|
Today in Southwest Virginia and throughout the nation more options are open to women and being pursued by women than ever before. Since I began representing Southwest Virginia in Congress, the number of women nationwide age 25 and older who have earned college degrees has doubled.
In fact, in the 2007-2008 school year, women will earn the majority of bachelor's degrees, master's degrees and professional degrees such as law and medical degrees. Additionally, more women than ever before own businesses, play sports and participate in government and civic organizations. In this exciting time for women, it is important to recognize the women who have paved the way for the women of this generation. Since March is designated Women's History Month, I thought it would be an appropriate time to recognize just a few of the many women from Southwest Virginia who have shaped history. Mary Draper Ingles In the 1740's Mary Draper settled with her parents in Drapers Meadow, near present-day Blacksburg, and later married William Ingles. The Drapers and the Ingles some were part of a westward migration trend at that time in which many settlers were moving west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With this migration came tension with the original settlers of this area, and at the height of this tension in 1755, the Drapers Meadow settlement was attacked by Shawnee Indians. Mary Draper Ingles and her two sons were taken by the Shawnees to Ohio. Mary was only 23 years old, but her keen observation of the route she was taken to Ohio enabled her to eventually escape captivity after her children were separated from her, traded to other tribes. Joined by a fellow captive whom she convinced to escape, Mary fled the Shawnee and began the treacherous, 800 mile journey over mountainous wilderness back to Drapers Meadow. The journey took more than 40 days, during which time Mary avoided starvation, recapture by the Shawnee and other threats to her life. She made it to Anvil Rock, about 30 miles from Drapers Meadows, where she was found by the Harmon family and reunited with her husband. William and Mary Ingles later settled in Pulaski County, reunited with one of their sons, and Mary had four additional children. Her courage has served as an example for many generations, and her story inspired a best selling book, television movie, and outdoor drama.
Laura Lu Scherer Copenhaver and Eleanor Gladys Copenhaver
Laura Lu Scherer Copenhaver resided in Smyth County in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and was an English teacher and a writer of fiction, poetry and church pageants. One of her poems, "Heralds of Christ" became a popular hymn. Laura Lu was also a dedicated advocate for women's education. Due to her efforts, the Lutheran Church established the Konnarock Lutheran Girls Training School for Smyth County children who did not have access to public schools. She served as the Director of Information for the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, and, in this role, she worked to advance Southwest Virginia's agricultural economy by emphasizing cooperative marketing of farm products. She also put these marketing strategies to the test, creating a textiles business in her home. She hired women to produce coverlets based on traditional patterns and used locally grown wool. Later her business, Rosemont Industries, produced a wide variety of textiles including canopies, fringes, and rugs.
Laura Lu Scherer Copenhaver's daughter Eleanor grew up with her family in Marion but studied at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and moved to New York City to work for the YWCA. Her work included visiting factory sites and organizing working women, which enabled her to travel frequently to Marion. In 1928, she met famed writer and Marion resident Sherwood Anderson, whom she married in 1936. Throughout her romance with Sherwood Anderson, Eleanor continued her passionate work with the YWCA, and she often traveled to centers of labor conflicts. She was once attacked by the members of the Ku Klux Klan and once mugged in Chicago, and, despite the wishes of her parents, she continued undaunted. After the death of her mother and husband, Laura returned to Marion to take over Rosemont Industries.
Maybelle Addington Carter Known as the Mother of Country Music, Maybelle Carter was born in Scott County and learned to play the banjo, guitar and autoharp in her youth. She was an original member of the Carter Family trio with her brother-in-law A.P Carter and her cousin Sara Carter. In 1927, the group traveled to Bristol to audition for the Victor Talking Machine Company and made several recordings which are considered the "Big Bang" of Country Music. Later in her life, Maybelle formed a group with her three daughters, Anita, Helen and June, and began performing on radio shows, including Nashville's Grand Ole Opry radio show, where she was known as Mother Maybelle. Carter's popularity resurged in the 1960's with the folk music revival, and she recorded many Carter family classics for a new audience. The Carter Family was the first group inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970. This is just a small sample of the numerous Southwest Virginia women who have shaped our history, and I am confident that many more women from our region will continue to shape our future.
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
