NEW PROFILES
Community theater in the South Coast would not be the same without the clear vision of Mary A. Smith (1908-1969) — actor, director and educator.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed Mary Brackett Hoyt Ransom (1884-1971) as Mattapoisett’s first woman U.S. Postmaster, a position she held from 1934 until 1942.
Conservation projects led by Flora Belle Peirce (1898–1990), the first chairperson of New Bedford’s Conservation Commission, made the city a better place.
At age 68, Mary Parker Converse (1872-1961) was sworn in as a full Captain in the U.S. Merchant Marine, the first woman to hold an Unlimited Tonnage Masters License, in 1940.
Landscape painter Pauline Meyer Colyar (1873-1928) was admitted to the Art Academy of Cincinnati at the age of 13, the youngest age for admission.
A World War II Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP), Lillian Lorraine Yonally (1922-2021) grew up in New Bedford, where she sailed the ocean before taking to the skies. Out of 25,000 WASP applicants, Lillian was one of 1,074 to graduate and one of only 20 to fly the Mitchell B-25 medium bomber.
Executive director of West End Day Nursery from 1969 until 1979, New Bedford’s Eleanor W. Morton (1915-2006) was an educator, community leader and social activist.
Margery V. “Ruby” Dottin (1922-2020) was the first African American woman to be elected to the New Bedford School Committee in 1976.
New Bedford artist Frances Eliot Gifford (1844-1931) was recognized as an accomplished illustrator and celebrated for her representations of birds both alone and in landscapes.
SPOTLIGHT ON…
Lighting the Way – Historic Women of the South Coast tells the stories of commitment, determination and perseverance of women from a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
“Women’s contributions have often been heard as whispers in history,” said Christina Bascom, the project’s designer. Spurred on by tales of a Petticoat Society, a group of women from throughout the community are bringing these stories to life on the SouthCoast. “We are unearthing remarkable stories of women’s personal callings that required grit, tenacity and enduring commitment to their families, community and country. These stories will inspire, motivate and inform generations to come.”
