Congresswoman Walorski Celebrates Women's Suffrage At Ice Cream Social
August 30, 2020 at 9:20 p.m.
By David [email protected]
As part of its programming to mark the historic event, Oakwood Foundation Chautauqua-Wawasee hosted a Women’s Suffrage Centennial Celebration ice cream social at Lakeside Park in Syracuse Saturday. Attending and guest speaking was 2nd District U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Walorski.
In a brief interview before taking the microphone, Walorski said the reason she was there Saturday was because, “The town of Syracuse is doing a women’s suffrage celebration and they called and asked if I wanted to come down. I’m grateful for the invitation. I think it’s something that we’ve got to keep talking about.”
She said the ice cream social at the park, with 15 to 20 people in attendance, was what it looked like in the days women fought for the right to vote.
“You know what? You never talked to throngs of people. You talked to few people. You talked to a few people who would talk to a few people, and then over the years that culminated,” she said. “But there were many generations, before me, who came together and sometimes it would be two or three people. But they passed it on from generation to generation.”
She said the women who fought for the right to vote were passionate about it.
“And I think that’s the thing that’s still uniform today. We are all different, we look different, coming from different periods of time, but the reason that women like me are in public office is we’re passionate about, we care for people. They cared for people back in those days. They helped during elections. They campaigned for candidates even before they had the right to vote. And I think that’s just one of the messages we have to carry on today. This didn’t just bloom overnight.”
Walorski said this year a record number of women ran for office.
“This has been a process. And we would not be here today if not for those women before us who were in the worst of times, trying to fight for that right to vote. So I think it’s worth celebrating,” she said.
One reason people celebrate something is to not forget them, she said.
“I think this is a really important time right now in our culture where women need to remember there’s a reason to celebrate this month, and obviously into the end of the month, and that’s what we’re doing today,” Walorski said.
Women have the right to vote, she said, “and what a difference women have made when you look at the number of women elected to office today.”
On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and two weeks later, the Senate followed, according to ourdocuments.gov. When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on Aug. 18, 1920, the amendment passed its final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on Aug. 26, 1920.
While women have made a lot of progress, there’s still work to be done, Walorski agreed.
“I don’t think you can ever say we’ve arrived. There’s a lot more progress that needs to be made,” she said.
Looking around at the children at the park, Walorski continued, saying it was important that the boys and girls understood “that they didn’t just wake up one day with all these people in front of them as elected officials. There was a lot of work, there was a lot of passion, there was a lot of determination and there was a lot of pain. Women before us paid a price just like we see in this country. So, you’re never at the pinnacle, but you’re definitely, I think, in a position today to say we’re grateful and acknowledge those before us who worked so hard so we can be here today, not only as voters but as public office holders at the federal level.”
A bill Walorski just dropped that will not only relate to women but to everybody is the “next big need we’re going to have coming out of COVID: child care,” she said. “This isn’t just a passing issue of we need child care. We need a comprehensive national strategy for child care and that’s what I’m involved in right now.”
In her district right now instead of in Washington, D.C., because of COVID, she said one of the places she went last week and one of the bills that she has gotten involved in – that’s already bipartisan and will be bicameral – “is providing a couple of different ways for adults, parents, to be able to pay for their kids in daycare, allowing up to $15,000 in those Flexible Savings Accounts that are tax free. That bill is out there, bipartisan. This is going to be the next big solution we have to bring to the table. If we need our workforce to go back into the workforce so families can be successful, then we’ve got to find ways – especially if the schools are virtual – to take care of these kids.”
Mark Knecht, president of Chautauqua-Wawasee, said the nonprofit has had a number of events going on this month related to the suffrage movement. Some were at the Oakwood Resort in Syracuse, with others at Lakeside Park.
Project leader Beth Beams said Knecht was really the “passion behind the whole Chautauqua piece. “He’s really been working hard to expand this,” she said, “and I’ve been a part of this suffrage celebration, but he’s really worked hard on it.”
Knecht said they’ve had two university speakers in. One, from Ball State University, spoke Wednesday and talked about the chronology of the women’s movement.
“She’s mapping the suffrage movement in Indiana so she has story after story after story about how ordinary people and leadership came up and how events happened in communities. She brought history to life. You don’t have to be interested in suffrage, these are wonderful history lessons about Indiana. They are great,” Beams said.
Knecht said the event next Saturday is with Marsha Miller. She will have songs from back in the day with a multi-media presentation.
Miller’s program, titled “From Amanda to Zerelda: Hoosier Suffragists Who Raised A Ruckus,” is in the Syracuse Community Center from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5.
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As part of its programming to mark the historic event, Oakwood Foundation Chautauqua-Wawasee hosted a Women’s Suffrage Centennial Celebration ice cream social at Lakeside Park in Syracuse Saturday. Attending and guest speaking was 2nd District U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Walorski.
In a brief interview before taking the microphone, Walorski said the reason she was there Saturday was because, “The town of Syracuse is doing a women’s suffrage celebration and they called and asked if I wanted to come down. I’m grateful for the invitation. I think it’s something that we’ve got to keep talking about.”
She said the ice cream social at the park, with 15 to 20 people in attendance, was what it looked like in the days women fought for the right to vote.
“You know what? You never talked to throngs of people. You talked to few people. You talked to a few people who would talk to a few people, and then over the years that culminated,” she said. “But there were many generations, before me, who came together and sometimes it would be two or three people. But they passed it on from generation to generation.”
She said the women who fought for the right to vote were passionate about it.
“And I think that’s the thing that’s still uniform today. We are all different, we look different, coming from different periods of time, but the reason that women like me are in public office is we’re passionate about, we care for people. They cared for people back in those days. They helped during elections. They campaigned for candidates even before they had the right to vote. And I think that’s just one of the messages we have to carry on today. This didn’t just bloom overnight.”
Walorski said this year a record number of women ran for office.
“This has been a process. And we would not be here today if not for those women before us who were in the worst of times, trying to fight for that right to vote. So I think it’s worth celebrating,” she said.
One reason people celebrate something is to not forget them, she said.
“I think this is a really important time right now in our culture where women need to remember there’s a reason to celebrate this month, and obviously into the end of the month, and that’s what we’re doing today,” Walorski said.
Women have the right to vote, she said, “and what a difference women have made when you look at the number of women elected to office today.”
On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and two weeks later, the Senate followed, according to ourdocuments.gov. When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on Aug. 18, 1920, the amendment passed its final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on Aug. 26, 1920.
While women have made a lot of progress, there’s still work to be done, Walorski agreed.
“I don’t think you can ever say we’ve arrived. There’s a lot more progress that needs to be made,” she said.
Looking around at the children at the park, Walorski continued, saying it was important that the boys and girls understood “that they didn’t just wake up one day with all these people in front of them as elected officials. There was a lot of work, there was a lot of passion, there was a lot of determination and there was a lot of pain. Women before us paid a price just like we see in this country. So, you’re never at the pinnacle, but you’re definitely, I think, in a position today to say we’re grateful and acknowledge those before us who worked so hard so we can be here today, not only as voters but as public office holders at the federal level.”
A bill Walorski just dropped that will not only relate to women but to everybody is the “next big need we’re going to have coming out of COVID: child care,” she said. “This isn’t just a passing issue of we need child care. We need a comprehensive national strategy for child care and that’s what I’m involved in right now.”
In her district right now instead of in Washington, D.C., because of COVID, she said one of the places she went last week and one of the bills that she has gotten involved in – that’s already bipartisan and will be bicameral – “is providing a couple of different ways for adults, parents, to be able to pay for their kids in daycare, allowing up to $15,000 in those Flexible Savings Accounts that are tax free. That bill is out there, bipartisan. This is going to be the next big solution we have to bring to the table. If we need our workforce to go back into the workforce so families can be successful, then we’ve got to find ways – especially if the schools are virtual – to take care of these kids.”
Mark Knecht, president of Chautauqua-Wawasee, said the nonprofit has had a number of events going on this month related to the suffrage movement. Some were at the Oakwood Resort in Syracuse, with others at Lakeside Park.
Project leader Beth Beams said Knecht was really the “passion behind the whole Chautauqua piece. “He’s really been working hard to expand this,” she said, “and I’ve been a part of this suffrage celebration, but he’s really worked hard on it.”
Knecht said they’ve had two university speakers in. One, from Ball State University, spoke Wednesday and talked about the chronology of the women’s movement.
“She’s mapping the suffrage movement in Indiana so she has story after story after story about how ordinary people and leadership came up and how events happened in communities. She brought history to life. You don’t have to be interested in suffrage, these are wonderful history lessons about Indiana. They are great,” Beams said.
Knecht said the event next Saturday is with Marsha Miller. She will have songs from back in the day with a multi-media presentation.
Miller’s program, titled “From Amanda to Zerelda: Hoosier Suffragists Who Raised A Ruckus,” is in the Syracuse Community Center from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5.
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