As March is Women’s History Month,
I wanted to write a post that highlighted the importance of Women’s History.
(The abbreviated article can be seen at Skinny Mom)
(The abbreviated article can be seen at Skinny Mom)
History was my favorite subject
in school. One of the contributing factors of my fascination was having an
inspiring teacher who emanated her passion for history. As many of my friends
and family know, that teacher was Gail Beaton. For those of my readers that
don’t know, Gail is a retired public school teacher and community college
instructor. She was also my middle and high school history teacher. She recently
authored the book Colorado Women: A History. The theme of this year’s Women’s
History Month is weaving the stories of women’s lives. Gail’s book is an
engaging narrative on the roles of women from prehistoric to modern times. I
had the pleasure of interviewing Gail about her past as a history teacher, her
book, and her perspectives on women’s history. Enjoy!
Q: What made you
decide to become a teacher and why did you choose history?
A: I decided to become a teacher because I liked school,
liked the learning. I taught my youngest brother who is six years younger than
I was how to read. We played "school" when he was young. I decided to
teach history because I was always fascinated by people and events in the past.
Another big factor was my parents were big influences on me. When we had
vacations we would go on trips and we would visit historical sites like the
Mayflower, or go to Washington, DC, Mesa Verde, things like that. The national
parks. So I think they were a big part of me loving history.
Q: What has been
your favorite part of teaching history?
My favorite part of teaching history was working with the
students. That was always the best part - the relationships you form with
them, whether you just had them for a semester or if you had them for six years
in a row.
Q: What female figure from history has inspired you
or influenced your life? Why?
A: Eleanor Roosevelt was one woman from history that
inspired me and influenced my life. I think this was because she defied all the
stereotypes. She took the role of the First Lady beyond what it had ever been
before and she overcame a number of challenges in her personal life both in
growing up and later as First Lady. Of course also the Rosie the Riveter
character. In other words, the symbol for all those women who worked so hard
during World War II to help in the defense effort. There were also other women
who influenced me though maybe some people wouldn't call them historical. One
of course would be my mother and how she did everything with four children with
grace and classiness. I had teachers who were very influential, especially my
fourth grade teacher and my Latin teacher in high school. They always demanded
the best and knew how to relate to the wide variety of students in their classroom.
Q: Have you had
any challenges in your life as a woman and how have you overcome?
I think I have been very lucky that way. My parents were
very supportive of me. I remember that for my 9th birthday, all I wanted was my
own baseball mitt. Being left-handed, it was difficult to share with my
brothers. Although my parents' friends kept asking what else they were going to
get me - implying that a "boy's" gift wasn't enough - my parents
insisted that a mitt was what I wanted and that's what they were going to get
me. I chose a traditionally female career so I didn't face the challenges
others did. I do wish, though, that someone had pointed out other possible
avenues - but I was pretty set on teaching so maybe I would have ignored them
anyways!
Q: What inspired
you to write a book on women’s history in Colorado?
A: Most books center on men in Colorado history or US history so I
thought it was important to learn about and then to share with others the story
of women's history in Colorado.
Q: Was there a
favorite person or time period you researched and why?
My favorite time has always been the 1880s to 1945. I love those eras
because that's when women's opportunities were greatly expanding. There were
more job opportunities whether it was in store clerking and office work, union
organizing, the professions, college education, and of course World War II and
all of the Rosie the Riveter work. It was also a time of great expansion -
economically, industrially for the United States and so that's exciting history.
Q: Was there
something that you discovered in your research that surprised you?
I didn't realize Hispanic women in southern Colorado were often the
religious leaders in their communities. This was because Catholic priests only
visited these small outposts of civilization periodically. It may have been
months between visits. I also did not know about women who worked their own
mines in the Colorado mountains.
Q: In line with
this years theme for Women’s History Month, how would you describe women’s
contributions to the “woven” fabric of history that is currently mainly told
from the male perspective?
Women were often seen as in the background supporting men's efforts,
raising the children, perhaps doing a little bit with education and things like
that but never really seen as standing side-by-side and doing important things
on their own. That is so far from the truth. Women plowed fields, planted
crops, set up schools, hospitals, aid societies, fought for civil rights,
lobbied elected officials for particular legislation, supported the arts, and
led progressive reforms. They were miners, educators, philanthropists,
suffragists, elected officials, appointed officials, war workers, religious
leaders, business owners, and workers. That's from the time of the first Native
Americans to the Hispanic settlers to Anglo pioneers to Black, Japanese, and
European immigrants to today's Colorado women.
Q: Why is it
important to teach women’s history?
Without women's history, one only knows half the story. Without women's
history, where are the role models for today's girls? It's important - for both
genders - to know of the struggles, the challenges, the hard work that earlier
people dealt with and to know that they succeeded. Some times not right away.
In fact, often times change was slow, but they didn't give up. If you want to
succeed, you have to persevere. Find your passion and work your hardest at it.
That's what makes life meaningful. [sorry- got carried away!]
Q: You are also a
re-enactor portraying a Rosie the Riveter character. What inspired you to create a character for your history
lesson? Have you ever thought of creating another female historical figure to
re-enact? If so who and why? How does using re-enacting help to convey the
importance of women’s contributions in history?
Rosies applied for and worked jobs that people said they couldn't, said
they wouldn't be capable or handling the skill level or the stress or the work
conditions. But they did. And were so dang good at it.
I have thought of a few other women I'd like to do. One is Amelia Earhart
but someone already does her in this region. Another is a WASP, a woman aviator
from WWII. Dr. Ella Mead,a doctor in Greeley, or Bessie Smith, an architect, if
the same time period. But who really intrigues me is Margaret Bourke-White, a
photographer of the Great Depression and WWII. Her transport ship was torpedoed
and she spent 18 hours in a lifeboat with other survivors until they were
rescued.
Re-enacting brings a personal, human face and persona to an event, to a
time period. The audience can relate to the person's struggles and successes.
It affords the audience a chance to ask questions of the character and of the
historian behind the character. It's a glimpse into the the life of a woman who
made a difference.
Q: What do you
hope is ahead for women in the coming century?
I hope for equality. No more "can'ts" and
"shouldn'ts." For both girls and boys, women and men. That all phases
of life are open to anyone, regardless of gender, should they wish to pursue
it.
Q: What are you
doing next?
I am currently researching Colorado women of WWII. I am interviewing
army nurses, WASPs, Rosies, etc. in the hopes of sharing their stories with
others. So possibly another book but one with a must narrower focus - one era,
one state.
I am also a research volunteer for the National Museum of World War II
Aviation in Colorado Springs. They are preparing for a large expansion so I am
researching their current artifacts for them. And learning a lot in the
process!
I would like to thank Gail Beaton, not only for taking the time to
answer my questions, but also for her work to remember the women of the past
and their often-unrecognized contributions to history.
For more information on Gail’s book or her Rosie talks please visit her
website www.GailBeaton.com
