Archives Mini Exhibit: In Celebration of Women

Woman is a riddle to be solved, a conundrum to be guessed, a puzzle to be interpreted, a mystery to be explained, a problem to be studied, a paradox to be reconciled. She is a toy or a drudge, a mistress or a servant, a queen or a slave ... I wish we could learn to regard woman as simply a human being, plus the powers and gifts peculiar to her sex, just as man is a human being, plus the powers and gifts peculiar to his sex.

— Mary F. Eastman, at the 9th meeting of the American Woman Suffrage Association, 1878

Images in this mini archival exhibition, all from the Museum's collection, illustrate women in many different roles. From fish packing in 1899 to fish canning in the 1940s – from the all girl High School Cadets in 1888 to the Red Cross nurses and Land Girls of WWI – from fashion plates, pin-up girls and sales women to boarding house keepers – from driving cars in 1915 to making sails in 1960 – from artists, sculptors, writers and teachers to fighting for equality and enjoying motherhood.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.