Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society

Portals to the Past by David W. Jackson

Help Collect Everyday History About Women

In recognition of Women’s History Month, it seems fitting to recognize a local women’s history initiative. Author and local historic preservationist Jane Flynn faced a daunting challenge in the early 1990s when researching for her book Kansas City Women of Independent Minds. She wanted to provide insights into some of Kansas City’s founding mothers, women who had contributed to our area’s evolution equal to the men, whose history is well-documented. However, Flynn found scant comprehensive resources about local women, and few collected primary materials.

Flynn’s frustration was the Jackson County Historical Society’s gain. Flynn, who was joined in 1997 by former Independence mayor Barbara Potts, then executive director of the Historical Society, began a noble campaign. They sought to collect and preserve original materials specifically about individual local women and women’s organizations. The grassroots effort they began is fueled with each donation to the Historical Society, where a social history on local women continues to amass.

The holdings include the personal, business, social and professional papers of local women in history including, but in no way limited to pioneers; socialites; artists; teachers; athletes; journalists; homemakers; and, volunteers from all segments of society.

Women do not have to be famous for their collections to find a good home in the Society’s archives. The purpose of centralizing a variety of primary records and artifacts is so that researchers may have access to first-hand materials that tell real-life stories of any specific aspect of local history…from women ‘s perspectives.

What are primary records and artifacts? The list is endless, but they often one-of-a-kind items (letters, memos, diaries, rosters, minutes, badges, certificates, speeches, etc.) that help to document an event or activity of an individual woman, or women’s group or organization central to Jackson County's history.

The Historical Society’s women’s history collections are listed on their website. Some include:

Sue Gentry Papers--working files of a long-time journalist with the Independence Examiner;

Hazelle Hedges Rollins Records—who founded in the midst of the Great depression what became the world’s largest marionette manufacturing business in the world;

Mary Paxton Study Class; Church Women United; Alternate Tuesday Club; Independence Young Matrons; and, Independence Junior Service League’s records exemplifying a social and community spirit dating back more than 100 years;

Ruby Short McKim Papers: a nationally syndicated Independence artist, quilt and appliqué designer, and doll manufacturer;

Mary Graham Minor-Laird Papers: Tower Adorable dancer from the 1930s, who was previously highlighted in Portals to the Past;

Nell (Quinlan) Donnelly Reed’s Nelly Don Collection: patterns, photos, dresses, and corporate papers of the Donnelly Garment Company, which she established in 1916;

Papers of Georgeanne Hedges; Barbara Potts, and, Gilda Manning, each collection relating to their local participation in government and politics; and,

Sarah (Chandler) Coates Papers: memoirs of the pioneer wife of Kersey Coates, a Town of Kansas (Kansas City) founder.

Most people believe that their lives are routine and mundane. Those so-called ordinary perspectives are often forgotten or lost because they are not recorded, then donated to a public entity, the steps that sets apart one seeming ordinary life as extra-ordinary in the long term.

Look closely at the details of your daily life (personal, professional, extracurricular, etc.). What kinds of primary documents, photographs, and artifacts do you create? What types of materials might you have inherited? Now approach the Historical Society with the possibility of donating these so that future generations of researchers may have solid evidence to access when discovering or writing about an aspect of history.

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