International Women's Day Eve: Celebrating the Women Who Built Omaha with Dr. Eileen Wirth
Join us on Tuesday March 7th as we celebrate International Women’s Day Eve! Doors will open at 5:30, and the presentation will begin at 6:00. Grab an after work drink if you like, and settle in to enjoy an educational evening with Dr. Eileen Wirth, who literally wrote the book on the Women Who Built Omaha!
Dr. Eileen Wirth is a professor emeritus of journalism at Creighton University and is an author specializing in Omaha history. She was a reporter at the World-Herald and a PR Writer for Union Pacific before joining Creighton in 1991. Eileen’s books include The Women Who Built Omaha, The Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, and From Society Page to Front Page Nebraska Women in Journalism. She is a member of three area journalism Halls of Fame and has been active in numerous groups particularly the Omaha Public Library.
The Joslyn Castle is a most fitting setting for this occasion, after all, Sarah Joslyn is one of the featured women in this book. So come on over and learn a little bit about the most legendary ladies in Omaha’s history!
About the Book
During the 1930s the Federal Writers’ Project described Omaha as a “man’s town,” and histories of the city have all but ignored women. However, women have played major roles in education, health, culture, social services, and other fields since the city’s founding in 1854. In The Women Who Built Omaha Eileen Wirth tells the stories of groundbreaking women who built Omaha, including Susette “Bright Eyes” LaFlesche, who translated at the trial of Chief Standing Bear; Mildred Brown, an African American newspaper publisher; Sarah Joslyn, who personally paid for Joslyn Art Museum; Mrs. B of Nebraska Furniture Mart; and the Sisters of Mercy, who started Omaha’s Catholic schools. Omaha women have been champion athletes and suffragists as well as madams and bootleggers. They transformed the city’s parks, co-founded Creighton University, helped run Boys Town, and so much more, in ways that continue today.
Source: https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/bison-books/9781496228642/
