Book of the Week (4/1/2019)

Her Fearless Run: Kathrine Switzer’s Historic Boston Marathon by Kim Chaffee (Salem, MA: Page Street Kids, 2019).

What better way to wrap up Women's History Month, than with a powerful tribute to one of running's most iconic figures and strong female role models. Kathrine Switzer is truly a brave, barrier breaking individual who made marathon running a possibility for other women with her infamous 1967 Boston Marathon run.

"Kathrine Switzer changed the world of running. This narrative biography follows Kathrine from running laps as a girl in her backyard to becoming the first woman to run the Boston Marathon with official race numbers in 1967. Her inspirational true story is for anyone willing to challenge the rules. The compelling collage art adds to the kinetic action of the story. With tension and heart, this biography has the influential power to get readers into running. An excellent choice for sports fans, New Englanders, young dreamers, and competitive girls and boys alike."-- Amazon.com

"Her Fearless Run" was written by New Hampshire first time author, Kim Chaffee.

Visit Kathrine's website to learn more about her life and achievements.

Book of the Week #13

Women's Work in New England, 1620-1920 edited by Peter Benes (Boston University, 2003)

This volume is volume 26 of the Annual Proceedings of the Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife. This conference, held in Deerfield, MA in June 2001 "consisted of museum tours in Deerfield conducted by Historic Deerfield and the Memorial Hall Museum, followed by twenty-one lectures and demonstrations on the working roles of women in New England and contiguous portions of New York State and Canada from the time of first European settlement through the early twentieth century. The conference planning committee hoped to concentrate on the expectations and gender burdens placed on women of all ages and social ranks in the region between 1620 and 1920." (p. 5)

Among the papers included in this volume is "Number, Please: New Hampshire Predial Telephone Operators, 1877-1920" by Judith Moyer. This is a look at the history of telephones in the granite state and the women who made them work. The image on the cover was taken at Otis Sumner's drugstore, Goffstown, NH c. 1920. At that time there were 653 telephone operators in New Hampshire and 92.5% of them were women.

Book of the Week #12

When Women and Mountains Meet: Adventures in the White Mountains by Julie Boardman (Etna, NH: Durand Press, 2001)

"This book tells the story of the women who helped shape the rich history of New Hampshire's White Mountains. I was inspired to write it when I began looking into the life of Lucy Crawford, the author of a famous history of the region. As I learned something about Lucy's accomplishments, I realized that she had never recieved the attention that she deserves, and I wondered if other women might have suffered a similar fate. ...the women whom I have chosen to write about had a special feeling for mountains. The loved being in the mountains, were curious about them, and looked to them for adventure, inspiration, or solace. Some were hikers and mountaineers, while others enriched the region as writers, artists, scientists, conservationists, explorers, innkeepers, or simply as characters." [preface, p. vii]

Julie Boardman's work has appeared in Appalachia, the Sierra Club Magazine, Connecticut Magazine, Connecticut Audubon, and many other publications. Since moving to New Hampshire in 1990, she has hiked extensively throughout New England and climbed the New England 4,000 footers.

Book of the Week #11

Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor by Emily Arnold McCully (NY: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2006)

Emily Arnold McCully wrote and illustrated the life of Margaret E. Knight who came up with her first (life saving) invention when she was a girl living in Manchester, NH. There is a very good chance that you used something this week that wouldn't exist without a machine that Margaret Knight invented.

Ms. McCully is also the author of The Escape of Oney Judge, another story of a New Hampshire woman.

Book of the Week #10

More Than Petticoats: Remarkable New Hampshire Women by Gail Underwood Parker (Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 2009)

This book profiles the lives of 13 of New Hampshire's most important historical women (born before 1900). From the introduction:

"These thirteen women are a mosaic. White and black, Jewish and Scandinavian, rich and poor, convicted and lawyer, prodigy and late bloomer, respected and scorned, adamantly religious and anti-religion, immigrants and descendants of colonists. They are all worth meeting. Their stories should be known and told. While reading these pages, I suspect you will discover unexpected common bonds with these women. I am sure you will be captivated by their stories."

Book of the Week #9

In honor of Women's History Month, the books of the week for March 2010 will all relate to women in New Hampshire history.

Pandora's Pride by May Gruber (Secaucus, NJ: Lyle Stuart, 1984)

In the 1940's May Gruber & her husband started the Pandora knitting factory in Manchester, N.H. In this, her autobiography, she tells of her childhood in NY, her courtship & marriage, going into business with her father, then the move to Manchester. After her husband died, she overcame many obstacles & became president of Pandora Industries.

Among the NH State Library collections is a set of interviews with Ms. Gruber.