Marching for women's suffrage, New York City, Oct. 1915 • George Grantham Bain Coll. (Library of Congress)

Welcome to the web home of the Benzie Area Women's History Project. This group, based in Benzie County, Michigan, is comprised of area women dedicated to educating ourselves and others about the women of our past, women whose voices are not always heard.

For the last 28 years we've presented an annual event, usually held in March, celebrating women's history.

Our theme for this year is Which Way Home: Perspectives on Immigration, and, instead of one event, we will have two! On Sunday, March 14, at the Garden Theater in Frankfort, we will show a film, Which Way Home, which presents a harrowing description of the plight of immigrant children trying to enter the U.S. Alma College professor Stephany Slaughter, Ph.D., who was a field producer for the film, will introduce the film and give a short talk afterwards.

Our second program is set for Sunday, March 21, at the Mills Community House in Benzonia. Participants will be able to "meet" women from the past, most connected with Jane Addams' Hull House in Chicago, who significantly aided the assimilation of immigrant women into the U.S. In addition, local immigration lawyer Wendy Bailey and retired high school history teacher Judy Minton will speak and we will have a book discussion, led by Katherine Ross, on the book The Butterfly's Way: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States, edited by Edwidge Danticat.

We also fund a yearly scholarship for a non-traditional female student at Northwestern Michigan College. This year's recipient is Nancy Stoessel of Traverse City, who is in the nursing program.

See pictures from past events on our photos page.

http://www.bawhp.org
last update March 10, 2010