Stopping by Seneca Falls

March 1 - Today's post provided by Lisa Taylor of Shelf-employed

In November, on a cold Thursday night spotted with wintry precipitation, my daughter and I packed up the family van and headed north on a “college road trip.” With Friday and Saturday college tours in Syracuse and Rochester, we had planned a busy weekend of driving and walking. The weather was cold and dreary. After spending the early part of Friday in Syracuse, we headed west on Route 90, en route to Rochester under a gray sky. 

We were speeding along at a good clip when I saw the sign, SENECA FALLS, NEXT EXIT.

Seneca Falls? I had no idea that we would be in the vicinity. I also had no idea how far off the road it might be, but there was the sign, calling to me. I yelled out, “Seneca Falls - next exit! Should we?” “Yes,” my daughter replied. “Do it.” There was no further discussion. And just like that, in less than the time it takes to drive a mile at 70 mph, we turned off the highway towards Seneca Falls, home of the Wesleyan Methodist Church and the site of the first Women’s Rights Convention. Two women from two generations, united in our desire to see the birthplace of the women’s movement in the United States, no further conversation necessary.

© L Taylor

 This is my photograph of the church, on that nondescript intersection in the small upstate New York town of Seneca Falls, where committed women made history and paved the way for future generations. I’m sure you can find better photos elsewhere on the Internet, but I like this photo because it’s mine, because it captures a moment that I shared with my daughter, my daughter, whose public school education taught her the importance of places like Seneca Falls. Before we left the National Park site, she purchased a copy of the Declaration of Sentiments - with her own money.



© L Taylor

We are empowered by education. The books, the writers, and the women that we will feature this month are helping to educate a new generation, bringing women’s history to life in a way that textbooks do not. Seneca Falls is where the modern women’s movement began, and in our own small way, we hope to continue it here. For the next 30 days, be enlightened, be educated, be moved.

This year’s Women’s History Month theme is "Women’s Education - Women’s Empowerment."

Pass it on.

Though less well-known than her dear friend, Susan B. Anthony, I find the life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton to be particularly inspiring.  One cannot help but wonder at this 19th century superwoman - leading the charge for women's suffrage while simultaneously maintaining a successful 47-year marriage, and raising seven children!  Author Tanya Lee Stone chronicles the life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton for young readers in Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote. (Holt 2008)

Note:
Lisa Taylor is a youth services librarian in New Jersey.  She is a member of NJLA, ALA, and ALSC.