Women’s History

Photo by RDNE Stock project: https://www.pexels.com/photo/text-6257848/

Early in the spring semester of 1983, a faculty member from the McMurry College History department came by my office. Fane Downs was in the middle of her second career at the time. She had been a “professional” Girl Scout serving in roles as District Director and Camp Director in West Texas. Then she went to Texas Tech University earning both her MA and Ph.D. in history after which she joined the McMurry Faculty. Later she would enroll in Austin Theological Seminary and enter her third career as a Presbyterian minister. Peter and I were the first couple she married!

But that’s just to give you a flavor of this amazing woman. I barely knew her when she showed up in my office with a radical idea. She paid me the compliment of thinking I might be a good person to work with on her idea. We should celebrate Women’s History Week at McMurry that year. And we did!

I was a bit embarrassed because I’d never heard of Women’s History Week. Turns out, it was very new. In 1978, Santa Rosa, California held the first version in conjunction with International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8. It began to grow from there, with President Jimmy Carter issuing a statement in February 1980 calling on all Americans to celebrate National Women’s History Week. In 1982, President Reagan issued a similar proclamation. (https://www.today.com/today/amp/rcna193642
And a year later, McMurry had its first celebration. Thanks to Fane, we were on the cutting edge.

Probably no one still at McMurry knows the tory of the first Women’s History celebration on campus. There’s also no way to know how many women on the McMurry campus were influenced by Fane’s actions. But I have no doubt that many were. And whether or not many people remember the details, it was important enough to Fane that her family included her leadership in her obituary. It was important to me then and now and I’m grateful to have part of bringing women’s history into the conversation at McMurry in new ways.

So many people who do so many wonderful things in the world that slip by. But each of us can do our part to tell their stories to someone, to keep the contributions of the women in your lives alive. The amazing movie “Hidden Figures” came from someone’s determination to tell a story she thought important.

Which is my challenge to you this month. Think back. Who is a woman who made a difference in your life? Tell one person that story and, I promise you, they will come alive again, for you and for that new person. Sharing our stories of the people we know who make a difference extends their influence and keeps them from being forgotten.

Women’s History is all our history. Let’s use this month to remember and share that history.

Take care,

Gage