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Mainstays: Women Who Shaped Bc
Short, lively biographies of 20 memorable women!
We all know that there have been women in British Columbia since the early days, and they were not just ironing shirts and baking bread. They did those things, of course, but they also (often despite amazing opposition) organized unions, won elections and became judges, scientists, artists, school principals and doctors.
Hannah Maynard, portrait photographer in the 1880s, cancer specialist Dr. Ethlyn Trapp, historian Margaret Ormsby and Native activist Rose Charlie are all part of BC's long tradition of energetic women. Mary Ellen Smith was the first woman cabinet minister in the British Empire; Agnes Dean Cameron shook up the education system; whale researcher Alexandra Morton is adding to our understanding of the coast.
Frequently, the lives of these interesting women took unexpected turns - a pretty young debutante ended up as an important judge; a man's refusal to let his daughter marry her chose fiancé (yes, it could happen) sent the young woman on to a career of improving hygiene in BC; a girl born on a tea estate in Ceylon charted BC's highest mountains. They were flexible, saw what had to be done and "just did it," often changing in themselves as much as they changed their province.
Cathy Converse writes frequently for BC Women and other magazines; she taught women's studies and criminology at Camosun College and was co-editor of In Her Own Right: Selected Essays on Women's History in BC.
We all know that there have been women in British Columbia since the early days, and they were not just ironing shirts and baking bread. They did those things, of course, but they also (often despite amazing opposition) organized unions, won elections and became judges, scientists, artists, school principals and doctors.
Hannah Maynard, portrait photographer in the 1880s, cancer specialist Dr. Ethlyn Trapp, historian Margaret Ormsby and Native activist Rose Charlie are all part of BC's long tradition of energetic women. Mary Ellen Smith was the first woman cabinet minister in the British Empire; Agnes Dean Cameron shook up the education system; whale researcher Alexandra Morton is adding to our understanding of the coast.
Frequently, the lives of these interesting women took unexpected turns - a pretty young debutante ended up as an important judge; a man's refusal to let his daughter marry her chose fiancé (yes, it could happen) sent the young woman on to a career of improving hygiene in BC; a girl born on a tea estate in Ceylon charted BC's highest mountains. They were flexible, saw what had to be done and "just did it," often changing in themselves as much as they changed their province.
Cathy Converse writes frequently for BC Women and other magazines; she taught women's studies and criminology at Camosun College and was co-editor of In Her Own Right: Selected Essays on Women's History in BC.
224 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1997
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About the author
Cathy Converse
7 books3 followersCathy Converse is a bestselling author with multiple books featured on the BC Bestseller List. With over forty years of writing experience, she has authored, co-authored, and co-edited seven books, in addition to writing numerous magazine cover stories, academic journal articles, and technical manuals. Her fourth book, Following the Curve of Time: The Legendary M. Wylie Blanchet, was a finalist for the 2009 BC Book Prizes' Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. Her work Against the Current received an Honourable Mention for the Lieutenant Governor's Medal for Historical Writing.
A former chair of social sciences, Cathy was a faculty member in the Department of Sociology at Camosun College and helped establish the women’s studies curriculum and programs. She is also recognized in Canadian Who's Who for her contributions to historical biography.
Originally from the sunny shores of California and Hawai'i, Cathy has spent her adult life along British Columbia’s rugged coastline. A lover of the sea, she enjoys surfing, white-water kayaking, canoeing, and sailing, having explored the Pacific from Panama to Alaska.
A former chair of social sciences, Cathy was a faculty member in the Department of Sociology at Camosun College and helped establish the women’s studies curriculum and programs. She is also recognized in Canadian Who's Who for her contributions to historical biography.
Originally from the sunny shores of California and Hawai'i, Cathy has spent her adult life along British Columbia’s rugged coastline. A lover of the sea, she enjoys surfing, white-water kayaking, canoeing, and sailing, having explored the Pacific from Panama to Alaska.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 30, 2022
Very interesting short biographies of some remarkable women who helped to shape BC to what it is today.
The women are: Agnes Deans Cameron, Evlyn Farris, Dr. Margaret Ormsby, Cecilia Spofford, Helena Gutteridge, Phyllis Munday, Gloria Cranmer Webster, Hannah Maynard, Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake), Dorothy Livesay, Sister Frances Redmond, Alice Ravenhill, Dr. Ethlyn Trapp, Mary Ellen Smith, Helen Gregory MacGill, Grace MacInnes, Rosemary Brown, Rose Charlie, Julia Henshaw, and Alexandra Morton.
While many were not even born in Canada, they worked hard to improve women's rights after finding themselves here. Most of these women were white but there are a few Indigenous and Black women as well. Some of the women are still alive today.
I would love to see this book updated as it was written in 1998 and we know a lot more and have different perspectives 24 years later.
The women are: Agnes Deans Cameron, Evlyn Farris, Dr. Margaret Ormsby, Cecilia Spofford, Helena Gutteridge, Phyllis Munday, Gloria Cranmer Webster, Hannah Maynard, Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake), Dorothy Livesay, Sister Frances Redmond, Alice Ravenhill, Dr. Ethlyn Trapp, Mary Ellen Smith, Helen Gregory MacGill, Grace MacInnes, Rosemary Brown, Rose Charlie, Julia Henshaw, and Alexandra Morton.
While many were not even born in Canada, they worked hard to improve women's rights after finding themselves here. Most of these women were white but there are a few Indigenous and Black women as well. Some of the women are still alive today.
I would love to see this book updated as it was written in 1998 and we know a lot more and have different perspectives 24 years later.
Displaying 1 of 1 review