Western Women draw half the Town

WWW members Jane Kirkpatrick (I'm in the green) and Molly Gloss (tall and in the brown) were two of four Western Heritage presenters in little Moro, Oregon (pop 300) that attracted 123 people from around the region to celebrate Women in History month and the heritage of the west. The event was held in the 120 year old Presbyterian Church, the only church in the community and was funded in part from a grant given by the Oregon Historical Trust.





Jeanne Carver (in the leather skirt), co-owner of the Imperial Stock Ranch one of the oldest ranches in the country still in operation and Sherry Kaseberg, a Sherman county Commissioner, rounded out the event that included stories of women homesteaders, how women were portrayed in early western literature, the impact of place and art on stories of pioneers, women of color and the relationships of work and spirituality and landscape on women's stories. Even the chuckwagon lunch included an original 1880s chuckwagon and a story about the role of chuckwagons in settling the American west.



As they say in old Grange secretarial reports "A good time was had by all."

Jane Kirkpatrick, www.jkbooks.com, Award-winning author of 13 novels and two non-fiction books. Look for A Tendering in the Storm, April 17, Book Two in the Change and Cherish Series (WaterBrook Press/Random House).