Category Archives: women

20th Century, History, Uncategorized, women

First Minnesota Woman to Serve in Congress

“Coya Knutson at the piano, 1954.” Minnesota Historical Society. https://libguides.mnhs.org/knutson/primary

1955 to 1958
Cornelia “Coya” Knutson (1912-1996) was the first Minnesota woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives. She served from 1955 to 1958. Her legacy as Minnesota’s first female representative in Congress remains, as does the initiatives she pushed for regarding student loans, cystic fibrosis, and Minnesota farms.*
What a joy to find that this pioneering woman in Minnesota politics had the foresight to compile her own archives. What better evidence of a life exists than the testimony of the one who lived it? Enjoy the summary below left by the Honorable United States Representative Knutson!

“Cornelia Genevive Knutson, or “Coya” as she was commonly known, was born in Edmore, North Dakota, August 23, 1912, the daughter of Christian and Christine (Anderson) Gjesdal. She received a B.S. degree in English and music at Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota) and did post-graduate work at Moorhead State Teachers College and at the Julliard School of Music. She began her career as a high school teacher in Oklee, Minnesota, and married Andrew Knutson on March 21, 1940. She served in the state Agricultural Adjustment Administration (1941-1942), as a member of the Red Lake County Board (1948-1950), and as a representative from the 65th district in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1951 to 1954. As a Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate in Minnesota’s ninth congressional district, Knutson defeated Harold Hagen, a twelve year incumbent, to become the first Minnesota woman to be elected to the United States House of Representatives. She held that position from 1955 to 1958. Knutson was defeated in 1958, and campaigned unsuccessfully for the seat in 1960…” **

What so abruptly curtailed the momentum of this bright woman’s political career? It appears that she was the target of a focussed “shame campaign”. Now we go to a sound source on the topic; the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library to clarify the method(s) used to halt this good woman.
“She was the only Democrat in the United States House of Representatives to lose to a Republican in the 1958 election. The upset came after her husband urged her to leave Congress. Headlines around the U.S. featured his plea: “Coya, Come Home.” The Knutson’s were later divorced. (Coya Knutson, New York Times, December 26, 1976)” ***
So, can we defer that this attack on the Honorable Representative Knutson is at least two-pronged: publicly shaming her for pursuing leadership instead of matronly pursuits, and a blatant appeal to pity? While I do not have supporting evidence, the circumstantial evidence makes clear that the rhetoric used against her attacked her as a mother of her adopted son Terry, and as a supportive wife to her husband Andy.

I find the shameful emotional manipulation of her husband especially repugnant. While this case also piles on the sexism of mid-century mid-western values, this type of attack is nothing new. For those who study rhetoric, it is known as an “ad misericordiam” argument defined as: an appeal to pity or compassion. A quick search of the Center for Hellenic Studies-Harvard University reveals numerous cases recorded in Ancient Greek literature. Shall I list a few of the more famous examples? We see ad misericordiam arguments and attacks in: “Apology” (Socrates and Plato), “Wasps” (Aristophanes), and the famed speech of Demosthenes “Against Meidias”. **** all this to establish that the attacks on Coya followed the low bar of rhetoric set over twenty four centuries before her.

What is it about appeals to pity and shame that make such an emotional impact? Dr. Brene Brown has studied shame, vulnerability, and courage for decades. I’ve pulled a few quotes that may crystallize the impacts of shame.
“Shame derives its power from being unspeakable.”
“We judge people in areas where we’re vulnerable to shame.”
“Shame, blame, disrespect, betrayal, and the withholding of affection damage the roots from which love grows. Love can only survive these injuries if they are acknowledged, healed and rare.” *
May I unpack these, statement by statement?

When one is attacked through media, in this case radio and newspaper articles, it is not a two-way debate. How could Coya publicly defend herself while only the reporter holds the microphone or pen? These are the kind of questions that have no answer, and to which there is no expectation of an answer; they are only intended to attack a person and not the problem. To Brown’s second statement, we find a public willing to project their judgment of Rep. Knutson in precisely the same areas they felt the most vulnerable as mothers and husbands. To the last point, I see the insecurities of a husband that loves too little attempting to regain control. Though an adult, he seems to be unable to celebrate her success, or privately, thoughtfully, and constructively convey his objections to her career. Too often, wounded people will choose ego over love, and pride over understanding.

So we move towards You; the Healer of the Universe! You offer us real relationship with the Only Complete personality of all time! You offer us the gift of vulnerability, and are immune to our attempts to emotionally manipulate the Maker of Emotions!

