Maine Women's Hall of Fame

The Maine Women's Hall of Fame was created in 1990 to honor the achievements of women associated with the U.S. state of Maine. The induction ceremonies are held each year during March, designated as Women's History Month. Nominees are chosen by the public via an online nomination form. The University of Maine at Augusta displays the hall of fame in its Bennett D. Katz Library, and also hosts the hall of fame online at the university's website. The nomination form lists three criteria for eligibility:[1]

Maine Women's Hall of Fame
Eleanor Roosevelt and Margaret Chase Smith
Map
Established1990
LocationBernard D. Katz Library
University of Maine
46 University Drive
Augusta, Maine 04330
Coordinates44°20′34″N 69°47′44″W / 44.342902°N 69.795604°W / 44.342902; -69.795604
Website[1]
1) Woman's achievements must have had a significant statewide impact
2) Woman's achievements significantly improved the lives of women in Maine
3) Woman's contribution has enduring value for women.

Nominations have a December deadline of any given year.

The first two inductees in 1990 were Mabel Sine Wadsworth and Margaret Chase Smith. Wadsworth had devoted her life to multiple issues, including maternal health and family planning, founding the Wadsworth Women's Health Center. She was a member of the board of Board of Directors of Legal Services for the Elderly, and helped raise funds for noteworthy organizations.

Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman elected to serve in the United States Senate. She ran for President of the United States in the 1964 Republican Party primarily, but lost out to Barry Goldwater. She was also the first Republican to speak out against the tactics of fellow Senator Joseph McCarthy, in her June 1, 1950 address on the floor of the Senate.

Two decades after its inception, the list of Inductees contains an Olympic gold medalist, Joan Benoit, two more United States Senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and the mother of a Senator, Patricia M. Collins who herself had been mayor of a Maine city. Geneticist Elizabeth S. Russell joined the list, as did the President University of Maine at Presque Isle Nancy H. Hensel. Author and Holocaust survivor Judith Magyar Isaacson has been honored by an induction into the hall of fame. With the 2011 inductees, the hall of fame had honored 35 women for their contributions to Maine and to the female population.

