Thursday's ceremony outside the Rock County Courthouse was a wonderful tribute to the women of Janesville, who worked for the right to vote and established local institutions, including the first library and the first public hospital in the city. The mural project began as a way to honor the memory of community leader and former JATV station manager Judi Kneece, (photo) who passed away last year.
(Click to enlarge)
The Friends of Judi Kneece committee spearheaded this project, and in just 6 1/2 months developed a plan, selected the artist, secured funding and put the mural in place on the courthouse wall! The ceremony coincided with the 90th anniversary of the 19th Ammendment, giving women the right to vote. Elected officials and community leaders were there to dedicate the mural to Judi's memory. Judi, you are missed but will not be forgotten!
This reverse side of the flyer from the ceremony tells of the women in the mural:
Friends of Judi Kneece committee members wore purple in her honor. An article in The Janesville Gazette 8/26/10 explains the project.
Did you know that.....
Susan B. Anthony visited Janesville to promote women's rights?
Headlines in The Janesville Gazette dated September 26, 1887 declared that "Susan B. Anthony took occasion Saturday night to draw the Rev. T. DeWitt Peake over the coals....". Susan also 'spoke here on suffrage', according to the somewhat buried (page 11A!) headline in the March 12, 1889 issue of the Janesville Gazette. Search our Local History Database to learn more about women of Janesville's history. For assistance, contact the Hedberg Public Library Reference Librarians at 608-758-6581 or email us anytime.
--posted by sb on 8/30/2010
--includes excerpts from HPL's Weekly Windup
