1st Place- A Day of Possibilities- Kim Jurkowski Rochester NY

A Day of Possibilities

As the train started to slow down for the next stop, Lillian gazed out the window. The pearly gray church spire atop a red brick church towered above the trees. It was a glorious summer day, full of possibilities. As the train approached the small wooden platform, the town came into view. Homes of various shapes and sizes dotted the hillside, a beautiful white Queen Anne home with a wrap around porch lay at the summit across from the church. The pictures that Gladys had shared with them at college didn’t do it justice.

Lillian nudged her sister Madeline, who had fallen asleep on the seat next to her. “Maddie, we’re here, time to get off and gather our bags.”

Madeline startled awake and tucked a stray auburn curl back into place. Smoothing down her rosecolored skirt, she grabbed her brown leather gladstone bag in her right hand and stood up to stretch her legs. With a nod to her sister, Maddie headed towards the train car door, walking with confident authority. Lillian followed behind Maddie, taking long strides to keep with up with her much taller sister. Her peacock blue skirt was a bit wrinkled after the journey and her chestnut brown hair was askew. Once she was on the platform, she quickly took a moment to set things right so she would at least pass muster with Madeline’s discerning eye.

As they moved towards the worn wooden steps leading up to the ridge behind the platform, Lillian exclaimed “It will be so nice to see everyone again. When was the last time we were all together?”

Madeline thought for a moment and replied “I think it was at Louise and Richard’s wedding last summer. Almost a year ago.”

“Do you know if Louise is coming for the weekend? “queried Lillian.

“When I spoke with Gladys on the phone last week, she didn’t think so. You know how stifling Richard is. Probably doesn’t want her associated with women from the Geneva Political Equality Club. You know how he feels about the suffrage movement.”, sighed Madeline.

“Sadly, I do. He made that very clear last year when we asked Louise to help us hand out pamphlets for the 1915 referendum on Suffrage. He was probably secretly elated when it was defeated last fall. But I know Louise is still very much in favor and you know how persuasive she can be. “, chortled Lillian.

Glancing at her watch, Maddie wondered where Gladys was. She said she would meet them at the train platform at 1:15. It was a long way to trudge up the hill, especially with luggage. Just as she was about to give up, Maddie spotted a car rounding the corner. To her surprise, Richard was behind the wheel and Louise was seated next to him.

Richard pulled up next to the split rail fence and helped Louise from the car. He was wearing a light gray suit with a matching vest, white shirt and navy bow tie. The sun glinted off his wire rimmed glasses, causing him to squint, which only added to his reserved austere appearance. Louise, exuberantly came towards them, a look of joy shining on her face. She was dressed in a light summer blouse of lavender with fashionable lace embellishments and a navy cotton skirt. Her honey, blonde hair was coiled on top of her head in the latest style of the day. Such opposites thought Lillian to herself, but they complemented one another. She made him a little less stodgy and he had a tempering effect on her erratic frenzied moods.

“What a nice surprise”, gushed the sisters. “We didn’t think you were going to be able to make it.”

“I wasn’t sure until yesterday if we would be able to come. Richard is just getting settled into his new job at Cornell and I wasn’t sure if he would be able to break away to bring me. I’m still learning to drive and not ready yet to take the car out on my own.”

“Yes, I think it will be awhile before you are ready for that, my dear. It’s one thing to drive around on our own property, quite another to be on the open road. I’m not sure the world is ready yet for female drivers.”, scoffed Richard.

“Oh, stuff and nonsense Richard. There are female ambulance drivers over in Europe right now. In France and Belgium, they are even on the front lines. If a women can handle that, I’m sure they can handle the open road.”, replied Louise.

“Let me rephrase that dear. Currently roadway conditions are not consistently good and therefore might be a challenge to drive on. Eventually, that will change and maybe then women will be able to drive.”, said Richard as he tried to back-pedal his earlier comments.

“I’m sure we will be up to the task Richard”, bantered Louise.

Lillian stifled a giggle as she handed Richard their bags. As she and Madeline took their seat in the back of the car, Lillian noticed that Louise was wearing a purple, gold and white pin on her blouse. A subtle nod to the suffrage colors. Never underestimate Louise, Lillian thought to herself.

The car wound its way up the hillside, passing picturesque houses with decorative gingerbread trim and country gardens of fuchsia and white peonies, spikes of lavender interspersed with splotches of red geraniums. As the car came over the crest, the sweeping lawn of Gladys’s house came into view. On the porch Lillian could make out Florence, Ida, Ethel and Gladys rocking back and forth in white wooden chairs, engrossed in animated conversation. Oh, how she had missed her fellow classmates from Brockport Normal school. After graduating and going onto teacher positions throughout the state, they didn’t see each other as often as they would have liked.

Gladys gave them a wave and came down the stairs to greet them. Gladys gave each of them an effusive welcoming hug, her soft round arms enfolding them. In a sweet, yet firm voice she asked Richard to put their bags in the foyer next to the stairs.

“How was your train ride?”, asked Gladys as she guided the women up the stairs and onto the porch.

“It was very pleasant, but we’re glad to finally be here. I didn’t think we would ever get here with all the stops we made along the way. I never realized how many towns we would pass through.”, laughed Madeline.

“Come sit down, and have some lemonade and cookies. We were just discussing how we can get more supporters for the cause.”, said Gladys as she pulled up two more rocking chairs from the side porch.

“What about Louise and Richard?” asked Lillian.

“Louise was sitting over next to me before they left to fetch you both, and Richard will probably go out back with my father and brother.”

Once everyone was settled. Gladys asked the group, “As you all know in March the state legislature narrowly voted to put a new Women’s suffrage referendum on the ballot in 1917. We need to do everything we can to get additional support before then. We were so close in 1915. Does anyone have any ideas they would like to share?”

“How about holding an essay contest on why it’s important to support women’s suffrage. We could offer prizes.”, suggested Ida.

“That’s a wonderful idea, answered Florence. The state and county fairs will be coming up this summer. That would be the perfect place to hand out broadsides.”

“Louise, has Richard changed his mind on suffrage?”, inquired Lillian. “I noticed the pin you are wearing is in suffrage colors.”

“Since taking the job at Cornell, he has started to change his mind. Many of the Professors there are supportive of the movement. He’s beginning to re-evaluate his position. I think he’s coming around.”, said Louise.

“We need to hold more conventions over the next year, as well as going door to door to plead our cause.”, added Ethel.

“We brought some broadsides along with us. Perhaps we can solicit your neighbors sometime over the weekend.”, suggested Madeline.

Lillian heard the front screen door open just as Maddie was finished speaking. Richard came up behind Louise and placed his hand on her shoulder. Great timing Maddie, murmured Lillian to herself as she arched an eyebrow at her sister.

“I think that is a splendid idea, said Richard enthusiastically. I can even drive some of you to the neighboring towns and villages.”

Lillian smiled as she admitted to herself that she had vastly underestimated Richard’s capacity for change. It was indeed a day for all sorts of possibilities.

Epilogue

The 1917 Referendum for Women’s Right to Vote in New York State was passed on November 6, 1917, three years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution giving women the right to vote in national elections. New York became the first state on the east coast to grant women full suffrage. It had been a long-fought battle which began in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 with the first Women’s Right convention. After the 1915 referendum failed to pass, there was a strong grass roots effort across New York State from local suffrage organizations. Women like Madeline, Lillian, Louise, Gladys, Ethel and Florence, along with supportive men such as Richard were instrumental in helping to achieve this. These tireless women and men, embarked on a door-to-door campaign across the state to promote full suffrage, collecting over one million signatures from woman who said they wanted the right to vote.