We commend the forerunning of Cornelia Genevive Knutson to You today. We honor her contributions to the benefits to our farmers and those who love the outdoors. We honor her bravery to step outside the schisms in her marriage and the cultural mores of Minnesota to embrace the loneliness of leadership.

In her era, by the Cross of Christ, the Blood of Christ, the Resurrection of Christ, and the Eternal Word of G-d we come to acknowledge our heinous separations and offenses against You. We shamed Coya into compliance instead of Your adventure for her. We wrote or believed written misbeliefs, disbeliefs, unbeliefs, and falsehoods about her and the Knutson family. We not only withhold our approval of her as a human being, but withheld our votes and broke relationship with her through false accusations based on mostly false information. When we judged Coya, where we judged Coya, we have also judged Your confidence and pleasure in her. Will You forgive us?

Conversely, by the Cross of Christ, the Blood of Christ, the Resurrection of Christ, and the Eternal Word of G-d we make these healing declarations over the Knutson lineage, and all Minnesotans present and future. We declare and invite the leadership of women who fear-respect You, and love the law. We declare the doors of shame through media closed over Minnesota’s leadership, and ask that the scales of wisdom and discernment equalize and come into perfect balance. We declare the era of “gotcha politics” over, and invite You to mature us a people willing and able to: agree well, disagree well, love our enemies, seek the benefits of others before ourselves, and remain in relationship in all our present and future political discourse. May we all “Come home” to our Christ who gave the example of selfless service out of a full heart! Amen!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.…” Hebrews 12:1-2 Berean Study Bible

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20th Century, Americana, Food, History, Minnesota, music, Uncategorized, women

“Hormel Girls”

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The Hormel Girls, hormelfoods.com

1948
The “All GI Girls Spam Post 570” drum and bugle corps becomes the Hormel Girls—a 60-woman troupe of multi-talented entertainers. They star in a network radio show and hit the road in a 35-car caravan, making music and leaving cents-off coupons across the U.S.A.*

To properly put the Hormel Girls in context, one has to define their raison d’être; Spam. Though many of us now associate the term with unwanted solicitations and advertising on our electronic devices, it was and is an incredible food product. So what is Spam?
It’s a brick of spiced ham, sealed over by an edible gel, and then vacuum packed into a compact tin. **

Allegedly, the tinned meat was birthed out of necessity and Midwestern ingenuity. Hormel foods had tons of pork shoulder that would go bad. An employee had the bright idea to pre-cook spices, broth, and the leftover ham and sell it in a tin. Their frugality and common sense started a revolution; a meat product that seemed to keep forever.

As we entered World War II, Hormel already had the right answer at the right time. Over 150 million pounds of Spam were consumed by U.S. forces during it alone. *** In addition, Spam sustained millions around the post-war world through the “Lend-Lease Act”. ****

The incredible success of the Allies in WWII, as well as for Hormel Foods, brought new challenges and convictions to the mind of Jay Hormel. He wanted every vet to have a job and community upon return. Many of these veterans were women who had honorably served their state and nation as: WAC’s Women’s Army Corps, WAVES Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, and SPARS Women’s Coast Guard Reserves (Acronym derived from “Semper Paratus” Latin for “Always Ready”). To this end, Hormel created the all-female American Legion Spam Post 570 in Austin, Minnesota. Post 570, in turn, birthed the idea of the “Spamettes”; an all-female drum and bugle corp that would be an attractive and wholesome promotional tool for his company. *****

Locals, however, were less enthused. After three weeks, neighbors “filed a motion for a temporary injunction to stop the rehearsing.” ******* Maybe the fault was Hormel’s generous incentives to the young women. Given that they started with a base pay of $50/week, (they were only paid $50 a month in the service), they were offered a $100 bonus if recognized for leadership traits, another $100 each if they placed in a contest, and still another $100 if they won first place!?! ****** All their hard work paid off, placing them at 13th of 49 entries; a very respectable showing considering the men’s groups had been together for years. *****

Wanting to capitalize on the goodwill these young women created, Hormel sought to give them wider exposure through radio. Under the tutelage of choir director Richard Wendelken and orchestra director Eddie Skrivanek, the five dozen Hormel Girls landed on a big band sound with safe arrangements of familiar songs of the day. Many likened them to Sammy Kaye or Kay Kyser; hip but palatable for a wider audience. The first broadcast of “Music with the Hormel Girls” aired on a single radio station, KHJ in Los Angeles, on Saturday, March 20, 1948. *****

