Winter 2016 2016: Volume I

Susan B. Anthony Museum & House

Newsletter

Anthony Sampler Returns A cross-stitch sampler created by Susan B. Anthony as a pre-teen (circa 1831) was returned to the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House on Thursday, March 5, 2015. The artifact had been in the care of conservator Sarah Stevens of Zephyr Preservation Studios.

The conservation work was made possible through a 2014 Museum Conservation Treatment Grant by the Greater Hudson Heritage Network, in association with the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).

Deborah L. Hughes, President & CEO of the Anthony Museum, noted, “Susan B. Anthony had this sampler prominently displayed in her office when she was in her eighties, so we know that it was important to her. It is precious today because it connects us personally to young Susan and her family. This was her handiwork, long before she was the Great Reformer.”

Celebrate Susan B. Anthony’s 196th birthday! Join us for the

Annual Susan B. Anthony Birthday Luncheon

with keynote speaker Billie Jean King

Wednesday, February 10, 2016, at noon Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside

Convention Center

Individual seats & group tables now available Make your reservations TODAY!

Email questions to luncheon@susanbanthonyhouse.org

Corporate sponsorships now available! Contact Lesia Telega, 585/279-7490 x 12

A reproduction of the sampler, created by Stevens, is now on display at the Museum in Susan B. Anthony’s study.

17 Madison Street, Rochester, NY 14608 • Administrative Office, 585-279-7490 • Visitor Center, 585-235-6124

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Membership has its privileges, and at the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House, we offer our members periodic special events just for them. This past July, author Sonja Livingston joined us for an inti-mate reading of “The Lady with the Alligator Purse,” an essay from her most recent book, Queen of the Fall: A Memoir of Girls & Goddesses. Following the reading, members enjoyed a beautiful summer night on the grounds of the Museum. Queen of the Fall was recently named Writers & Books’ 2016 “If all of Rochester reads the same book…” selection.

An Evening with Sonja Livingston

Thank you to Gail Drew & Abbott’s for providing the delicious frozen custard for our event!

Mary Anthony carries on From the Rochester Herald:

“Miss Mary S. Anthony, the ever helpful sister of Susan B. Anthony, though consid-erably past what is generally considered the constructive period of life, is already reorganizing her affairs and making plans for carrying on the work left by her more widely known sister. Miss Mary Anthony will be 79 years of age on April 2, but her years have done her no more damage than to have arranged her faculties so that she may see things in a truer perspective than the younger people...Miss Anthony has a color in her cheek that many a girl might envy, vivacity, humor, and a keenness of insight that only years could have given her. “Believing that her sister would wish her to continue their life work, Miss Anthony is making plans to leave for Oregon next Saturday. There she and Rev. Dr. Anna H. Shaw, herself a white haired woman, will ‘stump’ the state for woman suffrage. The Oregon campaign has been in progress for months, and such advances have been made that the question of woman suffrage is to be put to the vote of the people of the state next June. Miss Anthony and Dr. Shaw will work there ‘for the cause’ until the vote is taken, and then they will make plans for a journey to Copenhagen, where the

executive committee of the International Suffrage Alliance is to meet in August. “’Comparatively few people realize how large a share Aunt Mary had in Aunt Susan’s work,’ said Miss Lucy Anthony last night, in talking of Miss Mary Anthony’s plans for the future. ‘That Aunt Susan recognized it she evidenced in giving to Aunt Mary the first copy of the History of Woman Suffrage that came from the press and writing in it this inscription: ‘To my youngest sister, Mary, without whose faithful and consistent home-making there could have been no freedom for the out-going of her grateful and affectionate sister.’ “’Aunt Mary has supported and waited upon Aunt Susan for years...After her sister, Aunt Mary’s first thought has always been ‘for the cause’ and she has worked for it devotedly and untiringly for years. She is the essence of charity; for a long time she was actively engaged in charitable work in this city and as part of her labors she gathered old clothes for the poor. No matter in what condition they came to her, they were always neat, clean and perfect when she gave them away.’” *** Editor’s note: Mary Stafford Anthony died in the Anthony home on February 7, 1907. She is buried with her sister, Susan B., and other family members in Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Calendar January 11, 2016: “First Come, Last Served: American Indian Voting Rights” (Monday Lecture Series)

February 10, 2016: Annual Susan B. Anthony Birthday Luncheon

March 13, 2016: Memorial Wreath Ceremony

March 21, 2016: “Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, and the Battle Over the 15th Amendment” (Monday Lecture Series)

Susan B. Anthony Museum & House Newsletter is published periodically for the members and friends of the Anthony Museum.

Writer: Sarah Murphy Abbamonte Editors: Deborah L. Hughes & Sarah Murphy Abbamonte

Scenes from the 2015 Annual Birthday Luncheon

An enthusiastic, sold-out crowd of over 1000 guests joined us in 2015 to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Susan B. Anthony!

