Hello, this is Virginia Swain from Imagine Worcester and the World.
Today I have a Worcester native who has gone into the world in a very unusual way.
Let's start with Worcester Erica Aisey.
Welcome.
Welcome to my show.
Thank you for having me, Virginia.
Now tell us what you did in Worcester before you left to go into the world.
Well, let's see.
I wasn't born in Worcester, but I was raised here and after I graduated college I did my
bachelor's degree in New York City at New York Institute of Technology.
And then I was a teacher in Worcester Public Schools for six years.
I taught high school English 9 through 12 and some level throughout the years for six
years.
And I knew you when you were doing that because I was at Burncoat High School appointed by
the Attorney General of Massachusetts as a mediator.
And you were a former peer mediator trained by that same program.
And so we became friends and learned a lot about you and your hopes and dreams.
And now I see them coming true, Erica.
It's very exciting.
Tell us how it all started that you ended up changing your career from being a Worcester
public school teacher to a broadcast journalist.
I think we met, let's see, 2003 when you were the peer mediator coordinator.
And I remember my classroom was near there and I saw you and there was still a poster,
I think, of us, the peer mediators back in the 90s when I was at Burncoat.
And I told you I used to be a peer mediator and that's how we connected through peer mediation.
I was always referring students to you either to be a peer mediator or to be on the other
side of the table and mediate a situation peacefully.
So I enjoyed that and I enjoyed being a teacher.
I really love teenagers and I still do.
I think they're a fun, vivacious group of people who are in a constant work in progress.
So I enjoyed my career as a teacher.
But I also realized that at some point, for my own professional growth, I was becoming
a bit stagnant and I knew I didn't want to be the teacher who didn't want to be there.
And it was time to give up my seat to the next young person or older person or whoever
wanted to come in and be a teacher.
Because I think teachers are in a position to mold and really challenge the way a person
thinks.
So I think there's a huge value not in the country and in the world.
So if the passion wasn't there for me to do it, it was time to leave.
So I wanted to change my career.
And after teaching for six years and working with a very diverse population with students
from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, I had a wealth of stories from students and
how they grew up and wealth of experiences as a professional.
I wanted to tell them.
I wanted to tell the world stories of how people live.
And I realized, you know, I never went to school to be a teacher to begin with.
I went to school to be a broadcast journalist and I never did it.
I never did it.
So at a certain point in time, I said, all right, now I have nothing to lose.
I'm going to do it.
So I quit.
I quit my nice salary for, you know, a young woman.
I had a nice car, a nice, you know, I was comfortable.
I didn't have to do anything that I'm doing now.
I didn't have to do it.
But I chose to challenge myself and take myself out of my comfort zone and go after a career
of telling stories of how people live across the world.
And last year when I was giving a program at the United Nations, you came and broadcast
that show, didn't you, with your team from your school.
It was fascinating to watch you operate, Erica, and to see this other side of you.
And since then, you've gone to Ghana to work for a television show.
Tell us about how that happened and you were there for about a year, right?
And was it ETV?
ETV News?
So you were on the web all the time and I'd love to hear all about that.
Well, first I'll backtrack a little bit.
It was easy to say I just jumped into journalism and I didn't because when I was looking at
jobs I realized I don't have any of this experience, what they were looking for in terms of qualifications.
And that's the power of education is that the doors are always open and you can always
go back and that's what I did.
So I went back to school and I got my master's in broadcast journalism.
And while I was in school in New York City, back to my alma mater, New York Institute
of Technology, I had internships and really tried to broaden my experience because graduate
degrees is not that long.
I did it in a year and a half.
So I really had to broaden my experiences and get as many internships and new qualifications
in a short amount of time so I could be marketable at the time of graduation.
So while I was in school, we connected at the UN, I think twice.
One time I reported for you, but the other time I attended your conference.
And I just really, it's a dream to even step foot in the UN, especially if you consider
yourself a global citizen as both of us do.
So then to have a second opportunity to report there was great.
And I asked my professors if I could take a cameraman and a sound person with me.
And it was great to really have that experience and use my practical skills that I learned
at school and actually put them into a professional place.
So it was a great experience to be in the General Assembly and just the whole day was
really, really good.
And I think maybe a semester or two after I did that with you, I'll even backtrack
a little bit more.
Maybe a year and a half ago while I was in school, I realized that if I wanted to be
cutting edge and if I wanted to really challenge myself, I really had to have something solid
on my resume that would make me stand out from other people that had the same career
aspirations.
So natively, my parents are from Ghana, West Africa, and we had family that was connected.
And I connected with family that knew the head of a company called ETV Ghana.
It was a brand new TV station.
We made some phone calls and I asked if I could be there as an intern for a month and
try it out.
So I went for a month and it was college credit and it was great to take everything I learned
in New York City and bring it to Africa.
And I practiced as a journalist as an intern for a month.
And I was at the end of the month, I was asked if I would like to come back and work as a
full-time employee upon my graduation.
So I really took some time to think about it and spoke with my mentors at Fox News and
NBC and they both said, you go, you have nothing to lose.
So why not?
And they said, that's going to give you an edge, you're going to have a great experience,
go ahead.
So I left, I packed and left.
I think that's a habit of mine.
I packed and leave.
But I packed and I left and I was working as a broadcast journalist in Africa for a
year and it was an interesting experience to stay released.
Well, at the end of this show, we'll have a segment of one of your broadcasts so our
viewers can see what you saw in some of the situations that you went into.
I want to backtrack a little and ask you what you would say to your English students now
that you've done what you've done.
Do you have any advice for them in Worcester, some of your students from Burn Code and then
you were taught at the Worcester Vocational High School, didn't you?
Sure, and I see them all the time.
There's several that I'm still in communication with.
And a funny story is when I was in Ghana for my internship, I was walking through security
and I was on my way back at the airport in Ghana and I'm walking, you know, about to
board my flight and I hear, Miss A.E.C.
So it is a small world indeed because I saw two students at the airport in Ghana.
And we were on the same flight.
Yeah, there were two students from Worcester Technical High School.
So yeah, you're a teacher for life.
So if I could say anything to inspire them, I would say one is to dream big.
Dream big.
And whatever your big dream is, multiply it times 100 and make it bigger and go after
it and know that you are only on this planet one time.
You're on this planet one time to do it big.
So dream really, really, really, really big.
Instead of being the nurse, be the nurse practitioner, then be the doctor.
Instead of being the paralegal and being the legal secretary, be the lawyer, then run your
own law firm.
Dream big, as big as possible and go after it.
And secondly, I would say is to challenge yourself, especially after high school.
Take yourself out of your comfort zone.
Worcester will always be here and if you leave and come back, everything will probably be
just the same.
So dream big and take yourself out of your comfort zone to really challenge yourself.
And I think that builds character because you can dream big.
And if you go to a place where all the resources are laid out for you, it makes it easy.
But when I was in Africa, I mean, I had my struggles daily.
I mean, even within the first 48 hours, I wanted to come back.
So whatever your dream is, imagine doing it in a third world country and then ask yourself
how bad you really want it.
So dream big and take yourself out of your comfort zone.
So you are dreaming big right now and you've just been accepted at NBC, National Broadcasting
Company, Erika, and you see from Worcester.
Yay, come and tell us about that.
Well, I won't divulge all the details yet, but I am relocating, packing up and moving
again as a journalist does.
You're always on the go.
So I'll be moving back to New York City and I'll be with NBC and I will just say stay
tuned.
Well, this is very exciting.
I know you have even bigger aspirations.
Do you want to say anything about your biggest one?
Yeah.
Ultimately, I aspire to be, and I think I'm in the progress of doing it, an international
news journalist, but I don't always want to cover the crisis, especially in Africa.
Actually, that's the easiest thing to do and I think media often portrays a negative stereotypical
side of Africa.
And I'm not going to say that those things aren't true.
A lot of it is true, but in order to challenge yourself, find the good, especially when you're
working in a place where there are a lot of setbacks.
I haven't traveled all over the world, but I think probably two of the most difficult
places to be, a woman and a journalist, probably in Africa and the Middle East, who chooses
by choice to go to these places?
I think as a woman, it's really difficult to gain respect and not be just the pretty
face.
I've trained not in only public speaking and writing and directing, but I know how to do
camera work.
Everything she's doing, I can do.
And it's difficult to be amongst, it's a man's business, especially in Africa.
So to tell a man, I'll do my own camera work.
They're a bit taken aback and think you don't know how to do it or want to coddle you a
bit.
So you really have to take a stand and show that you do know how to do your work, even
as a woman, that you're not the pretty girl and really stand up for yourself.
But you also have to realize there's cultural barriers and differences in how women are
perceived.
In America, you want to be a strong, independent woman.
That's the motto.
You stand up for your rights if somebody makes you feel bad, you tell them that you were
hurt.
In other countries, it's almost being a strong, independent woman can kind of hold you back
if you come off too strong, because they're not used to that.
They can be the role of woman, I think, is a bit different, especially in media.
In Ghana, I found that you'll see women presenting the news as anchors at the desk, but you don't
see as many women out in the field, interviewing, getting the work done, carrying the equipment.
You don't see as many women doing that.
So even at times, if I'm interviewing various government officials, when they see me, I
felt like they didn't take me seriously.
So tell us one of your favorite stories that you covered.
Perhaps introduce us to the one we're going to show right now after we finish.
My personal favorite is one I did in, I think I did it in the beginning of March or so.
It was right in the middle of the conflict in Libya.