From this starting point, the group eventually garnered a nation-wide audience broadcast over 227 ABC radio stations. ***** To enhance their visibility, the group played local shows and made in-store appearances coast to coast driving 35 identical white Chevy sedans. Such a long entourage combined with the posters and promises of coupons, samples, and prizes by an advance team more than piqued local interest in the Hormel Girls, and by association Hormel Foods.***** Nearly sixty years later, World War II Veteran and Hormel Girl member Eleanor Jones recalled that “we really did connect with the housewives. They would flock around us and ask for our autographs.” *******

Lord, thank You for being an inventor. Intrinsically, each form of life is a masterful combination of so many refined systems working in balance. Extrinsically, each individual life balances within a framework of relationships within it’s ecosystem. We can be classified by species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, and kingdom, yet we retain the possibility of adaptation. Everything in Your creation seems to point us towards this paradox; we are individuals that operate as a unity. You are Eternal Father, embodied Messiah, and Holy Spirit. Will You guide us to ponder such inward and outward relationships as we remember the Hormel Girls?

To modern ears it may sound like sarcasm, but today we truly thank You for the invention of Spam; this hardy food helped millions outlast bitter times of war and scarcity! We thank You for the unnamed author or authors of it’s recipe. Will You bless the creativity and diligence of our food scientists’ in the present and future of Minnesota? Will You bless all at Hormel Foods from top to bottom? Will You bless the hog farmers, factory workers, truckers, longshoremen and shippers of Spam? We commend their hard work and overtime in an age of such incredible demand! Will You bless our present and future food industry workers to meet and surpass the needs of multitudes like they?

We thank You for Jay Hormel; survivor and Veteran of the Great War (WWI)! We thank You for the sympathy and empathy for all veterans seared into his soul through that experience. We remember and applaud his acknowledgment of the service and sacrifices of these heroic women!

Where others who had made vast fortunes considered its’ female employees a drain on the bottom line, he increased their pay four times! Then gave them bonuses!
Where others displaced female vets, he saw fit that they had their own place in Post 570!
Where others pushed women out of the factory, he mentored them out of the factory into the spotlight!

Sadly, Jay Hormel seemed to be the exception to the rule. War propaganda that taught our sisters and mothers to be “Rosie the Riveter” now pushed them go home. Dear Lord, for some, this about-face worked, but for others life had permanently changed. We have opposed those we could have lifted. We closed our ears and ears to their talents. We broke faith with them. Forgive us where we offended and wronged Your Image by sinning in these same specific ways against: the WAC’s, the WAVES, the SPARS, and all the women who worked the home front.

We thank You for each and every Spamette and Hormel Girl! We thank You for the lessons they absorbed during their time of service that prepared them for this opportunity. We thank You that they said “Yes!” to so many challenges: to the rigors of travel, the discipline of refining their individual talents, learning to perform for a live or radio audience, learning how to sell to a huge variety of people, learning how to professionally present themselves, gaining skills in representing a company, and symbolizing what is possible for the “girl next door”!

Will You bless all female veterans present and future to: take chances, think big, make mistakes, learn from mistakes, and retain such adaptability to go beyond their classification? Will You give them the same spirit of balance in relationships; to exercise moments of individual greatness while remaining a unity? Will You give them the same sense of humility to recognize Your moments’ for them; even if it’s disguised as an everyday, quotidian tin of Spam?
“The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.” I Samuel 2:7 ESV *********

* P.T.H. cites timeline formerly at this URL: mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
The Minnesota Historical Society Web site, http://www.mnhs.org, is fantastic! Check it out! Images are from https://images.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl; again, an amazing resource!
** https://www.foodwine.com/food/egg/egg0798/slth0798.html
*** Smith, Andrew (May 1, 2007). “The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink”. Oxford University Press. pp. 559–60.
**** Howard Yoon (July 4, 2007). “Spam: More than Junk Mail or Junk Meat” (npr.org).
***** Sullivan, Jill and Keck, Danelle D. “The Hormel Girls”. pp.282-308 https://www.public.asu.edu/~jmsulli/documents/FINAL_Hormel%20Girls.pdf
****** “It’s A lot of Noise Shippan Point Says: All-Women Drum and Bugle Corps, Seeking Legion Title, Arouses Community’s Ire,” New York Times, Aug. 24, 1947, p5.
******* Jones,Eleanor. telephone interview with Jill Sullivan, April 5, 2007. Cited in “The Hormel Girls”.
******** Want to give the Hormel girls a listen? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-4Ok5qI7J4 “Tater Pie by the Hormel Girls”. ArchiveMan78. YouTube. May 7, 2018.
********* https://biblehub.com/1_samuel/2-7.htm

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20th Century, Health, History, Minnesota, omnipresent history, Uncategorized, women

Sister Kenny Comes to Minnesota

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June 1940
Elizabeth Kenny, the daughter of Michael and Mary Kenny, was born September 20, 1886 in New South Wales, Australia. She received her nursing training at a private hospital and served as a nurse in the Australian bush country from 1911 to 1914. It was during this period that she encountered her first case of infantile paralysis (1909) and developed her treatment for the disease. During World War I Kenny served as an Australian Army nurse and was promoted to the rank of “sister,” the Nurse Corps equivalent to a first lieutenant.*

After the war Kenny returned to civilian nursing. Her treatment and concept of infantile paralysis gained the recognition of the medical profession and the support of the Australian government. Her clinic at Townsville was given government status and Kenny clinics were established throughout Australia.**

In 1911, when she encountered her first case of polio, Sister Kenny was unaware of conventional polio treatment — immobilizing the affected muscles with splints. Instead, she used common sense and her understanding of anatomy to treat the symptoms of the disease. Sister Kenny applied moist hotpacks to help loosen muscles, relieve pain, and enable limbs to be moved, stretched, and strengthened. The theory of her treatment was muscle “re-education” — the retraining of muscles so that they could function again. The medical profession widely opposed her unorthodox methods and brought about a Royal Commission to stop her practicing.***
Kenny came to the U.S. in the spring of 1940 but was disappointed by the cool reception her treatment technique received on the West and East coasts. In June 1940 she demonstrated her treatment at the University of Minnesota Medical School and Minneapolis General Hospital. The medical personnel at these institutions accepted Kenny’s treatment method as an entirely new concept of infantile paralysis and the first American treatment center was opened at Minneapolis General Hospital.
In December 1942, the City of Minneapolis established the Elizabeth Kenny Institute and the following year the Sister Elizabeth Kenny Foundation was formed to financially support the Institute’s work and to forward the teaching of the Kenny method throughout the U.S. and abroad. Sister Kenny’s pioneering principles of muscle rehabilitation became the foundation of physical therapy. Today, Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Services is one of the premier rehabilitation centers in the country, known for its progressive and innovative vision. Elizabeth Kenny died November 30, 1952 at her home in Toowoomba, Australia. **,***

The story of a visionary being misunderstood and opposed by those who should be allied is, unfortunately, not news in human history. My heart sinks as I read about this woman who used up her life in service to those who had lost use of limbs due to polio or other causes. Why are those who serve so often viewed as the enemy by their authorities instead of allies or innovators? Granted, they are responsible for life and death decisions, and this is surely a heavy weight to bear. Lord, will You forgive the judgments of the Royal Commission against Sister Kenny, and give them wisdom in their regulatory decisions?

Will You release her, and all physical therapists’ who followed in her footsteps from this kind of opposition? Will You bless Sister Kenny’s memory in St. Paul and Toowooba? Will You favor her generations, and all professionals who continue to advance the work she started? Will You grant them new ideas and insights to the restoration of the human body?

Lord, to generalize, perhaps the creative forces of medicine are greatly hampered from healing through fear-based laws, and the seeking of permission to heal. What do You say about this in Scripture?

“For no matter how many promises G-d has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of G-d.” 2 Corinthians 1:20 ****

Contextually to the readers of these verses the meaning would be more like “altogether true and entirely free of ambiguity. Will You bless such boards and authorities with insight and revelation to release healing into the world that is “altogether true and entirely free of ambiguity”? Will You shield them from tyranny of the state or the business cycle?

Will You release the medical authorities of her home nation for the initial rejection of her ideas? Will You forgive her any counter-judgments made in the midst of this rejection pain? Will You bless the nation of Australia because of her, and continue her legacy there? Give us many more in Minnesota, Lord, who heal in spite of political or legal disfavor, but heal because they follow the Author of Healing! Amen.

* P.T.H. cites timeline formerly at this URL: mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
The Minnesota Historical Society Web site, http://www.mnhs.org, is fantastic! Check it out! Images are from https://images.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl; again, an amazing resource!
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Kenny
*** http://www.nurses.info/personalities_srl_kenny.htm

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20th Century, Americana, Business, Food, History, Intercession, Minnesota, omnipresent history, women

Betty Crocker 1921

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“The Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air”

1921

“Betty Crocker, General Mills’ symbol of the perfect homemaker, will become known to nine out of ten American women by 1940. Created in 1921 to answer letters about baking problems, she becomes a network-radio personality and cookbook author, and lends her name and changing image to hundreds of products.” *

Betty Crocker became the personification of Washburn Crosby Company which later grew into General Mills. The iconic radio station WCCO, whose call letters are an acronym of the company’s name, was rescued by Washburn Crosby to become her voice. “According to Fortune magazine in April 1945, she was the second best-known woman in America, following First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Betty Crocker was known as the First Lady of Food.”**

Lord, how does one pray for a “First Lady”, especially a fictional one? We constantly interact with icons and symbols in the present era: through smartphones and devices, in all kinds of advertising, and through mascots of our favorite sports teams. You also use the power of symbols and icons, Good Shepherd, and lead Your sheep to better know and remember You.

