From The Editor
Celebrating Women’s History Month
Women’s History Month actually began over 95 years ago as a day to celebrate the achievements of women. March 8 is International Women’s Day commemorating women’s rights and peace. I often wonder why we need days legislated for celebrating achievements. It began, as in most cases, with a lack of information available about women who achieved. How or why we celebrate women’s history in March matters little to me as I prepare this issue of Senior Times because I so thoroughly enjoyed my own journey to Cross Creek. I also enjoyed the journey of our writers as they wrote about women’s groups in both Alachua and Marion Counties.
In this job I meet so many women who have achieved success in all areas of their life. Cynthia Chestnut comes to mind when I think of women who have done good works in the community in addition to their lives as wife and mother. She has held political office for decades and currently sits on the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners. She works for Shands promoting health education for the eastside of Gainesville, and she sits on numerous boards all across the area. She is also a member of Senior Times newly formed advisory board. I hesitated to ask her to join our board because of her already full platter. But as the community has come to expect of this extraordinary woman, she said yes without hesitation when I asked.
She is just one of hundreds of such women across our area who willingly give of their time and energy in order to make our world a better place. Women for Wise Growth’s membership list could be the parade banner for International Women’s Day. One of the founders, Doris Bardon, recently passed away, but I am privileged to count her as one of the many friends I have made over the years as a direct result of my work in journalism. In Albert Isaac’s piece on Women for Wise Growth in this issue, someone remarked that Doris was “the glue” that held the organization together. Thank goodness that glue stuck because this group of women is still active
I may never have met Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, but I still had the privilege of meeting one of her friends and adventure companions. Dessie Smith Prescott set fire to the trail for women adventurers. I interviewed her on her 95th birthday just six months before she died in 2002, and her spirit will forever mark my days and show me that I can wander anywhere I want in this world.
Heroes to me all. But they are not the only ones I revere. You know who those others are. They are sitting right next to you; they are wiping noses and working in offices; they are cooking dinner and making decisions in the corporate world; they are running errands and inserting IVs or teaching FCAT skills.
They are to be celebrated every month of the year.