Inductees

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Maine Women's Hall of Fame
Name Image Birth–Death Year Area of achievement Ref(s)
Sandra L. Caron 2023 Professor and author [2]
Julia G. Kahrl (1934–) 2022 Women's reproductive rights advocate [3]
Jessica Meir   (1977–) 2022 Astronaut, biologist [4]
Joyce Taylor Gibson 2021 Associate Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Southern Maine [5]
Leigh Saufley   (1954–) 2021 Dean of the University of Maine School of Law and former Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court [5]
Joanne D’Arcangelo 2020 Feminist activist and political strategist, policy advocate and lobbyist, State House staffer, and non-profit leader [6]
Betty-Jane Stanhope Meader 2020 Thomas College professor, former state president of the American Association of University Women of Maine and the Maine Association of Family and Consumer Sciences [6]
Darylen McQuirk Cote 2019 Advocate for women's health, equality and education [7]
Janet Mills   (1947–) 2019 75th Governor of Maine [7]
Julia Clukey (1985–) 2018 Olympic luger [8]
Cornelia Thurza "Fly Rod" Crosby   (1854–1946) 2018 Maine’s First Licensed Guide [9]
Ann Schonberger (1940–2022) 2017 University of Maine Mathematics. One of the founders of the Women’s Studies Program at the University of Maine Orono [10]
Clara Swan (1912–2017) 2017 President of Casco Bay College and a Husson College Business Professor [10]
Connie Adler 2016 Physician and women's health advocate [11]
Elizabeth Ward Saxl 2016 Advocate for victims and survivors of sexual assault [12]
Ellen F. Golden (1946–) 2015 Senior Vice President at CEI (Coastal Enterprises, Inc.) [13]
Barbara W. Woodlee (1946–) 2015 Retired president of Kennebec Valley Community College; chief academic officer for the Maine Community College System [14]
Laurie G. Lachance 2014 First woman president of Thomas College [15]
Patricia E. Ryan 2014 Executive director of the Maine Human Rights Commission and a founding member of the Maine Women's Lobby
Lyn Mikel Brown (1956–) 2013 Co-founder of Hardy Girls Healthy Women, activist, author, researcher and professor at Colby College [16]
Mary Cathcart (1942–) 2013 Former Maine State Representative and State Senator; co-director of Maine NEW Leadership program of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center [17]
Mary Farrar (1949–) 2012 Victims' advocate
Ruth L. Lockhart 2012 Women's health advocate, women's rights activist, AIDS educator
Susan Collins   (1952–) 2011 United States Senate [18]
Katherine O. Musgrave (1920–2015) 2011 Professor Emerita of Food and Nutrition at the University of Maine; 2002 New England University Continuing Education Association Faculty Member of the Year Award [19]
Thelma C. Swain (1908–2008) 2010 Philanthropist [20]
Sharon Barker (1949–2023) 2009 Director University of Maine Women's Resource Center [21]
Karen Heck (1952–) 2008 Advocate for women's issues
Florence Brooks Whitehouse   (1869–1945) 2008 Women's suffrage [22]
Laura Fortman   (1954–) 2007 Deputy Administrator, Wage and Hour Division U. S. Dept. of Labor; former Executive Director of the Frances Perkins Center [23]
Dale McCormick   (1947–) 2007 Former Maine State Treasurer, served in Maine State Senate [24]
Chilton R. Knudsen   (1946–) 2006 Bishop of Maine, Episcopal Church [25]
Patricia M. Collins (1927–2024) 2005 Mayor of Caribou (1981–1982), chairman of Maine Committee for Judicial Responsibility and Disability, and Catholic Charities Maine [26]
Judy Ayotte Paradis (1944–) 2005 Maine House of Representatives
Sharon H. Abrams (1949–) 2004 Executive Director of the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers in Waterville [27]
Judith Magyar Isaacson (1925–2015) 2004 Holocaust survivor, human rights activist, author of Seed of Sarah: Memoirs of a Survivor
Nancy H. Hensel (1943–) 2003 President University of Maine at Presque Isle [28]
Theodora J. Kalikow (1941–) 2002 President, University of Maine at Farmington [29]
Linda Smith Dyer (1948–2001) 2001 Co-founder of Maine Women's Lobby [30]
Chellie Pingree   (1955–) 2001 United States House of Representatives [31]
Caroline D. Gentile (1924–2008) 2000 Physical education instructor [32]
Joan Benoit Samuelson   (1957–) 2000 American marathon runner who won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics [33]
Elizabeth H. Mitchell (1940–) 1999 Maine State Senate [34]
Olympia J. Snowe   (1947–) 1999 United States Senate [35]
Lois Galgay Reckitt   (1944–2023) 1998 Executive Director, Family Crisis Services, Portland, Maine [36]
Ethel Wilson Gammon (1916–2009) 1997 Founder, Washburn-Norlands Living History Center [37]
Mildred Brown Schrumpf (1903–2001) 1997 Home economist, nutritionist [38]
Elizabeth W. Crandall (1914–2005) 1996 Environmentalist, woman's issues advocate
Marti Stevens (c. 1939–1993) 1996 Theatre director, actress, director of Somerset County Basic Skills [39]
Eloise Vitelli   (1949–) 1995 Founded Women's Business Development Corporation, advocate for entrepreneurship for women [40]
Esther E. Wood (1905–2002) 1994 Writer, teacher, historian [41]
Dorothy M. Healy (1904–1990) 1993 College professor who, along with professor Grace A. Dow, established the Maine Women's Writers Collection; namesake of the Dorothy M. Healy Professorship at the University of New England [42]
Ninetta May Runnals (1885–1980) 1992 Dean of Women at Colby College [43]
Gail H. Laughlin   (1868–1952) 1991 First practicing female attorney from Maine, first president of Business and Professional Women's Foundation, served in both the Maine House of Representatives and Maine State Senate
Gilda E. Nardone (1947–) 1991 Director of Maine Displaced Homemakers Program
Elizabeth S. Russell   (1913–2001) 1991 Geneticist [44]
Margaret Chase Smith   (1897–1995) 1990 United States Senate, United States House of Representatives [45]
Mabel Sine Wadsworth (1910–2006) 1990 Birth control activist [46]

Further reading

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  • Isaacson, Judith Magyar (1990). Seeds of Sarah, Memoirs of a Survivor (2nd ed.). University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-01651-6.

