The Hall of Famous Missourians has been in the news recently, igniting debate over who should be honored in our state capitol. Here at Missouri Women, we like to imagine a fantasy Hall of Famous Missourians. One that would include a few more women. Like these ladies: Virginia Minor Maya Angelou Edna Gellhorn Fannie Hurst… Continue reading Bustable Women
Category: Hall of Famous Missourians
Betty Grable
Conn and Lillian Grable had a pact - no more children. It was 1916 - Marjorie was 6 and their little son John had just died. But when Lillian found herself pregnant again she was not going to give up her baby- no matter what Conn said. Lillian's dream was to be a dancer. She… Continue reading Betty Grable
Laura Ingalls Wilder
If you were in elementary school in the past thirty years, chances are you read about Laura Ingalls Wilder. Her Little House books have impacted thousands of kids - the easy to read stories sweep readers away to Laura's childhood as a pioneer on the frontier. She wrote the books in Mansfield, Missouri. Laura came to Missouri… Continue reading Laura Ingalls Wilder
Women’s History Month
It's that time of year again! There are so many great Women's History Month activities-- reading the 19th amendment aloud in front of a crackling fire, going to the mall to sit on Susan B. Anthony's lap-- that it's easy to get overwhelmed. It's important to remember the true purpose of the season: coming out to support your local… Continue reading Women’s History Month
Hall of Famous Missourians
There are seven women (out of 38 inductees) in the the Hall of Famous Missourians in our State Capitol, Jefferson City. What do you think of the women deemed "Famous" and who would you select to be included? Josephine Baker Susan Blow Rose Duchesne Betty Grable Ginger Rogers Sacajawea Laura Ingalls Wilder
Ginger Rogers
In the middle of the summer, 1911, Lela McMath gave birth to a little girl in the front room of a 2 bedroom house on Moore Street in Independence, Missouri. Shortly after, Lela divorced her husband, left her daughter with her parents and went to Hollywood to write movies. Lela's little girl, Virginia Katherine McMath, or "Ginja" would become a Hollywood legend… Continue reading Ginger Rogers
Josephine Baker
“. . . I improvised, crazed by the music. . . . Even my teeth and eyes burned with fever. Each time I leaped I seemed to touch the sky and when I regained earth it seemed to be mine alone.” Josephine Baker only spent the first 15 years of her life in Missouri but… Continue reading Josephine Baker
America’s First Kindergarten
Susan Blow opened the first publicly-funded kindergarten in the United States, in the Carondalet neighborhood of St. Louis. While in Germany with her father, Susan saw first hand how Friedrich Froebel's theories (the founder of kindergarten or “children’s garden”) were being applied to early child education. She saw the importance and need back in America.… Continue reading America’s First Kindergarten
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