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ABOUT
the Champlain Valley Suffrage Centennial Auto Tour
The Inception
The Auto Tour was conceived by the Celebrating Suffrage in Greater Glens Falls Committee, which formed in 2016 to celebrate the New York State Suffrage Centennial in 2017. The group successfully produced a Suffrage Rally in Glens Falls City Hall Park, a Women’s Equality Day presentation at the Chapman Museum, and a re-creation of the 1900 State Suffrage Convention at the First Baptist Church in Glens Falls. The Convention program earned a New York State Award for 2017 Suffrage.

In anticipation of the national Suffrage Centennial in 2020, the group expanded to include regional partners to plan the Champlain Valley Suffrage Centennial Auto Tour. This collaborative effort among several historical organizations, museums, and community members will pay homage to the strategies employed locally as well as nationally to win Votes for Women. Antique automobiles and costumed suffragists will re-create the atmosphere of women who grabbed the steering wheel of a touring car and became “flying squadrons.”

The Auto Tour will be a series of events celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 26, 1920. Because of COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, the Auto Tour was postponed, but we shall persist in 2021.

Why is this important?
Suffrage was part of the broader movement for women’s rights, which are human rights. Thus, we have expanded our topics to include women’s equality and the voting obstacles, and to offer perspectives for the present and the future. Our goals are:

  • Celebrate Centennial of Women’s Federal Suffrage Amendment
  • Educate and inspire the public about the campaign for suffrage and other women’s rights
  • Promote the contributions of local Champlain Valley women
  • Demonstrate some strategies of the Women’s Rights Movement: rallies, pageants, parades, speeches, and more
  • Promote post-suffrage activism of women and the unfinished work

What will happen?
To pay tribute to the women who drove automobiles through the rural countryside and across the nation canvassing for woman suffrage, we will feature a Model T. Events will promote local suffragists and suffrage history with activities such as speeches, lectures, parades, pageants, military style “broom brigades,” and more. The program will vary from site to site, so please attend them all.

When and Where?
A series of events will take place on four days at several locations. 
            Saturday, July 31, 2021 Plattsburgh and Ausable Chasm
            Saturday, August 7, 2021 Lewis, Meadowmount, Elizabethtown
            Saturday, August 14, 2021 Vergennes VT, Chimney Point VT, Lake Champlain Bridge
            Saturday, August 21, 2021 Glens Falls

​Contact
champlainvalleywomen@gmail.com

​Acknowledgements
The Champlain Valley Suffrage Centennial Auto Tour was made possible by a Special Project Grant from the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership and the Lake Champlain Basin Program.
 
The Committee of the Champlain Valley Suffrage Centennial Auto Tour is comprised of the Celebrating Suffrage in Greater Glens Falls Committee and other members, as listed below.
 
The Celebrating Suffrage in Greater Glens Falls Committee members are:

  • Chapman Museum – Executive Director, Timothy Weidner.
  • Clinton County Historical Association – Director, Helen Nerska is the author of the Clinton County Suffrage Story. She created the museum's exhibit on woman suffrage, has presented on suffrage to groups for the past three years, and coordinated suffrage events with the League of Women Voters and SUNY Plattsburgh's Gender and Women's Studies.
  • Crandall Public Library – Librarian Patricia F. Dolton is a historian with a specialty of women’s suffrage. She is a trained singer and is an expert in suffrage songs.
  • League of Women Voters – Linda McKenney represents the LWV as Chairman of the Centennial Committee of the local Saratoga League. She is a Susan B. Anthony re-enactor as well.
  • Warren County Historian – Stan Cianfarano, PhD. Stan assists with research and planning of the Committee’s events, as well as with promotion and set up.
  • Warren County Historical Society – Executive Director Teri P. Rogers. In addition to her role as president of the historical society, Teri is an expert and author on local suffrage.
  • Individuals: Sandra Weber is a suffrage historian, author, and actress who portrays many different women including suffragists. Kim Harvish is an educator and historian who has taught Women’s Suffrage for over 10 years. She has been a co-chairperson of a statewide suffrage event. David Hodges is a musician, anti-suffrage re-enactor, and spreadsheet guru.
 
Other members/partners of the Auto Tour Committee are:
  • Chimney Point State (VT) Historic Site - Site Administrator, Elsa Gilbertson
  • Lake Champlain Maritime Museum - Schooner & Volunteer Coordinator, Elisa Nelson.
  • North Star Underground Railroad Museum – President, Jacqueline Madison
  • Essex County Historical Society
  • Mary O'Donnell Enhorning