Written by Dare Thompson, Darethompson@gmail.com
It’s finished! No, not the Mueller investigation, though I’m sure you’ve been paying attention to that. I’m talking about our centennial history book titled “A Force to Reckon With.”
We’ve read through it one last time to catch typos and other small mistakes, but it’s now out of our hands and on schedule to be ready for a formal drop at our June convention. We hope it will be ready before that for some of your local League activities in May, but we can’t yet guarantee that. Stay tuned.
A separate less formal publication documenting local League histories is now our focus. Let us know asap if you meant to share your League’s history but missed the deadline. No promises, but we will see what we can do.
This book would not have been possible without an early generous gift from Emily and Eugene Grant, long-time League members in the Larchmont-Mamaroneck League. (Sadly, Eugene has since died just short of his 100th birthday.) Since then gifts from small foundations, past and current League leaders, and most recently the New York State Women’s Suffrage Commission have helped us cover the research and writing of the book – much of that done by professionals at Mount Ida Press. We are so grateful for this financial support as well as all the volunteer hours the book represents.
Planning is now afoot for ways to share the book across the state. If you’d like to hold a book party or other celebratory and sales event, let us know. One member pointed out that copies of the book make great gifts for departing board members. We welcome other such ideas.
A book like this is also a reminder to all of us that every day we are making history. We need to make sure we are taking note and celebrating as we go. Our final thanks go to all those over the last century who left a record that made this book – and your local histories – possible.
One way over the years we’ve made a record is through awards at our state convention. Has YOUR local League submitted your award-worthy activities? Look for details here and on our website and maybe we’ll be applauding your League’s efforts in June!