We hope you’ll join us for “Making History” on Wednesday, February 10, 2016!

Fly, Sally Ride! Local band, Lake Effect, kicked off the event with a high-energy performance of “Fly Sally Ride” with music derived from Mack Rice’s “Mustang Sally” and new lyrics by Jack Baron written especially for the event. Lake Effect is: Jack Baron, David Curry, James Warner, Tom Hernandez, & Craig Ronald

A view of downtown Rochester; Lynn Sherr & Susan B. Anthony pose with alumni of Wellesley College; volunteer, Kathy Frey; Emcee Janet Lomax & Presenting Sponsor Kitty Van Bortel get their selfie with Susan B. Anthony; Rochester Museum & Science Center President, Kate Bennett

Left to right: New York Lt. Governor, Kathy Hochul; keynote speaker, Lynn Sherr, & Cindy Odom of Girl Scouts of USA; Anthony Museum board chair, Bernie Todd Smith; Susan B. Anthony (portrayed by Barbara Blaisdell) & Rochester Federation of Women’s Clubs President, Rosann Tacito

Left to right: Museum docent, Mary Myers welcomes guests; Michael Hardy, D Todd Gray, Clare Kerber, Zeb Hounslea, & Madelyn Kerber; overlooking a sold-out crowd of more than 1,000; Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks; keynote speaker, Lynn Sherr

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SUSAN B. ANTHONY MUSEUM & HOUSE

Major Birthday Luncheon sponsors—thank you!

Come browse through our museum shop! Whether you visit the shop in our Visitors Center or online at the web store, you’ll see a wonderful assortment of merchandise for your shopping pleasure. We have exciting new items, with more coming in all the time. Shop today!

Supporting Partner

Media Sponsors

Museum shop news

Presenting Sponsor & Corporate Partner

Platinum Sponsor

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Surround yourself with this stylish reminder of Susan B.’s persistence and passion! 100% red pashmina.

$12.00

Give the gift of a lovely afternoon spent sipping tea!

“Let’s Have Tea” black tea $5.99

Cream biscuit mix $5.99

Jam from Hurd Orchards $7.99

This functional & fabulous purse fits a tablet perfectly! Magnetic closure, 15” x 9” x 3”, 28” handle.

$36.99

Cuddle up with this soft 7” teddy bear!

$12.50

Members receive 10% off every day!

The Anthony Museum welcomes many diverse groups throughout the year. Here, Annie Callanan, our Program Director, speaks to campers from the Rochester Museum & Science Center’s “Curie Camp”.

Our “Thank you, Susan B. Anthony” campaign received international attention!

Interns Jordyn Smith (l; Young Women of Distinction award finalist) & Linda Lopata (r; SUNY Brockport) joined us for a very busy summer season.

Rochester’s finest—women officers of the Rochester Police Department visit the Anthony House for a special group tour.

The Anthony Museum & House was featured on Time Warner Cable News’ “Explore NY” web series.

We engage, inspire, motivate, encourage, cheer!

Rochester’s annual Flower City Challenge comes down Madison Street right past the Anthony Museum as the first-mile marker in April. This year, the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood took home 1st place in the “spirit” competition! Thank you to staff and volunteers who arrived before 7 a.m. on a Sunday to cheer on the participants!

Docent and Trustee, Julie Ferreira, leads members of the Rochester Emerging Museum Professionals group on a tour of the Museum & House.

The Anthony Museum hosts volunteers from organizations throughout Rochester during Volunteer Recognition Month. This year, Deborah L. Hughes led them on a walking tour of the Susan B. Anthony historic preservation district.

Deborah L. Hughes reflects on the anniversary of Susan B Anthony’s death during our annual commemorative wreath hanging.

We collaborated with the League of Women Voters—Rochester Metro Area for a National Voter Registration Day event!

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This 100-plus year-old horse chestnut tree (aesculus hippocastanum) stands steadfast in front of the home of legendary women’s rights advocate, Susan B. Anthony. The tree is documented in an 1891 photograph that shows Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and other colleagues meeting on the front porch under its welcoming shade. Beginning in March 1897, Anthony and her biographer, Ida Husted Harper, spent countless hours in the third-floor workroom of the house preparing the three-volume, The Life & Work of Susan B. Anthony. In the biography, Harper wrote poetically of the chestnut tree that watched over them:

“And thus was the task continued, day after day, and far into the night, for much more than a year. The snows of winter melted away; the bare branches of the tall chestnut trees which towered above the windows put forth their buds and burst into a wilderness of snowy blossoms; the birds built their nests among the green leaves, reared their young and flew away with them to warmer climes before the chill winds of approaching autumn; again the naked branches stretched out to a stormy sky and the snow lay deep on the frozen ground while the story followed the life and work of the great historic character through the slow unfolding of the depths of the past.”

Today, this living witness to the history of the women’s rights movement is the first stop for thousands of visitors to the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House. Its greatest threat is now the stress of city living.

