Voting Stories: Joann Roomes

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the 19th amendment and the creation of The League of Women Voters, we are asking our members and audience for their personal voting stories, and the stories of their mothers and/or grandmothers. We hope you find them inspiring!

Joann's mother Mildred, at her 99th birthday party.

"My mother grew up in a small and dusty Nebraska town, when carriages or horseback were still the norm, and the only reason her father obtained a car was because he was a rural mail carrier - but the horse still worked better in the muddy mire that was typical of rural roads in winter. Point being that Mother may have been influenced by the importance of public institutions like the USPS at an early age - who knows? And the other point being that while she grew up from high button shoes to the space age, she also grew with the times, and voted in every election both local and national until her death at 103 years. Though she didn't specifically share stories of the Suffrage Movement, she told of "Chatauquas" coming to her town, and I feel that these could very well have included speakers for women's suffrage.

Mother's lesson in life:  listen to all sides of a topic, and "make up your own mind"....Sounds like an educated voter!

My own two first endeavors on reaching a new community: sign up for a library card, and register to vote !
Joann Roomes

​Chatauqua definition if needed: "popular U.S. movement in adult education that flourished during the late 19th and early 20th centuries". "

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