08-04 TABLE of CONTENTS: Living Well is the Best Revenge The Eternal Mystery of Lizzie Borden's Hatchet Earth Mother in any Language Joan DeWind was Butterfly authority Dame Schools of the 16 - 19 Centuries were like Today's Nursery Schools Cecilia Danieli, the "Iron Lady" of Italy Frick Museum Curator Guided the Renaissance Collection Some Noted Women Poets The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist DATES, ANNIVERSARIES, and EVENTS QUOTES by Norman Denzin and Anna Quinlan. And Then The Party Began...       Living well is the best revenge...       Almost forgotten in the annals of history are the accomplishments of one Nicole-Barbe Clicquot (although most in the wine trade have a vague memory that some woman did invent something).       The history books record with a flourish and a pop that on 08-04-1693, Dom Perignon invented champagne (actually the champagne process).       VOILA! Let the party begin.       But wait. Someone forgot to mention that the Dom Perignon's sparkly wasn't highly thought of because it was gritty and cloudy... ugh. Not even callow youths thought it worthy enough to contribute to a hangover.       Fast forward a bit more than a hundred years to when Mme. Nicole-Barbe Clicquot developed the sur pointe process that clarified the sediment out of sparkling wines - and THEN the party begins.       But the history books list Dom Perignon... and Mme. Clicquot is ignored.       Luckily her process made her a very wealthy woman, thus her revenge was living very nicely, thank you, Veuve Clicquot (widow Cliquot).       NicoleBarbe Clinquot was the daughter of the mauor of Reims who at 20 was widowed with a daughter after three years of marriage to a vintner. She vowed to carry on her husband's business.       She developed the process of remuage (moving) in which the bottles of wine are stored upside down (on their corks or sur pointe) and then the bottles are shaken periodically and then rotated to force the sediments in the wine to settle down on the cork.       After a certain period, the cork is quickly removed, the sediment is expelled by the wine gases and then the bottle is quickly recorked.       The widow Chinquot also invented pink champagne. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | The Eternal Mystery of Lizzie Borden and her little hatchet (maybe) If Lizzie committed the murders of her father and stepmother, no one knows (or admits) how she got away with it.       If she didn't commit the murders, no one knows how anyone else could have.       The murders of the Bordens occurred 08-04-1890, and some date the turning point in the women's right movement to this date.       Lizzie Borden's trial for killing her father and stepmother marked the first time in American HERstory that women packed a courtroom and showed overpowering public interest in a process that had always been male-directed and dominated.       Hometown women, especially, supported her and cheered her acquittal by an all-male jury - then never spoke to her again.       The actions by women who obviously knew the details of Lizzie's life that no outside historian could ever learn in the closed society of those times has led some modern experts to suspect that sexual abuse/incest was at the heart of the murders.       While her neighbors could excuse/understand what she did - perhaps silently applaud her for doing what they could not do against their own incestuous fathers or husbands - they could not condone her in the moralistic church-going society of the day.       IF Lizzie did commit the murders, there is NO WAY she could have gotten away with it unless there was a conspiracy to hide evidence. Her neighbors were sitting less than 15 feet away in their kitchen with their windows wide open. All the windows were open in the Borden house also because it was a hot, muggy day.       There was little noise from the neighbors or the streets except for the occasional horse's hoofs...       When Lizzie did open her kitchen screen door and said in a conversational voice that her father had been hurt, the doctor living directly across the narrow street was called. Did he carry away the hatchet? Did a friendly policeman? The neighbors?       The murder hatchet that killed her stepmother and her father in a series of blows was never found.       The crime was bloody but there was no blood on the clothes Lizzie was wearing and none on any other clothing in the house. Only on the walls and the furniture - and of course, the bodies.       Rumors that a dress had been burned in the kitchen stove proved false although one hears the tale even today. BTW, the hatchet at the Borden museum is one that was found in the basement. It was found in a dirty, dull, and rusty condition. It was obviously NOT the murder weapon. Earlier, Lizzie had installed a hook lock on the connecting door between her bedroom and her father's bedroom.       