If this tree could talk…

Monday Lecture Series, 2016 January 11, 2016 “First Come, Last Served: American Indian Voting Rights” Phil Weisberg, course leader, Osher LLL Institute at the Rochester Institute of Technology February 29, 2016 “Susan B. Anthony, Hildegard of Bingen, and Getting Things Done” Dr. Honey Meconi, Professor of Music and Musicology, the University of Rochester March 21, 2016 “Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, and the Battle Over the 15th Amendment” Dr. Catherine Adams, Associate Professor of History, SUNY Geneseo April 18, 2016 “Stanton, Anthony, and Gage: Frenemies for Suffrage” Dr. Mary E. Corey, Associate Professor Emerita, the College at Brockport May 9, 2016 “Showcasing Great Women...Inspiring All!” (includes book signing) Jill Tietjen, CEO, National Women’s Hall of Fame June 6, 2016 “The Summer of 1848: Building a Women’s Rights Movement” Dr. Carol Faulkner, Professor of History, Syracuse University Guests may choose from a 12pm catered luncheon ($25) or a 2pm informal tea ($15). Programs do sell out and advance registration is required. To make online reservations, please visit our website at www.susanbanthonyhouse.org. Reservations may also be made by calling our office at 585/279-7490 x 10. Can’t join us in Rochester? We are piloting livestreaming these presentations. If you are interested in helping us test this innovation, please send an email to programs@susanbanthonyhouse.org.

Joshua Stapf has been named Administrative Coordinator & Development Assistant. Contact him at 585/279-7490 x 10 or via email at joshua.stapf@susanbanthonyhouse.org for general office inquiries & special events. Linda Lopata, a former Anthony Museum intern, is now on board as a Visitor Center Manager. Linda will be on-site Tuesdays and alternate Saturdays. Allison Hinman, also a former intern, will serve as Visitor Center Manager on Thursdays. She recently completed her masters degree in Museum Studies & Arts Leadership at Syracuse University. You may see a familiar face on Madison Street as Claire Zarcone returns to the staff as the editor for Miss Anthony’s Kitchen (our volunteer newsletter) and 17 Madison Street (our member newsletter).

Anthony Museum welcomes new staff

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Suffragists for Suffragette On Sunday, November 22, the Friends of the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House hosted a SOLD-OUT special screening of the new film, Suffragette, followed by a panel discussion with Jack Garner, local film critic, Dr. Jennifer Lloyd, associate professor emerita at the College at Brockport, and Deborah L. Hughes, Anthony Museum president & CEO. Guests were welcomed by a “suffrage rally” atmosphere including period music and costumed volunteers.

“We’re still fighting so many of these fights and we need to make sure people are aware of that and don’t lose sight of the fact that voting is important and the fact that women haven’t had the right to vote for

very long,” said audience member, Caroline Critchlow.

Thank you to all who helped make this event such a phenomenal success!

Joshua Stapf

Claire Zarcone

Linda Lopata

Allison Hinman

Doug Thompson Retires Doug Thompson, long-time caretaker at the Anthony Museum, officially retired in November. To staff, volunteers, neighbors, and visitors, Doug was a warm and welcoming constant on Madison Street. For seventeen years, Doug faithfully opened the Museum campus on weekday mornings. He greeted neighbors, mowed the lawn, shoveled snow, attended to repairs, responded to late-night alarms and so much more. Throughout his tenure, Doug has given selflessly of his skills, knowledge, and good humor. He was always quick with a smile and a story to tell. Recently, many of us gathered to celebrate Doug’s tenure and wish him well on his new adventures! Taking over the duties of caretaker is Scott Brownell. Scott is retired

from Kodak, where he worked in the aerospace engineering field. Welcome, Scott! Scott Brownell

Non-Profit Org. US Postage

PAID Rochester, NY

Permit No. 1368

www.susanbanthonyhouse.org

17 Madison Street, Rochester, NY 14608

Coming in 2016!

Susan B. responds to TR Most of us know Susan B. Anthony’s famous “Failure is Impossible” speech, delivered at her last public appearance on the occasion of her 86th birthday in February 1906.

What you may not know is that then-President Theodore Roosevelt sent his own birthday greetings to Susan B. via telegram. Her response?

“I wish the men would do something besides extend congratulations. I have asked President Roosevelt to push the matter of a constitutional amendment allowing suffrage to women by a recommendation to Congress. I would rather have him say a word to Congress for the cause than to praise me endlessly.”

Adapted from a submission by Mary Ellen Sweeney Photo credit: Library of Congress

Visit our website at www.susanbanthonyhouse.org and follow us online!

Annual Susan B. Anthony Birthday Luncheon

featuring

Billie Jean King

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Volunteer Opportunities at the Anthony Museum!

Contact Deb Coffey at 585/235-6124 x 16 or

deborah.coffey@susanbanthonyhouse.org