I’ve been asked quite a few times over the last few years why I am so drawn to women’s history. The truth is, I am not. I’m drawn to telling (1)untold, (2)true, (3)compelling stories. And many of those to date happen to be women. If you’ve heard me speak, you know the story of my frustration with trying to find information on the election of Brooksville’s first female mayor, Lena Culver Hawkins, in 1928. That’s when I realized no women were included in A History of Hernando County. That experience inspired me to launch our “Women Leading the Way” walking tour exhibit recognized by Main Street America and covered by Bay News 9, regional lectures, and the Elizabeth Robins Diary Podcast.

(1) UNTOLD
What makes women’s history so tricky to research is the absence of usual documentation. Even finding out their first name can be a huge challenge if they are only listed as “Mrs. W.R. Smith” and their husband wasn’t the type to be found in newspapers. Last night I was working on a list to compile Brooksville Woman’s Club Presidents and haven’t been able to find all their names (see the photo below and feel free to help if you have info – inclusion of both first and maiden names would be ideal).

I was involved in a Smithsonian effort with Wikipedia a few years ago to expand coverage of women and (like my fellow researchers) ran into difficulty with the citations required that simply didn’t exist in telling women’s stories. My article on Mayor Hawkins took several attempts to develop because the traditional news sources weren’t available. I still haven’t found a portrait of Lena Wikipedia won’t remove.

During that frustrating process is when I fell in love with GFWC Women’s Club archives. Knowing Lena Hawkins had been President of the Brooksville Women’s Club before being Mayor, I went to the clubhouse to see if they had a photo. The back room wall was lined with scrapbooks and yearbooks compiled since the club formed in 1910. For over 100 years, members had cut out news articles and saved photos of club initiatives and members. I found stories about Brooksville I never dreamed existed.

It so impacted how I understood history locally that when I began working for the State last year writing city histories, I made sure to visit their women’s clubs to see what treasures they had to offer. Their archives helped put the “why” behind some government policies and initiatives and revealed a more comprehensive picture of each community.

(2) TRUE

Every society has urban legends. Chinsegut history is full of them (Raymond was buried with gold – Raymond was buried cemented into the Altar Oak – Raymond was a Communist – I could do a whole tour on Chinsegut’s fake history). So debunking the fake stories we created (out of spite or to feel better about our bad behavior) has been an important component of my research. Knowing where we came from and how we got here helps us make better decisions as a community on where we want to go from here.

(3) COMPELLING

No human being has ever benefitted their community without experiencing challenges and personal pain. That’s the price of contributing and why many decide not to try. Life has enough challenges and pain without signing up for more! It’s one of the reasons I believe it’s so critical to honor those who make the effort. It cost them something and we are the beneficiaries of the price they paid.

On Thursday, September 26, GFWC Historic Brooksville Woman’s Club will open our art exhibit. “Life Palettes: Founders” features paintings honoring the extraordinary accomplishments of eleven women in our community who founded initiatives or businesses that helped shape us. The paintings were created by local artists on wood cut out by Forrester Made to look like art palettes. The germination of the exhibit came from an art palette exhibit in Waterford, PA that my son-in-law’s coffee shop participated in and morphed into the celebration you will be able to see in Hernando County for the rest of 2024.

Each palette at the Exhibit Opening will be accompanied by a binder housing articles and photos of the various projects the honoree led. I’ve been scouring Club scrapbooks, newspapers.com, and the Historic Hernando Museum Association archives for months to pull the information together. The binders will tell of their successes and also of some hard moments they experienced. We must remember that our best and brightest had lows just like the rest of us. In reality, their lows probably inspired and informed their highs!

Earlier his week, with papers and plastic sleeves piled high on the dining room table, I thought to myself, “I’m surrounded by binders full of women.”

I didn’t recall at the time what politician said it (and I don’t need to be reminded – it’s irrelevant to this story). My heart was full of happy pride when I thought it. Not because I want to reduce people to binders, but because I am so glad this research will be available for anyone who wants to know about these inspiring ladies. The binders represent a nod to their legacy and to their personhood.

Their stories have been largely untold.

Their stories are true.

Their stories are compelling.

May they inspire us to similarly influence our generation.