March is Women’s History Month when we celebrate the women in our lives. Where would we be without the guidance and love of our mother’s and grandmothers and the joy we receive from our daughters and granddaughters.
National Women’s History month’s roots go back to March 8, 1857, when women from New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. International Women’s Day was first observed in 1909, but it wasn’t until 1981 that Congress established National Women’s History Week to be commemorated the second week of March. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month.
Helen Prescott Hastings wrote and researched “A Little History of New York’s North Country” in the late 1970’s for her grandson, Joel Prescott Hastings. The purpose was to bring attention to areas, events, and people seldom acknowledged. An abridged version of the original was edited by Dr. Warren Hollis and Jeanne McKown with art work by Barbara Bollinger. Her daughter Pat wrote, “In the fall of 1984, when Mom had only a few months to live, Dad and I took her for what she told us ahead of time would be her last car ride. She wanted to go “Up East.” She was endlessly appreciative of the Sandy Creek area. In the dedication to Joel she wrote, “I have attempted to record a true history of this area, consulting every available history book and newspaper account since 1945. None of this history did I learn in school, and I am so happy that you will have the opportunity.”
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