I will begin with thanking You for the impact of Betty Crocker on the state of Minnesota. How many millions or billions of bags of beautiful Gold Medal Flour did she sell? How many farmers, truckers, railroad workers, dockworkers, millers, and barge crew members were kept employed by her friendly voice and baking tips? How many families ate dinners, cookies, and pies that were touched by her red spoon? For these, and so many other unmentioned aspects, I give thanks to her creators, the voice of WCCO, and the Washburn Crosby Company. 

Will You bless this company and the genius of personifying the fairly mundane product of spring wheat flour? Will You help the businesses of Minnesota to take joy in meeting the needs of its customers because they are worthy persons created in Your image? Will You bless the imagery of service that Betty Crocker implies: to her family, for her friends, and to herself through the soul-feeding acts of cooking and baking?

“And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.” Ezekiel 34:23 ESV***

* http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

**https://www.bettycrocker.com/menus-holidays-parties/mhplibrary/parties-and-get-togethers/vintage-betty/the-story-of-betty-crocker#!

***http://biblehub.com/ezekiel/34-23.htm

 

 

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20th Century, History, Intercession, Judgment & Counter-Judgment Cycle, law, Minnesota, omnipresent history, State Government, suffrage, women

Minnesota Ratifies 19th Amendment in 1919

Headquarters-Minnesota-Suffrage-Group

August 26, 1919

“The state legislature ratifies the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, granting women the right to vote.” *

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” 19th amendment of the U.S. Constitution

“In 1881, the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA) was founded in Hastings. Prior to 1881, the campaign for suffrage in Minnesota was splintered and loosely organized, yet  advances were made. In 1875 a constitutional amendment passed that allowed Minnesota women the right to vote in school elections (Laws 1875, Chapter 2). But two years later, a temperance-related suffrage constitutional amendment was defeated (Laws 1877, Chapter 2). That amendment proposed that women could vote on a ‘question of selling, or restraining the sale, or licensing the selling, or the manufacture of intoxicating liquors.’ In 1877, an interesting clarification of election law was passed by the Legislature, requiring separate ballots and separate ballot boxes for women voting in local elections, as they could only vote for ‘officers of public schools’ but not other officers of the village or city (Laws 1877, Chapter 74, Sec. 14).

As the national movement for suffrage gained strength, so did Minnesota’s movement for suffrage. Minnesota suffragists began to use new tactics such as parades, rallies, advertising, and promotional tours in newly purchased automobiles. They even had female stunt pilots put on aerial shows in support of suffrage. Clara Ueland served as MWSA President from 1914-1919, when the suffrage campaign in Minnesota gained significant momentum. In 1919, the Legislature passed a law allowing women to vote for presidential electors (Laws 1919, Chapter 89), and later in the year ratified the national amendment ensuring universal suffrage. Other prominent organizers for suffrage in Minnesota included Sarah Burger Stearns, Julia Bullard Nelson, Ethel Edgerton Hurd, Emily Haskell Bright, Bertha Berglin Moller, Emily Gilman Noyes, and Nellie Griswold Francis.

Though suffrage granted all women in the United States the right to vote, certain populations were not allowed to become full citizens which denied the women of these populations the right to vote. For example, Native Americans were not granted citizenship until the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. And despite passage of that law, states still could decide whether or not Native Americans could vote.”**

Below is a common argument given in opposition to suffrage by J.B. Sandford. Note that he is the Chairman of the Democratic Caucus in California and not a Minnesota politician. 

“Woman suffrage has been proven a failure in states that have tried it. It is wrong. California should profit by the mistakes of other states. Not one reform has equal suffrage effected. On the contrary, statistics go to show that in most equal suffrage states, Colorado particularly, that divorces have greatly increased since the adoption of the equal suffrage amendment, showing that it has been a home destroyer. Crime has also increased due to lack of the mothers in the home. 

Woman is woman. She can not unsex herself or change her sphere. Let her be content with her lot and perform those high duties intended for her by the Great Creator, and she will accomplish far more in governmental affairs that she can ever accomplish by mixing up in the dirty pool of politics. Keep the home pure and all will be well with the Republic. Let not the sanctity of the home be invaded by every little politician that may be running up and down the highway for office. Let the manly men and the womanly women defeat this amendment and keep woman where she belongs in order that she may retain the respect of all mankind.”***

So here we begin our prayer today Lord, we have judged Your image within male and female. Suffragettes have judged the males and male leadership of this era and found it wanting. Their opponents have judged the females and female leadership roles and found them wanting. Will You forgive both of these schools of judgment? 

Wise Judge, will You parse and expose the motives of women who were submitted to abusive men? Will You forgive these men their false forms of leadership based on the letter of Your law but missing its Spirit? Your example, Messiah, was to love Your bride, serve Your bride, and lay down your life for hers. Will You forgive the unwillingness to love in this kind of male, and his progeny? We have loved our male image and missed Your incarnation in the female image. Have mercy!

This leads me to the question; where did these misbeliefs come from regarding male leadership? Certainly it’s not of Your word or of Your example. Will You show us what Your example looked like, Kind Master?

“According to New Testament scholar Dr. Frank Stagg and classicist Evelyn Stagg, the synoptic Gospels of the canonical New Testament contain a relatively high number of references to women. Evangelical Bible scholar Gilbert Bilezikian agrees, especially by comparison with literary works of the same epoch. :p.82 Neither the Staggs nor Bilezikian find any recorded instance where Jesus disgraces, belittles, reproaches, or stereotypes a woman. These writers claim that examples of the manner of Jesus are instructive for inferring his attitudes toward women and show repeatedly how he liberated and affirmed women. Starr writes that of all founders of religions and religious sects, Jesus stands alone as the one who did not discriminate in some way against women. By word or deed he never encouraged the disparagement of a woman.Karen King concludes, based on the account of Jesus’ interaction with a Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7:24-30 and Matthew 15:21-28, that “an unnamed Gentile woman taught Jesus that the ministry of God is not limited to particular groups and persons, but belongs to all who have faith.”

We give You praise for this example of women gaining their participation in the decisions of Minnesota, and the United States. We thank You for the examples of: Sarah Burger Stearns, Julia Bullard Nelson, Ethel Edgerton Hurd, Emily Haskell Bright, Bertha Berglin Moller, Emily Gilman Noyes, and Nellie Griswold Francis. Will You rmember them in this era, and bless their figurative and literal children?

Will You shield them from recreating the excesses of male leadership of this era, and cause us to rely on both male and female forms of leadership? We thank You for the honest opposition to suffrage in men like J.B. Sandford. Will You help male leadership to speak the truth in love, and banish law made in fear of female authority? Will You shield men from becoming passive in reaction to these past errors, and recoiling from proper leadership in shame? Will You forgive us both our denials?

We praise You that our rights in Your kingdom cannot be broken! We thank You that our self-worth and value is not based on the fickle winds of human politics and law! We thank You that Your law points out our separations in relationships with You and our neighbors, yet You have removed its power to convict and have become our restitution; the perfect blood sacrifice! We belong because You took our death sentence and criminality to the Cross. You, the Forgiver of All Defilements have stated for all eternity that we have become Your family! You have removed our sufferings and given us eternal suffrage! Amen!

* http://www.mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm

**https://www.leg.state.mn.us/lrl/womenstimeline/details?recid=2

***Full text of J.B. Sandford’s letter “Argument Against Women’s Suffrage”.  https://sfpl.org/pdf/libraries/main/sfhistory/suffrageagainst.pdf

****https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus’_interactions_with_women

 

 

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20th Century, Girls, History, Judgment & Counter-Judgment Cycle, Minnesota, omnipresent history, women, World War I

Camp Fire Girls and World War I 1917

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1917

“The Camp Fire Girls of Minnesota, as led by Ruth Dale, participate in war relief efforts at the behest of the American Red Cross and the Minnesota Federation of Women’s Clubs.” * 

Our correspondence matters to history! Below are two letters of women leading girls to participate in our society in a practical and meaningful way. These associations of women and girls reveal a wonderful example of their civic mindedness and actions.

“Dear Mrs. Lowry-

I wish to get a small club of Camp Fire Girls at work for Red Cross. I was wondering if they could not hem towels. I want them to work at something they can do & have it accepted. Will you please tell me what the material costs per doz. towels & where it can be gotten. Some where I heard, maybe in your lecture in St. Paul, before Public Safety Com that funny sayings & pictures pasted on paper and sent in to hospitals for soldiers was requested. if this is true, will you tell me the size of sheets required for pasting the scraps on. These girls could do this, they are too young to attempt much. […] A club of women here want to get at some of the work at once. What do you say to them beginning with sheets & pillow slips?”

