Women's History Month

Women of my generation went through a lot of changes in the heyday of feminism.

Picture this: When our National Organization for Women chapter had an information table outside the YMCA in the early 1980s, a couple of members showed up wearing gloves, as was the custom for ladies in those days. Well, the gloves were soon off all over the nation as women asserted themselves in the workplace, the halls of government and even in the home. Marches, rallies, banners, buttons ... it was hard to escape the message that women were seizing more power over their lives.

Much has been accomplished, though challenges still exist. Worldwide, women's rights are in peril on many fronts, which should make us value all the more the fruits of our struggle here. Women's History Month is a time to acknowledge and celebrate those accomplishments, as well as women's traditional roles of nurturing and beautifying the community.

Did you know there is a New Jersey Women's  Heritage Trail that recognizes women's contributions to our state history? Read more at the link.

On March 20, a marker will be installed at Plainfield's own Shakespeare Garden in recognition of the work of the women of the Plainfield Garden Club.

"We are thrilled that the State of New Jersey has chosen to recognize the
past and present members of the 97-year-old Plainfield Garden Club and all
our 85 years of working in the Shakespeare Garden.  The Shakespeare
Garden, designed by the renowned Olmsted Brothers Landscape Architectural
firm, is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places," a press statement said.

The Plainfield Garden Club and the Shakespeare Garden is Site #54 out of
94 sites listed.  Other sites include well known New Jersey locales such
as Ellis Island, Atlantic City's Convention Hall and Edison's home in West

Orange, Glenmont.


Club members Lauren Shepard and Nancy Webb are credited with the work over many years of attaining this recognition. Congratulations to all on this special honor!


--Bernice