So this story was on the Ghanaian government actually going to get the native Ghanaian
citizens from Libya and bring them back.
And it was a big controversy, because it was all so fast, and they wanted them, obviously,
to be safe and come back safe upon their return.
But some of these Ghanaians, they left Ghana 15, 20, 25 years ago and had been estranged
from their family.
And they were told by the Ghanaian government, you have to come back safe and not.
Things were very hot in Libya at that time.
And they came back, and it just wasn't organized.
People had left their belongings.
There were complaints that the government wasn't fully helping them reconnect with their
family.
Some were just coming with clothes and their bags never left the flight.
So there was a, I believe the government had good intentions, but upon their return, there
was a lot of chaos.
And then also, they didn't want to be back.
I mean, they were in Libya making money due to oil and other various industries there.
Now they're back in Ghana.
They haven't been there in years.
So it was like, now what?
So personally, I think that's my personal best.
And I enjoyed the challenge of doing it.
Every story you see that you'll show in your program, whether it's the one in Libya or
another one you choose to show, mind you, I'm working in 120 degree weather every single
day.
Every single, by 10 a.m., it's about 110, 120 degrees.
And humid and hot.
And the trip from, the one from Libya, they were in a big park called Elwak, there were
maybe 500 people there that day when I went to interview them.
And they hadn't showered, and it stunk.
You know, and that's what I mean, you know, taking yourself out of your comfort zone.
And you never know.
And oh, it's rough.
And working in that weather was really challenging.
So I hope you enjoy that one and watch it.
Yeah, it's going to be wonderful for our viewers to see another side of you, especially those
who know you, Erica, because many, many people here know you.
How big is the Ghanaian community here in Western?
I don't have an exact number, but it's pretty huge, even when I grew up here in Western
in the early 90s, I remember going to college in New York and coming back and realizing,
wow, Ghana really has a huge community and a huge base here.
Now I see so many little stores that weren't here before, and Ghanaian homeownership and
entrepreneurship.
So I think Worcester has a very vibrant Ghanaian community, and I'm a first generation Ghanaian.
So yeah, I'm very happy to be a part of it.
Well, Erica, we'll watch you with great interest.
We'll watch your career with great interest.
And we'll stop now because we want to show this clip.
But please come back again when you're rich and famous and tell us about your travels.
And we're really curious to see where you go, because one thing that really sticks out
in my mind about you, Erica, is your courage.
When you dream big, you have to have a lot of courage to go with that, and you have huge
amount of courage.
So I want to thank you so much for being on the show today.
We'll look forward to seeing the clip.
Thank you, Erica IUC, NBC News.
Thank you, Virginia, and it's been a pleasure knowing you for all these years and having
the opportunity for you to see my growth and see things that come full circle.
You've been a part of this journey with me.
So thank you.
Thank you very much.
This is Virginia Swain for Imagine Worcester and the World.
This government sign, this makeshift cardboard sign indicates the severity of this issue,
but yet the quality of the sign shows us how seriously the AMA is taking on this issue.
Cleaning clean and tidy is obviously not what you see here.
Now what are the possible health implications with cholera spreading rampant in Ghana?
Street hawkers on the road is so commonplace that after April 1st, their absence is really
going to be felt.
Perhaps the AMA is overlooking the huge economic factor in imposing this new policy.
Not only is there no running water in the toilets, but also here in the showers.
Take a look.
Completely dry, nothing, and this is the same place where our women are having their babies.
More Ghanaians are arriving from Libya and they are expressing their disappointment with
the Ghanaian government.
Although the administration has evacuated over 1,300 nationals since the crisis in Libya
began, they say they are being abandoned by the government upon their arrival.
I think from our journey to Tunis, we stood up good the whole night the day before yesterday
with neighbors just to get our flat back to our country because Libya is very hot.
They were shooting us, throwing us bombs here and there, and we managed to cross through
this Tunis border.
We stood up till the whole night.
There was no water for us to drink as well as food.
So we just had like a hanging bat.
Waiting in lines with excessive heat and no food, these nationals are famished and dismayed
at the lack of organizational structure in trying to reintegrate back into the country.
Now they are sharing some money for us for transportation and at the same time we are
waiting here for our bags.
Now behind me is a fifth batch of Ghanians to arrive from Libya and they say they were
forced to sleep outside here in the park last night.
They also say their belongings are scattered and unmarked and that the majority of their
assistance has come from the UN and not from the Ghanaian government.
I believe it is not Ghana, a Ghana government that brought us here.
It is the UN that sympathizes.
So that is the situation now.
The process of organizing the last minute belongings that the Ghanaian workers could
take with them from Libya is a tenuous task.
Now we want Ghana government to have the mercy and sympathy to go and bring our blood violence
that has still a triple E there so that we can all be cheered up together.
So that is what I am pleading to Ghana government to do for us.
Reporting for ETV News, I'm Erica Eise.
Ghana's 54th Independence celebration is under threat of being disrupted by following angry
nationwide demonstrations by teachers.
Hundreds of teachers protested at Nat Hall and literally sacked the competing students
out of the hall.
I think it is good for them because they have children and they have to take care of their
wives and children, pay rent and all that.
So you are not paying them good.
I don't really know how they are going to survive.
But not all of the students were in favor of their aggressive approach.
This time we should get out so it is not because of the teachers.
We have no what we are coming to do so we should get out.
Some of them also use canes on us so we run away from the hall.
Dressed in black and red to show their solidarity, teachers protested against the single spine
salary structure in which they say is unjust.
Today we are getting something less, less, less.
We are worse off, we can't even educate our children, we can't feed our families, we can't
even do anything and then attract any decent life in the society.
You know everybody is mocking at the teacher.
Meanwhile we are producing the human resource need of this country.
If a graduate teacher, a graduate teacher who has served for more than 10 years is taking
450 Ghana cities, which is 4.5 million old Ghana cities, and a police constable, we are
not making comparison, by a police constable we have decided to make the comparison because
a police constable is taking 750, which is 7.5 million, who is using BSE certificate.
Then you think teachers don't have a case, we have a case.
The teachers threatened to interrupt traditions of the 6th March Independence Day Parade by
not showing up with their school children.
This Sunday we are not going to the 6th March.
We will not change our position.
Although the police made their presence, there were no arrests made and the mob of teachers
escorted them out and away.
These teachers here today are passionate and they are angry and they are saying they are
not going to support the Independence Day Parade.
They will not support the government until they see some type of change.
Reporting for ETV News, I'm Erika Ayesi.
Welcome back to Be Bold.
Now this is the segment for The Diaspora and we have Erika Ayesi in studio with us.
Thank you very much for joining us Erika.
Thank you for having me.
Yes, and we just saw your story, a bit about education and how did you come about doing
that story?
Why did you think it was necessary?
I thought it was necessary because there is a voice of the young people in Ghana in terms
of their education.
I think sometimes the culture can lead people to believe that young people don't have a
voice and that they are to be seen and not heard.
And these are growing adults who have choices and opinions and I think their voice in regard
to education was a concern.
This is Virginia Swain from Imagine Worcester and the World.
Today I'm greeting four people.
Normally I can fit two in my show but now I have four people and I'm so excited today
because we have the Women's Worcester History Project, a special program called the Women's
Oral History Project and two authors of the Voices of Worcester Women, 160 Years After
the First National Women's Rights Convention by Charlene Martin, Maureen Ryan Doyle.
Sorry about that.
So first of all Charlene, tell us about yourself and how you ended up writing a book called
Voices of Worcester Women.
Well, I guess it goes back to my involvement with the Worcester Women's History Project
and being invited to be on the steering committee along with Maureen and Linda Rosenlin asked
us to co-chair the Oral History Project a few years ago.
So I believe we came to the mutual conclusion after reading many, many of the oral histories
that are part of the project that these stories really needed to be more accessible to our
Worcester community.
We do have the repository of all of the files at the Schlesinger Library at Harvard but
not too many people are going to drive down to Cambridge to read through them so we thought
that putting them in a book format with excerpts from various women's stories would be a fun
project to work on together.
And Maureen, would you like to add to that?
I would.
I also would like to add that many of these oral histories are available on our website
so if someone wanted to read a transcript in full you could go to our website and access
that.
So you have divided this book and the oral histories into four areas, right?
Tell us about the areas and why you did that.
Well originally the Worcester Women's History Project was formed to commemorate the 1850
convention that was held here in Worcester, the first national women's rights convention.
So the issues of that time that were discussed by men and women of the time were education,
work, health, and politics or community involvement.
So we decided that that would be a good place to start.
We did the chapters according to those four main issues that were discussed in 1850 and
we wanted to show how some of the issues may be the same, how things have changed in that
time.
And we decided to add a fifth chapter too called Uniquely Worcester Remembrances and
we did that because almost every woman included some story about growing up in Worcester or
their life in Worcester so we decided to include a fifth chapter on there.
Hey Maureen, was there a theme that you found that was an overarching theme of all the women
or themes that you could talk about?
Yes we did.
I think one of the themes was one of resilience, that every story we read was compelling on
some level.
And what was very difficult for us was choosing 69 of these stories we placed in the book.
We have 250 moral histories so that was very difficult, very, very difficult.
But each story is just so darn interesting.
Another common component was the whole fact of balancing life and I think women have been
balancing, doing this balancing act probably since time began and we saw that in just about
every story, trying to find time for personal life, trying to find time for family, finding
time for your career.
I think these are issues that every woman faces.
