------Clara Ingram Judson (1879-1960) was a member of IWPA from 1915 until her death, serving as president from 1923-’25. Although she’s been gone a half century, many of her books remain favorites of today’s children and can be downloaded as e-books at Project Gutenberg. She wrote more than 70 books for children, including the Mary Jane series first published in 1915, and biographies of famous Americans that included IWPA members Frances Willard and Jane Addams.

Clara was a late bloomer who didn’t even think about writing professionally until she was in her thirties. Even then it took an illness to get her started. While recovering, she wrote down the bedtime stories she had told her children. On a whim she sent them to the Richmond (Indiana) Item, her former local newspaper. They loved them and began publishing them as “Bed Time Tales.” Six weeks later they hired her to write a daily column that became nationally syndicated through the Indianapolis Star. She also served as the Star’s children’s editor.

After sending a collection of her stories to Rand McNally, her first book, Flower Fairies was printed in 1915. She was on a roll and went on to publish at least 78 more books. It’s been said that she never received a rejection slip.

Clara was born on May 4, 1879, in Logansport, IN, to banker Carl Ingram and his wife Mary. The oldest of four children, Clara was the only girl. The family moved to Indianapolis when she was six years old. She graduated from Indianapolis High School in 1896. After graduating from Girls Classical School in 1898, she taught in the public school system for two years.

In 1901 she married James Judson, a Sinclair Refinery official. They moved to Chicago in 1914 and in 1925 made their home in Evanston. In 1928, Clara became one of the first women broadcasters with her radio show on homemaking.

Clara Ingram Judson died May 24, 1960, at age 81. Her ashes were spread at Memorial Park in Skokie. Shortly after her death she was honored with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the second person to receive it. Later, Women in Communications (WICI) initiated the Clara Ingram Judson Scholarship in her honor.

She also wrote cookbooks for young girls (without mother’s help) and today her Mary Jane books are available as Kindle Books with the reader’s choice of foreign language.

Traveling extensively and writing about people from different places launched her “They Come From” series. She once said, “America isn’t really a melting pot that reduces everything to a common mass. It’s more like a tapestry with the charm and strength of many interwoven elements.”

Accounts of her personality include, “kind, gracious, soft-spoken, and youthful.” She enjoyed reading, fine needlework, travel and gardening.

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institution to further her education. Denied entry, Elizabeth wrote about her experiences and earned her first paycheck as a writer by selling the piece for publication to the New York Independent. Elizabeth would marry William Harbert, and with their move to Iowa in 1871, she would serve as the president of the Iowa Woman Suffrage movement. The publication of her second novel that same year reinforced Elizabeth’s voice as a women’s rights activist. After the couple moved to Evanston, Illinois, Elizabeth’s network would grow to include Frances Willard.

Harbert along with Willard, Huling, Bradwell, and Stockham would organize to support each others’ causes. As collaborators with 35 others they sought to advance women in the professions that brought them together. The legacy of our founders should remind us during these difficult economic times the power of networking, the strength in supporting each other, and depth of friendships born among communicators of all fields no matter the age, or level of experience. When you have the energy of the entire organization rallying behind you to succeed, you are part of something special – a vision so much larger than one. One hundred twenty-five years later, IWPA today is on course to fulfill the vision of Harbert, Willard, Huling, Bradwell and Stockham.

(Research sources: Women Building Chicago 1790-1990 and So We All Can Be Heard a history of The Illinois Woman’s Press Association 1885-1987)