Citations

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  1. ^ "Maine Women's Hall of Fame". Maine University at Augusta. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  2. ^ "2023 Maine Women's Hall of Fame Inductee Announced". University of Maine at Augusta. February 24, 2023.
  3. ^ Hunt, Avery (29 June 2022). "Judy Kahrl - Maine Women Magazine". Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  4. ^ Mars, Kelli (1 February 2016). "Jessica U. Meir (PH.D.) NASA Astronaut". NASA. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Joyce Taylor Gibson and Leigh Saufley to be inducted to Maine Women's Hall of Fame | Office of Public Affairs | University of Southern Maine". University of Southern Maine. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Inductee Profiles 2020". Futurama Foundation. BPW/Maine Futurama Foundation. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Women's Hall of Fame". University of Maine at Presque Isle. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  8. ^ "Julia Clukey". Team USA. Archived from the original on February 25, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  9. ^ "History of the Maine Guide: Cornilia Fly Rod Crosby". Maine Guides Online. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Maine Women's Hall of Fame celebration". Lewiston Sun Journal. March 8, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  11. ^ "2016 recipients". bpwmefoundation.org. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  12. ^ "2016 recipients". bpwmefoundation.org. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  13. ^ "CEI's Ellen Golden Inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame". Coastal Enterprises, Inc. March 19, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  14. ^ Levasseur, Rick (May 24, 2012). "Kennebec Valley Community College President to Retire after 30 Years". McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Bangor Daily News.[dead link]
  15. ^ Swinconeck, John (March 3, 2014). "Patricia Ryan being inducted into Women's Hall of Fame". The Times Record. Archived from the original on March 29, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  16. ^ Wolcott, Jennifer. "Competition: The Fear That Makes Girls Feud?". The Christian Science Publishing Society. The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 2018-03-29.
  17. ^ "Staff & Faculty Directory – Mary R. Cathcart". Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center. The University of Maine. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  18. ^ "Susan Collis". Biographical Directory. United States Congress. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  19. ^ McCrea, Nick (June 22, 2015). "Nutritionist, Maine Women's Hall of Fame Member Katherine Musgrave Dies". McClatchy-Tribune Information Service. Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016.; "Katherine Ogilvie Musgrave". McClatchy-Tribune Information Service. Bangor Daily News. June 23, 2015. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016.
  20. ^ "Thelma C. Swain obituary". Bangor Daily News. September 25, 2008. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  21. ^ Harrison, Judy (March 31, 2012). "Portrait of Women Symbolizes 20 Years of Work by Women's Resource Center". McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Bangor Daily News.[dead link]
  22. ^ "Florence Brooks Whitehouse: Helped clear the way for equality for women". March 15, 2008. Bangor Daily News. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  23. ^ "Laura A. Fortman". United States Department of Labor. Archived from the original on October 31, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  24. ^ jk, none (March 1980). "Reviewed Work: Against the Grain. A Carpentry Manual for Women by Dale McCormick". Off Our Backs. 10 (3). off our backs, inc.: 25. JSTOR 25793340.
  25. ^ Ritter, Rick (May 12, 2015). "Episcopal Diocese Announces New Bishop After Cook Ousted". CBS Local Media. CBS Baltimore. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  26. ^ "Women to be honored at Augusta ceremony". Bangor Daily News. 17 February 2005. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  27. ^ "Staff – Administration". Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  28. ^ "Honorees: Dr. Nancy Hensel". University of Maine at Augusta. 2016. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  29. ^ "Honorees". Maine Women's Hall of Fame. 2016. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  30. ^ "The Linda Smith Dyer Fellowship". Maine Women's Policy Center. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  31. ^ "Chellie Pingree". Biographical Directory. United States Congress. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  32. ^ "Caroline D. Gentile obituary". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  33. ^ Woolum (1998), pp. 213–214
  34. ^ Boulard, Garry (July–August 2009). "Maine's Main Women: The Success of the State's Two Top Leaders May Have More to Do with Voters' Independent Streak Than It Does with Gender Politics". State Legislatures. 35 (7). National Conference of State Legislatures.[dead link]
  35. ^ "Olympia Jean Snowe". Biographical Directory. United States Congress. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  36. ^ "Lois Galgay Reckitt". United Way of Greater Portland. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  37. ^ "In Memoriam". Washburn Norlands Living History Center. Washburn Norlands Living History Center. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  38. ^ Oliver, Sandra (March 20, 2011). "'Brownie' biographer reflects on big subject". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  39. ^ Berkowitz (1998), pp. 13–23
  40. ^ Brogan, Beth (August 27, 2013). "Democrat Eloise Vitelli Bests Republican Paula Benoit to Claim Bath- Area Senate 19 Seat". McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Bangor Daily News.[dead link]
  41. ^ "Ester Wood books". WorldCat. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  42. ^ Tuttle, Jennifer S (Spring 2010). "The Maine Women Writers Collection at the University of New England". Feminist Collections: A Quarterly of Women's Studies Resources. 31 (1–2). Board of Regents, University of Wisconsin System: 21. Archived from the original on 2016-02-06.; "Dorothy M. Healy Professorship". University of New England. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  43. ^ "Ninetta M. Runnals". A People's History of Colby College. Colby College. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  44. ^ Wayne (2010), pp. 827–828
  45. ^ Sigerman (2003), pp. 122–125; Ferraro (2006), pp. 20–49; "Margaret Chase Smith: A Declaration of Conscience". Classic Senate Speeches. United States Senate. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  46. ^ "Mabel (Sine) Wadsworth". Bangor Daily News. September 25, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2016.

References

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Further reading

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