.
    
    For years, history has truly been "his-story," the tale of our founding
    fathers and their struggles for freedom in the New World.
    
    But in recent years, teachers have begun an effort to write "her-story"
    back into the curriculum.  The Women's Trail is one such effort.
    
    Funded in part by a grant from the Women's Equity in Education Act, the
    North Zone of the Boston School Department began an extensive search
    for overlooked women who played important roles in the history of Boston
    or the United States.
    
    With the help of hundreds of elementary shool students, teachers, and
    administrators, often working on their own time, the group researched
    the lives of hundreds of women.
    
    Only two months old, the Boston Women's Heritage Trail is still very
    much in its infancy.  Funding has run out and until corporate sponsors
    are found, no markers or signs point out sites.  There is not yet a
    painted trail leading around the city like the Freedom Trail, although
    organizers hope someday for a yellow marker; yellow being the color
    used by early suffragettes.
    
    Following printed maps, visitors can guide themselves around what is
    actually four segments of trail throughout Boston.
    
    Starting at the State House, visitors can walk the downtown portion of
    the Trail.  On the grounds of the state capitol, for instance, are the
    only two statues that commemorate women in Boston:  Mary Dyer and Anne
    Hutchinson.  For their views on religion, Dyer was hung, while
    Hutchinson was banished.
    
    Inside the building the Nurses Hall recognizes the contributions of
    Louisa May Alcott, author and Civil War volunteer nurse, Dr. Marie
    Elizabeth Zakrzewska, founder of the New England Hospital for Women and
    Children, and Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first black to receive her
    nurse's diploma.
    
    The House Chambers recognize Dorothea Dix for her work on behalf of the
    mentally ill, Lucy Stone for her work on the suffrage movement, and
    Angelina and Sara Grimke, early abolitionists.
    
    Other stopping points along the downtown segment of Trail are at the
    African Meeting House, Old City Hall and Faneuil Hall.  At the
    Municipal Court House, visitors can learn of Jennie Loitman Barron,
    the first woman in Massachusetts to become a full-time judge.  At Old
    Granary Burial Ground, Benjamin Franklin's mother, Abiah, is honored,
    as is "Mother Goose," Elizabeth Foster Vergoose.
    
    Along the Beacon Hill Trail are sites dedicated to Emily Balch, a
    Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1946, and Hareiet Hayden, a worker on the
    Underground Railroad.  Alcott is remembered a second time on Beacon
    Hill; a house she lived in is located at 20 Pinckney St.
    
    The Chinatown segment of the trail is as diversified.  Not only are
    early efforts by abolitionists remembered, but so are the
    accomplishments of artists and social workers.  A mural at 34 Oak St.,
    for instance, is the focal point in the area that honors Chinese Women
    Garment Workers.
    
    At the corner of Tyler and Beach streets, where once the docks of
    Boston stood, Phillis Wheatley first set foot in America.  Wheatley,
    who died in 1784, came ashore as a 7-year-old slave, but became the
    first African American Poet.
    
    Slightly removed from the rest of the Trail is the North End Trail. 
    Immigration and political involvement appear to be the main themes in
    this area.
    
    St. Stephen's Church recalls the Irish, Portuguese, and Italian
    families that the parish has served through the years, while the North
    End Union at 20 Parmenter St. marks unionism.
    
    Two famous mothers, one well known, the other overlooked, are also
    featured in the North End.  Rachel Revere's home is located at 19 North
    Square, while Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy's home was nearby at 4 Garden
    Court.
    
    Many more women that these are included.  Maps marking the route
    contain brief biographies and photos, and for now are the best way to
    navigate any or all of the Trail's loops.
    
    With time, the Boston Women's Heritage Trail will grow.  Hundreds of
    other women have been identified throught the school department's
    curriculum project, and organizers hope to someday expand their
    efforts.
    
    The trail is the first of its kind in the country, and could prove a
    model for other cities.  One far-reaching dream is for a trail across
    the country that links women from state to state.
    
    When the trail is doing its job, new questions will be asked by its
    visitors.  Questions such as why were these women overlooked in the
    past, and how do we keep them alive in the memory of future
    generations.
    
    For further information, contact the Boston Women's Heritage Trail at
    855 Washington St., Boston, Mass. 02111 
                   

    Ahem.  The first line of the newspaper article should read:
    
    If you think you know your history pretty well, take this quick quiz:
    
    Sorry about that,
    aq