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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Celebrate women’s right to vote at picnic

Jan Polek The Spokesman-Review

Nearly 87 years ago, the 19th Amendment ensuring women the right to vote became law. The Suffrage Amendment was endorsed by President Wilson and passed both houses of Congress in 1918, but 36 states needed to ratify it before it could be added to the Constitution. So the following two years saw women pleading, persuading and demonstrating at the state level. They were tireless in their travels around the country, eventually focusing on the West. I think it is fair to say that the movement would not have succeeded without the support of the legislatures in the western states. Washington ratified the Amendment in March 1920, and only one more state was needed (Idaho had already ratified the amendment in February).

The story of the 19th Amendment is an exciting one, full of ingenious methods – all of them nonviolent. Alice Paul led women in picketing the White House, the first time that picketing was ever done in the United States. Like the civil rights movement, the women’s suffrage movement is a record of the experiences of ordinary citizens (both men and women) forced to fight for their own rights against steep odds and social inequities.

The years have rolled by and now women vote, hold political office, and, in general, are equal under the law. So, it seems fitting that we pause on Aug. 26, the date the amendment was certified, in gratitude for those fearless women who struggled for years so that women today would have this basic right. In Spokane, we have traditionally celebrated with a Women’s Suffrage Day Picnic, and this year’s gathering will be at Comstock Park (29th Avenue and Bernard Street) at 4 p.m. It is free and open to the public. Bring your own food; there will be entertainment, raffles, proclamations, and copies of the Suffragette Song Sheet. For information, call (509) 448-2189.

Touring the world

My son, Frank, recently dazzled me with real time pictures from all over the world. Click on http://earth.google.com and see for yourself. You can call up any city in the world. It’s my latest adventure in “armchair traveling.”

Wellness conference

The 13th Annual Inland Northwest Senior Wellness Conference will be Sept. 6 from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Spokane Community College (Mission and Greene campus). Tickets are $10 and include parking, 16 health screenings, 25 senior exhibits, entertainment, door prizes and a silent auction, with experts on health, finance, crafts and gardening. For registration and information, call (509) 326-1471.

Poetry corner

A poetic closing with selected stanzas from the Delaware Indian Song (translated by D.G. Brinton in 1885)

Who Are They?

A great land and a wide land was the east land,

A land without snakes, a rich land, a pleasant land.

Great Fighter was chief, toward the north.

At the Straight river, River-Loving was chief.

Becoming-Fat was chief at Sassafras land …

White-Crab was chief; a friend of the shore.

Watcher was chief; he looked toward the sea.

At this time, from north and south, the whites came.

They are peaceful; they have great things; who are they?