Marlene Cook, IWPA President (1985-1989) As the historian and archivist of IWPA, I enjoy researching, discovering and writing about the women who have made contributions to the Illinois Woman’s Press Association. Writing about those who have long passed away and left us a trail of historical facts often provides me with imprints of [...]
Annie Myers Sergel’s spirit of harmony and cooperation garnered her respect and sincere affection within the Illinois Woman’s Press Association. On many occasions, Annie, along with her husband Charles, delighted in hosting soirees and dinner parties for IWPA events in their Chicago home. Such was the reputation of the Sergel’s as entertainers that invitations to [...]
Her lively wit, wide sympathies and quick banter made Ethel Colson a popular lecturer and earned her numerous friends in the many social clubs of her era. She had the ability to identify with her audiences and that appeal was present throughout her writings, lectures and leadership. She understood the problems women faced and taught [...]
Cornelia Templeton Jewett Hatcher She was an American activist for women’s rights, a key temperance reformer, journalist and a woman of great moral conviction. She spent most of her early life campaigning for a woman’s right to vote. Her experience as a national newspaper woman helped her advance the cause during her travels [...]
They were trailblazers. Some were press women from the city, some new arrivals in Chicago; many of them were editors who wrote using their own name though countless others wrote under genderless nom-de-plumes; most of them were active in the temperance and equal suffrage movements. They were the first generation of women focused on advancements [...]
Throughout her life, Mary Augusta Dickerson had a youthful imagination. Born in New York City, New York in September of 1876, she was the daughter of Alfred James Dickerson and Nancy Augusta (Higgins). Mary would graduate as the valedictorian of her class at St. Mary’s School in New York City. Her talent led her first to [...]
Bernadine Freeman Bailey Bernadine Freeman Bailey, journalist, photographer, lecturer, American short story writer, and notable author of books for children served as the “war-time” president of the Illinois Woman’s Press Association from 1941-1945. Born in Mattoon, Illinois, on the 12th of November 1901, Bernadine’s parents were Thomas Oscar Freeman, a prominent physician and [...]
Leona A. Malek Leona Alford Krag Malek, pioneer journalist, nationally recognized home economist, radio personality, actress and clubwoman, was also known as Jean Prescott Adams, an authority of domestic economy and to thousands of newspaper readers as “Prudence Penny.” Malek served as the nineteenth president of the Illinois Woman’s Press Association from 1929 [...]
So We All Can Be Heard – Winter 2014 By Marianne Wolf-Astrauskas, IWPA Historian Helen Stevens Fisher During Chicago’s “Golden Age of Radio,” Helen Stevens Fisher was a radio personality. Her best known character “The Little Lady of the House” was a feature on The National Farm and Home Hour, which the U.S. Department [...]
So We All Can Be Heard - Summer 2013 By Marianne Wolf-Astrauskas, IWPA Historian In the beginning it was known as the “Editorial Writing Contest for High School Girls.” Earliest mention of the contest appeared in the September, 1972 edition of the IWPA newsletter, PenPoints. Back in the day, young ladies were presented with a sterling [...]