And Charlene, tell our viewers how they could buy this book.
Well the book can be purchased on the Amazon site.
We also have our own blog that has further information about the book and how to buy
the book and that's at voicesofwisterwomen.blogspot.com so you'll find much more about the book,
about us, about the project and how to buy the book.
Why don't you hold it up so our viewers can see it and we can get a close up of it.
The cover design is by my niece.
We believe strongly in supporting women as much as we possibly can so she's a graphic
designer so we gave her an opportunity to design the cover.
Name's Brianna Goodwin.
Well the conversation bubbles are to depict women's voices and what they have to say.
She puts some of the occupations of the women that are included in here such as caregiver,
teacher, mother, lawyer, artist.
We have many, many different kinds of women in the book.
We have nuns.
We have priests.
We do.
Yes.
It's a very interesting story.
At the time of her interview she was 27 years old and she felt a calling from God that she
was called to ministry.
And she loves her job and she even talks about how difficult it is to find clergy apparel
that will fit her correctly because clothes are not really made for female priests yet.
Do you find that most of the women you interview have a calling?
A calling?
I don't know if they necessarily talk about it that way.
I think to us when we hear it and read it, it can come across that way, whether it's
an occupation or if they're talking about raising children.
I think that they give 100 percent, if not more than 100 percent to what they do.
And like Maureen said, it's often not just one thing that they're doing.
They're balancing many things.
Occupations, motherhood, caregiving, volunteering.
So I think that it has to be a calling of some sort if they're doing that much and with
that much devotion.
Did you both attend the 2000 conference?
I'll ask the others about that.
I actually went and I just loved it and I'll ask you two more about that.
But it was very important for women, I think, in Worcester to know of our history here
and to have Evie Kelly Foster and others who were suffragettes as well as abolitionists
in our history.
And I think that's a lot of history to be proud of in Worcester.
And I think sometimes Worcesterites might have a bit of a complex that Worcester is
in Boston, but if you delve into the history of Worcester, we have a lot to be proud of.
And I think that's part of what we're hoping to bring forth with this book.
And I think that when you talk to Linda and Heather Lynn, you'll find out a lot about
that Women 2000 conference and why they put it together and how we're marking history
and the importance of history in Worcester.
And I think the oral history project started that way too so that we can begin to document
current day history for future historians.
But I think Maureen and I feel that this book also and the oral history project also develops
a sense of community, that by listening to other women's stories that we're developing
community that we can all identify with something in almost any story that we read.
And even if our lives aren't similar to the women that we're reading about, there's often
a challenge that we can admire or that inspires us.
So I think that the oral history project and this book does a pretty good job of inspiring
community.
I'm sure there are names of people who aren't here in this interview who should be named.
And I noticed them in the book.
So I just wanted to know if you'd like to name them before you stop and go to the signing.
I think Maureen and I are just very appreciative and thankful of all the support that the main
organization, the Western Women's History Project, has given us.
The past president, the current president, Heather Lynn Haley, all have been very, very
supportive of both the oral history project and our work on this book.
And I think we'd also want to thank our own oral history project committee very, very
much because they've been great about supporting us in this book project.
You're going to put me on the spot.
If I name them, I'm sure to forget someone.
Well Arlene Vadum, Gina Edmonds, Nancy Lemmeres, Stephanie Yule, Judy Bask, Nancy Johnson was
the one that was escaping me.
Lisa is no longer part of the oral history project, but thank you for mentioning her
because Lisa was a big part of starting the oral history project and setting us on a way.
Lisa is a true oral historian who is a professor at Worcester State University and she was
a big help.
And Linda might be able to fill you in a little bit more on the start up of that when she
was of such help to us.
Well, it's been wonderful to see that the Worcester media is reflecting this great achievement.
It's been great to see all the interviews you've had and great interviews.
And I look forward to attending this event tonight.
We'll be filming it.
So we'll let our viewers see what's happening and listen to you.
And I want to thank you.
I know you have to go along and get ready, but we still have Linda and Heather Lynn to
interview.
And thank you so much.
And we'll look forward to later.
Thank you for coming.
We appreciate this very much.
Thank you so much.
We'll see you later.
So now we have Linda Rosenblum.
Linda, hi.
Linda is someone I've known for many years and I'm so thrilled that you're on the show
now and can talk about the oral history project that you started for the Women's Worcester
History Project.
Please.
Okay, well the Worcester Women's History Project, as we know, was founded by a small group of
women in 1994, and each year, or maybe every two or three years, the steering committee
meets and reviews what has been done and what can be done in the future to really sustain
the project and become and stay a resource for the city of Worcester. So back in 2004,
the steering committee started to wonder what can be done next, and the group of women decided
that an oral history project would really fit into the mission of documenting the contributions
of Worcester women. So we decided to do a fundraiser in the year 2005. It was very well
attended at Union Station, and that provided seed money to hire an actual professional
consultant, and that was Lisa Krissoff-Bing, who was a history professor at Worcester State,
at that time college, not university. And Lisa was instrumental in preparing the project
and organizing it in a professional way, because people think that, a lot of people think,
and I was one of those people, that, well how hard can this be? Just go out and interview
people, document it, and then you're on your way. But you actually need quite a few parameters,
you need consent forms and deed of gifts, and all those things that people really don't
think about, so that we can use the words for future programming, and such as this book.
So you have been guiding this project since then, for almost 10 years?
Well, it started in 2005. I was a past president of the Worcester Women's History Project,
so when I was president, I think that was from 2003 through 2005, that's when it was
decided to undertake the Oral History Project. And from there I became the founding chair
of the Oral History Project. And I did that for about two years, and then, a stroke of
bad fortune, Maureen and Charlene joined the steering committee and took over the project
at that time. I still sit on the committee, but they're guiding the project.
And are there any themes that you found in the oral history narratives of the interviews
that are important for you to mention, and maybe it goes back to why you wanted to do
it in the first place? Why is it important to have oral history?
Well, as I mentioned in the preface of the book, or the foreword, Maureen and Charlene
had asked me to write that. So when I started to reflect on really why I thought this was
important, I was brought back to my grandmother and my great-grandmother on my mother's side.
And my great-grandmother had emigrated here from Italy at the turn of the century, and
she did not know how to read or write. So when I got involved with genealogy, I realized
I am not going to be one of those people that could ever find a journal or a diary.
So I believe strongly in the oral tradition, and this project was developed with the idea
that we're not interested in only the women that are doing wonderful public things in
the community. We're also interested in the ordinary people, the people that often say,
why do you want to talk to me? I don't really have anything to share, because we know that's
not true. They're balancing their work at their home, their families, very often their
activists in their community, and oftentimes they have the glue that holds the community
together. And I think, as Maureen had stated before,
Worcester has a lot to be proud of. And many people don't know that. They don't know the
history of the city. They don't know that it was a hotbed of reform in the 1850s. We
have a lot to be proud of here, and we continue. I mean, we have many, many immigrants that
come to make Worcester their home, and we try to document that in this project as well.
Well, that's great. I know that you have a role to play tonight that you have to get
ready for. So I just want to say thank you so much for this personal interview, and we'll
be down to listen to you and to film the whole thing in just a little while. Thank you so
much. Thank you very much, Virginia. We really, really appreciate it.
Okay, now I'm greeting Heather Lynn Haley, who is the president of the Women's Worcester
History Project, among many other things, many other houses. But today we're talking
about that. And Heather, do you prefer Heather Lynn or just Heather?
Heather Lynn. Okay. Heather, please tell us more about the
goals of the project and some of the things that you're working on at the present time.
Sure. Thank you, Virginia. As you've heard already, listening to people talk about the
Oral History Project, that's one of our large initiatives right now. And we are still building
the Oral History Project. We have a higher education collaborative that's part of the
project. I think Linda was modest in describing her role in putting this together. It's really
very complex, the way that they collect the histories by working with different colleges
and professors at different colleges, teaching in different courses, use the Oral History
Project as an assignment for their students to give them the opportunity to collect firsthand
information. And then those interviews are shared with us and added to our collection.
So all those people are using a common set of questions. So there's a pretty active committee
as they describe that works on that initiative. In the past, we've done other projects. For
example, have you been to Mechanics Hall? Yes. So if you go to Mechanics Hall, it looks
like your ordinary hall with lots of giant oil paintings of rich and famous people. But
it's not just men. There were women up there as well who were very influential in the way
shaping the way that we live today. And that's something that was an initiative of the Worcester
Women's History Project to raise the funds and commission the artists to create works
of art that were of comparable value to the ones that were already up there of the men,
high quality artwork. We've also put plaques on various buildings to help people know about
women's history as it relates to women's rights in Worcester. And there's a trail guide that
we also have put together that shows us a few different walking paths around the city
and highlighting historically significant homes and public buildings that were relevant
to the story of women's rights around 1850. So those are several of the different things
we've done in the past. We do outreach now locally at the Start on the Street festivals
in the spring and the fall. You'll often find us on the Common during the summer on Fridays
at the city's concert series. We often set up a table where we offer free quilling, which
is an interactive activity that we do with kids all over the city to help them learn
a skill that's easy to do and has historic meaning to it. It's easy to do and it's
easily transferred and you can use recycled materials. And so I think that's one of the
places where people see us in the community now is at those events. And while we're showing
the kids the arts and crafts, we're also educating the families about the history of
Worcester and sharing some of the materials that we've developed over time. We also sponsor
a play about Abby Kelly Foster called Yours for Humanity, Abby, where we sponsor a wonderful
actress named Lynn McKenney Lydeck. Several of our past steering committee members wrote
the play based on texts written by Abby in letters back and forth with her daughter as
she was traveling the country fighting for women's rights.