Earlier, she'd moved her sister to an inside room so that anyone trying to reach her through that connecting door had to disturb Lizzie. Her father then locked the door with his key but made it a point to display that key nightly in what some see as a way to tell the girls that he could reach them if he wanted to.       If it was incest, why wasn't it reported? Probably because any woman who was acknowledged as a victim of incest was beyond the pale, socially ostracized with no hope of social redemption. Also, the way the laws were set up in those days, children were the property of fathers and incest wasn't really recognized as a crime.       The family's dwelling was a strange, small house with lots of tiny rooms and deep dark secrets.       The compiler of WOAH has read every article and book written about the Borden case that is available. Did Lizzie kill her father and stepmother? I don't know.       What I do know is that somewhere in some attic, in a forgotten or ignored diary (or diaries), the women of that small community confided to the silent pages what they could never say out loud in that repressive society. Someday one of those diaries will become known and the mystery of the Bordens' deaths will be solved. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | Earth Mother in any Language       Danu is the Celtic name for the earth mother or female principle known to all cultures throughout most of history (replaced by the rise of the male gods about 2,000 years ago. At various times and in various cultures, the earth mother's power and origins vary.       On the whole, she either simply suckled the gods or they were birthed by her. One legend has the earth goddess as white steer/cow who is impregnated by the north wind to produce the ancient Titans which preceeded the Olympian gods of ancient Greece and Rome.       She is most often the symbol of fertility as well as wisdom. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | DeWind was Butterfly authority       Joan Dewind was noted as someone "who raised butterflies" in her obituaries when she died in 1997 instead of "a noted butterfly expert," which she was.       A noted amateur lepidopterist, she was a founding member of the Xerces society, the international organization that specialized in butterflies, moths, and other such creatures. JD was a important contributor of the management of the butterfly collection at the American Museum of National History in New York.       As a conservationist, she designed gardens that drew butterflies and was instrumental in the drive to preserve extensive farmlands in Connecticut for open spaces.       Her speciality was sphinx moths. She had polio as a child which contributed to her death at 82. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | Dame Schools of the 16 - 19 Centuries were Today's Nursery Schools       While it is popular to criticize the modern working woman for not staying home with her children "in the traditional way" even though she may have no other means of feeding them, the fact is that nursery schools for infants and young children have existed for at least 500 years in western civilization.       Dame schools were set up in England and Colonial America to care for preschool-age children as well as infants, an early nursery school to care for young children when their mothers had to work or were otherwise occupied. The dame schools were generally held in the home of the women teachers who organized the small, private Dame schools in towns and rural areas. They can be traced back to the 16th century (at least) and continued to exist into the 19th century at which times they were generally replaced by more formal organizations. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | Cecilia Danieli, the "Iron Lady" of Italy       Cecilia Danieli, born in 1944, was dubbed the "Iron Lady" of Italy because of her success in building her family's steel business into an international power. She rose within the organization from a minor administrative post to chair and managing director when she was only 36. Not only did she sell steel products to the U.S., the Soviet Union, Central America, etc., but she also sold completely furnished steel plants. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | Frick Museum Curator who Guided the Renaissance Collection       Bernice F. Davidson - U.S. historian of Italian Renaissance Art. BFD was research curator at the Frick museum. New York city. Holding a Ph.D. in art history, she specialized in Raphael and the artists of his school, including the Perino del Vaga, on whom she was the leading expert.       In addition to numerous articles, she authored Raphael's Bible: A Study of the Vatican Logge (1983). BFD was curator at the Rhode Island School or Design before returning to the Frick in 1965 to guide in development with Renaissance bronzes and drawings.       She worked closely with young scholars and directed student symposiums in her 29 years with Frick. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | Some Noted Women Poets       Turkey: Mihri Hatun (d. 1506) Considered the first major poet of Turkey. Her poems were finally published in the 1960's by the Russians.       