Sincerely, Mrs. F.C. Corell  Big Falls, Minnesota **  

“13 April 1917

Minneapolis, Minn.

Miss Ruth Dale,

Roseville, Minn.

My dear Miss Dale:

Thank you so much for your kind offer of assistance. We have no pamphlets or government bulletins for distribution, but we are instructing classes in the art of bandage making, etc., at our headquarters in Minneapolis. This course consists of 8 lessons after which the pupil passes an examination and receives a certificate. These skilled workers are empowered to supervise work of others. I would suggest that you send one or two representatives of the Camp Fire girls to take this course.

In reply to your inquiry regarding materials, we prefer to have you raise the money for the same and let us buy since we can purchase in larger quantities and to better advantage.

Yours very truly,  Secretary.” ***

“Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.” Mark 9:41 NIV ****

Lord, today we thank You for the actions of our foremothers! Will You bless Ruth Dale and all her heritage through the Camp Fire organization? Will You bless F.C. Corell and her generations of leadership in the Minnesota Federation of Women’s Clubs? We also remember and bless the unnamed secretary of the American Red Cross. Will You give honor to those anonymous contributors to the betterment of our State: past, present, and future?

Will You give the girls of Minnesota a sense of their value to each other, society, and to their Creator in perpetuity? Forgive us where we have not honored the leadership of women, and have stubbornly closed our ears to Your voice spoken through them? Will You guide our State in maleness and femaleness of Your image? Amen!

** http://www.mnhs.org/blog/collectionsupclose/8786

*** http://www.mnhs.org/blog/collectionsupclose/8101

**** http://biblehub.com/mark/9-41.htm

***** Learn more about the founding of the Camp Fire girls from these excellent sources. http://alicemariebeard.com/campfire/history.htm

****** https://campfiremn.org/index.html

 

 

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20th Century, Culture, History, Indian, Intercession, Judgment & Counter-Judgment Cycle, Minnesota, music, Native Americans, omnipresent history, women

Densmore Begins Recording Indian Music 1907

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1907
Red Wing native Frances Densmore embarks on a life-long study of Indian music and culture. From a single recording of a performance by Kitchimakwa (“Great Bear”) at White Earth, she eventually collects thousands of songs of the Ojibwe, Dakota, and 10 other tribes. By the time of her death in 1957, Densmore will have also written 22 books and over 100 articles on Indian life.*

What a fascinating woman, Lord! I love the paradox that Ms. Densmore studied piano, organ, and harmony at Oberlin, and found joy in music of the people. Perhaps she is a testimony of her school’s philosophy?
Father, I’m grateful that by chance she read a book, that led her to her first experience with Indian music, that led into a passion.** I’m grateful that she took delight in listening, which is an inherent quality of great recording engineers, musicians, and producers. One adds a personal statement while listening to other players.
Will You bless Frances and her generations with her love of music and culture? Will You bless all the tribes she recorded with appreciation for her remarkable gift? Will You bless the all non-Native Minnesotans with ears to hear the importance of their voice in our common history?
As Plato said, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” May we listen to the music of each culture of this state, and so be enlivened! Amen!

*P.T.H. cites timeline formerly at this URL: mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
The Minnesota Historical Society Web site, http://www.mnhs.org, is fantastic! Check it out! Images are from https://images.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl; again, an amazing resource!

**Explore more about Densmore at MPR feature “Song Catcher”. http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/199702/01_smiths_densmore/docs/index.shtml

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19th Century, African American, History, Intercession, Judgment & Counter-Judgment Cycle, Minnesota, Politics, Republican, women

1892 Republican National Convention in Minneapolis

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June 7, 1892 to June 10, 1892

“The 1892 Republican National Convention was held in Minneapolis and was also the first convention where women were allowed to be delegates. Mrs. Therese Alberta (Parkinson) Jenkins, delegate from Wyoming, cast the first vote by a woman for President. Wyoming had granted full suffrage for women at statehood in 1890.” *

Politics, in practice, is often a game of solidifying one’s base and fracturing the support of political opponents. One seeks to heal and forgive, while the other actively fragments relationships and maintains a grudge?! Although there will always be those who are honestly committed to their principles, most often, the duplicitous ‘win-at-all-cost’ partisans seem to be the norm. 

Rules and procedures are put in place to ensure that conventions are fair. However, those who know the rules often use them to beat up those who don’t, or those who simply trust in the integrity of their party. It’s like watching a board game played by children; the worst child will change the rules until he wins! 

Jesus, show me what You see. I have limited vision of this convention, but am not unfamiliar with the Republican Party. Help me dredge what is crucial, and leave the rest of the silt at the bottom of the river.

To begin, I thank You that one day, You will bring Your government to earth, and we will see real peace! Thank You that You cannot be double-minded, or attempt to create something good with false motives! You are the summit of integrity because You are perfect in contentment! You resist all bribes because there are no possessions that finite beings can give to the Eternal “I Am”!

Your names in the Bible describe your character, and they include both male and female attributes. Men and women are both made in Your image. Thank You that we finally began to recognize this fact politically on June 7, 1892! Will You bless this day, those who participated, their opponents, and their heritage? 

Will You forgive the dominant male pride and ego in the politics of Minnesota, its parties, and conventions? Conversely, will You forgive the bitter counter-judgments of women whether past, present, or future? Men want to lead like men, women want to lead like women, and we both fail to recognize Your wisdom and glory in the other at times! We fail to see Your hand of leadership in the other because we do not recognize  its style or legitimacy. Have mercy on our judgments of our fathers’ strength of love, and our mothers’ tenderness of love!

Bless the heritage of pioneers like Mrs. Therese Alberta (Parkinson) Jenkins. Bless her commitment and bravery. Forgive the scoffing her ears heard, the contemptuous faces she saw, and the judgments of her motives. Will You reverse the curses of this convention of 1892, and may we receive Your future insights whether housed in a male or female messenger?

**To read more, see: http://www.mnopedia.org/event/republican-national-convention-june-1892

***Another wonderful article about the convention? Read “African Americans and the 1892 Republican National Convention, Minneapolis” by Iric Nathanson

http://collections.mnhs.org/mnhistorymagazine/articles/61/v61i02p076-082.pdf

 

 

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19th Century, Health, History, Intercession, Medicine, Minnesota, omnipresent history, University, women

Ripley Maternity Hospital Opens 1886

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1886

“Dr. Martha Ripley opens a maternity hospital for unwed mothers in Minneapolis. A pioneer in combining social care with medical treatment, she teaches new mothers how to care for their babies and helps them find work. 

Martha Ripley’s training was in medicine, but her interest was in the rights of women. She advocated for women’s right to vote and consistently argued against the abuses that led women to her hospital.” *

Thank you, Lord, that your personality is balanced; You are protector and nurturer! Will You bless Martha Ripley and her generations in the imitation of Your character? She expressed the mother nurture for those women and girls who did not have an adequate voice in society, or means for their pregnancy. 

Our society has often skewed into imbalance in its’ emphasis of one gender over the other. We have denied the good attributes and blessings of the opposite sex that You have intended for our state. We have failed to balance our head and our heart! We have failed to balance rational thought with the relational thoughts based on love. Lord have mercy! 

How has this been expressed? In the over emphasis of male political leadership and exclusive male voting rights for much of our history. We have suppressed the benefits of female scholarship, and the Imago Dei that is intellectually expressed best by a female mind. Our churches have too often promoted female submission to male head of households, without equally emphasizing male responsibility to selfless love and leadership. We have negated Your example of humble servant-leadership. Hear our prayer!

Lord, will You forgive us for discounting your voice in the opposite sex? Will You forgive the negation of female doctors, scientists, and cultural leaders like Dr. Ripley? Lord, will forgive us for emphasis on submission rather than freedom? Will You teach us the healthy bounds of submission to one another in choice-based love?

Will You stop us from overreacting and rejecting the opposite sex based on our painful experiences? Will You help Minnesotans’ forgive our mothers or fathers, and deliver us from the cycle of offense, counter-offense? Will You give us the forbearance for our ‘beloved enemies’ of the opposite sex? All our rejections of the opposite sex deny Your masterpiece in each. Will You forgive us?

 

 

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19th Century, Art, Culture, History, Intercession, Minnesota, music, women

Schubert Club Formed 1882

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Marion Ramsey

Forty St. Paul Women form the Schubert Club (named for the Austrian composer) “to give concerts and teach people about the joys of music.”*

What a gift You have given this state in the joys of music! Thank You for the diligence of these women, and their heart to bless others! May we excel in our hearts first, the mastery of instruments second, and the expressions of the stories You place within third!

See what’s happened in the past 134 years? https://schubert.org

Learn about its namesake? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Schubert

*P.T.H. cites timeline formerly at this URL: mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
The Minnesota Historical Society Web site, http://www.mnhs.org , is fantastic! Check it out! Images are from https://images.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl; again, an amazing resource!

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