Just a few months ago, in January, Westminster Councilwoman
Ann Thomas Gilbert gathered many leaders from throughout the county to a
meeting to brainstorm how to celebrate the Year of the Woman in Westminster and
the many milestones in our local community such as the first women jurors in
May 1957.
In Westminster, Gilbert assembled local leaders that
included Abby Gruber, Kristen McMasters, Sandra L. Anderson, Stephanie McCown,
Jessica Taylor, Heather Mullendore, Melissa Thompson, Kati Townsend, Tasha
Cramer, Christina Kuntz, and Val Giovagnoni. For a while, Kevin Dayhoff was the
token male in the group. Later I was joined by Steven Jakobovic, the new
director of the Historical Society of Carroll County.
Dayhoff:
Gilbert commission on Year of the Woman reminder of key events from past
century Kevin Dayhoff Carroll County Times |May 01, 2020
On May 13, 1957 the first women to have been selected for
jury duty in Carroll County stopped for a photo on the front steps of the
historic Carroll County Courthouse at Court and Willis Street in Westminster.
According to research by Cathy Baty, the curator of
collections for the Historical Society of Carroll County, the “The Democratic
Advocate newspaper noted in an article that for the first time “in addressing
the jury the attorneys will say ‘ladies and gentlemen of the jury.’”
The women pioneers included, Mary Rineman, Nellie Hare,
Maurice R. Leister, Margaret E. Stewart, Dorothy F. Cootes, and Pearl L.
Bollinger, Estalla Frick, Marie Powell, Nellie Lantz, Katherine S. Chrysler,
and Dorothy Stegman; third row, Maude Seipp, Lynda Hahn, Ruth G. Elderdice,
Lillian Chew, Ethel Devilbiss, and Dorothy Card.
Just a few months ago, in January, Westminster Councilwoman
Ann Thomas Gilbert gathered many leaders from throughout the county to a
meeting to brainstorm how to celebrate the Year of the Woman in Westminster and
the many milestones in our local community such as the first women jurors in
May 1957.
According to Carroll County Times writer Akira Kyles, a
similar effort had also begun in Mount Airy — under the leadership of Mount
Airy Councilwoman Pamela Reed and Wendi Peters, special secretary of smart
growth for the Maryland Department of Planning.
In Westminster, Gilbert assembled local leaders that
included Abby Gruber, Kristen McMasters, Sandra L. Anderson, Stephanie McCown,
Jessica Taylor, Heather Mullendore, Melissa Thompson, Kati Townsend, Tasha
Cramer, Christina Kuntz, and Val Giovagnoni. For a while, I was the token male
in the group. Later I was joined by Steven Jakobovic, the new director of the
Historical Society of Carroll County.
It now seems like it was ages ago that Maryland Governor
Larry Hogan declared 2020 as the “Year of the Woman.” Hogan made the
announcement on December 12, 2019. He was joined at the event by leaders from
the Governor’s Commission on the Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the
Passage of the 19th Amendment.
On March 12, three months after the Hogan announced the Year
of the Woman, he issued an executive order that because of the spread of the
COVID-19 coronavirus, we all had to stay home and most of our social, business,
and religious activities had been cancelled. Of course this included many
events that had been planned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passage
of the 19th Amendment.
Meanwhile, in Carroll County much of our quality of life
today is the result of the leadership of women in the community. It is a topic
I have visited a number of times over the years. An article published in The
Sunday Carroll Eagle in 2008 reported that women being granted the right to
vote got mixed reviews in Carroll County after the Nineteenth Amendment to the
U.S. constitution was ratified on August 18, 1920.
For historic context, in 1878 a constitutional amendment to
grant women the right to vote was finally introduced by Senator A. A. Sargeant
of California. Suffrage supporters called the proposal the “Anthony Amendment,”
named for Susan B. Anthony.
The issue remained contentious for four decades. When
President Woodrow Wilson delivered his State of the Union message to Congress
in December 1916, women in the galleries unfurled a large banner that read,
“Mr. President, What Will You Do for Woman Suffrage?”
In October 1920, after women were finally allowed to vote,
the local newspapers “carried several articles about women and the election,”
according to research for the Historical Society of Carroll County by historian
Jay Graybeal.
An Oct. 29, 1920 newspaper article carried the headline:
“The Republican Meet, A Remarkable Gathering.” “On Tuesday evening the Armory
in this city was filled both to its seating and standing capacity with men and
women voters of the county to hear the issues of the campaign discussed…
“The first speaker was Mrs. S. K. Herr, of this city. Mrs.
Herr received an ovation as she rose to speak and was frequently interrupted by
outbursts of applause. She urged the women not only to vote but to study the
issues and candidates that they may vote intelligently.”
The article goes on to report: “The Republican women of
Westminster district have arranged for (an instruction) room near the polling
place in each precinct…
“The voting place in precinct No. 1 will be the old Farmers
and Mechanics Bank building. … Voting place in No. 2 is Herr & Babylon's
shop... Voting place in No. 3 is Firemen's Building… In precinct No. 4 the
voting place is on Liberty street…”
After the election, the Nov. 5 issue of the American
Sentinel, carried the headline: “Women Disappointed Them.” “The men and women
who were so bitterly opposed to giving women the ballot must have been keenly
disappointed on Tuesday. None of the distressing scenes, turbulent conditions,
verbal or physical combats predicted have been reported from any voting place
in Carroll county, the State of Maryland or anywhere in the country.
“The women did not lose their womanly dignity or sacrifice
the respect of the men and we have not heard of any babies neglected or
husbands compelled to cook their own meals while their wives were
electioneering around the polls.”
Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. His Time Flies column
appears every Sunday. Email him at kevindayhoff@gmail.com.
Kevin Dayhoff writes about history and current events for
the Carroll County Times. He is a Carroll County native, artist, retired
farmer, and former appointed and elected official. Over the years Kevin has
written for a number of publications, including the Baltimore Sun, The
Advocate, and most recently the Carroll Eagle. In 2009 he won a MDDC Press
Association award for editorial critical thinking. He volunteers for the
Westminster Vol. Fire Department as the public information office and chaplain.
He lives in Westminster with his wife Caroline.
