Women's Suffrage Commemoration

The year 2010 is the 100th Anniversary of a Women?s Right to Vote in Washington State, the fifth state in the Union and the first state in the 20th century to allow women the right to vote.

To honor this important milestone in our state?s History we have arranged for a Traveling Exhibit November 1st thru December 15th to come to the Lewis County Historical Museum, called a ?Century of Caring? highlighting the nursing profession. How does that tie with women?s suffrage you may ask? The same Washington Legislature that gave women the right to vote also approved the Nurse Practice Act that gave legally recognized graduates of nursing schools recognized as ?Registered Nurses?. Nursing was also one of the few options women had for employment. Women did not receive the right to vote nationally until 1920.

Visiting Nurses Foundation and the Lewis County Historical Museum will also be hosting a Women?s Suffrage Commemoration November 20th and 21st, 2010. We will start with a Pink Tea. Pink Teas were part of an under-ground movement where women who were not known to be rabble rousers could meet and discuss suffrage ideas. Why a Pink Tea? Some men would insist in accompanying their wives to these events, quickly get bored and leave. Once the men were gone the women could organize! As our Key Note Speaker, we have invited Shanna Stevenson, Women?s History Consortium to give a presentation on the history of women?s suffrage in Washington with emphasis on Lewis County participants. The afternoon will end with a skit ?Failure is Impossible? directed by local radio show host and attorney, John Panesko. The next morning participants will be able to ride the Suffrage Steam Train including a Sunday Brunch and hear local history enthusiasts. Then at 1:00 pm, the Chehalis Theatre will host a showing of ?Iron Jawed Angels? starring Hilary Swank which chronicles the women?s suffrage movement in the United States. Look for a contingency of local Women (and supporting men) who will be marching for Suffrage in the Santa Parade on December 4th.

This event is supported by the City of Chehalis and Chehalis Hotel/Motels. Proceeds from these events will fund Visiting Nurses Foundation and Lewis County Historical Museum. For further information, call Lynn Ford at 360-623-1560, or contact us at www.VisitingNursesFoundation.org