Okay, Abby Kelly Foster is one of our local heroes. You may know there's a school named
after her. So many people have heard of her because of the Abby Kelly Foster school, but
they're not really sure what she did and why they named a school after her. Well, Abby
Kelly Foster was around in the 1850s when people were fighting for a women's right to
vote. It was also the time where they were fighting for the rights of Africans, Americans.
And so she was involved with both of those movements. She was very active, she was vocal,
and she was not afraid. She would stand and speak her mind and tell people what she thought
was right or not right and try to make a difference so that there would be equality for all people
regardless of age or gender or race. And so she was really a pioneer at a time when women
weren't allowed to speak publicly. She went out and spoke publicly and she got a lot of
flack for it. People yelled at her for speaking in front of a promiscuous audience, which
at the time meant a crowd that was men and women together in the same crowd. That was
something that was frowned upon in those days. She was kicked out of a church in Connecticut
for spreading her, I don't know, she was really causing a ruckus. And she's actually going
back, Abby, our actress, is going back to that same church in Connecticut next year
and she's going to give the play for the congregation there and talk about how things have changed
since the end of slavery. I do not remember the name of the town, but you'll be able to
find out on our webpage. We have a very active web presence. We have a Facebook page also,
but if you go to our website, which is www.hp.org, which stands for Worcester Women's History
Project, www.hp, you'll find that you can access documents for almost all of what happened
in 1850 at the first National Women's Rights Convention held here in Worcester. We have
transcripts of what everyone said, so if you want to read Abby's speech, you can. We have
many other supporting documents. We have curriculum packets for use in the schools. We have access
to all the oral histories, so you can read those. Some of the oral histories were actually
conducted through Holy Cross and their Deaf Studies Department with people who are deaf.
I believe you can watch the video of the interviews being done in sign language and then students
translated from the sign language into English. There's all kinds of neat stuff on the webpage
that you can see. We really welcome you to go and learn more about our organization.
We have an events committee that's pretty active. We sponsor oral history workshops
for the community, as well as those tables out at community events that I told you about
earlier. We also sponsor reading by local women authors, which used to happen every
February. We're moving it to March this year in celebration of Women's History Month,
which is in March. You'll find details about that on our webpage as well. We have really
interesting authors lined up for the 2012 version. I think I've probably spoken long
enough. Let me ask you, who were the founders? It was a small group of people that founded
the Women's Worcester. I'd like to know their name. The founders of the Worcester Women's
History Project. I can tell you it began with Lisa Connolly Cook, who was a student at Clark.
She read in a textbook that the first National Women's Rights Convention was held in Worcester
in 1850. She was amazed. She grew up in Worcester and was a history fan. How could she not have
known that? She decided that there really should be an organization that spread the
word so that other people would know that this was part of Worcester's history. She
worked together with a really dynamic, amazing group of women. I was not involved at that
time. I don't know that I could list all of them. You can go on the website and read
all about the history of the organization itself. Many of the names that you'll see
there are people that you'll know from other community groups. I think our steering committee
at various times has included faculty from most, if not all, of the local colleges. Several
of the local nonprofit and social service agencies. I believe Linda Cavioli from the
YWCA was involved at the founding, as was Judy Kirk, who's now at the Boys and Girls
Club. You may know some of the names on that list.
I was actually at the weekend. It was a wonderful weekend. I do know Lisa very well. Lisa is
kind of like that amazing woman. I want to thank you so much, Heather, Lynn, Haley, for
coming to the show today and for being the guiding light for this group right now. It's
a wonderful presence in Worcester, and we look forward to seeing you downstairs at the
signing.
Yes, I can't wait. It's such an interesting book. I haven't even finished it yet. I just
got my copy, but it's terrific. If you haven't got your copy yet, you can go to Amazon or
to the voicesofworcesterwomen.blogspot.com. I'm pretty sure it was. Sure, terrific. Thanks.
Thank you very much.
Good afternoon. My name is Linda Rosenlund. I've been involved with the Worcester Women's
History Project for quite some time. I'm the founding chair of the Oral History Project,
and it brings me great pride to be here tonight to introduce Charlene Martin and Maureen Ryan
Doyle. First of all, I'd like to welcome Joe Keddie, our mayor-elect, in the back of the
room. Thank you, Joe, for coming in.
It would take me many, many minutes to introduce all of the people that I'm looking at right
now. All of you have been tremendous supporters of the Women's History Project, and we're
very thankful for your support, your friendship, and your commitment. I do want to call attention.
I do see one past president of the Women's History Project here, Fran Langille.
And the current president, Heather Lynn Haley, she's in the back of the room beyond the mayor-elect.
And I'd also like to welcome the representative of the Mass Cultural Council. Thank you.
What a fun event this will be tonight. We're here tonight to celebrate the work of two
remarkable women who have researched the oral history transcripts of women who were interviewed
as part of the Worcester Women's Oral History Project and compiled these excerpts into a
book. Charlene and Maureen have given central Massachusetts a wonderful gift. Together,
these stories underline the importance of preserving memories as well as providing a
glimpse into the voices of a community in vivid, plainly spoken terms. Charlene, Maureen,
and I share a special bond through our Assumption College connection. We are alumnae. We've
worked at the college, and it was fun to discover that Charlene had been employed as a work
study student for Maureen in the 70s in the Public Relations Office, and I was a work
study student for Charlene in the Continuing Ed office in the 1980s. So instead of using
my own words to introduce tonight's authors, I thought that I would go back to their own
transcripts. They were interviewed back in 2008, and they were too humble to include
those in the book, so I thought that that's what I would do, and I hope that's okay. Maureen
Ryan Doyle graduated from Assumption College in what was the first class of women. She's
an entrepreneur, owning her own freelance writing business and property management company.
So those were my words. These are their words. So Maureen says, well, perhaps I should speak
to my experience as the first class of woman at Assumption. That was kind of an interesting
time in general to be in college. There are similarities to what you are all experiencing
now because of the backdrop of the current war, but the Vietnam War was when I was in
college. There was a difference in that we had a draft, so there was tension circling
around campus. In terms of being a woman, the first class of woman as we arrived on
campus, we were greeted by upperclassmen. Then because there were only men, they were
offering each of us a red rose. Now that would never happen today, and I'm sure in a way
it seemed so little house on the prairie-ish, but it was very sweet. I have a freelance
writing business. I have a variety of customers. I do work for nonprofits. I do work for construction
companies. I do work for architectural companies. I work for churches doing newsletters, brochures,
that type of thing. And with the property management, I own several properties and I
manage those properties. For instance, if there was ever a problem, a question, I'm
the person who arranges whatever needs to be done. What I found is that it's difficult
to balance both businesses, but also with family life because it's always a juggling
act and it is for everybody. And there's no instruction manual on how to do it. And you
know if you have a deadline and have two kids sick with the chicken pox, you have to find
to balance the act. Not only balancing, but keeping a happy home life and realizing this
is life and life's not a destination but a journey. Charlene Longy Martin spent most
of her professional career at Assumption in the Continuing Education Department, and after
filling a series of positions, she became dean of the program. She developed the first
online courses for the college and she founded the Worcester Institute Senior Education,
known as WISE. In her words, she said, I decided a couple of years ago that I was approaching
50 that because I spent my whole professional life at Assumption, maybe it was time to do
something different. And if I was going to do it at all, it seems a good time to do it.
But I still loved, I actually always loved my job. There was no reason I had to leave,
but it felt like the right time to be challenged in a new way. When I left Assumption, I decided
to open my own business and I do, excuse me, I do work with, well I call it Pathfinders
Retirement Innovations. So I still do work with older adults, educational programs and
that kind of things. I do seminars for baby boomers who are approaching retirement. It's
going to be different for baby boomers today because of longevity. We live much longer
now than a couple of generations ago, so if you did in fact retire at say 60 or 65, you
could conceivably have another 30 years to look forward to. She also says, I think for
me success is being challenged with what I'm doing. It's more the challenge of doing
something interesting and helping someone else. And I always felt about education while
working at Assumption that I was helping adult students get their livestock on track and
retooled to get a new career. And then later with older students, I really felt like I
was making a difference in the latter halves of their lives. They would tell me things
like, I don't know what I'd be doing if I didn't have WISE to come to. So for me it
was to be able to offer something to other people and to help people. That's what I like
to do. So please join me in giving a warm welcome to Charlene and Molly.
Thank you Linda for those very kind remarks. Over the past year and a half, as Charlene
and I have been researching writing this book, one of the most frequently asked questions
that we have encountered is, why write a book about the lives of Worcester women? Well to
answer thoroughly and completely, we need to delve a bit into the history of the women's
movement and into the history of Worcester itself. In the mid-19th century, Worcester
was a hotbed of religious and political activity. Abolitionists and those embracing the
temperance movement spoke regularly from the podiums here in the city. Women did not have
the votes and as a result had little voice and little control over their lives and their
destinies. Yet it was in Worcester that the first National Women's Rights Convention
was held in 1850. This was the very first organized national call to action. Attendance
was estimated at over 1,000 people, including delegates from many states and some European
countries. The final resolution of the convention called for equality before the law without
distinction of sex or color. Despite controversy, outrage by critics and belittlement by opponents,
the organized movement for women's rights began its long struggle and it began right
here on Main Street in Brinley Hall. In October of 2000, the Worcester Women's History Project
held a national three-day conference to commemorate the 150th anniversary of that convention.
