The Reel facts -- and more on Wyoming women

December 10th is Wyoming Day, the official celebration of Territorial Gov. John A. Campbell’s signing in 1869 of the first legislation to allow women the right to vote in all statewide elections and to allow them to hold public office.  State law mandates that this important anniversary be observed by schools, clubs and other organizations to commemorate Wyoming’s history.

This month, WyoHistory.org, which features a new streamlined design, delves into the lives of four accomplished women who have contributed in significant ways to our state’s history. Their achievements range from the 1890s to contemporary times and include photography, history and politics. 

The imagery of photographer Lora Nichols  
Lora Nichols of Encampment, Wyo., got a camera for her 16th birthday in 1899 and kept snapping photos until her death at age 78. Her work leaves a vivid record of her time and place, and of her clear-eyed vision of the lives of her neighbors and kin. Take a look at some of the photographs from Lora’s collection and read more about her in WyoHistory.org Assistant Editor Lori Van Pelt’s article “Lora Webb Nichols: An Eye on Early Wyoming,” at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/lora-webb-nichols-eye-early-wyoming.

The influence of historian Grace Hebard
Civil engineer, librarian, athlete, professor and historian, Grace Hebard gained early power at the University of Wyoming, serving on its board of trustees and later its faculty over a 40-year career. Though many scholars now question her scholarship, she remains best known for her books on Wyoming’s past. And 100 years ago this month on December 14, Hebard became the first woman admitted to the state bar. Read historian Mike Mackey’s essay on Hebard’s shaping of Wyoming’s past at http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/grace-raymond-hebard.  

The insights of author Charlotte Babcock
Charlotte Babcock, Casper College class of 1949, shares memories of her Casper childhood—plus stints as schoolteacher, flower-shop owner, book author and community-minded volunteer—with student interviewer Nichole Simoneaux in this March 2012 interview conducted at the college. Learn more by reading the transcript or listening to the audio of the oral history, “Author, Historian Charlotte Babcock: Oh, My Goodness, the Memories!” at http://www.wyohistory.org/oral-histories/casper-author-charlotte-babcock.

The Reel facts
Last January, when we published Kerry Drake’s biography of Estelle Reel, the first woman elected to a statewide office in Wyoming, we did so under an impression we’d held for a very long time—that Reel’s 1894 election as state superintendent of public instruction also marked the first time in the nation a woman won a statewide office.

Just last month we learned from North Dakota scholar Susan Wefald that this is not the case. Wyoming women had held full voting rights since 1869. In North Dakota, by the early 1890s, women had the right to vote in school-related elections. In 1892, Laura Eisenhuth ran for North Dakota’s state superintendent position, and won. Two years later, the same year Reel was elected in Wyoming, Eisenhuth lost to another woman, Emma Bates.

We’ve corrected the article—and added considerably more detail near the end about Reel’s 12-year tenure as national superintendent of Indian schools, a much bigger job than her stint as Wyoming’s superintendent. See the new version at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/estelle-reel.

One great thing about online publication—when we or our readers find we’ve made an error, we can fix it. Always feel free to like or share us on Facebook, or send your questions, comments or ideas directly to editor@wyohistory.org. We look forward to hearing from you; it’s one of the best parts of this work.

New design courts smartphone, tablet users
WyoHistory.org’s Steve Foster, our web designer extraordinaire, recently upgraded our website with a number of small changes that make viewing and navigation easier—and the site is now much easier to see and navigate on smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.  You’ll notice a difference in display of photo links to articles on the home page, smaller pins on the map to help you see places and clusters of pins more easily, and a crisper font that makes the text easier to read. For now, This Date in History has been removed, but that feature will return. Key Dates continue to appear with each article.

For further reading about Wyoming Day: