The Nineteenth

Tennessee! The last state needed to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment! This was the turning point. And I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than with the women of the Grand Ole Opry. They shared the vibrance of life and helped to create a world to share music and culture for all. Tennessee was the 36th and final required state to reach the majority, and ratify the Nineteenth Amendment on August 18, 1920. The Women of the Grand Ole Opry The longest running radio broadcast in history, the Grand Ole Opry started in 1925 to honor country music and its history. Mixing singers and chart toppers of country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, gospel music and comedic performances, hundreds of thousands of visitors and millions of listeners share in the community. Known as “the show that made country music famous”, the show quickly grew through the 1930s to a Saturday night tradition in 30 states. In 1943, the Opry moved to the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, then known as America’s ...

WASHINGTON!!! My home and native land. This is where I have spent almost all of my life. Years 1-18, 22-24, and 29-present ... home. I tell people I will travel and explore, but forever now Washington will be my home. I feel accepted here. I feel like I am like minded and respectful in the way my home should be. It is filled with beauty, exploration, diversity, and political debate. It is filled with my family and friends that have all helped shaped me over my life, and also not shunned me when I changed my views or became more independent. I love you Washington! Every one of you. Dixy Lee is an interesting person to portray here. She is vocal, brassy, and blunt. She is intelligent and passionate. She is herself above and beyond everything. That is a Washingtonian to me. Washington was the 35th state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment. There were many attempts for Washington to permit women voting before the national amendment, but they failed, mostly in issue with the liquor vo...

I made a last minute switch, which hadn't happened yet. But when I found out Katherine Johnson was born in West Virginia made me thrilled to see it wasn't too late to highlight such a wonderful woman. West Virginia is the 34th state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment on March 10, 1920. A concise description of Mrs. Johnson’s work included “calculating trajectories, launch windows, and emergency return paths for Project Mercury spaceflights, including those for astronauts Alan Shepard, the first American in space, and John Glenn, the first American in orbit, and rendezvous paths for the Apollo Lunar Module and command module on flights to the Moon. Her calculations were also essential to the beginning of the Space Shuttle program, and she worked on plans for a mission to Mars.” Mrs. Johnson was sent out of County for high school because her aptitude for mathematics was evident, and her home County did not offer public schooling for African-Americans past eighth grade. She...

I have enjoyed the "Queens" of many things in this blog. Today is the "Queen of Country" with Reba McEntire. You should go to her concert of 2020. I think I may try to. She is a legend that I missed before. Oklahoma is the 33rd state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment on February 28, 1920. Ms. McEntire elevated her career as a sophomore at SE Oklahoma State University catching the ear of artist Red Steagall by singing the National Anthem at the National Rodeo in Oklahoma City. A year later in 1975, she signed with Mercury Records, releasing her first of 29 albums in 1977. In 1984, Ms. McEntire took control of her album to build a more traditional country sound, bringing breakthrough success. She released a total of 29 albums. Of these sixteen, hit number one, 28 were certified gold, platinum, or multi-platinum by the Recording Industry of America, and 42 number one singles. Crowned “the Queen of Country”, she is one of the best-selling artists of all time wit...

My first pick for New Mexico was unfortunately ruled out as she was not born in New Mexico, so I had to start from scratch (the original person to make it on a intermission week). Finding Carolyn Shoemaker brought to light the comet of 1994 that I remember with interest in my high school. New Mexico was the 32nd state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment on February 21, 1920. Ms. Shoemaker joined her husband, Eugene Shoemaker after meeting him, riveted by his work. She was not a trained or educated scientist, but her patience and “stereoscopic vision” were assets that made her welcome to California Institute of Technology and his team. She met Eugene as her brother, Richard’s, roommate in college when he served as best man at Richard’s wedding. As pen-pals, he finished his post graduate work at Princeton, and they married in 1951. They had a family with her as a teacher and mother. People that knew her recognized she was driven to be more than a teacher. Once her children left the...

My mom, winter resident of Arizona, helped me select my Arizona woman of note. Gabby Giffords is a woman my mom encouraged as a strong advocate for her beliefs and perseverence. And I couldn't agree more. Arizona was the 31st state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment on February 12, 1920. Ms. Giffords, the third woman to sit on the US House of Representatives from Arizona, resigned following a severe brain trauma from an assassination attempt in 2011. Early in her business career, she returned to Arizona as the CEO of her grandfather’s tire company “El Campo Tire Warehouses”. Following that, she moved through the Arizona politics until being elected to the US House of Representatives. Starting her third term, she was shot in the head during an event with constituents in a mass shooting and assassination attempt. Eight months later, she regained her ability to walk, speak, read and write, and returned to the House floor to a standing ovation. She returned on last time to Oba...

I am taking the opportunity to break between states to share my experiences voting. I have grown to be an avid voter, every ballot. It is my voice, my right. Regardless of the outcomes, speaking out does matter. I registered to vote in 1995 in Washington State, and have been a voter for this state for now 25 years! My photo is of me voting while in graduate school in 2004. I was excited to register to vote in 1995. Not because of the legacy that was behind me. I didn’t feel political when I was 18. I didn’t have strong views. I didn’t talk about current issues because I didn’t spend the time listening or learning about why our country is the way it is. What happened to grow us into a country of freedom. It was just a new right at 18. The first major election I voted in was for Clinton in 1996. It was a stable election that I likely voted more for consistency than anything. It was four years later in the vote in 2000 that showed me the need and stress of voting. The vote between ...