It was decided that work should continue to raise awareness of the convention and of Worcester's
role in the history of women's rights. Then in 2005, the Worcester Women's Oral History
Project began, recording and documenting the lives of ordinary women, women whose voices
may have previously been left out of the historical record. We at OHP received invaluable assistance
from local college students who conduct and transcribe oral histories for coursework and
then turn their files over to OHP. We now have over 250 oral histories of Worcester area
women. Our permanent repository is the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
on the campus of Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University. So why did we write this book?
Because it is our contention that one way to build community is by sharing stories,
and in this case, women's stories. We owe gratitude to the men and women from the 1850 convention
who fought the comfortable conformity of their age and envisioned a new and brighter world
of equality, opportunity, and respect. With this in mind, the first four chapters of our
book reflect the four major themes that emerged from that 1850 convention, education, work,
health, politics, and community involvement. There is a fifth chapter entitled Uniquely
Worcester Remembrances. As we explore some of the stories of today's women, you may ask
yourself how the experience of these women are like your own, or in what ways are their
challenges different from what you've encountered? How far have we come, and how far do we still
need to travel?
I am not an oral historian, but I love to listen to people's stories. As a child, I
listened to my mother and my aunt's stories around the kitchen table. As a sociology major
in college, I learned about the value of studying different kinds of groups of people. My favorite
group to study was always women, and when it came to selecting between using a statistical
method of research or one that involved interviewing people, I chose the latter every time. So you
can understand that when I was asked by Linda to co-chair the Worcester Women's Oral History
Project a few years ago, it was easy for me to say yes. I love to study the lives of women,
and I guess I'm a voyeur at heart. As I went through the process of editing the many oral
history transcripts collected by the Oral History Project, I came to realize that there
was not one I didn't enjoy reading. There wasn't one that I just tossed aside saying,
well, that woman's life is boring. Quite the opposite. I started thinking about writing
this book because although you can drive to Cambridge and hang around the Schlesinger Library
archives and read all 250 of our stories, or you could go to our website to read the
full transcripts, I thought that a book would be much more accessible. But I kept getting
bogged down thinking about I don't know anything about finding a publisher until one day I
just woke up and I realized I could just write the book. I just wanted to create a book of
excerpts from these wonderful stories. So I started to plot an outline of how to begin
when Maureen mentioned to me one day that she thought a book should be written too, and
that sealed the deal. We began the project together.
The first chapter gives an overview of what the Worcester Women's History Project is all
about and how the Oral History Project came to be. You can read all about it, but I want
to tell you that the women in this organization have done a wonderful job of reminding the
people of Worcester and even beyond Worcester that the first National Women's Rights Convention
was held in the city in 1850, something I never learned in any history book. That is
an event that Worcester can be proud of. And the organization continues to showcase the
role of women through various programs, including the Oral History Project. We see the Oral
History Project as a way to document the lives of today's women for tomorrow's historians.
But it is, as Maureen mentioned, also a way to create community. As we read or listen
to these stories, we make connections. That, I believe, is the power of the story. We may
find we share a common experience, or even if our lives are very different, we can find
something to admire or inspire. When women say to our interviewers, and they almost always
do, why would you want to hear my story? We say, why wouldn't we? And we're going to
take, we're going to go back and forth tonight between the chapters and share a few of the
excerpts. And the first chapter is education. Having worked in higher ed for about 30 years,
I loved researching the education chapter. The opening reminds us how different things
were for women in earlier years. Women were discouraged from getting an education, and
some doctors even claimed that pursuing intellectual activities could physically harm women's
lives and even prevent them from having children. Over 160 years later, we've come a long way.
Women's educational opportunities have expanded, but even when college campuses opened up to
women, we learned that equal access did not necessarily mean equal experiences. Some of
the women I chose to include in this chapter tell stories of what their elementary, high
school, or college experiences were like. Others, like Donna Connolly, Hannah Laibson,
and Agretta McNeil, are included because they became teachers, counselors, or professors
in schools and colleges. Nora Antoon Hakim was a teacher in the Japanese internment camps
during World War II. Others talk about their experiences as an African American student,
an immigrant student, an older student, a deaf student. Claire Quintal and Betty Hoskins
share what it was like to be among the first female professors at formerly all-male or
predominantly male colleges. It was difficult to select just 16 excerpts for this chapter,
and it's even more difficult to pick just a couple to share with you tonight. I'll start
with a woman who didn't feel she had many other options except to become a teacher.
She becomes a powerful force in not only sharing the importance of women's issues within her
own family, but with her students and community. So the first excerpt is about Linda Miller,
who was interviewed in 2007 by Caitlin McDonald of the College of the Holy Cross.
My mother came here when she was 17 from Brazil to marry my father. Mom was, I think, an amazing
woman in that she never had a college education, but she was self-educated. She read voraciously.
She had an inquiring mind. My father came here from Lebanon when he was seven, so his
formative years were spent there, but then he went to junior high and high school here
in Worcester. He decided to become a doctor. So he had a great value for education, and
my mother did because she didn't have it formally. So it was always assumed that the three of
us would go to college. My brother went to Williams. My sister went to Smith, so they
set very high standards. I was the third. I went to Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.
It was understood that we should all have a liberal arts education. My parents felt
that was very important, no matter what you did afterwards. Bates wasn't my first choice,
she laughs, to be very honest, but I received a fine education at Bates. I met some classmates
there who were still friends over 40 years later. The professors were excellent. It was
sort of understood in my family that you went to college to study, to learn, so I pretty
much kept my nose to the grindstone. I think if I were to do it over again, I would have
gone to a bigger university, but Bates was a fine, small college, and I'd say I got a
good education. It got me into Harvard Graduate School of Education. I taught for 27 years
total, middle school, eighth grade mostly. In my generation, and it was going to begin
to change soon after, women didn't have all the options they have now. I didn't have all
the options. My father wanted me and my sister to be nurses, but we didn't want to do that.
Initially, we both became teachers. She went on to publishing from there, and I remained
a teacher. When I first got into teaching, the Women's Liberation Movement had just begun.
Betty Ferdinand had just written The Feminine Mystique, and so I got into this. Well, I
went to the library to get my son some books, and I found books that said, Men are pilots,
Women are stewardesses, Men are doctors, Women are nurses, Very blatant sexism. Well, I went
to the Holden Library and found those books, and I raised the issue with the librarians
at the same time and pointed this out. Even though I didn't have a daughter, it was important
to me to show that girls could do anything. It was never suggested to me that I could
be anything else but a nurse or teacher, or possibly a librarian. Now in my life, I see
that I have strengths that suggest I could have been other things, not that I would have
necessarily because I love to teach. It's been such a learning experience to learn from
one's students. For the most part, I had wonderful students. That was Linda Miller.
Another favorite of mine is Hilda Hein, who was interviewed at the age of 77 in 2009 by
Laura Kass, who was a community volunteer for our project while she was a graduate student
at Simmons College. Hilda Hein was born in Germany and was the first tenured female faculty
member at Holy Cross. She was a professor of philosophy from 1970 until 1999. And then
we came here to Worcester. By that time, I had just had my third child. I thought I would
stay home, but after three weeks of that, she laughs, I decided I don't think I want
to stay home. And so I tried to tuss for a while, but that didn't lead to a full-time
job, so then I went to Holy Cross, which is how I ended up in Worcester. I was the first
female professor at College of the Holy Cross to get tenured. Holy Cross went coed in 1972.
I remember being asked in an elevator by one of the priests once, what do they, meaning
women students, eat? Seriously. So of course I responded, cottage cheese and rye crisps.
There was a fear that the presence of women would mean that all sorts of unspeakable things
were turned up in the plumbing system, and there would be full-length mirrors in the
bathrooms. And it was very strange. I thought they were absurd, and I said so, she laughs.
I mean, I didn't go out on a campaign to prove that women were human beings, but essentially
I did, I guess, because it was very much an old boy network. I taught a course on philosophy
of women. Nobody would have thought of it before going coed. And actually the people
who objected the most were not the faculty, but the students. It was a very conservative
bunch of students, and they thought that this would just be a frill course, so I made it
tough. And so I got 75 students in that class, which the majority were women, but the women
were all freshmen, and that upset the men in the class, because the women, because of
their number and because the course was relevant to women, it sort of gave them a position
of power. Well, the men went berserk over that. You have to realize this was something
that was going on all over the country at that time. I mean, this was late 60s, early
70s. A lot of this kind of political exploration was going on. And so I was only doing what
was happening everywhere else in my own eyes, but not in the eyes of either the administration
or the students at Holy Cross. I think that nobody expected women to achieve the level
of representation, both on the faculty and among the students, their significance. I
just don't think that anybody imagined that. I think that all of the schools that went
co-ed at the time made that decision not motivated by human rights issues or equality issues,
but largely financial issues, because an increased pool from which you could select students,
and it meant that you could get better students. But I don't think they understood, I don't
think anybody understood the quality of change. How is this going to impact what we actually
do here? I don't think they got it. And I think it happened at Holy Cross as it happened
everywhere else. Women, young women now, more than older women my age, have a sense of entitlement.
Of course the world is going to be there to provide their needs. That wasn't true then.