India: Mira Bai. (1498-1547) A legend in India. Her odes to Krishna are still regarded with awe.       China: Huang O (1498-1569). Writer of surprising erotica. "Go and make somebody else unsatisfied."       Korea: Hwang Chin-i (c. 1506-44). Korean poet.       England Queen Elizabeth I (b. 1533 - d.1603). One of the great statesmen in English history. She was also an accomplished poet and rumored to be a playwright. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist       "Working without the pressure of success.       "Not having to be in shows with men.       "Having an escape from the art world in your 4 free-lance jobs.       "Knowing your career might pick up after you're eighty.       "Being reassured that whatever kind of art you make             It will be labeled feminine.       "Not being stuck in a tenured teaching position.       "Seeing your ideas live on in the work of others.       "Having the opportunity to choose between career and motherhood.       "Not have to choke on those big cigars or paint in Italian suits.       "Having more time to work after your husband dumps you for someone younger.       "Being included in revised versions of art history.       "Not having to undergo the embarrassment of being called a genius.       "Getting your picture in the art magazines wearing a gorilla suit."             -- This marvelous card was published and distributed by the "Guerrilla Girls, conscience of the art world" to raise awareness of the bigotry against women in the arts. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | 08-04 DATES, ANNIVERSARIES, and EVENTS B. 08-04-1900, Elizabeth, Queen consort of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1936-52), wife of King George VI - the queen mum who inspired her people during the darkest days of World War II. She stayed in London when it was being bombed daily although she sent her daughters, including the future Elizabeth II, to Windsor Castle for safety. B. 08-04-1920, Helen Thomas - U.S. journalist. HT pursued her ambition to be a journalist in high school and pursued her ambition through collete. She went to Washington, DC got a job for the-then United Press (later United Press International) to write women things for radio but her ambition and willingness to work on her own enabled her to move up to covering the Justice Department, various government agencies, even Congress.       After covering, mostly on her own, the newly elected John Kennedy, she began attending White House press conferences, also on her own.       She was promoted to White House correspondent in 1970 just in time for the Watergate scandals. She was the only member of the print media to accompany President Nixon on his noted trip to China in 1972. She became bureau chief in 1974, the first woman to ever hold such a post with any news service.       She made friends with Martha Mitchell, the wife of Nixon's attorney general John N. Mitchell who was jailed for his involvement in the Watergate break-in coverup. Martha Mitchell, in late night phone conversations, confided to MT her suspicions and outrage over the Watergate incident and attempts to hide it.       A determined feminist, she forced the National Press Club to "allow" women journalists to attend the luncheon that would be address by visiting Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. Thomas layter became an officer with the Press club and would become president of the Gridiron Club, an exclusive press organization.       Her questioning of presidents, demanding that they be held accountable made her many enemies, but she was seen as one of the most reliable reporters in Washington. Because of her Lebanese ethniticity, she was accused of being pro-Arab, which she was not. Such as charge of prejudice was never made towards any male reporter no matter what their religion, ethnic background, or social connections were.       Because of her seniority, she had the singular honor of being the regular whose dignified "Thank you, Mr President" signaled the end of White House press conferences. But before the honored phrase, she was known to ask devastating and perceptive questions of all eight of the presidents she reported on. She was tough, shrewd, and always fair gaining respect from all fo the eight presidents she made squirm with her no nonsense questions. She was one of the few reporters who sought answers rather than positioning themselves for promotions.       When UPI was sold in May 2000 to a communications corporation with ties to the Unification Church that owns a right-wing newspaper, MT, 79, said she'd step down. She said she intends to write a book, may syndicate a column, and give speeches.       "Presidents come and go, but Helen's been here for 40 years now, covering eight presidents and doubtless showing the ropes to countless young reporters and, I might add, more than a few press secretaries," President Clinton said at her retirement.       "Whatever she decides to do, I'll feel a little better about my country if know she'll still be spending some time around here at the White House. After all, without her saying, 'thank you, Mr. President,' at least some o us might never have ended our news conferences," he said.       "Even though she has her own opinion, her reporting is straight down the middle and it's all hard news - none of this analysis and chin-stroking that goes on in journalism today," former White House press secretary Mike McCurry said.       One of nine children of Lebanese immigrants who arrived in the U.S. with $17, HT worked her way through college. Her parents ran a grocery store. Her parents kept the accounts in their heads because they could not read or write. Like typical immigrants who wanted a better life for their children, they encouraged HT and all of her sisters and brothers to get an education. B. 08-04-1923, Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy - U.S. federal jurist. CGK served as judge of the 3rd Judicial Circuit, Michigan 1967-70; district judge U.S. District Court, Eastern District, Michigan, 1970-79 (chief justice 1977-79); circuit judge U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit 1979-. B. 08-04-1938, Judith Smith Kaye - U.S. jurist. JSK was judge and chief justice, New York State Court of Appeals, 1983-. B. 08-04-1940, Babette Josephs - U.S. politician. BJ was a member Pennsylvania House of Representatives 1984-, executive director National Abortion Rights Action League of Pennsylvania, 1978-80. Event 08-04-1943: Ensign Rosalie Thorne with a score of 211 out of 240 qualified for the Navy Expert Pistol Shot medal, the first even given to a woman. Event 08-04-1944: "Nazi police raided the secret annex of a building in Amsterdam and arrested eight people - including 15-year-old Anne Frank, whose diary became a famous account of the Holocaust. (Anne died the following March at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp)"... B. 08-04-1958, Mary Decker (Slaney) - U.S. athlete. MD set almost every women's track record from 88 m. to 10,000 m. in the 1970s and 80s. However, because of recurring injuries she was never able to win an Olympic gold medal. Event 08-04-1975: the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego issued a pastoral letter denying communion to members of pro-abortion groups including the Association for University Women. Died 08-04-1984 Mary Miles Minter - U.S. silent screen star. MMM and/or her mother were suspects in the William Desmond Taylor murder in 1922. MMM's career was ruined when it came out that the virginal girl she portrayed on screen was directly opposite from her real private life, offending the American public. She had thrown herself at screen director Taylor who was not only old enough to be her grandfather but also a closet homosexual. Some of her head hairs were found on Taylor's fully clothed body and one of her nighties was found in his bungalow. Her mother Charlotte had threatened another man with a gun when she though he was dallying with her daughter - and the size of the gun matched the weapon that killed Taylor. No one was ever charged in the Taylor murder and it remains one of the elusive famous mysteries that draws | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE | | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | QUOTES DU JOUR DENZIN, NORMAN:       "A... society which promotes the ownership of firearms, [the ownership of] women and children; which makes homes men's castles; and which sanctions societal and interpersonal violence in the form of wars, athletic contests, and mass media fiction (and news) should not be surprised to find violence in its homes."             -- Norman Denzin QUINLAN, ANNA:       "Every time a woman looks at her daughter and thinks 'She can be anything' she knows in her heart, from experience, that it's a lie. Looking at this little girl, I see it all, the old familiar ways of a world that still loves Barbie. Girls aren't good at math, dear. He needs the money more than you, sweetheart; he's got a family to support. Honey - this diapers dirty.       "It is like looking through a telescope. Over the years I learned to look through the end that showed things small and manageable. This is called a sense of proportion. And then I turned the telescope around, and all the little tableaus rushed at me, vivid as ever.       "That's called reality.       "We soothe ourselves with the gains that have been made. There are many role models. Role models are women who exist and are photographed often - to make other women feel better about the fact that there aren't really enough of us anywhere, except in the lowest paying jobs. A newspaper editor said to me with no hint of self-consciousness, 'I'd love to run your column, but we already run Ellen Goodman.' Not only was there a quota; there was a quota of one."             -- Anna Quinlan, "Public and Private, The Glass Half Empty," the New York Times. Brought to the attention of WOAH by Christine Dinesmore. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE | | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE |