Editor's note: the following is the second in a four-day series highlighting the experiences of women at Ohio University and in Athens.
Sara Hendricker took office as the first female mayor of Athens in 1988, but women's involvement in the local political scene began as early as 1895.
Women broke into Athens' political scene before the 19th Amendment granted them the right to vote. Two women named Ella Osborn and Mary Means defeated two male lawyers for seats on the board of education.
Ohio women tried to gain suffrage for certain things on the state level before 1920
and they would get zapped everywhere except for Athens County said former planning commission member Joanne Prisley. Athens was always very independent and the women really went out and beat the bushes to fight for what they wanted.
Women found their way into politics through temperance groups and literary clubs, which enabled them to help the poor, collect resources for the war effort and get their agendas pushed in the legislature.
Members of one of the strongest clubs in the county, the Pallas Club, held formal meetings and were strictly required to give weekly presentations without notes.
The men just thought
'Oh
these ladies are just having a tea party
' Prisley said. But they were actually going out and researching things and working to get candidates elected.
While many women avidly campaigned to get the 19th Amendment passed and even elected two more women on the board of education in 1913, some influential women resisted the campaign. Dean Irma Voigt, the first dean of women at Ohio University, actually opposed the right for women to vote, Prisley said.
Women regularly held positions on the board of education, as county recorder and clerk of courts, but in 1932, Athens elected Anna Stauffer as the first female city council member. Since then, about 16 women have held spots on city council, according to Prisley's records.
The major influx of women in Athens politics came in the 1970s, when the voting demographics swung from Republican to Democrat. In 1972, the voting age was lowered to 18. The law that kept students from voting in Athens was lifted, and young people started electing women to positions usually filled by men.
Helen Baker was the first female Athens County commissioner, becoming one of three women out of the 288 county commissioners statewide in 1972. Just four years later, Karen Harvey was elected, raising the number to eight female commissioners in the state.
I found the population was very supportive
Harvey said. There was only one time when I felt like I was making history. For the first few years I was there
the men commissioners passed the presidency back and forth
and I made a scene about it.
After Roxanne Groff defeated a man for another commissioner seat, Harvey took the presidency in 1982, she added.
From Baker's election until now, women have held a steady amount of seats in Athens. The problem with gender equality is not within Athens County but at the national level, Hendricker said.
The idea that women are touchy-feely
and you can't trust them with their finger on the nukes; that just amazes me
she said. It's remarkable that most other civilized countries have had a woman president or prime minister.
Women have filled all elected offices in the county except for county prosecutor, judges, sheriff and county engineer, Prisley said.
Women continue to hold many offices in the county, as four out of seven city council members, city auditor and treasurer are women. Athens County voters also elected Jill Thompson for county auditor, and 92nd district voters elected former Athens City Councilwoman Debbie Phillips to the Ohio House of Representatives.
Thompson said she doesn't think winning an election should be a gender issue but sometimes senses different treatment even today.
I often feel that I can't walk into a room without doing my homework