It simply didn't enter into anyone's consciousness. And that did change over time. I just don't
think that we can relax and say, okay, we've done it, we're there. I mean, I think that
right now women are in a fairly good place, but I also don't want women to just become
assimilated. I mean, I think that we need to change the world, not become a part of
it the way it is, and we're not there yet. So that was from Hilde Heine. Now Maureen
is going to read some selections from her chapter on work.
As Charmaine mentioned, one of the most difficult tasks we faced was choosing which oral histories
to include in excerpt form in each chapter, and then selecting the very few to share with
you this evening. In the chapter on work, we see a gradual and profound evolution take
place. Those oral histories from women coming of age in the 1930s to the 1960s speak of
their job opportunities in the fields of nursing, teaching, and secretarial work. And while
many women flourished in those careers, it was evident that no other career paths were
open to them. They lived in a time when the help wanted section of newspapers were clearly
divided into help wanted male and help wanted female. So this chapter contains the stories
of nurses, such as Mildred Cummings, who states that one of the best decisions of her entire
life was to become a nurse. We hear from Gail Nigrosh, a teacher who received her master's
degree from Clark and her doctorate from Brown University. We also encounter Sister Carol
Skihan, a motorcycle riding nun. Kathleen O'Connor, a teacher who later decided to become an
intern. Gail England, whose career led her to the Worcester juvenile court, who had the
distinction of being interviewed by her own daughter. And Jean Microdera Hill, who thought
she was going to be a high school science teacher, but found her true calling as a writer.
This is the story of Jill Barton. I have a bachelor's, bachelor of arts in English
literature and theater performance. I also have a master's in divinity from Virginia
Theological Seminary. I took a year off between college and getting my master's degree. You
quickly find out that a bachelor's degree doesn't mean as much as it used to. At one
point, I was going to marry a man who was going to be a minister. I was going to be
a minister's wife and work in Christian education. But my call just changed and I sensed that
God was calling me. It is not a usual thing for a woman to be a priest. I felt very much
that there needed to be a younger female voice in priesthood saying that it doesn't always
have to be older men who are relating to God. Women can relate to that instantly as well
and God speaks to all of God's children, male and female. So having someone specifically
to represent them, that became important to me. In the Episcopal Church, you go through
a year-long discernment process. If you get through that process and many people agree
that you are called to ministry, you pursue a master's degree. When you finish school,
you look for a job. I now work at St. Francis Church in Holden. St. Francis is my home parish
so I didn't think that I would be coming home. I thought I would be someplace in the
South. But the rector reached out and said, you know, we want a younger female type. I'm
the first female priest St. Francis has had. I love what I do. I get to preach the Gospel
and hopefully reach a different group of people. I work closely with Pastoral Care and specifically
Pastoral Care for Women. Since the Episcopal Church has a very liturgical tradition, I
dress in an alb and stole for church. They don't even make priest clothes very well
for women yet. And there are all these little girls in my congregation who have probably
never seen a woman dressed like that standing up and presiding at the element and preaching
a sermon, a sermon that I hope is relatively balanced between being emotional, educational,
theological, and intellectual. I never saw that growing up and now they can.
The next story is the oral history of Carrie Johnson. So I was able to go to college in
California. I majored in journalism and really didn't know what I wanted to do, but somebody
said that I was a good writer, so I started writing for the newspaper. And in college,
I worked as a public relations person for the Community Youth Gang Services Project. When
somebody got killed or we had to talk to gang members, here I am talking to these guys and
trying to figure out where they're coming from and where they're going, getting them
on television programs, getting people to know them, and do public service announcements.
And it was a challenge, but I guess I was young enough to jump in and idealistic enough
to fit in and make a difference. I was there for about two years before I moved back to
Massachusetts. I wanted to work for the Metro, excuse me, I went to work for the Metro West
Daily News as their first black reporter. Here I am, their first black reporter, and
they were walking around on eggshells at first, tripping over themselves, trying not to offend
or say the wrong thing. I feel I'm good at bringing people around and we all work well
together. I went from there to the Telegram and Gazette. I ended up leaving the Telegram
and Gazette because I started a cleaning company. I actually started it to make some extra money,
and I started making more money there than I did at the Telegram and Gazette. It grew
to be a three and one half million dollar company, and I had 165 employees. It probably
could have gotten a lot bigger had we really known what we were doing. Watch the industry
like you're supposed to. I'm very good at teaching business planning now, and I use
my company Sparkle Cleaning as a case study. We were women in a male dominated industry.
Women clean well, but men are masters at making money from it. And then here we come, trying
to call ourselves competitors. So we walked into a conference room with 12 guys in business
suits, 12 white men in business suits, and everybody's jaws would kind of drop to the
ground, including ours. It was tough getting into corporate America because they weren't
kicking the doors open for us. So we got involved in the AA program, which is a program to help
minority businesses compete in getting government contracts. We worked with the Small Business
Administration and ended up doing quite well. We did Hansel and Mary Force Base, Fort Devons,
and Newport for the Navy. We did federal buildings in Maine, and we did a lot of post offices.
We were in four states, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. 17 years
later, we sold it. Sparkle is still going on. It helped me grow as a person. It helped me
to feel like I was worth something. I sent two kids to college, bought a house, bought
a real car, and took my kids on vacation. I wrote a book about my experience, and it's
called From the Pits to the Path. I started teaching at the Center for Work and Enterprise
a long time ago, and I just love it. I do a 14-week business planning course. And then
I said that I wanted to try college, and I met Quintzigamon Community College. They started
me out with business ethics, and it's a great time to teach business ethics with all the
material that's out there. There are two quotes that are all about everything that I value,
that I try to convey in talking to women because we just need it. One is, the greatest glory
is not in ever falling, but in rising every time you fall. And the other is from Henry
Ford. Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right.
For the health chapter, I wanted to include three categories of life stories. First from
women who entered the healthcare field, such as Dr. Linda Young, who went to medical school
when women were still a rarity there, and who is now president of the Massachusetts
Medical Society. And Mary Alexewicz, who became a nurse because it was either that or a teacher
or a secretary, and who is now a high-level healthcare administrator. The second category
includes women like Laura Connolly and Ann Klunk, who took on the caretaking role for
six spouses, elderly parents, grandchildren, and sometimes, like Pat Masiello, all of the
above. Caretaking often falls to women. The third category is women who face their own
health challenges. Now women in 1850 had some of the same diseases that we still have today,
but they also dealt with a lack of female doctors and with the restrictions of the modesty
of the times that kept them from seeing male doctors or discussing personal matters with
them. Some of the health issues that women talk about in this book may have been around
160 years ago, but they weren't discussed. So in this book, I salute the women who courageously
share the stories of their own health issues, especially ones that were taboo not that long
ago, like Ann McCarron's story of sexual abuse and Wilma Sanchez's story of drug addiction.
Both women not only give a voice to these issues, but went on to help others with the
same problems. Another woman in this last category is Sue Lewandowski. She was interviewed
in 2009 by Erin Murchette and Eileen Finn of Assumption College. My only challenges
were related to the eating disorder. When you develop an eating disorder, it takes over
your life. It interferes with your emotional health, physical health, psychological health,
your ability to concentrate on a job or your studies, and it's very difficult to recover
from. I suffered from bulimia for 25 years. I developed it at 19 within a few weeks after
the death of my father, and I have only been recovered since 1999, so I wasted about 25
years of my life. For all practical purposes, there were several times I should have died.
I have survived, and I have a voice that can help. I did it very well for the first 10
years I had it. The word bulimia hadn't even, well I'm sure it existed, but it had never
been in the public eye. My eating disorder started in January of 1974, at least the bulimia
did. It was in the 80s when I first heard the word, when I realized that I was not the
only one in the world that had this horrible problem. But by then it was so enmeshed in
my everyday living that I couldn't stop, and I stopped trying to stop. An eating disorder
doesn't just happen on a diet. It's like a puzzle. The pieces here and there come together,
and you start poking in certain directions, and the pieces fill in maladaptive behaviors.
In my case, my mother had cancer when I was growing up. She had depression because of
it, which turned into mental illness. So my mother's relationship in mine is very difficult.
And then when my ex-husband came into the picture, I was torn and torn into again. So
when you are already down that path, you already have problems with relationships. And when
every minute is spent thinking about food, or eating, or finding the bathroom to throw
it up, it gets really difficult to maintain relationships, especially when you don't
want anybody to know. I look at things as a jigsaw puzzle, and I have a lot of pieces.
While in my own recovery during the process of that 25 years, I developed alcoholism.
I was a pretty hard alcoholic for about five years, and I've been sober now for 16 and
a half years. And in sobriety, I've learned how to cope with life on life's turns, and
gradually rebuild the puzzle of my life. There are no facilities in Worcester County that
treat eating disorders. There are maybe four or five nutritionists, maybe five or six therapists.
I have yet to find a primary care physician that specializes in eating disorders. And
so my goal is to bring services to Worcester County to treat people with eating disorders,
because they are most successfully treated with early diagnosis. I think I have to help.
I have no choice. You know, there's just no question about it. I have a voice now, and
I'm not going to let these young kids spend 25 years doing what I did. Sue told me recently
that she just completed her master's in health education in eating disorders, and she does
she's lobbied several times in Washington, D.C. to help with those suffering from eating
disorders. Our youngest interviewee in the Oral History Project and in this book is a
young woman who has let no health challenge stop her. Samantha Veo was 18 when she was
interviewed in 2008 by Kimberly Powell of the College of the Holy Cross, who was assisted
by two interpreters of American Sign Language, Rebecca Barton and Caitlin Scott of Northeastern
University. I go to the Learning Center. It is a school for deaf kids. My favorite class
would have to be math. I really love solving problems. My mom didn't find out I was deaf.
