Women’s History Month: How I’m Celebrating

March—Women’s History Month—has been quite the adventure for me. It’s been a fulfilling whirlwind, and I’ve managed to bring a ton of ideas to life. Here are a few highlights:

• First off, I tailored my Annie Anthony performance for a group of seniors. If you’ve read this previous post, you can see that I finished my costume and conquered the pompadour hairstyle (well, sort of. Good days and bad days). Now I know why the Edwardian woman loved her wide hats — they made up for bad hair days when the updo simply wouldn’t go up. The audience and I had such a blast laughing at how things change over time, yet somehow stay the same. Talk about a great time traveling through memories!

• And lest I forget my roots in Susan B. Anthony, Women’s History Month prompted an invitation to present my favorite reformer for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes at St. Joseph’s School, Penfield.  For me, the back-and-forth with these enthusiastic, smart kids was the most fun.

• I needed a fancy hat for my Annie Osborn character to make a costumed video. So in a true “fly by the seat of my pants” moment, I fudged the Edwardian look with binder clips and glue guns. Those crafty little tools saved the day.

• Next up was making the costumed video itself to promote my April 11 performance in Kansas for the “Celebrating Women Gala” of the Leavenworth County Historical Society. If you’re in the area, I’d love to see you there!

• And let’s not forget—I’m knee-deep in revisions for Book Two. It feels like it’s taking forever, but I’m picking up some fantastic writing techniques along the way that make the story even more compelling. God willing, it will go off to the proofreader by the end of Women’s History Month!
• On a more serious note, Book Two has a secondary story of resettling refugees who are fleeing war-torn Missouri during the Civil War. Here in Rochester, my dear geek and I are helping to resettle refugees from other parts of the world. My work on the book informs our work with refugees, and vice versa. Some things never change.
• Finally, I’m making plans for my April newsletter when you, dear reader, will get an exclusive sneak peek at the official description of Book Two, plus the opportunity to help name it! Don’t miss out on the fun!