MOUNTAIN WOMEN CAN BE HEROES

A program presenting

songs and stories of

remarkable Adirondackers

by
Peggy Lynn
and
Sandra Weber


photo by Carl Heilman

 

Sandra Weber and Peggy Lynn believe there needs to be a female role added to the record of Adirondack history. There were women in this mountainous region from the early 1800s. They came from many places, backgrounds and social or economic strata.

 

Little more than a mention is made in most regional history texts, but women made significant contributions to Adirondack communities and their heritage. Sandra and Peggy have written a book to start balancing the scales. It is called Breaking Trail: Remarkable Women of the Adirondacks. It tells the stories of women across time, across the Park and with widely varied interests and achievements.

 

In conjunction with the book, Sandra and Peggy have developed a program of songs and stories which is titled “Mountain Women Can Be Heroes.” They bring to this program their extensive lecturing and performing experience along with their infectious enthusiasm for this material and the new songs and stories they have written. They hope the writing and telling of these women’s stories will be passed down to succeeding generations, starting with their own daughters.

 

Here are some examples of women whose comical, amazing or poignant experiences we celebrate:

 

Mother Johnson – famous among travelers for her hospitality and huge, mouth-watering stacks of pancakes.

 

Lydia Martin Smith – behind-the-scenes- business person who helped her husband build a hospitality empire.

 

Martha Reben – author who came to the Adirondacks to be treated for tuberculosis and was cured by the fresh air of the wilderness.

 

The Arnolds – isolated pioneer women, subsistence farmers, and independent, fearless bareback horse riders.

 

Emily Neville – Newberry Award winning children’s author, lawyer, social activist and avid traveler.

 

Grace Hudowalski – first woman to climb all 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks. She was a founding member of the 46ers club.

 

Orra Phelps, M.D. – botanist and physician who compiled maps and trail information to publish the Adirondack Mountain Club’s first guidebook for the High Peaks.

 

Margaret Emerson – matriarch of Great Camp Sagamore. She entertained dignitaries and celebrities from all over the world.

 

Kate Field – actress, lecturer, journalist and author who wrote of her travels through the Adirondacks in 1869.

 

Inez Milholland – controversial activist who led suffrage parades on a huge, white horse.



photo by Katherine McClellan

 

 

They talk about a woman’s sphere

As though it had a limit;

There’s not a place in earth or heaven

There’s not a task to mankind given

There’s not a blessing or a woe

There’s not a whispered “yes” or “no”

There’s not a life or death or birth

That has a feather’s weight of worth

Without a Woman in it.

--- Kate Field

 

 

Performer Bios:

 

Peggy Lynn is a professional touring singer/songwriter who has been regaling audiences with ballads of Adirondack women for the past twelve years. She has released five albums of her original songs. Peggy earned a degree in forestry from Paul Smith’s College and lived in the Adirondacks for 15 years. She has been awarded the Adirondack Business and Professional Women’s “Woman of the Year.” She is excited about several new songs written for this project, and is pursuing a degree in Women’s Studies.

 

Sandra Weber is a part-time resident of Elizabethtown, an avid hiker and paddler, and a new member of the Adirondack 46ers Club. She is the author of three previous books: The Lure of Esther Mountain, The Finest Square Mile, and Mount Marcy (all published by Purple Mountain Press). Sandra has also written articles for Adirondack Life, NYS Conservationist, Highlights for Children, and other magazines. Both Sandra and Peggy are the mothers of two daughters.


Contact Information:

Sandra Weber 
weber@sandraweber.com 
431 Perkiomen Ave.
Lansdale, PA 19446
Phone: (610) 220-1419

Peggy Lynn
www.quercusmusic.com
7456 Hawley Road, Red Creek, NY 13143
Phone: (315) 754-0075

 

 

Last Updated 02/08/07
© Sandra Weber, 2000-2007