I think I was around 10 months old when my parents found out. So, you know, they don't
know if I was born deaf or if it was right after I became really sick. I was born with
CP, cerebral palsy. My parents told me I was born with CP, and I went to the doctors and
physical therapy, and they told me I would probably never walk. So I proved them all
wrong, because I can walk. I like to play. I can do everything. I've been involved with
the Special Olympics since 1997, and I started competing in 98. I do gymnastics. I do soccer,
bowling, baseball and basketball. I have two favorites. The first is bowling and the second
is gymnastics. My mom first told me about modeling. She asked me if I wanted to go and
be in Seventeen magazine, and I was like, of course I do. So I filled out the application
and I sent it in with my picture, and they wrote me back, and they said yes, they wanted
me to go. They picked five girls out of 250 girls in the United States. So of course I
was excited. I couldn't wait to go. So I went to New York, and I was there for two days,
and it was so much fun. Right now, I actually work in Boston as a model. And actually, a
little update, Samantha's mom who came tonight explained that Samantha couldn't be here with
us tonight, because she is now a student at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York
studying engineering.
I can honestly say that while Charlene and I researched the original oral history transcripts
at the Schlesinger Library at Harvard, there was not a single story that I didn't find
compelling on some level. Women's lives are interesting. Chapter five focuses on politics
and community involvement. Here you'll encounter Dr. Mary Lou Anderson, who grew up in an
extremely political family, where she was taught how to stand up for herself and question
authority. Sarah Robertson, the first female mayor of Worcester, city councilor Barbara
Howell. Virginia Swain, director of the Institute of Global Leadership, as well as Melanie Demarison,
Elizabeth Dean, two women who were very involved with the League of Women Voters. Here is the
story of Harriet Chandler.
This was a very late career goal. I started as a teacher when that was one of the few
jobs I could have gotten when I graduated from college. I went on to get a master's degree
from Clark and they allowed me to do a doctorate, a PhD in international relations and government.
I taught at Clark, WPI, and Tufts. I took a job as the executive director of the national
witness committees at Brandeis. Then I decided I wanted my MBA, so I had a variety of jobs.
That is not typical for someone my age. We never expected to work full time. Careers were
not really expected. It was great concern in 1990 about the fact that the schools were
so bad that realtors were having some trouble selling homes. I thought that maybe I could
be of some help, so I decided to run for school committee. The rest is history, as they say.
I served one and a half terms on the school committee. I later served three terms in the
state house of representatives and then I ran for Senate. It was a brutal race. It proved
to me you could do anything if you really want to, if you work hard enough. I served
five terms in the Senate. I was the first woman to run from Western and win a Senate seat.
I've loved every moment of it. I love helping people. What better way of helping people
than changing some of the laws under which they live? I've been very interested in senior
citizens because the face of poverty for seniors is women. Women are very hesitant to run for
office. They start thinking about how much money they have to raise. They start wondering
if they have enough of a base. They ask themselves if they have the right set of talents. Do
they have the right degrees? We as women think we can solve everything by going to school
and getting another degree. The truth of the matter is men don't think this way at all.
They graduate from college and if they want to run, they run. But women don't think that
way. It's all got to be more carefully planned out. About a quarter of the legislature are
women and that is the same percentage we've had for the entire 16 years up in there. There
are some bills you deal with and you really agonize over them. And there are others when
you know that you did the right thing. My room of thumb in bills involving conscience,
I have to feel I can get up in the morning, look myself in the mirror and say, this is
the reason I voted the way I did and I'm comfortable with that. If I can't say that, I can't vote
that way. And there are always bills like that. Okay, this is Virginia Swain from Imagine
Worcester and the World saying thank you to Heather Lynn Haley who is the president of
the Worcester Women's History Project, for Linda Rosenlund who is the founder of the
Women's Worcester History Project Oral History Project, and for Charlene Martin and Maureen
Doyle, the co-authors of Voices of Worcester Women presented tonight at the Worcester Library,
Worcester Public Library, Sax Room to an overflowing crowd of Worcester women. What an exciting
event it was and is and shall be. For those who are interested in learning more, please
go to the website of Voices of Women's History, Voices of Worcester Women and Women's Worcester
Women's Worcester History Project and it's my pleasure to thank them for their appearance
on the show. So I'll say good night for Imagine Worcester and the World from Virginia Swain.
Thank you for your interest in saving energy. Hi, I'm Nick Stavropoulos with National Grid.
We know that rising energy costs are taking a bite out of your budget. By taking steps
to use energy more wisely, you can save money, make your home more comfortable, and reduce
your environmental impact. Well, it's important for us to...
Hi, I'm Nick Stavropoulos with National Grid. We know that rising energy costs are taking
a bite out of your budget. By taking steps to use energy more wisely, you can save money,
home more comfortable and reduce your environmental impact. While it's important for us to all
take action, remember that we are your partner in energy efficiency. National Grid offers
rebates to qualifying customers who install certain high efficiency measures such as insulation,
heating and water heating equipment, and ENERGY STAR windows and thermostats. We also partner
with local agencies to deliver services for income eligible customers. Visit us at www.thinksmartthinkgreen.com
or call the number on your National Grid bill to learn more about the many ways we can help
you save. In the video you're about to watch, you'll learn about small changes in your behavior
and low cost investments that can provide immediate results with your home energy expenses.
From installing new energy saving light bulbs to adjusting your hot water thermostat or
just covering plots on the stove, there are many little things you can do to save. That's
the power of action.
Want to become an energy sleuth in your home? This video will show you how to reduce your
energy costs, increase the performance of your home, and create a healthier and more
comfortable living space. When it comes to energy efficiency, it's helpful to think of
your home as a three part system, shell of home, heating and cooling systems, and appliances
and lighting. The idea is to get all three parts working together and you'll be on your
way to better efficiency and money saved. For more information, please download the
tip sheet, Easy Ways to Save Energy and Money at Home, found on our website. Here are some
simple tips to help you save energy at home.
Lighting makes up about 10% of the average household's energy costs. Aside from simply
turning off unneeded lights, consider replacing old halogen or incandescent bulbs with energy
efficient lamps such as compact fluorescents or CFLs. CFLs come in all shapes and sizes.
Be sure to choose Energy Star qualified lighting. They use about one-fifth the electricity and
can last up to 10 times as long as standard bulbs. Heating and cooling your home consumes
about 45% of the average household's energy budget. Here are some simple tips to help
you save heating costs. If you have a furnace, ensure that ducts do not have leaks and are
sealed and insulated. Check your furnace filter each month and clean or replace as needed.
If you have a boiler, insulate your basement water or steam pipes to avoid heat loss. You
can purchase foam insulation at your local hardware store and easily install yourself.
Keep drapes and furniture away from vents or radiators and keep them free of dust. If
you have a fireplace, make sure the flue is tightly sealed when not in use. In the summer,
close windows and draw blinds in the morning to keep the house cooler. Use fans to stay
cool. Keep air conditioner filters clean. Maximize your energy savings without sacrificing
your comfort by installing an Energy Star programmable thermostat. You can save approximately
10% a year on your heating bill by turning your thermostat back 10 to 15% for 8 hours
a day, such as when you're away or asleep. Water heating accounts for about 13% of the
average household's energy use. Check that your water heater is set to about 120 degrees
Fahrenheit. Water that's too hot can pose a danger of scalding and it wastes energy.
Turn your gas water heater to vacation mode if you're leaving your house for an extended
period of time. Install low-flow shower heads and limit showers to 5 minutes or less. Run
only full loads of laundry. Use cold water for washing clothes. Clean the dryer's lint
screen after every load. Line dry clothes when possible. Use microwaves or toaster ovens
instead of the conventional oven or stove top when you can. Avoid opening the oven door
when baking as the temperature will drop 25 to 30 degrees each time. Use pots that
match the size of your burners and cover pots to reduce heat loss. Use the energy saving
mode on your dishwasher and only run full loads. In the refrigerator, uncovered foods
release moisture and make the compressor work harder. Cover them tightly. Set your refrigerator
to the recommended setting on the dial. Consider removing your second refrigerator from the
garage or basement. A refrigerator or freezer that's 20 years old could use 2 to 4 times
more electricity than a new, efficient model. Set your computer to energy saving sleep mode
or turn it off when not in use. Use a power strip to turn off home electronics. Many DVD
players, cable boxes and computers can still draw power even if they're powered off. Unplug
phone chargers as they still draw power even if no phone is attached. Turn off the TV if
no one's watching. Turn on the TV when you're not in use. Turn off the TV when you're not
in use. Unplug phone chargers as they still draw power even if no phone is attached. Turn
off the TV if no one's watching it. A big new plasma TV could be consuming as much electricity
as your refrigerator. On a cold day, you can really feel where drafts are coming through
your windows and doors. Before you even turn on the heat this winter, make sure storm windows
are properly in place. Using storm windows and doors in the winter can reduce your heat
loss by 25 to 50 percent. Clean windows and keep blinds open in the day to let the warm
sun in. Install rope cock or plastic window insulation kits on drafty windows. Examine
the weather stripping around your doors and windows and repair as necessary. When you
determine that it's time to replace your windows, look for the ENERGY STAR label. It is very
important that they are properly installed to prevent air and water from seeping in around
the frame. Check with your utility to see if rebates are available for high efficiency
windows. Weatherization, also known as insulation and air sealing, is a key component to your
whole house system. Installing good weatherization is one of the best investments you can make
to save energy and make your home more comfortable year round. While there are small things you
can do yourself, we recommend you find a qualified contractor on major projects. Check with your
utility to see if you're eligible for a rebate to help defray the cost of your investment.
