Category Archives: short biographies

Clara Lemlich: Labor Activist by Linda Harris Sittig

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

  In November of 1909, she appeared as a will-of-the wisp young woman pushing her way to the front of the Union stage. Perhaps, she even stood a bit crooked, due to the uneven mending of bones previously broken by … Continue reading →

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Emma Gatewood: Guardian of the Appalachian Trail by Linda Harris Sittig

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

Emma Gatewood never considered that she was a remarkable woman. In 1955, at the age of 67, she hiked the entire Appalachian Trail—alone. And without a tent or sleeping bag. To truly appreciate her accomplishment, you need to read about … 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 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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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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Margaret Getchell: First American Retail Executive by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on January 1, 2017 by lhsittig@verizon.net

Most of us have visited a department store, at least once. You may be the type of shopper who darts from one section to the next, hopping on the up/down escalator or squeezing into a crowded elevator in pursuit of … Continue reading →

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