Author Archives: lhsittig@verizon.net

Lis Hartel and Jubilee: Olympic Champions by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on September 4, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

I live in an area where horse farms dot the countryside and driving the back roads one can not fail to be impressed by the magnificent thoroughbreds grazing in the pastures. But what about an average bay mare named Jubilee … Continue reading →

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Bridget Biddy Mason: from Slave to Philanthropist by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on July 31, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

On a block on Spring Street, in downtown Los Angeles, sits a unique art installation, dedicated to a woman whose name had been silent for over one hundred years. Bridget ‘Biddy’ Mason led an incredible life. Born a slave in … Continue reading →

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Aelfleda and Her Fellow Needle Workers by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on July 3, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

Picture a few women sitting together with a large piece of linen stretched out between them on a wooden frame. They are hunched over the fabric. Threading their needles with brightly colored yarns dyed from natural resources, they carefully embroider … Continue reading →

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Jessie Tarbox Beals: First American Female Photojournalist by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on May 31, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

I love to profile stories of strong females who vigorously pursued their passions because they had a zeal for life. Jessie Tarbox Beals was like that. She became a pioneer of American photojournalism in the late 1800s when the competitive … Continue reading →

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Jacqueline Cochran: a WASP Clothed as a Butterfly by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on April 30, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

Jacqueline Cochran, like her other 1,078 WASP sisters, was among the first female pilots who flew for the Army in WWII. These women, collectively known as the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or the WASPs, flew together for more than two … Continue reading →

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Mary Musgrove: Peace Negotiator by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on April 2, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

Back in the early 1700s when America was still a group of loosely knit colonies, England, France, and Spain all vied for control over the New World. In order to claim the virgin territory for their native countries, enterprising men … Continue reading →

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Mary Fields: Frontier Pioneer by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on March 3, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

Mary Fields may just be the strongest of the Strong Women I have researched. Literally. Even from her early years, she did the unexpected. Born into slavery sometime in 1832 on a plantation in Hickman County, Tennessee, she became friends … Continue reading →

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Dorothy Height: Carrying on the Dream by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on January 31, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

If you look at the 1963 press photo of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. giving his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., you might notice a woman standing off to … Continue reading →

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Ruth Pfau: Humanitarian by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on January 1, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

My first introduction to leprosy was from the movie, The Hawaiians, based on Michener’s epic novel. In particular, I remember when the Chinese character, Mun Ki, was sent for lifelong exile to the leper colony on Molokai; and his wife … Continue reading →

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Laura Stockton Starcher and the Ladies of Umatilla by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on November 30, 2017 by lhsittig@verizon.net

It was a calm morning for Election Day, December 5, 1916, in the small Oregon town of Umatilla, population 198. Nestled on the southern bank of the Columbia River, Umatilla was a place where everyone knew everyone else. No one … Continue reading →

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