If you have older insulation, consider upgrading it. Only 20 percent of homes built before
1980 are well insulated. In the northeast, it is recommended that you use insulation
rated R38 or greater in your attic. If you have R22 or less, upgrading could save 20
percent on your heating and cooling costs. If your attic is readily accessible, carefully
inspect the condition and type of insulation. Check for gaps or voids. If your insulation
is discolored or has dirty spots, you may need air sealing. Air sealing helps reduce
the overall leakage of air in a house. The most common areas for air leakage in a home
are the basement and attic. Use pliable caulk to seal leaks around your home's foundation.
Install gaskets behind electrical outlets and check the weather stripping on windows
and doors. Whether buying a clothes washer, boiler, or even a TV, remember that it has
two price tags, what you pay up front and what you pay for the energy and water it uses.
Look for the government's ENERGY STAR label to know that you're getting a more efficient
model. ENERGY STAR qualified devices use 10 to 50 percent less energy and water than standard
models, saving you over the life of the equipment. Also look for the yellow ENERGY GUIDE label.
This label estimates how much energy an appliance uses, compares energy use of similar products,
and lists approximate annual operating costs. Exact costs will vary. ENERGY STAR qualified
lighting, such as compact fluorescents or CFLs, provide bright, warm light at a fraction
of the cost of traditional bulbs. CFLs come in many shapes and sizes, and some are even
more nimble. Visit your local hardware store to learn more about lamps and lighting controls
that can save on operating costs while providing light where and when you need it.
We hope this video has given you some new ideas of ways to save energy at home and reminded
you of simple changes you can make every day. Check with your utility company to see if
there are rebates available when it's time to upgrade your heating or water heating equipment
or weatherize your home. Remember, there are a full range of options for saving energy
at home, so pick the ones that align with your budget today and plan ahead for savings
tomorrow. Somebody took it away from me and blink of an eye, in less than a month, this
woman destroyed what I had worked for for 15 years. I mean your credit score is basically
all you have. I was mugged, they got my information. It can really negatively affect your life.
Then they went off with the information and it basically became me. I feel this loss of
control that someone's out there pretending to be you and doing things in your name that
can come back to haunt you. Somebody was using my name and all my personal data. They've
done it all. I just didn't even know where to start. They had a long record. It's a terrible
feeling. Identity theft. It happens when your personal information is stolen and used without
your knowledge. It's a serious crime that can cost you time and money, ruin your credit,
and destroy your good name. When I was a victim of identity theft, my mail had been stolen.
I was shopping at a grocery store and someone took my wallet. I think I made a purchase
and they stole all my debit card information. My briefcase had been tampered with and when
I looked in and I saw that my passport and my driver's license, which I had in there,
had been taken. Identity theft happens when someone takes information about you and then
uses it to commit fraud. Identity theft is very serious. We know that identity fraud
in its various forms has affected 10 million people in any given year. What that means
in dollars is that it's lost to businesses of about $50 billion. On top of that, victims
of identity theft have spent $5 billion trying to undo this harm. Everyone needs to be conscious
that identity theft is real. When you get news that your identity has been potentially
stolen, it's sort of this open-ended problem that has occurred and you don't know what's
going to come of it. No one's immune, which isn't to say that we're powerless. There's
a lot we can do to deter, detect, and defend ourselves. My identity was stolen when I was
mugged. It is pretty dramatic, especially how it happened to me. They got my information
and it happened. Then they went off with the information and basically became me when they
went to charging items in stores. Identity thieves can only take advantage of you if
you give them information or if they obtain information about you. So what you want to
do is take steps to make it less likely that your information falls into the wrong hands.
There are many ways that you can do that. The first is to stop and look in your wallet.
What are you carrying around? And if you lose your wallet, are you giving somebody else
an opportunity to commit identity theft? So avoid carrying around any identification that
has your Social Security number on it in your wallet because that can be used very easily
and efficiently by identity thieves. They can have your name, they can have your birth
date, but if they don't have your Social Security number, they're not going to get very far.
But all they really need is a Social Security number and they can misspell your name and
still get credit. The only place that Social Security card number should be is in your
head and protect it somewhere at home where you keep your other valuables. If someone
asks you to provide a Social Security number, ask them why they need it, how they're going
to keep it, how they're going to safeguard it because you don't want that number to fall
into the wrong hands. I had an incident that I thought was a valid reason to give out information
until they asked for my Social Security number. I went as far as the first three digits. They
don't need that. This is a crime. You have to think when you're at home, protect your
identity. Don't leave around your personal documents, your data, somebody could come
into your home and have immediate access to that information. You also have to be careful
about your trash. Now a lot of people routinely receive things in the mail, maybe bank statements,
credit card statements or health insurance forms and if they don't need them, they just
throw them away in the trash. They shouldn't do that. Everyone should invest in a shredder.
So before they dispose of these critical documents, you shred them. Identity thieves, don't worry
about getting their hands dirty. They will go through your trash to retrieve these documents.
They go where the information is. They'll steal your mail, they will steal your trash,
they'll steal your wallet and that's how they get information about you. Deter identity
theft. Protect your Social Security number. Shred financial documents and paperwork with
any personal information before you throw them out. Never give out personal information
on the phone or internet unless you know who you are dealing with. My name is Nicole M.
Robinson. The woman who stole my identity, her name is Nicole A. Robinson. She stole
my information from the pharmaceutical company that she worked for. After this happened,
it devastated my financial life. I ordered my credit reports and I received a credit
report in the mail that was 54 pages long. It had over 170 accounts, 140 of them were
in collections. It had 42 different names and 65 different addresses on it. Not only
was somebody else reaping the benefits of my good credit, I could no longer have access
to my own good credit and I cried. I cried every day for three months. On top of the
financial and the time that people spend in resolving these issues, it's an emotional
burden on victims. My life before the identity theft case was wonderful. In less than a month,
this woman destroyed what I had worked for for 15 years. She got my life. If an identity
thief uses, for example, your Social Security number and applies for new credit in your
name as opposed to rating an existing account, there may be no way for you to know about
it unless you've checked your credit report and you see that a new account that you didn't
even know about has been opened in your name. That's why it's very important to monitor
your credit report regularly. Detect identity theft. Check your credit report at annualcreditreport.com.
Federal law gives you the right to a free credit report every year from the three national
consumer reporting companies. Review your financial accounts regularly. Look for charges
you did not make. When someone realizes that they're a victim of identity theft, it's
like getting a kick in the gut. You know, you feel paralyzed for a moment, but it's
really essential for victims to move quickly and deliberately and starting to resolve the
problems that arise from identity theft. I did what everybody knows to do and that's
call your credit card companies and cancel your credit cards. However, that's not enough.
There was one major bit of information I did not have and that was to call the three major
credit bureaus and I did not do that and what happened was this person then went back, she
was able to reopen the credit cards that I canceled. She was also able to open new credit
cards in my name. If you find you've become a victim of identity theft, the first thing
you need to do is contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies and have them
put a fraud alert on your file. You gotta take it seriously. You even suspect that you
gotta put fraud alerts on. You gotta take the steps to protect yourself and you gotta
inform yourself about what to do so that when it does happen to you, you can do it quickly
because time is critical. You next wanna contact each of the creditors or other institutions
where your information has been misused. Then you follow up in writing and distribute these
accounts and get a letter from them resolving these disputed fraudulent accounts. The FTC
has an affidavit which in my case I used to write out your explanation of what happened
that you can then use to submit to creditors trying to collect on fraudulent accounts.
When you're trying to tell them, look, my identity was stolen, it helps prove it to
them. You next wanna contact your local police department, report the crime and get a copy
of the police report. You should contact the police immediately because otherwise you have
no proof that there was a crime. It's very important that you report it to the police
because there are certain agencies that you need or we recommend that you contact and
they're probably gonna refer you back to the police department to see if you have a police
report or not. And finally you need to contact the Federal Trade Commission online at ftc.gov
slash idtheft or call us toll free at 877-ID-THEFT to report this to us. Defend against identity
theft. Call the three credit reporting companies and place a fraud alert on your credit report.
Then ask for the free credit report you're entitled to. Close any accounts that you suspect
have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Start by calling the security or fraud department
of each company. Follow up in writing and include copies of supporting documents. File
a police report. Contact the FTC. Your information also helps law enforcement officials across
the country to track down and stop ID thieves. Let's treat our personal information as we
would our cash. Let's safeguard it whether we're at home, whether it's in our purse or
our wallet or at our office. Your personal information is cash and in the wrong hands
it can destroy your life. The FTC plays a central role in helping victims avoid and
recover from identity theft. So we have developed substantial consumer education material that's
available on our website at ftc.gov slash ID theft. Identity theft is serious but even
if your identity has been stolen and there has been fraudulent accounts opening your
name you can defend yourself and get those resolved in your favor. There are times when
you just do not want to finish and you just want to say forget it I can't do this anymore
but you have to find that way inside of you to just keep going because this is something
that if you don't clear it definitely affects the rest of your life. What I want is for
us to create a culture of security for our personal information so that this crime in
the future will be diminished greatly.