Through the birth of three girls and one boy, Ruth opened her home to people who loved crafts. Her home was full of crafts and crafters, and Ruth embraced them all, decorating her home with the efforts of their labor and talents.
Ralph taught other mountain people the art of hand-hammered pewter, joined the Southern Highland Guild, and in 1957 he and Ruth opened the Riverwood Shops in Dillsboro. Ruth operated the business side of the shop and was the glue that kept it all alive. The Riverwood Shops have been successful now for 33 years thanks to her efforts.
Those efforts will be recognized during a wrap-up program for Women's History Month titled Strong Comes After. Also recognized will be the 10 winners of the Outstanding Women Award 2000 presented by the Western Carolina Women's Coalition.
They are Joyce Dugan, first female principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee; Brenda Oliver, first female mayor of Sylva; Martha Queen, chairperson of the Jackson County Board of Education; Mary Jane Queen, legendary balladeer; Leni Sitnick, first female mayor of Asheville; Marie Colton, first female speaker pro tem of the N.C. Legislature; Wilma Dykeman, author and speaker; Willie Vincent, Western region and North Carolina 1998-99 business person of the year; Oralene Graves Simmons, director of Asheville's YMI Cultural Center; Helen Moseley-Edington, retired Asheville teacher and author.
History books teach us that Eli Whitney developed the cotton gin, but records show that Catherine Littlefield Greene recommended improving his prototype by replacing the wooden teeth with wire ones.
In 1974 Antony Hewish, a Cambridge University astronomy professor, accepted the Nobel Prize in physics for discovering the pulsating star (pulsar), but his graduate student Jocelyn Bell actually discovered it in 1967. Hewish supervised Bell and furthered her research. Despite substantial documentation that proved Bell discovered the pulsar, the Nobel Foundation ignored her.
These are but a few examples of the significant contributions to history that women have made. Women have been making history since it began, yet their contributions are often credited to others or ignored. But much of that is changing... in North Carolina and throughout the world.
Gov. Jim Hunt has proclaimed March as Women's History Month. In his proclamation, Hunt pointed out famous firsts in women's history such as: Elizabeth Cady Stanton being the first woman to testify before Congress and Antonia Novello being the first woman to serve as U.S. surgeon general.
Nationally, the theme for this year's celebration is "An Extraordinary Century for Women - Now Imagine the Future."
For more information on Women's History Month, visit the website www.takefridayoff.com/jacksonwomenindex.htm. and its links.
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