Women of History

Get ready, it is about time for that spring forward time change. This year it is March 14th. So you still have time to get in some extra winks to make up for the lost time.

March is designated as Women’s History Month. President Carter was the first to recognize United States women accomplishments in 1980. In 1987, the U.S. Congress designated March as Women’s History Month. March 8th is International Woman’s Day and is celebrated around the world.

On that date it is customary to give flowers to women to honor them. This year’s motto is continued from 2020 when 100 years ago the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote, “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silent.”

Sandra Day O’Connor was our first woman Supreme Court justice. Born in 1930 in El Paso, Texas to a rancher and his wife who owned 198,000 acres in Arizona. At age 16 she began college at Stanford University in California, gaining a B.A. in economics, later getting a degree in law. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan made good on his promise to nominate the first woman to the Supreme Court.

Georgian Rebecca Felton was the first female U.S. Senator who was appointed in 1922 to fulfill a term. Of course, a Georgian female, Margaret Mitchell, is the all time best selling author with 30 million copies printed of her book, “Gone With the Wind.” The book originally printed in 1936 and has never been out of circulation since that time.

Bee Nguyen became the first Vietnamese American ever elected to a state office in Georgia. She was born in Iowa and grew up in Augusta. Our own, Susan Holmes, represents our district in the state legislature.

Celebrate the women in your life, the teachers, medical staff, library staff, police. Today, women hold positions of leadership like no other time in history.

Many thanks to the women of The Monticello News who carry on the good work of informing us each week.